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Scenes from Faculty Senate

Joint Strategic Planning Committee

Friday, August 12, 2005

9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Sycamore Lodge at the W. Alton Jones Campus

Attendance: Robert Carothers, M. Beverly Swan, Robert Weygand, Bob Beagle, Tom Dougan, Michael Rice, Celest Martin, Marilyn Barbour, Barbara Luebke, Karen Ramsay, Roxanne Gomes, Vince Petronio, Patrick Mills, Matt Freeman, Abu Bakr, Ann Morrissey.

Introductions: President Carothers welcomed the group and members introduced themselves. Ms. Morrissey and Mr. Bakr outlined the goals for the retreat and reviewed the agenda. (A copy of President Carothers' PowerPoint presentation is available on the web at http://www.uri.edu/pspd/planserv.html

Trends Impacting Higher Education and URI: President Carothers used a series of slides to review for the JSPC current trends as they affect higher education and Rhode Island as well as their impact on URI.

Consultant Recommendations on the Capital Campaign: Vice President Beagle reported on the results of the consultant's study and outlined major points. He noted that the consensus is that potential donors are more interested in contributing in ways that directly affect students and faculty, such as scholarships and endowed chairs.

Capital Improvement Plan Overview: Vice President Weygand reviewed for the committee, the major types of funding available to the University as well as their limitations. He emphasized that asset protection of existing buildings continues to be a high priority and announced that he was in the process of appointing a Director of Planning and Design, He explained that the new position, which he been created through retirements and vacancies.

Mission Statement Review: Provost Swan reviewed with the JSPC the brief mission statement that been developed by her subcommittee on the Mission Statement. She noted that three members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, Professors Barbour, Martin and Rice, had participated in the drafting of the statement. Discussion ensued and the JSPC agreed to discuss the Mission Statement draft in more detail at their next meeting.

The group recessed for lunch at 12:15 and resumed the afternoon session at 1:30 p.m.

Define Strategic Initiatives: Subcommittees discussed possible initiatives for the next strategic plan based on the information they had been given in the morning. The entire group then reviewed and discussed some of the suggestions that had been forthcoming.

Preliminary Goals: Subcommittees reconvened and worked on the development of goals that reflected the initiatives they had identified. The entire group met to discuss the proposed goals. Ms. Morrissey and Mr. Bakr agreed to summarize the discussion for further consideration by the JSPC at their next meeting.

The retreat ended at 4:00 p.m.