Strategic Planning Process update: Workgroups listed, members sought, and an April 4 Town Hall

And we’re off! The UND Strategic Plan Initiative now is underway and is starting to generate results.

As co-chairs of the initiative, we are pleased to announce one of the first and most important of those results: the formation of the seven Workgroups that will, between now and November, craft the lion’s share of the new UND Strategic Plan.

The Workgroups are the foundation of the strategic planning process at UND. Each Workgroup has been assigned one main idea to critically review. These ideas came from major themes that were collected during February and March from the broader university community.

In developing the Workgroups, the Strategic Planning Committee also considered the foundational documents that are informing the new Strategic Plan: our two recent task forces on DEI and the Future of Higher Education, the UND Comprehensive Campaign, our UND Branding, UND’s Grand Challenges, and the strengths and lessons learned from our current Strategic Plan: OneUND.

Taking all this information together, the SPC started to see common ideas, strengths, and concerns emerge. These thoughts were then categorized and combined into the Workgroups below:

• UND Community: Climate and Culture  
• Creativity, Discovery and Innovation  
• Collaboration and Engagement   
• Student Success Through Academic Excellence  
• Student Success Beyond the Classroom   
• Valuing and Supporting UND Employees 
• Fostering Equity and Inclusive Excellence 

For detailed information on each of the Workgroups, please visit the UND Strategic Plan’s Workgroups page. There you’ll find detailed statements describing each of the Workgroups, plus in several cases, a look at some of the key questions that will help guide the work of the group.

Importantly, while the SPC has given each Workgroup a series of questions to consider, the Workgroups are not confined to just these questions.  Each Workgroup is encouraged to fully consider the themes that fall under their topic, and broadly think about their topic’s strategic areas of importance, too.

Ultimately, the Workgroups will be asked to make a recommendation to the SPC on Strategic Pillars — the signature areas of greatest potential for UND around which the new Strategic Plan will be built.

Want to take part? We hope so! Please fill out and submit a self-nomination form if you’d like to join one of the workgroups. If you’ve ever wanted to help shape your University’s future, now’s your chance!

In addition, UND is hosting a hybrid Town Hall event on Monday, April 4, to offer more information about the Workgroups and the Strategic Planning process. We as co-chairs of the SPC will be present to answer questions, as will the co-chairs of the seven Workgroups.

The April 4 Town Hall will be open to all. Anyone interested may attend in person from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 343, O’Kelly Hall, or via Zoom.

The Strategic Planning Committee would like to thank our amazing UND family – the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supportive community, for all the feedback you have given so far. We hope that you will continue to stay involved as we take a deeper dive into these vital areas that will help drive UND’s future.

For more information, or to find ways to be involved and offer your feedback, please visit the UND Strategic Planning website.

— Lynette Krenelka and Jim Mochoruk

Krenelka, executive director of UND’s Teaching Transformation and Development Academy, and Mochoruk, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of History, are the co-chairs of UND’s Strategic Planning Committee.

****

Addendum, April 2: The co-chairs of the seven Strategic Plan Workgroups have now been confirmed. The co-chairs are:

• UND Community: Climate and Culture: Beth Bjerke, Jill Novotny
• Creativity, Discovery and Innovation: Amy Whitney, Vamegh Rasouli, Patrick Henry
• Collaboration and Engagement: Tiffany Ford, Thomasine Heitkamp
• Student Success Through Academic Excellence: Zarrina Azizova, Heather Terrell
• Student Success Beyond the Classroom: Sara Kaiser, Anna Kinney, Andrew Williams
• Valuing and Supporting UND Employees: Becca Berge, Liz Legerski
• Fostering Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Stacey Borboa-Peterson, Anne Kelsch