Mackenzie Clark
News Editor
On Monday, Nov. 28, the Strategic Planning & Priorities Advisory Committee (SPPAC) held an open meeting on strategic priorities. The meeting was an opportunity for students, staff and faculty to share what they feel are the most important priorities for the College in the near future.
In an email sent to the campus community on Nov. 21, Greg Shaya, the Chair of SPPAC, stated, “SPPAC’s charge is to advise and counsel the President on strategic planning and the determination of resource allocation, to consult with campus constituencies on strategic planning and priorities and to regularly apprise the faculty of issues under discussion. As part of this, we are asked to consult with other faculty committees and campus constituencies regarding policy decisions that have strategic impact.”
Earlier this semester, President Bolton gave SPPAC three important strategic areas she would like to address: students, resources and the competitive context of the College.
SPPAC is currently focusing on these three areas by thinking about what future students will be looking for in a college education, what the world is looking for in college graduates, where future resources will be coming from and what the College is doing to attract students.
This semester, SPPAC has been working to give President Bolton advice in regards to both long-term and short-term challenges related to these areas, which she has identified as most important.
The committee has dedicated the fall semester to performing broad investigations and having conversations with other committees. During the spring semester, SPPAC will turn their focus to budget planning and strategic priorities that will inform the work to be done by the president’s cabinet during the summer.
The goal of Monday’s meeting was to update the community on the work of SPPAC and hear multiple perspectives of strategic priorities for the immediate future of the College. Committee members and meeting attendees also addressed the sustainability of these priorities.
Members of the College community brought multiple points of view on a variety of issues. Specific priorities mentioned included strengthening support for Security and Protective Services, hiring more counselors in Longbrake Wellness Center and addressing areas of the College that may be understaffed.
Other priorities mentioned included providing resources to more adequately accommodate different dining needs for all students, renovating outdated dining facilities and increasing student opportunities for experiential learning.
In regards to financial needs, several meeting attendees stressed the importance of reviewing the College’s current tuition model, restructuring financial aid to better meet the needs of all students and turning the committee’s focus to researching current student demographics in order to address more immediate issues, rather than doing strictly long-term planning.
The priorities identified at the meeting will be compared to the plan for the College’s current budget and worked into planning with the president and her cabinet for the upcoming school year.
“Tonight’s meeting was part of a listening tour. We’re talking to students, staff and faculty to hear what they think are the most important priorities for the immediate future,” said Shaya.
“We’ll be talking about this through December and January. We’ll take these conversations back to our committee and hold them up against other information we have. Our aim is to provide useful advice to the President as she sets priorities for next year and we build the College’s 2017-18 budget.”
If you have a suggestion or question for SPPAC, contact Greg Shaya at GShaya@wooster.edu or Vice Chair Ellen Falduto at EFalduto@wooster.edu.