March 7, 2007

 

TO:                  Mark Taggart

                        Chair of the Faculty

 

FROM:            S. BALLARD

 

RE:                   Draft Strategic Plan

 

I am happy to attach to this message the latest draft of the ECU strategic plan for review and comment.

 

Please note that this part of the plan is the overview.  The details, the programs, and the real value of the planning process will come from the divisional and departmental plans.  Dr. Smith is coordinating this effort.

 

Mark, this part of the plan is getting close to completion.  That said, we welcome constructive suggestions to better articulate the great traditions, the spirit, and the quality of East Carolina University.   We would be pleased to receive comments on this version during the March 20th meeting of the Faculty Senate, or any time until April 4th, 2007.   Anyone who would like to make comments between March 20th and April 4th should send them to Robin Johnson at:    johnsonrob@ecu.edu or c/o 102 Spilman.

 

The planning process began in the fall of 2004 and the Board is anxious to conclude phase 1 (that is, this overview document) during their meeting on April 19 and 20th.    In this regard, there are a few “givens” to the document.  Most importantly, the five strategic directions have been approved by the Board; of course, we will continue to search for the best labels and the best explanations of each of these 5 directions.  Also, the vision is approved in form but not finalized.   In other words, the vision will say something to the effect that we provide opportunities for thousands of students and that their success often starts at ECU.   Finally, please note that this mission is largely new or at least a new articulation of ECU’s job.  It tries to incorporate the best of the old mission, our national responsibilities, and our distinctiveness at ECU.  It is essential that this mission distinguishes ECU from other public universities both within and outside of NC.

 

Thanks for your help on this important document.

 

 

 

EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC PLAN

 

DRAFT

Strategic Plan sb 30707

 

 

VISION

East Carolina University opens doors and transforms lives.  We make a difference in our communities, our state, and our world.  Tomorrow starts here.

 

 

MISSION

 

East Carolina University has a proud heritage of being a teachers college that has served its region with quality and commitment since 1907.  Our highest university award, the Jarvis Medal, recognizes our motto, Servire, or “to serve.”  We believe that no university does a better job of public service than East Carolina University, and we will continue to be a national model of public service.

 

As we celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2007, we have emerged as a national doctoral university, committed to the three traditional missions of the public university:  service, teaching and research. With 25,000 students, we have been the fastest growing university in North Carolina for 5 years.  Our programs are national and global, ranging from a distinctive academic health sciences center to excellence in the liberal arts and professional programs that make a difference for North Carolinians. We are proud of our national leadership in nursing and teaching preparation, and award-winning excellence in the visual and performing arts.  It is a great time to be a part of East Carolina University.

 

The traditional missions of the public university will continue to drive our programs. As a national university, we are committed to the education and transformation of our students and aware that no great university excels without great faculty.  As East Carolina University looks towards its contributions in the next 15 years, our mission has specific dimensions that define the heart and soul of our work.  Our history, our commitment to public service, and our national stature help us to define five areas of distinction of the university:

 

  • Access to our resources: we are committed to using our resources and programs to serve North Carolina, especially as we shape the workforce of tomorrow.  No better example exists than our distance education programs, serving over 5,000 students who cannot be residents of the university;
  • Success of our students:  We are committed to great education in the classroom and to achieving student learning outcomes.  But, preparing tomorrow’s leaders also requires engagement, community service, and the opportunity to develop as leaders;
  • Economic catalyst: No institution is more important to eastern North Carolina than East Carolina University.  We are committed to preparing our workforce, generating the intellectual capital that drives our economy, providing state-of-the-art regional development services, and creating new technologies from our research.

 

  • Helping the underserved:  Perhaps no university does more to help the underserved.  Our health care is available to populations with significant needs throughout the state; we are positively involved in communities in transition that must have new educational  resources; and we are leaders in the creative and entrepreneurial  economies.
  • Creating effective partnerships: We are committed to working with other institutions for the good of North Carolina.  Our health care services are built on foundation of collaboration with regional hospitals. Our Wachovia Partnership East is a national model  for educational cooperation for teacher preparation. Our partnerships with communities in the east have flourished throughout our history.

 

Our commitment to these five areas of distinction will be successful only with strong fidelity to the values that began with East Carolina Teachers Training School.     Values define how we work together.  They provide a compass to help direct us through the inevitable tensions that exist in our society.   They remind us that who we are as people is the most important thing about us. 

