Charge from Provost Coffman
December 12, 1997
Thank you for agreeing to serve on the Strategic Planning Committee. For the coming year we need to focus on the many achievements of the last 8 to 10 years, and make any adjustments necessary to the process we have established to help us face the near future. I have asked an appropriate administrator to provide me a progress report for each of the 5 Strategic Planning Themes. These should be completed before the beginning of the 1998 Spring semester. The themes have served us well for this period.
With these reviews in hand, the committee needs to make any necessary adjustments to the planning themes to help us move into the 21st century with a firm grasp of the directions we should take to make us effective and productive over the next 5 to 10 years. Where appropriate, you should draw on the efforts of the Strategic Planning Committees over the last few years to help in this effort.
Please provide an updated version of the 5 Planning Themes by April 15, 1998 (revised to Spring 1999).
Thank you for your willingness to take on this
task.
MISSION STATEMENT FOR KANSAS
STATE UNIVERSITY
December 1991
Kansas State University is a comprehensive, research, land-grant institution serving students and the people of Kansas, the nation, and the world.
Since its founding in 1863, the University has evolved into a modern institution of higher education, committed to quality programs, and responsive to a rapidly changing world and the aspirations of an increasingly diverse society. Together with other major comprehensive universities, Kansas State shares responsibilities for developing human potential, expanding knowledge, enriching cultural expression, and extending its expertise to individuals, business, education, and government. These responsibilities are addressed through an array of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, research and creative activities, and outreach and public service programs. In addition, its land-grant mandate, based on federal and state legislation, establishes a focus to its instructional, research, and extension activities which is unique among the Regents' institutions.
Through quality teaching, the University is committed to provide all students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, understanding, and skills characteristic of an educated person. It is also pledged to prepare students for successful employment or advanced studies through a variety of disciplinary and professional degree programs. To meet these intentions, the institution dedicates itself to providing academic and extracurricular learning experiences which promote and value both excellence and cultural diversity. Kansas State University prepares its students to be informed, productive, and responsible citizens who participate actively in advancing cultural, educational, economic, scientific, and socio-political undertakings.
Research and other creative endeavors comprise an essential component of Kansas State University's mission. All faculty members contribute to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. These efforts, supported by public and private resources, are conducted in an atmosphere of open inquiry and academic freedom. Basic to the pursuit of this mission is the University's commitment to broad-based programs in graduate education at both the master's and doctoral levels.
Kansas State University's mission includes enriching the lives of the citizens of Kansas by extending to them opportunities to engage in life-long learning and to benefit from the results of research. The University addresses this charge through mutually supportive activities on its Manhattan and Salina campuses, research and extension sites at numerous locations, outreach programs offered throughout the State and nation, and international activities.
The mission of Kansas State University is enhanced by symbiotic relationships among the discovery of knowledge, the education of undergraduate and graduate students, and improvement in the quality of life through research applications. Coordinated teaching, research, and extension services help develop the highly skilled and educated work force necessary to the economic well-being of Kansas, the nation, and the international community.
Members of University Strategic Planning Committee
Karen De Bres, Associate Professor
/ Geography
David Delker, Professor / College of Technology
Jerry Gillespie, Professor / Food Animal Health Management
Center
Marion Gray, History (ex officio)
Jason Heinrich, President / Student Body
Mike Holen, Dean / College of Education
Curtis Kastner, Professor / Animal Science and Industry
Bob Krause, Vice President / Institutional Advancement
Vladimir Krstic, Associate Professor / Architecture (ex officio)
Dennis L. Law, Dean / College of Arch., Planning And Design
(Chair)
Pat Pesci, Instructor / HRIMD
Talat Rahman, Professor / Physics (ex officio)
Keith Ratzloff, Controller / Administration and Finance
Pat Richard, Distinguished Professor / Physics
John Schlup, Professor / Chemical Engineering
Chwen Sheu, Associate Professor / Management
Krishna Tummala, Professor / Political Science
Warren White / FSCOUP
Committee Staff
Ronald Downey, Director / Planning
and Analysis
Ruth Dyer, Assistant to the Provost
Mike Lynch, Assistant V.P. / Education and Personal Development
The vision for Kansas State University was developed from a mosaic of ideas from faculty, staff and students, administration, and external forces. Drawing from these, the University Strategic Planning Committee wanted to develop a planning process that encompassed the entire University.
