Shaping the future for U: The administration's big plans for change in the coming years

By Benjamin Engle

In the spring of 2006, Union College was determined to develop a document to define a vision and direction for the College. The finalized document, "A Strategic Plan for Union College," was affirmed by the Board of Trustees at their February 2007 meeting.

According to President Stephen Ainlay's letter that prefaced the Plan, this program "can serve to unify us further, giver coherence to our educational mission, point to elements that differentiate us, and move us into the future."

The origins of the Strategic Plan came about in 2006 when a planning group made up of representatives of the trustees, administration, faculty, students and alumni began collecting information about Union's environment and opinions from the campus community regarding the College's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. After identifying the issues surrounding the College, the planning group created possible strategies to address those questions.

The questions that the planning group faced are reflected in the Strategic Plan through the document's structure. The Plan is comprised of six elements, three of which are "foundational" and three of which are "differentiators."

"All of these elements are important to our future. They were when we drafted the plan and they remain so today," Ainlay said. "Each foundational and differentiating element has a number of sub-elements that give specificity to the plan."

Foundational elements are considered by the College to be important to the foundation of any effective liberal arts institution of Union's caliber. The Plan defines the foundational elements to be academic quality, an optimal learning environment and the wise stewardship of resources.

The issue of academic quality is to formulate strategies to maintain the College's academic strengths while addressing areas that need improvement. The Plan's goal in this subject is to maintain the foundation of Union's identity, "Our goal is to educate intellectually engaged, innovative, and open-minded citizens of the world, who will, as Eliphalet Nott urged, carry their humanity with them into that world."

Through an optimal learning environment, the Plan's goal is to develop a "Union of people and ideas" where members of the campus community will value inclusiveness and have concern for the well-being of others. Additionally, the Plan states that in order to achieve this "more perfect Union," the College must preserve and enhance its resources.

Elements that are differentiators are core aspects that set the College apart from other schools and give it its own identity. The differentiators are "we are small yet global and diverse," "we are committer to integrating engineering with the liberal arts," and "we are about innovation inspired by our historic past."

"The differentiators are aimed at drawing attention to things that make us distinctive among our peers," Ainlay explained. "I like it that the differentiators all involve a tension. This creative tension is part of what makes Union an exciting place to work and study."

While it has been almost three years since the Board of Trustees affirmed the Strategic Plan, the document continues to be the guiding force behind the future of Union College.

"The Plan was never intended to be 'placed on a shelf' when it was completed," said Ainlay, "Instead, it was intended to be a living document that guided the practices of the College. I'm pleased to say it does just that."

Currently, the College uses the Plan as a guide when making decisions about general college planning as well as practices determined in the various committees that meet on campus. Additionally, the Strategic Plan is a guide for setting specific goals for College fundraising and campus-wide initiatives.

In addition to students and faculty working to use the Strategic Plan as a guide for the future, the Board of Trustees understands the importance of having the Plan on campus as a living document.

"The Board continues to focus on implementation," said Board of Trustees Chair Frank L. Messa '73, "At every Board meeting some component of the Strategic Plan is highlighted for analysis and discussion at the full Board meeting."

Some goals that have been implemented as a result of the Strategic Plan include the general improvement of the Becker Career Center, establishing the Office of Minerva Programs, and obtained New York State approval for several new and existing interdisciplinary programs including Asian Studies (formerly East Asian Studies), Bioengineering, Environmental Policy, Environmental Science, and added the Computational track in Neuroscience.

As a result of the new and improved Environmental Policy and Environmental Science majors, the Plan helped improve campus sustainability and the protection of natural resources. Through this initiative, the College has created U-Sustain, a campus committee of students, staff, and faculty to identify sustainable priorities for Union. The initiative also led to the establishment of Presidential Green Grants that has supported eco-friendly projects including the expansion of the Octopus' Organic Garden (across from Golub House), support for the construction of the Straw Bale house in Octopus' Garden, an energy audit of Golub House and Fox Hall, as well as other student and faculty-driven initiatives.

Additionally, the College has used the Plan to guide itself through the economic downturn.

"The Plan has become even more important in the face of the economic crisis that has gripped the world generally and higher education specifically," Ainlay said, "We refer to the plan frequently when discussing cost-saving initiatives. We are careful not to make any decisions that would compromise the aims of the Strategic Plan."

Union has also used the Strategic Plan to create a more diverse campus atmosphere, which is evident in the fact that the Class of 2013 is the most diverse in the College's history.

"The Plan's emphasis on diversity led to the creation of a multi-faith prayer and meditation room, the appointment of the Senior Director for Campus Diversity and Affirmative Action, and the appointment of the Director of Multicultural Affairs and her office in the Reamer Campus Center," added Ainlay.

Another example of the Strategic Plan's impact on Union can be seen through work done by the College on facilities. The Plan is guiding the College on how to improve the Campus while maintaining architect Joseph Ramée's original plan.

"Under the element 'wise stewardship of resources' the plan talks about preserving our historic campus and reinvesting in facilities to ensure they support our academic objectives," Ainlay stated. "This led us to plan the new Peter Irving Wold Center for Science and Engineering. Consistent with the plan, we will renew and renovate a number of other buildings on campus over the next few years."

As the College looks towards the future, the Strategic Plan remains an important tool for improving all aspects of Union.

"We have made significant progress on every one of the foundational and differentiating elements. In fact, I ask each one of my Vice Presidents to report activities aimed at advancing the Strategic Plan and I, in turn, report these to the Board of Trustees which remains very supportive of the Plan and the direction articulated within the Plan," Ainlay said. "I, like the Board, believe the Plan has it right. These are the elements we need to pursue to make Union the place we want it to be and to make Union a destination of choice for students."

"We have accomplished much, even in the face of economic challenges, but there is much more work to be done," Ainlay added. "The Strategic Plan will continue to direct us as we move ahead."

Originally published in Union's Concordy on 10/29/09