 

Among the values that have guided East Carolina University over the past 100 years, five are especially important to our future:

 

  • Respect:  We know that our constituents are diverse, that we live in a global economy, and that open discourse is a necessary component of our educational community.  Respect for others is a foundation of our community.
  • Authenticity:  East Carolina does what it says it will do, whether it is leading North Carolina in teacher preparation, building health sciences that provide primary care, or creating a dental school for underserved populations.  Our goal is to be trustworthy.
  • Transparency:   At the heart of our service culture is a commitment to improving lives, focusing on results, getting better.  We expect to be accountable for what we do.
  • Team Work:     Creating partnerships is a distinctive part of our mission; this comes from our values of working together, sticking together.  We believe in collaboration and we try to consistently ask:  “What is best for East Carolina University?”
  • Commitment and Compassion:  We reach out, help others, and are committed to people.  Our students attest to the soul of the Pirate spirit when they talk about how ECU transformed their lives.  We believe in a first chance and a second chance so that every student is ready for success.

 

 

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS

 

            The strategic directions that will enable us to create these opportunities include: ensuring 21st century education; being the leadership university; and enhancing economic  prosperity, health, and the arts. 

 

 

1.   21st Century Education   

 

The legacy of ECU over its first 100 years is in transforming its students. Education at ECU is about the whole student and making a difference for all of our students.

 

Education today is radically different than it was even a generation ago.  We live  in a knowledge-dependent, technology driven economy.  Our students will compete in the job market with people from Asia, the pacific rim, and eastern Europe as well as the student next door.

 

The university will offer undergraduate and graduate programs that provide the skills and competencies necessary for the 21st century, with strong foundations in arts and sciences, critical thinking, communication, and professional preparation. We expect our students to develop the ability to interact effectively with people from many cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences and to be able to use multiple ways of knowing to solve problems.

 

Because of our history and commitment to innovative approaches to teacher preparation programs and the training of school administrators, we will improve the performance of public schools and hence the college-going rate, especially in eastern North Carolina.   Wachovia Partnership East, our model partnership program with community colleges and the corporate sector, takes our high quality, campus-based teacher education program directly to adult students in remote areas of eastern North Carolina.  Cutting-edge technologies are used to connect our regular faculty to these students, many of whom are teacher aides who previously had no access to a four-year degree.

 

            At Windows on the World in Roper, North Carolina, ECU is involved in an outreach collaborative that brings opportunity to young people who need

support to realize the promise of higher education.  Through our Legislators’ School, we bring middle and high school students to campus to put them in touch with the college experience.

 

 

East Carolina University will make our campus accessible to potential students and reach out to those who cannot come to campus.

 

We are committed to increasing access to higher education for all students.

 

·        Our distance education programs will be expanded.  They will remain high quality and reach thousands of North Carolinians who cannot be campus residents.

·        Pilot programs will be launched for first generation students and the underserved.

·        We will tailor programs to working, low-income adults through weekend and distance education models.

 

We will work closely with high schools in eastern North Carolina to increase college attendance.

 

·        We will seek a federal Trio Grant to support the transition of low-income students from high school to college.

·        Our Early College program will bring high school students on campus to complete coursework and get a head start on the attainment of a degree.

·        Outreach staff will work closely with high school guidance counselors to create seamless transition programs like Teacher Cadets.

·        Innovative partnerships that target minority and underrepresented groups will be designed as part of the Office of Admissions.

·        We will create a $5 million endowment to insure the dissemination of access scholarships.

 

We will insure that all students learn as we prepare them to enter the global marketplace.

 

·        We will provide additional support for minority students to build on ECU’s national prominence in minority retention.

·        We will further enhance our EC Scholars program to include a fully endowed scholarship for a North Carolina student.

·        Because retention is vital, we will make our First Year Experience program among the best in the nation.

·        We will embed meaningful assessments throughout the college experience to insure useful learning outcomes.

·        We will create a $5 million endowment to support international internships and travel experiences for our students.

·        Global competence is required for tomorrow’s economy; ECU will add foreign languages to our general education curriculum.

           

2. The Leadership University         

 

ECU prepares tomorrow’s leaders.  We believe that every student should prepare for leadership; and every employee should have opportunities to enhance his or her leadership skills.

 

As we enter the 21st century, new models of leadership are needed to empower all members of our academic institutions to embrace change.  We will support our faculty and staff and prepare our students for an approach that involves teamwork and collaboration, global perspectives, ethical decision making, and social responsibility.    Thus, ECU emphasizes the concept of leadership through service and transformative change in keeping with its core mission and values.

 

ECU will become a nationally-recognized leadership university through the accomplishment of four key goals:

 

The Center for Change Leadership in Eastern North Carolina (CCLENC) will underscore the importance of service as a vehicle for change.  It will have a regional focus and place particular emphasis on the needs and priorities of the eastern part of the State.

