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Charge and process

The most recent LAS Strategic Plan has covered the five-year span 2010-2015. Conceived as a broad, flexible document, it has served the college well. It is time to revisit, review, and update this plan, to reflect how we view ourselves as actors within the university and the national higher education community. The new strategic plan will help frame our short- and long-term aspirations, help communicate them to internal and external audiences, set priorities, establish specific goals, and identify measures and metrics to assess progress.

The dean has assembled a small steering committee, including representatives of the LAS Representative Assembly (RA), the LAS Faculty Senate Caucus (FSC), the LAS Student Council, the LAS Department Chairs, the college’s alumni, and the college. The steering committee will coordinate the work of several planning groups which will each focus on a particular aspect of the college’s mission and operations. The steering committee will integrate the recommendations of the planning groups into a draft for our new strategic plan which will be available for open review and comments through a wide variety of venues (“town hall” meetings, a web-based forum, discussions by the RA and FSC, etc). At the end of the comment period, the planning groups and steering committee will assemble the comments and integrate them into the final version of the new strategic plan. The process should ideally be completed in early 2016. news

So far, the steering committee has met once and identified the following topics for discussion by planning groups:
• Our role in general education
• Opportunities for new undergraduate and graduate programs in LAS
• Research in LAS
• Our contribution to broader impact and engagement
• Diversity in the college
Work will start in earnest next fall.

What we need from you now
Please nominate colleagues or yourself for one of the planning groups. We are looking for broad representation across departments, faculty, staff, and students, and welcome diversity in all its facets.

Please send your nominations to Gaye Simonson gmsimon@iastate.edu. Thank you!

LAS Strategic Plan Steering Committee Members
Beate Schmittmann, Dean
Arne Hallam, Associate Dean
Jean Goodwin (English, LAS Representative Assembly)
Kyle Henry (Psychology, President of LAS Student Council)
Frank Krennrich (Physics, Department Chair)
Mack Shelley (Political Science, Department Chair)
Rob Wallace (EEOB, LAS Faculty Senate Caucus)
Der Vang (P&S)
TBD, Alumni representative (Dean’s Advisory Council)