Strategic Plan Progress to be Shared at All-Campus Showcase
About 54 percent of all goals have been accomplished, and committees will share their progress to date during the Oct. 26 event.
Since officially launching the five-year strategic plan, We Rise We Defy: Transcending Borders, Transforming Lives[BROKEN LINK], in August 2020, the university has completed about 54% of all goals defined.
The strategic plan, a roadmap for SDSU through 2025, positions the university for greater regional, statewide and global impact, with a dedicated focus to expanding research and scholarship, student success initiatives, philanthropy and among other priorities.
“Many of the goals we defined more than one year ago were considered aspirational — and, yet, here we are achieving and accomplishing what started out, for some, as grand ideas and big dreams,” said SDSU President Adela de la Torre.
“Those who know us — our one SDSU community — will not find it surprising that we have accomplished so much in this time,” de la Torre said. “We have an amazingly talented, creative and innovative community of people who deeply care about the success of our students and our faculty and staff, and who strive to have a positive impact on and beyond our campus.”
To detail what has been accomplished since the plan’s launch, the Strategic Plan Showcase will be held Tuesday, Oct. 26, from noon to 2 p.m. on Centennial Walkway. The event is open to all students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to learn about SDSU’s progress to date under the five-year plan.
“Through our near and long-term goals, we are strengthening our academic programs and student success initiatives, expanding our research and global contributions to a world that needs innovative solutions to challenges of our time,” said Agnes Wong Nickerson, interim vice president for Business and Financial Affairs and Chief Financial Officer.
Nickerson, who serves as co-chair of the strategic plan implementation committee with J. Luke Wood, vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity, said that while the strategic plan was created for five years, its impact will be felt for generations.
All told, five main priorities and 54 key activities[BROKEN LINK] were developed out of a month’s long, all-campus strategic planning process, during which thousands of SDSU community members provided input.
In addition to achieving 54% of all goals, groups for two priorities in particular — Becoming a Premier Public Research University: A New Kind of HSI and Equity and Inclusion in Everything We Do — have completed nearly 70% of their goals to date.
“We have been immensely successful in implementing our plan because our community has both passion and purpose,” Wood said. “This is powerful: together, we are transforming our university for the betterment of our one SDSU community, our region and the communities we serve around the world, goal by goal.”
Some of the many new initiatives developed or launched under the strategic plan include the following:
- Nine new proposals have been developed for new collaborative research centers, with an additional four projected by May 2023.
- SDSU Imperial Valley is now offering the four-year liberal studies degree to high school graduates, a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics to transfer students and is also serving the university’s first cohort of graduate students in the Master of Science degree program in homeland security.
- A new Climate Action Plan for the SDSU is under development and a new senior sustainability officer will be hired by the year’s end to help lead universitywide sustainability initiatives.
- A new San Diego-Imperial Valley shuttle service is being piloted to more easily connect the SDSU and SDSU Imperial Valley campuses and to facilitate shared academic, research, and student engagement activities across both campuses.
- The Basic Needs & Wellness Toolkit for faculty, staff and student leaders has been implemented to promote and educate students about counseling, economic crisis support and overall wellness.
- SDSU has received federal designation as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI).
- Eight heritage month celebrations were held in 2020 and 10 more are being held this year.
- Several mural projects have been introduced on campus, including several as part of the Social Justice Mural Project at Art North, and one at the Black Resource Center by internationally renowned graffiti artist Maxx Moses.