 

Emphases of the CCLENC include:

·        Articulation with economic development initiatives

·        Collaboration with K-12 schools to enhance leadership capacity of students, teachers, and administrators

·        Networking with government officials and community agencies in local areas to build leadership capacity

 

 

The BB & T Leadership Center will be viewed as a model of excellence for working with faculty to embed leadership and service learning components into their courses and programs.  The Center will be housed in the new College of Business/College of Education building and serve as the focal point for developing faculty leadership across the university.

 

Specific objectives include:

    • $10 million funding to support endowed chairs in leadership across colleges and departments
    • Annual leadership conference supported by $1 million endowment
    • A leadership minor in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences

 

ECU’s Leadership Academy will be a model campus resource for developing staff leaders with particular emphasis on women and minorities.

 

Through targeted initiatives, supported by a $1 million endowment, all members of the university community will have opportunities to develop and hone their leadership skills:

    • Scheduled forums and workshops for staff throughout the academic year
    • Women in Leadership Series
    • Minority Leadership Exploration

 

ECU’s Center for Student Success will ensure that all students graduate with demonstrated competencies in leadership.  The Center will also serve as the centerpiece for coordinating the various student leadership and service programs operating in individual colleges and units across campus.  This process begins with orientation and the Freshman seminar and concludes with a Senior seminar in the student’s major.

 

Emphases will include:

    • $5 million endowment to support Center design, operation, and initiatives
    • Identification of leadership pathways and opportunities for students with a particular focus on exposure to ECU’s Global Classroom and diversity perspectives
    • Integration of academic and co-curricular experiences
    • $5 million endowment to support student travel and international experiences

 

3. Building the Economy of the East

 

ECU is the catalyst for the emerging prosperity of Eastern North Carolina.  No region succeeds without a successful doctoral university, committed to economic growth, community development, and training the workforce of tomorrow.

 

Investment in people and programs.  ECU will lead the development of innovation in health sciences, information technology, and consumer products that will be able to compete in the knowledge based economy.  Our innovative capacity began 40 years ago with our academic medical center and the evolution of and outstanding science and health care programs over the last 20 years.  Innovative academic programs, including systems engineering, designed to shape the new engineer, and the M.D/M.B.A. and Science MBA programs will have a significant impact on the region’s economy.  These programs serve as a catalyst for attracting new industry and in building clusters of pharmaceutical, bioscience and medical device companies.  Through investment in interdisciplinary research centers we can help support the regions’ growth in health care, tourism, education, marine trades, and biotechnology.

 

Innovation.  Research at ECU results in world-class technologies, the acceleration of innovation and the creation of an entrepreneurial culture will create new jobs and lead to greater prosperity throughout the East.

 

ECU’s research programs create new products and business ventures.  The University ranks in the top 10 in five measures of technology transfer (the Milken Report). Our best known product, the SpeechEasy device, a major anti-stuttering technology, was recently named one of the 25 best products developed in university labs.

 

ECU will strengthen its Entrepreneurial Initiative  whose mission is to foster practical experience for ECU students in an entrepreneurial  environment, to create regional partnerships and to help the university develop companies and to take products to market.  ECU is one of only five universities in the country with its own network of investors.  The support of this investment community will allow us to develop business opportunities and grow our economy.

 

Impact.   Working with our partners in business, elected officials and economic developers we will help achieve the economic and community development goals for the region. The University will reward faculty and student engagement with the community, will create teams of social and natural scientists to address community socioeconomic issues and will foster a climate which is supportive of innovative partnerships.

 

ECU’s aspirations for the transformation of our economy include:

 

▪ We will be the third largest research university in the University of North Carolina, exceeding $100M in external support for our programs;

 

  Our research emphasizes the health of our citizens.  It is applied, translational, and externally focused.  We will provide the knowledge to solve tomorrow’s problems;

 

  We are nationally known for technology transfer…using our knowledge to make lives better.  We are committed to being among the nation’s best in creating new technologies to help people;

 

  Better economies depend on communities.  We will be recognized for having regional development services that are among the best in the nation.

 

4. Health Care and Medical Innovation

 

ECU saves lives.

 

We are nationally known for primary health care and family medicine in our Brody School of Medicine.  We are a world leader in minimally invasive surgical technologies.  Our colleges of Allied Health and Nursing are among the nation’s best, and both meet critical state needs and train North Carolinians to provide health care to North Carolina.  We are committed to addressing the state crisis in oral health care…a prime example of our unique ability to provide health services to underserved areas.

 

ECU is a driver of economic development through its clinical excellence, bio-medical research, and growth of our comprehensive academic health center.  ECU has a higher percentage of physicians, nurses and allied health professionals who practice in this state than any other institution in North Carolina.  These graduates are committed to rural practice, represent a substantial source of workforce for health care agencies and contribute significantly to the region’s economy and quality of life.   Addressing North Carolina’s health care needs and strengthening the state’s capacity for economic growth are fundamental to our work even in a time of an increasingly challenging health care economy.

