Goals and Principles of the Strategic Work Plan
The University of Florida aspires to join the ranks of the nation's top public research universities. The best universities are aided by careful planning, a commitment to excellence by faculty, staff, students, alumni and donors, and a determination to invest in areas that enhance quality.
It is this commitment to academic excellence and the resulting achievements that will lead to the university's recognition as one of the top public research universities. The president's work plan, developed in light of two principles, is formulated to help the university attain this goal.
The first principle: Strategic planning represents the highest level of planning in pursuit of the university's long-range goals. Its purpose is to identify the fundamentals essential to achieving the overarching goals of the university and to identify areas for investment, in light of the university's current position, the research environment, and social and academic considerations. This plan concentrates on goals and areas of investment rather than on details of how to achieve them, implementation strategies or where the resources needed are to be sought. These additional levels of planning must be undertaken in the light of the more general statement of goals in this plan.
The second principle: Strategic planning is a dynamic process and it must be sensitive to new opportunities, to changes in resources and conditions, and to new information. The university's strategic plan is therefore considered a living document that will be re-evaluated and refocused periodically in light of accomplishments and new opportunities.
Faculty are an essential part of this process because they see change at the discipline level before others. Administrators, in turn, are responsible for attending to relevant changes in policy at the state and national levels, new developments on the frontiers of science, and other social, academic and cultural developments relevant to the university's mission. This requires communication and transparency between faculty and administrators so the university can move quickly in response to change.
It is critical, however, that the university optimize allocation of its resources in areas that promise the greatest returns in enhancing the university's recognition, in meeting its measured indicators of success and the needs of students and faculty, and in addressing state priorities.
It is equally critical that all components of the university contribute to the university's pursuit of excellence. The ultimate goal is excellence in every facet of its work, and while recognizing the importance of establishing priorities, a part of the strategy of identifying promising areas of investment is not to let other areas fall into neglect or to suggest that support of other projects and areas is not also essential.
No plan can encompass all of the on-going projects and goals of colleges and units that deserve support. In particular, the areas of investment identified below under Strategies for Maximum Impact should not be perceived as being proposed in place of, but rather in the context of, the traditional goals of Academe.
The current strategic work plan is a successor to the 2002 strategic plan. Though there are many continuities with the previous plan, this plan, with input from faculty through the Faculty Senate, evaluates and refocuses the university's stragetic planning. .
The President's 2007 Strategic Work Plan
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