Systemwide strategic plan earns backing of Board of Regents

The Board of Regents on Friday gave its formal support to the new systemwide strategic plan, a document over two years in the making.

The vote was 8-0; Regent Chance Hill was absent from the meeting, which was held remotely.

The board’s resolution states that annual reports will be provided to the regents to show progress toward the established goals and any changes to action plans that might be implemented by stakeholders.

“We had a phenomenal effort across all our campuses and the system office to develop a plan that will really guide the university forward,” said Board of Regents Chair Jack Kroll. “A tremendous amount of work went into this.”

Kroll and President Todd Saliman thanked the hundreds of stakeholders who provided feedback and input during the strategic planning process. Saliman – who served as co-chair of the planning process with Sharon Matusik, dean of the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder – also thanked President Emeritus Mark Kennedy for his leadership of the effort, and Angelique Foster, assistant vice president of strategic initiatives, for her contributions as project manager.

“This is great news for the University of Colorado, our students and the entire state,” wrote Saliman of the board’s approval of the plan in a letter to faculty and staff on Wednesday. “When combined with the campus strategic plans, the system plan serves as a roadmap to help guide CU into the future. It will help us avoid distractions and unnecessary detours and focus on doing what we do best: providing world-class, affordable education with exceptional teaching, learning, research, service and health care.”

Added Matusik, “By clearly articulating key strategic areas of focus across the CU system, the plan will be invaluable in guiding the University of Colorado through the changing landscape of higher education that lies ahead. It was very gratifying to work with the deeply dedicated CU community across our four campuses to develop the plan.”

According to the document, “The resulting plan establishes bold goals paired with metrics and in some cases initiatives along with aggressive action steps that will advance and elevate CU over the next five years and beyond.”

Titled “Innovating for the Future,” the plan as presented articulates four strategic pillars: Affordability and Student Access; Discovery and Impact; Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Access; and Fiscal Strength. The development process engaged at least 600 stakeholders, and was guided by input from the Board of Regents, faculty, students, staff, chancellors, trustees and the broader CU community.

The recently launched strategic plan website provides a detailed look at the plan and also will serve as a way for the CU community to track progress toward the stated goals.

The strategic plan:

• Details actionable, measurable steps that will allow CU to continue to meet its mission and serve its students and the state.
• Provides a roadmap that will guide the university as it emerges from the pandemic and confronts the challenges of the coming five years.
• Complements campus strategic planning efforts and actions.
• Provides a bridge offering continuity among the current administration, interim administration and next administration.

Along with annual reports, administration leadership plans to facilitate deep-dive discussions into specific areas of the plan throughout the year. The first such examination, part of the board’s July retreat, focused on the plan’s Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Access pillar.

In other business at Friday’s Board of Regents meeting:

• The board approved the disposition of more than half of the 308-acre CU Boulder South property to the city of Boulder for flood mitigation and preservation of permanent open space. Read more in CU Boulder Today.
• The board elected Jeremy Hueth as vice president, University Counsel and secretary of the Board of Regents. The vote was 7-1, with Hill absent and Regent Glen Gallegos voting against. Previously managing associate counsel, Hueth has been with CU for 17 years, and had held his current role since December 2020, when he was named to the post on an interim basis.