Planning Program Strategic Directions

EastCarolina University

September 30, 2007

Vision Statement

A planning program that educates professional planners and leads in undergraduate education.

Mission Statement

The Planning Program is committed to excellence in education, basic and applied research, and service to the community at large.  The mission of the Program is to provide opportunities for students, within the context of the multidisciplinary framework, to achieve excellence, envision their future, grow intellectually and pursue a professional planning position or a graduate education.  The planning program is designed to prepare professional planners for both the public and the private sectors primarily serving the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the United States as well as other national and international communities.  The Program is expected to:

• Educate planning professionals with a high level of technical competence and an understanding of the environment in which planning works
• Prepare graduates to plan, anticipate and adapt to changing circumstances
• Encourage graduates to provide leadership and to meet the challenge of creating a better tomorrow for society.
• Uphold the principle of promoting sensitivity to cultural, ethnic, and gender differences and actively work to encourage diversity in its program.

The primary goals of the program are:

1. Pursue excellence in undergraduate planning education.
2. Conduct and disseminate research that enhances the knowledge and application of the "theory and practice" of planning.
3. Enrich student academic and professional experience.
4. Engage in collaborative partnership with local governments to promote economic development in the region.
5. Enhance the teaching and research infrastructure of the program.

In addition to the above goals, the program explores continually for opportunities that can permit the development of long-range initiatives.  The long-term initiatives include:

• Enhancing education /curriculum components.
• Establishing a community development and design center that focuses on improving the quality of life in the region.
• Exploring opportunities to enhance external grant/funding resources.
• Developing new programs that would complement the current focus areas of the program.
• Developing a Masters Program in Urban and Regional planning by enhancing the current graduate concentration areas.