UW continues strategic plan adjustments

Affordable access to high quality education, a welcoming and supportive community, and opportunities to create innovation and economic vitality were some of the ideas listed in the “values” section of the document.

It also included five university objectives. They are: “ensure student success,” “pursue institutional excellence,” “provide a supportive community,” “engage and serve the state” and “ensure financial stability and diversification”.

“I do feel that this has had a look from so many angles and I feel there’s a sense this has been driven from the ground up and the top down and in the middle from every direction,” UW President Ed Seidel said of the draft during a meeting with the university’s Board of Trustees earlier this month.

The trustees provided their feedback on the plan, with multiple members commending how well the information was distilled into one short document.

Some of the board members also raised concern with some of the specific wording in the plan.

Trustee Dave True took issue with a bullet point under the “values” section that lists the university’s partnership with “thriving Wyoming and tribal communities in the creation and exchange of knowledge and resources”.

He said that by specifically mentioning tribal communities, the clause was excluding other groups, such as the LGBTQ community or the energy community.

“My fear is that by inclusion of a certain group, you’re naturally excluding all other groups,” True said.

Trustee John McKinley added that the use of the work “thriving” in reference to Wyoming communities could exclude areas that are struggling.

Provost Kevin Carman said the group wanted to ensure that Indigenous communities felt included in the plan, and that the phrase was written in an effort to recognize tribal sovereignty for those who don’t necessarily identify as Wyoming residents.

“This is still a document that needs to play well throughout the entire state,” True said.

He also requested that the document include an additional objective outlining the university’s mission to reflect Wyoming culture and values.

Trustee Michelle Sullivan said she wasn’t sure what True meant by Wyoming culture and values, and was concerned the phrase was too vague.

“I don’t believe that we are as a state a homogenous set of values, and I think we could invite a whole range of difficulty with that,” she said.

Trustee Kermit Brown agreed with True, and said the university should take into account the viewpoints of people throughout the state who pay taxes.

“If we can’t as a state and broad community understand the values and the culture in our state, we’re sort of lost already,” True said.

The trustees made other suggestions that garnered less discussion, as well, such as a request to reduce the amount of academic lingo in the plan and to ensure that the university’s land-grant and flagship missions are treated equally in the document.

Vice Provost for Strategic Planning and Initiatives Anne Alexander said some members of the university also requested the plan focus more on scholarships, innovation and building the foundations of the university.

Vice President for Student Affairs Kim Chestnut said there had been a significant amount of participation in creating the plan from across the campus community.

“The outcome really feels like it meets the collective needs of a huge group of constituents,” she said.

The plan will be brought before the Board of Trustees for approval in January.