Guidelines describing the philosophy adopted by the University Strategic Planning Committee were as follows:
Process, in the development of a strategic plan, is recognized to be as important as the end product. By providing opportunities for participation by all of the university's constituents in its development, it should be evident that a strategic plan will be far more successful in obtaining wide-spread ownership. Further, the strategic plan needs to be consistent with the budgeting process and outcomes.
At Kansas State University, the decision process lends itself to involvement at the grassroots level. The committee tried to emulate this process in developing its themes. Each College has a College Committee on Planning (CCOP) and the CCOPs report to the Faculty Senate Committee on University Planning (FSCOUP) which addresses planning issues at the University level. Using that structure as a basis, the University Strategic Planning Committee charged the CCOPs of each College to address two issues: the relevance of each of the five 1989 planning themes and the development of new themes that should be added.
There was surprising uniformity in the collective reports from the CCOPs and the emerging themes that were important to the University community. The process, therefore, should be considered successful in its purpose of finding communality over the campus.
Leadership is essential in the development of a vision. Thus, the Deans Council was also charged with reviewing existing themes and proposing others. Since there are always external forces that influence planning, those should be included in the consideration of themes. For example, external influences might include directives by the Kansas Board of Regents or the Legislature. The University Strategic Planning Committee thought it best to seek input from the President's staff to help identify those influences that should be considered in the development of the final plan.
A series of presentations and reviews before all interested groups was an essential part of the planning process. The linear and branching fashion of plan development and refinement is illustrated on the prior page.
In addition to the themes, the committee has provided a list of "Action Items." The Action Items are intended to focus the campus community on some of the more important issues to be addressed in working toward accomplishing the thrust of the theme. It is expected that these Action Items would be reviewed and updated on a regular annual basis.
Finally, the University's success in addressing
the goals of these themes, will depend to a large measure
upon a parallel effort to fund physical-plant and operational-systems
infrastructure development and enhancements on campus.
Support Recruitment, Retention,
and Professional Development of High Quality Faculty
Kansas State University is committed to
faculty excellence. Faculty recruitment, retention, and professional
development are the very foundation of the future. It is paramount
to develop and sustain working conditions and rewards which
promote excellence in teaching and all forms of scholarship.
The university will strive to ensure the highest possible
level of support which will foster and sustain faculty members
in productive academic lives of teaching, creative activities,
and in the creation and dissemination of new knowledge throughout
their career. The university will strive to support the professional
development of faculty members during the tenure process and
after promotions.
To meet the challenges of individual academic disciplines, in which areas of emphasis are continuously shifting and transforming and where the definition of scholarship and research is expanding, we will strive to maintain partnerships between the faculty and the administration. Thus sharing in the risks taken towards the creation and engagement of new fields by faculty members seeking the maximum fulfillment of their potential. These goals are designed to set the stage for the recruitment and retention of the highest quality faculty members available and to encourage and support professional development.
Action Items:
Strengthen the Learning and Teaching Environment
The defining characteristics of educated persons are professional depth and expertise complemented by flexibility and adaptability. For students to develop these traits, the learning environment must be engaging and challenging. Curricula must place emphasis on the connections between disciplines and faculty are an essential component in mentoring students, both in and out of the classroom, and in helping all members of the university community to develop their full potential. Academic advising must provide effective guidance so that the student can maximize education opportunities.
A vital academic community advocates the questioning of conventional wisdom and promotes the considered advancement of counter arguments and positions. It encourages the development of an open mind and a questioning disposition, which create vision and imagination for contributing to the social order. Understanding a diverse global society contributes to the development of such a disposition and, ultimately, to the understanding and development of a pluralistic society.
An important aim of education is to impart a joy of learning, which, in turn, benefits both the individual and society. Because knowledge will continue to expand rapidly, much of the specific content included in undergraduate curricula will soon become obsolete and students need to develop skills enabling them to learn beyond their academic careers. A strong general and liberal education program provides undergraduates with ample opportunities to gain research experience and skills in generating, accessing, and applying new information so that graduates may participate fully in lifelong learning and service to their community.
