Letter from Jerry Jakubowski - Strategic Planning: Past, Present, and Future

I realize that much has been done during the past two years to plan for our future - referred to as the “Rose-Hulman 2015 Project.” The purpose in my writing you is to apprise you of where we stand relative to this planning and to ask for your input. Let me put the cart before the horse and first tell you where we need your input.

Four themes emerged as a result of last year’s efforts (Phase II). These four themes will play a central role as we enter the next phase in the strategic planning process (Phase III). We want to bring closure to Phase II before we begin Phase III, so we are seeking your input on the four themes that emerged. At the end of this document are instructions on how to send your comments via Banner Web. Let me now put the horse back in front of the cart by briefly summarizing in chronological order what has been done previously in our planning process.

During the 2004-05 academic year (Phase I), hundreds of members of the Rose-Hulman community suggested critical components of a ten-year vision. Their input was cataloged, sorted, summarized, and discussed and now serves as an invaluable resource for future planning teams. The first use of this resource was made by the three groups created in the following year.

During 2005-06 academic year (Phase II), Bob Bright and Bill Schindel, last year’s chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees, led a study of central elements that were most critical to Rose-Hulman’s continued success. The study was modeled after a diagram in James Collins’ book, Good to Great. That diagram depicts three partially overlapping circles like those of the classic Venn diagram. In Collins’ terms, one circle encompasses those things that we are passionate about. A second encloses what we can be best at, while the third captures drivers of our economic engine. Collins argues that the intersection point of the rings provides core elements of an organization’s path to greatness. Teams of faculty, staff, alumni and industry representatives were formed for each ring to answer the following questions: What are we passionate about? What can we be best at? What drives our economic engine?

The “what we can be best at” team became the “niche team” as they adapted their ring theme to better fit Rose-Hulman. Similarly, the “economic engine” team decided early on that the fundamental driver of the Institute’s economic engine (tuition revenue, gifts, grants, and other income) was the value added to our students’ lives. They became the “value added” team. The three team ream reports can be found at http://www.rose-hulman.edu/planning/.

The last step of Phase II of the process was to identify the intersection of the three rings. The cabinet made a first attempt at a deliberately succinct statement in a draft found at http://www.rose-hulman.edu/planning/. The “Institute Planning Group” comprised of the cabinet, academic department heads, and staff supervisors met on August 17, 2006 and dubbed the document’s major intersection points as the “Fab Four” for ease of reference.

The Planning Group made excellent suggestions to clarify the statements regarding personal growth and to make sure they applied to the entire Rose-Hulman community - students, faculty, staff, and outside persons that we touch. However, rather than creating a second draft, they recommended that the first draft be shared with you for your feedback. Can these statements serve to focus our efforts this year to update strategic goals and create a long-range, strategic plan that will lay the foundation for our next development campaign?

Please read and reflect on the “Fab Four” and discuss them with your colleagues. Then, log-on to Banner Web, click on the Agreement/Authorization/Survey section, and provide your comments, as well as any particular suggestions for refinement. Receiving your feedback as well as hearing your ideas for improvement will be helpful in gauging community reaction. It would be most helpful if we can receive your feedback by September 25.

I look forward to receiving your insights. I will report to you the collected feedback and will send a revised version of the summary statements.

Thanks,

Jerry