1. VCU Strategic Plan 2025: Fall Town Halls

2. Overview Background: Planning Timeline
Current plan, Quest for Distinction, in its final year
Next plan designed to build upon Quest’s legacy
Focus on access, excellence and distinction
Set VCU direction and priorities through FY 2025
Planning Timeline
We are here
BOV approval F W
2017
2018 Sp Su
2016
Structure & Listening Sessions
Themes and Goals
Implementation Plans
Launch
Reporting and Tracking

3. National Prominence Our aim: Progress to date:
Determine existing areas of excellence
Understand capacity and priorities
Identify best practices and strategies for raising national prominence
Formulate recommendations
Progress to date:
Four task groups launched
Research
Educational
Awards and Distinctions
Strategic Communications
Baselines established; background research conducted
Preliminary goals submitted for consideration

4. National Prominence We will make VCU distinctive by:
Emphasizing “firsts”, i.e., VCU’s areas of innovation
Focusing on our strengths
Urban, community-engaged research university with a comprehensive health science campus
Nationally recognized School of the Arts and Health Sciences programs
Distinctive student demographic of first-generation and underserved populations
Ongoing and future potential for interdisciplinary and integration of real-world learning
Civic engagement and impact on our community
“Getting the word out”
Awareness is a precursor to prominence
Coordinated communications are key
…our enduring commitment: that we are a premier research university focused on the positive progress of humanity through discovery and innovation
National prominence for VCU as an institution and/or any of its units is a rising tide that lifts all boats

5. National Prominence Strengths:
Our strength and distinction lies in playing to our collective strengths as a Research Intensive, Community Engaged, (young) Urban University that is comprehensive University well positioned to promote our interdisciplinary research including both campuses working together. 
We distinguish ourselves by achieving national prominence in research, scholarship, and creative expression, honorific recognitions for our trainees and faculty, and the quality of our students as they perform in a diverse modern workforce
Our distinctiveness in research is advanced by leveraging existing research strengths, by broadening our collaborations through a more expansive (contracts, centers, Multi institutional) research funding portfolio, and through innovative and entrepreneurial research that is impactful nationally and in our community
Our distinctiveness is advanced by communicating our compelling story strategically, uniformly, and with a VCU "make it real" impact-fullness that is supported and that is projected locally, nationally, and to the world.
Areas of Improvement:
Our distinctiveness could be enhanced through focused effort in support of distinctive demographic of first generation and underserved student populations, with effective strategies to support financially and academically those students at higher risk

6. Student Success
Our aim: VCU is distinctive for providing students access and opportunities by leveraging our presence as a premier national research university and capitalizing on our urban location to connect students’ academic learning with real world experiences to prepare them as global citizens and leaders

7. Student Success Our Goals:
Prepare students to be creative innovators and entrepreneurs who make a difference in an increasingly diverse and connected world
Enhance the university culture supporting student success

8. Activating & Living Diversity
Our aim: VCU is committed to, reflects and pursues inclusive excellence in all that it is, does and aspires to be. To leverage diversity is to take full advantage of the unique character and quality of VCU to make the whole greater than the individual parts

9. Activating & Living Diversity
Our goals:
Embracing, engaging and empowering difference
Becoming a role model for other universities

10. Culture of Appreciation
Our aim:
VCU strives to develop a university-wide culture of appreciation that is reflected in day-to-day behaviors, activities and campus life, which will be enhanced by formal and informal recognition and awards
VCU develops and maintains a climate that fosters a sense of belonging, where all students and employees see themselves as an integral and important part of the VCU community
VCU nurtures a university environment where all people feel pride what they do, have mutual trust with colleagues and are treated fairly and with respect

11. Culture of Appreciation
Our goals:
Embed a culture of appreciation in daily interactions
Develop a climate based on trust and respect that fosters a sense of belonging

12. Collective Urban Transformation
Our aim: Connect VCU resources with partners in the arts, environmental sustainability, education, social services, and economic development sectors to address community-identified needs and opportunities.

13. Collective Urban Transformation
Our Goals:
Engage students, faculty, and staff in initiatives that improve critical education and workforce development indicators that present challenges for the Greater Richmond region
Align VCU’s assets to contribute to specific metrics focused on enhancing the health and wellbeing of Central Virginia’s residents
Enhance access to VCU’s resources to improve the Richmond region’s economic and cultural vitality to businesses and residents

14. Naming VCU’s Next Strategic Plan

15. Potential Plan Names
Transformation 2025: Excellence, Innovation & Access
Doing What's Difficult: Transforming Lives & Our Communities
Transformation 2025: Defining VCU Distinction
Defining Distinction 2025: VCU’s Path for Progress

16. Organizing Principles

17. In looking at the work groups’ preliminary themes and goals (see handout for reference), we began to see some areas of overlap – key words, ideas and underlying principles that they all had in common.

19. Transformation
Access
Innovation
Excellence

20. Next Steps