Howdy,
The Department of Physics & Astronomy has launched a strategic planning process. It is important that the department has a solid plan for moving forward in this ever changing world as we strive to create leading-edge research and deliver on our educational mission. The strategic plan we develop will guide our decisions and actions moving forward.
The administration of the Department of Physics and Astronomy is guided by a Mid-Range Plan (MRP) produced in 2015. The MRP outlined faculty hiring priorities for a timeframe of 7-10 years and provided a set of recommendations related to departmental organization. Another planning process that was performed in 2017 had a narrow scope and reaffirmed some of the highest priority recommendations identified in 2015 MRP. Since then significant changes at the department and college level have occurred. These changes prompt reevaluation of the 2015 MRP recommendations. Moreover, there is no strategic, long-term plan that guides all aspects of the departmental mission.
With approval from Dean Valen Johnson, the department seeks to create a strategic plan that will guide the department’s growth and evolution over the coming 5-10 years. The plan is expected to cover research, graduate, undergraduate, and public outreach programs, and also provide recommendations related to governing, administration, services, climate and diversity issues. A critical goal of the strategic-planning process is to engage all constituents (faculty, researchers, staff, administrators, students, employers, donors, etc.) to achieve inclusivity and broad buy-in and to ensure the plan’s successful implementation. The planning phase is expected to take the next 7-8 months, concluding in December of 2021, and the implementation phase is expected to start in 2022. To see a timeline of our process, CLICK HERE.
From the outset, I want to assure you that the strategic planning process will be inclusive. To that end, I have asked a number of faculty, students, and staff colleagues and external representatives to work as a Steering Committee, to solicit and consider input from the various department units and institutes. Please watch for announcements in the coming months about how you can participate with the Steering Committee in our strategic planning process. In the meantime, you can learn more about the process we will use for our strategic planning activities, HERE.
Thank you for helping make this department the best it can be.
– Grigory V. Rogachev, Professor and Head
Committee Co-Chair, Associate Department Head, Professor
