SDSU to Launch Comprehensive Strategic Planning Process

Hundreds of campus and community members are slated to attend the Sept. 23 kickoff of San Diego State University’s strategic planning process and the discussion group sessions that will immediately follow. 
The effort marks the first comprehensive, all-university strategic planning process involving all levels and all areas of campus. The kickoff event will be held Monday, Sept. 23, from 8:15 to 9 a.m. in Montezuma Hall of the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. 
Following the kickoff, a series of discussion group sessions will take place over a three-day period from Sept. 23 through Sept. 25. All members of the campus community, including alumni and SDSU parents and families, are encouraged to register to attend a session via an online form (an RSVP is not required to attend the kickoff event). 
At the close of the year-long initiative, SDSU will have a single plan for the main campus, SDSU Imperial Valley and the proposed development of SDSU Mission Valley. This plan will also incorporate University Senate resolution-defined principles related to diversity, equity and inclusion. 
“My heartfelt desire is that all members of our community will contribute their voice to this process. By 2020, these important perspectives and ideas will yield a Strategic Plan that is distinct and reflective of SDSU's research and teaching capacity that will accelerate the professional pathways for our students and act as a multiplier of economic impact for the region,” SDSU President Adela de la Torre said in an all-campus message, announcing the launch of the centralized strategic planning website, “Reimagining the Future: A Strategic Plan for SDSU.

With the kickoff, the university’s community will be involved in a series of group discussions that will lead to the identification of strategic priorities to drive SDSU for the next five years, and beyond. 
SDSU has chosen a deliberative process that respects the university’s shared governance principles, which calls on the collective involvement of students, faculty, staff and administrators in decisions related to policy and procedures. 
“This process underscores the importance of respect, responsibility, and both open and regular communication,” said SDSU Provost and Senior Vice President Salvador Hector Ochoa, co-chair of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. 
“Because the finalized strategic plan will serve as the framework for the university’s immediate and multi-year priorities, we have designed a process to ensure that every single member of our community is able to share their experiences, perspectives and ideas,” Ochoa said. “To design a strong and sustainable plan that will have a positive impact on our campus for generations, we must draw on our collective knowledge and expertise.” 
SDSU Chief Diversity Officer J. Luke Wood, co-chairing the steering committee with Ochoa, said the final plan is meant to serve as both an inspirational and aspirational plan for the university’s future.
“We are in a position to redefine our future, one that has the potential to drastically reshape the student experience, accelerate research and improve our teaching practices — all with the intention of graduating students and positively impacting our regional and global communities,” Wood said. 
“This experience will be a first for many within our campus community, and a one-time experience for some,” Wood said. “No matter where you are within our organization, we want and need your input and ideas to shape a powerful and lasting plan.”