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Invitation to Community Forum

October 14, 2010

Students, faculty and staff invited to weigh in on question of Northwestern's future direction

Where should Northwestern be headed?

That’s the question that more than 125 students, faculty and staff have been wrestling with for the past year. Now, the rest of the University community will have a chance to weigh in.

Community forums will be held later this month to elicit feedback on the University’s strategic plan, which is now in draft form. The community forums will be held:

  • Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to noon in Wieboldt Hall Room 147 on the Chicago campus
  • Oct. 26 from 9 to 11 a.m. in the Allen Center Tribune Auditorium on the Evanston campus

The forums are open to all Northwestern students, faculty and staff.

“This is very much a plan in progress and your input will help shape Northwestern’s strategic vision for the next decade,” said Provost Dan Linzer, who is leading the strategic planning effort. “I hope that people will join President Schapiro and me for what should be a lively discussion of the plan.”

The strategic plan is the result of seven work groups comprised of students, faculty and staff that met from February through June this year. The groups focused on specific areas and came up with a series of recommendations.  The committees were:

  • Areas of Distinction: Scholarship, Research, and Creative Work
  • Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
  • Beyond the Classroom
  • Globalization
  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Strategic Partnerships
  • Purple Sky

“Although the seven groups were asked to address different priorities for the University, there were certain themes that ran through the groups, such as collaboration, diversity, real-world impact and balance,” Linzer said.

Two other work groups, one focusing on branding and communications, and one focusing on infrastructure, will begin work this year, using information developed from the work to date.