The University of Iowa has released the final draft of its Strategic Plan 2016-21.

UI Provost P. Barry Butler says the five-year road map, available on the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost website, is more streamlined than previous strategic plans and is designed to be reviewed and potentially adjusted on an annual basis.

“I really want to emphasize the role of shared governance in creating this plan. It was a very collaborative process and I want to thank them for their hard work and input,” Butler says.

Strategic Plan Vision Statement: Building on a remarkable legacy, the people of the UI are crafting new chapters of exploration, discovery, creation, and engagement.

The plan includes three main goals for the next five years:

• Perform high-impact research.
• Provide a transformative educational experience that educates all UI students to be engaged citizens.
• Engage with Iowa and the world to broaden education, improve health, and enhance economic development.

In addition to these goals, the plan provides strategies and tasks, as well as indicators and metrics for measuring progress. Among these are “increased hiring, retention, and mentoring of faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and traditionally underrepresented groups,” “become a Research 1 institution of choice for undergraduate students aspiring to pursue graduate or professional education,” and raising the undergraduate four-year graduate rate from the record 53 percent in fall of 2015 to a new record of 60 percent by 2021.

The UI’s Path Forward teams, composed of faculty, staff, and students, will now begin an implementation process with annual review and progress reporting.

“The UI did a phenomenal job tying their goals to strong and measurable metrics,” said Bob Donley, executive director of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa. The board approved the plan during its meeting on Dec. 5.

Since its inception last spring, the 18-member Strategic Plan Development Group (SPDG) hosted more than 30 meetings and forums involving more than 750 UI constituents. SPDG members consulted shared governance bodies, campus groups, task forces, strategy lists, and department and college reports, and collected campus input online and in person.

SPDG co-chairs David Cunning, chair of the Department of Philosophy, and Sarah Hansen, associate vice president for student life, say they were impressed by campus feedback. “One thing that we noticed is just how much people care about the university and making it better. There’s a real passion for this place,” Cunning says.

Unlike with previous strategic plans, the proposed strategies, tasks, and indicators will be reviewed annually, and, if necessary, adjusted. This will help the university adapt to emerging situations and maintain the plan’s ongoing guidance over UI decision making.

In addition, while the provost's office has historically carried out implementation, Path Forward teams instead will collaborate to drive an ongoing implementation process. The two Path Forward teams—the Strategy Implementation Team (SIT) and Operations Team (OT)—will execute implementation based on recommendations and best practices provided by subcommittees composed of campus members with expertise on assigned issues.

“We want implementation to be driven by teams of knowledgeable, visible, and active members of the UI community,” says Butler, who chairs the SIT. “Faculty, staff, and students on these teams must be approachable and open to receive feedback from campus constituencies. We hope to maintain strong campus investment in realizing the plan’s vision.”

UI campus community members who already have joined these subcommittees include Professor Teresa Mangum, director of the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies; Sherry Watt, associate professor of higher education and student affairs; Brian Leal, fourth-year undergraduate and diversity liaison for UI Student Government; and Tom Rocklin, vice president for student life.

The SIT and OT will provide frequent progress updates to campus and the strategic plan’s website.