Action Items:
Enhance the Quality of Graduate and Research Programs
Knowledge and understanding form the foundation upon which civilization advances, and society has entrusted this responsibility to research universities. Society's mandate is explicitly recognized in the mission statement for Kansas State University, which specifies that the University shall "...carry out fundamental and applied research, scholarly inquiry, and creative endeavors...". The University must promote excellence in all areas of scholarship and, particularly, in graduate education and research. Enhancing graduate education and research, attracting and retaining high caliber faculty, and providing the resources needed to develop scholarly programs all foster first-rate scholarship. Graduate education programs must provide students with the crucial information and skills of inquiry necessary to discover new knowledge and solve emerging problems and the professional expertise needed to compete in dynamic, global job markets.
Kansas State University aspires to become a Carnegie-I "Research University." In pursuit of this goal, the University is also enriching its undergraduate teaching and research, improving its overall scholarship, and furthering its status as an esteemed comprehensive, Land Grant University. This goal encourages the faculty of all University programs to share in the development of a "Research University" and in the rewards of its scholarly environment. To further enhance the environment for research and scholarly activity and to provide the State with highly qualified graduate students, the University must continue to improve its research and professional graduate programs.
Achieving the distinction of a Carnegie-I "Research University" will enable the University to more fully serve the State and all its constituents by increasing: 1) economic opportunity; 2) the State's pool of highly-trained graduates; 3) the number of industries in the State; 4) income to the State through more extramural University funding; and 5) the number of high-quality University jobs.
Action Items:
Develop the Library Infrastructure
Central to a university's mission is the development and guardianship of knowledge. All sectors of our society are increasingly dependent upon a high-quality library. Kansas State University needs to continue to implement and maintain a strategic plan that enhances investment in library quality, including infrastructure, print and digital resources, and personnel.
The University aspires to have a library that will support the highest level of scholarship, one that is consistent with a Carnegie-I "Research University." In order to adequately monitor and foster the library's contribution to such status, the University should make ARL membership an ultimate goal and use ARL criteria as one measure for the library's overall quality. Such a course would include a practical assessment of ARL criteria as they relate to our University context.
An up-to-date, top-quality research library is essential to ensuring that all members of our academic community, both students and faculty, have the fullest opportunity to succeed in their endeavors and remain innovators in their fields of expertise and beyond. The Library deserves special attention to ensure that it preserves and expands current, archival, and electronic holdings that are essential to student and faculty scholarship.
Action Items:
Develop the Information Technology Infrastructure
Computer- and information-based technology is essential to the functioning of a modern university. All sectors of our society are increasingly dependent upon information technology and upon persons capable of working in highly specialized, information technology environments. Universities have a major role in providing leading-edge, information-technology education. Kansas State needs to implement a focused strategic plan that will lead to major investments in technology infrastructure and personnel. The University needs to apply the principles of digital information in: management of its fiscal and human resources; student enrollment and academic record management; research data management; communication within and outside the University; and instructional technology serving the needs of those on the campus and elsewhere. The university needs to continue to enhance its computing support for research.
Action Items:
Enhance a Diverse Multicultural Environment
Kansas State University faces the certainty of a future where the opportunities and challenges of diversity must be considered in all its efforts. The composition of incoming classes to colleges will soon become quite different with respect to race, age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation, economic background, and individuals having physical or learning challenges. At the same time, our research and service agendas increasingly have national and international priorities and partnerships. Our economic development activities are being tested against the needs of individuals and corporate entities quite unlike K-State's.
Despite years of sincere efforts, K-State's attraction and retention of a diverse faculty and student body still needs improvement. The graduation rate of American students of color is lower than the national average for students and the retention of American faculty of color needs to increase. In addition, our academic requirements only modestly assure intellectual and experiential engagement with serious matters of diversity. Addressing these issues will require renewed attention to our recruitment and retention strategies, incentives provided for faculty and students to engage diversity, our academic and living environments, and the curricula we develop and offer.