 

ECU faculty members are internationally known for their work in robotic surgery, gastric bypass and the development of the SpeechEasy anti-stuttering device. ECU is an academic health center where the best educational technologies help prepare health care professionals to work in settings that range from complex academic health centers to individual clinics in small towns and communities.  We are proud of our tradition of nurturing leaders for tomorrow’s health care by teaching practitioners to work in teams and to share accountability for excellence in clinical care.  Our clinical education programs care for all patients regardless of gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.  Diverse learning environments help students learn best practices, build stronger health care provider teams of the future, and stimulate research aimed at improving the health and well-being of all citizens of North Carolina.

 

To address the health concerns of the region, biomedical research focuses on the study of acute and chronic conditions prevalent in our area, especially obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease.  Accelerating knowledge development that solves the mysteries of human illness and offers the promise of new cures and better therapies is a priority and a responsibility that ECU takes seriously.

 

As we build a legacy for North Carolina, our excellence in teaching, patient care and research will assist the region’s citizens in leading healthier lives.  Our vision is to find efficient and successful delivery systems for underserved areas, while educating quality health professionals who will staff our hospitals, clinics and community health departments for the future.

 

Our dedication to the health of our citizens includes these aspirations:

 

Programs and Services

 

§         We will expand the Brody School of Medicine class size to 120 students, adding 3-5 medical specialties to the faculty and service mix, and we will extend clinical services to every county in the eastern region through effective partnerships with local providers. 

 

Facilities

 

§         We are committed to three major new facilities: the East Carolina Heart Institute, School of Dentistry building and 10 regional dental practices, and the Family Medicine Center.

 

Research

 

§         We will expand bio-medical and health-related research funding to $75 million a year, primarily in the areas of clinical and translational research in rural health care, health disparities, diabetes and obesity, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, sensori-motor defects and quality care and patient safety.

 

Outreach

           

           We will establish BSOM East, a primary care satellite campus in one of

the rural areas of Eastern North Carolina.  This will enable the school to continue its commitment to primary care and service to rural populations while growing the subspecialty depth necessary for financial viability and physician training needs on the Greenville campus. 

                                                        

5.  The Arts, Culture and Entertainment

 

ECU lights up lives. Its students, faculty and graduates inform, challenge and entertain audiences nationwide and inspire the hope and the pride of the region.

 

East Carolina has a storied tradition in the arts, from theatre and dance to chamber music and jazz to sculpture and metal design. Our former students receive honors across the gamut of the artistic world, from Rick Atkinson’s multiple Pulitzer prizes to Howell Binkley’s Tony award to Sandra Bullock’s box office successes to Kevin Williamson’s hair-raising triumphs in Scream and its successors.

 

Our faculty members have national prestige and distinction. They have performed at Carnegie Hall, had their work displayed at the Smithsonian, and created sculptures, painting, jewelry and music that have won worldwide honors. ECU performances in eastern North Carolina bring top-tier performances to audiences year-round.

 

Pirate athletics contests draw hundreds of thousands of fans every year. They come from Eastern North Carolina and beyond to support ECU student-athletes, to revel in the thrill of victory, to oppose the legions wearing any color but purple. The Pirate nation, best witnessed on a clear October afternoon in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, is a remarkable force that gives the entire region pride, thrills, hope and pleasure. More importantly, we take pride in the academic success of our athletes and their development as tomorrow’s leaders.

 

The economic impact of the arts and entertainment is often overlooked. It is seen, of course, in ticket sales, in meals bought, in hotel rooms filled. But perhaps more importantly, it elevates the quality of life of the region. The “creative economy” speaks not just to dollars changing hands around a headliner event, but to the attractiveness of the region as a place to live and work and invest. It speaks to and of the soul of the East, filling its days and evenings with delight, wonder and magic. It helps spirits soar and optimism to bloom.

 

ECU’s history in the artistic arena is remarkable; its future one of transformation. In the next decade, we will:

 

Plan, finance and build a Performing Arts Center second to none. This facility will provide venues for rehearsal, performance and exhibition that will become the setting for even better performances. It will be a magnet for the region, not only for audiences, but also for artists and performers.

 

In partnership with the City and private entrepreneurs, forge a true renaissance of downtown Greenville. Great universities help great neighborhoods grow around them. ECU’s arts and athletics, its spirit of initiative and creativity, its expanding student body and work force will provide the foundation of a downtown that will draw patrons to restaurants, galleries, shops, offices, hotels and cabarets.

 

Strengthen the athletics program to allow it to build the conference relationships and venues that best reflect the university and the region. The university will find the right conference fit. It will expand the football stadium and improve other fields. It will be a national model for doing intercollegiate athletics the right way…with integrity, with commitment, and always with student success at the center.