Readers,
As we noted in the Wire several weeks ago, Wheaton has begun a new strategic planning process to solidify its goals for the next five years. But what, exactly, is strategic planning? Why should students care if all of us plan to be gone within five years anyway?
A strategic plan is essentially a guiding document that charts an organization’s priorities for the medium- to long-term. All organizations have them in place as a blueprint for a path forward.
Wheaton’s last strategic plan was crafted nearly a decade ago, but that’s an eternity in higher education, which is why President Hanno has begun the effort to write a new one this year.
As one of the student representatives to the Strategic Planning Task Force, it’s been a pleasure to facilitate the listening sessions whereby we’ve gathered input for he strategic plan. For a variety of reasons, turnout to the student listening forums last week was relatively low.
So I’m writing this letter in the hopes of encouraging more students to voice their hopes and aspirations for Wheaton. We have a lot of things we love about our school and things that we want Wheaton to do better. And we’ll want those things as alums, too, because it means more success and visibility for our alma mater.
Make sure you have a voice in Wheaton’s future. You can get in touch with me, my fellow task force member Siara Padilla ’17, or even President Hanno, the co-chair. Or you can fill out the online submission form on the Wheaton website, where you can respond to exactly the questions we have been asking people at listening sessions. Just search for “2015 Strategic Planning” on the website.
Your participation is crucial for Wheaton’s continued growth and prosperity.