The influence of minority faculty and faculty who represent diverse perspectives will be crucial to successful progressive, proactive student and faculty recruitment, admissions and advisement policy development, retention strategy formulation, and tenure, promotion and curricular decisions.
The university must recognize and value diversity not simply as a matter of form, but as an imperative for the intellectual and social development of all students and faculty. This is an essential component for enhancement of our research, development, and service activities. Providing everyone at K-State with an environment which helps improve their preparation for effective life and meaningful work in a diverse world community is only practical and prudent.
Action Items:
Work to include promotion of diversity among faculty and students as an accountability standard for all administrators.
Develop requirements, in all units, for a formal structure to enhance diversity initiatives.
Work to develop support for activities and processes to enhance the skill and knowledge bases needed to understand and promote diversity.
Develop strategies for enhancing the efforts of the units to promote diversity.
Initiate activities to involve local communities in providing positive dispositions toward diversity.
Enhance International Emphases
Kansas citizens and Kansas State University students and faculty live in a global community. Developing an understanding of the economic, cultural, political, and environmental contexts of this broadly defined community is an important responsibility of higher education. It is essential to gain public understanding and support for establishing and expanding international ties, continuing the nation's leadership in world affairs, and promoting world peace.
Kansas State has already demonstrated that it is a leader in promoting international understanding, development and trade programs; it has the expertise and technical resources to support, strengthen, and expand such efforts. International students and scholars are an integral part of the K-State academic community, providing rich cultural and academic benefits to the life of the university. Electronic communications and other linkages provide opportunities to enhance university instructional, research, and service programs abroad.
Applying our land-grant tradition at the international level not only expands our historical commitment, but also creates opportunities to enlarge the international perspective of students and faculty. The future economic well-being of Kansas, the nation, and the world will be dependent on programs that promote international understanding, development, and trade.
Action Items:
Define the University's Role in Mediated Instruction
As one component of providing an excellent educational experience, technology strategies must be realistically and thoughtfully integrated into the overall university experience to create an optimal learning environment for all students, anytime/anyplace. Common educational applications of technology include electronic databases and reference sources, remote access or delivery of information, and World-Wide-Web, which can be a communication tool to enhance learning for both traditional students on-campus and non-traditional students globally. The University must have a strategy to optimize educational applications of these mediated instructional technologies. Mediated instruction allows faculty to continue to enrich the learning experience for all students. University resources will be needed to support programs necessary to maintain high-quality learning environments for all students, both on campus and remote. Mediated learning can be leveraged through effective extension of information technology classrooms. University faculty should play an integral part in technology development and in developing mediated courses and programs to emphasize areas of academic strength. Student learning, supported by technology, should include asynchronous services, robust channels of communications, and rich sources of digital information.
Action Items:
Contribute to the State's Economic Development
and Environmental Health
The land-grant tradition stresses sensitivity
to the needs of the State and stewardship of the land. Kansas
State has a history of providing educational, research, and
public service programs that have had a major impact on economic
development, educational and cultural environments, and the
quality of life in Kansas. These efforts have been concentrated
in agriculture and related industries and have been major
contributors to the Kansas economy, its continued vitality,
and its environmental health. Kansas State's commitment to
economic development is essential to the well-being of the
State. Awareness programs have helped develop methods for
reducing or preventing environmental problems and heightened
awareness among students, faculty, and the general public.
Extending the traditional linkages among University teaching, research, and public service programs and efforts to increase economic development has exciting new possibilities and opportunities. These efforts stimulate and support individual and community development through education and cultural enrichment. By considering economic development, environmental health, and social/cultural issues concurrently, the university can increase its contribution to a quality of life that is sustainable.
Future economic development in Kansas and the world is expected to feature growth in the technology base and increasingly sophisticated business practices. Existing University faculty and facilities, including the capacity to deliver educational services electronically, can attract and support new economic development initiatives. Current programs that seek to improve the environment, like increasing water tables levels, decreasing contamination of water supplies, and reducing air pollutants, will help economic development efforts. The University's history of commitment to environmental health through education, research, and extension places it in the ideal position for adding to sustained economic development while addressing environmental issues.
Action Items: