Happy New Year! I hope the first week of the winter quarter is going smoothly as you ease back into classes. Our campus was very quiet these last several weeks, and I’m happy to see our students back in Brownstones, the Ray, the DePaul Center – and all the other places that buzz with your energy.
In the coming weeks, you will hear much more about the next steps in designing DePaul’s future. I realize it’s been a minute since inauguration, when I challenged you to believe we can transform DePaul into THE national model in higher education. We will begin where we left off by connecting the strongest parts of our existing efforts and building on them using the design framework to create a new strategic plan.
To get us started, I invite you to attend
Designing DePaul on Jan. 26 at 10 a.m. in the Holtschneider Performance Center. At this event, I will share an update about the current state of the university, explain the next steps in our strategic planning process, and answer your questions. I welcome you to attend in person or via livestream, by
registering here. Please also keep an eye on your email for a short survey, asking for your input ahead of the presentation.
From there, I will host a series of design sessions through the end of March. These interactive sessions will be a deep dive into the
five focus areas: digital presence; program distinction and expansion; philanthropic expansion; geographic and community expansion; and institutional efficiency and effectiveness. You are welcome to sign up for the sessions that best fit your interests, and I will share registration details soon. Recordings of each session also will be made available.
We will focus on creating a roadmap to establish interdisciplinary learning and research centers that prepare students to solve issues related to poverty, health disparities, sustainability, and human-computer interactions. Ultimately, these sessions will help to inform the development of the strategic plan – centered on our Catholic, Vincentian mission – to address the major shifts we’re experiencing in higher education.
It will take every single member of our community to transform DePaul into THE national model, which is why I highly encourage you to join me for our
kickoff meeting on Jan. 26, participate in the design sessions, respond to survey questions – and encourage your colleagues and peers to do the same. I look forward to our continued work together and can’t wait to truly get started.