Gustavus held a campus wide conversation regarding the future of the College. Gustavus President Rebecca Bergman presented the College’s strategic plan for 2016-2026 to students, faculty, and administrators in the Lund Arena.
Bergman displayed a PowerPoint presentation for the first half hour before opening up the conversation to small groups of people. These discussions lasted for over an hour before a short closing presentation by Bergman, which included a video presentation and dance.
The meeting did not outline specifics for the ten year plan, but presented an overview of the planning process. Bergman told the assembly about the groups that will be working on developing the plan throughout the year as well as the steps in the planning process. She said that this meeting was a part of the “Gather Input” step. The plan will be finalized and presented for board approval in June 2016.
Bergman reiterated the pillars of Gustavus in her talk. She emphasized that the College should build off of the values it already has. She also stated that the plan needs to be bold, compelling, distinctive, and expandable.
“We are in a sea of competitiveness in higher education. What is Gustavus going to be about?” Bergman asked the crowd.
The strategic plan has been dubbed Gustavus ACTS (Ask Questions-Create Solutions-Transform Lives-Serve the Common Good). Bergman presented four strategic questions, each of which fell under a different theme; transitions, academic, footprint and affordability, and accessibility. Each small group was given a place card with one facet of the ACTS acronym and one theme from the strategic questions.
The first half hour conversation was centered on ACTS, the second half hour was centered on the strategic questions. Both conversations were meant to foster ideas about what problems Gustavus could address. These problems ranged from matters at the College to global issues. Each person was supposed to jot down their ideas on a Post-it note. The facilitator of each group collected the Post-it notes and turned them in to the school.
In each small group, there were two seats designated for students, two for faculty, two for administrators, and one for a facilitator. This format was designed to open up the conversation between different branches of Gustavus.
One student who appreciated a chance to speak her mind was Junior Sociology and Anthropology major, Allison Mediger.
“It was better than I thought it would be. I thought I wouldn’t have been able to help or have any input. I felt comfortable talking about the topics,” Mediger said.
While students were part of the conversation for these two hours, there were many voices who were not represented.
“It was good to see lots of students here, it would have been nice to see more. This is about the school’s future, it should matter to all students,” Associate Professor in Sociology and Anthropology, and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies Elizabeth Jenner said.
Bergman closed by informing the audience that they will be able to see the plan online and provide feedback.
“It was better than I thought it would be. I thought I wouldn’t have been able to help or have any input. I felt comfortable talking about the topics.”
—Allison Mediger
She made it clear that anyone who wishes to get involved in the planning process throughout the year is invited to do so. She then played a video of herself dancing with various groups of students and employees on campus. After it finished, she led the group in the same dance.
“I am hoping that along with your big questions, you had some big ideas,” Bergman said in her closing statement.