New strategic plan maps out goals: Part 4

RELEASED: March 6, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—Parts two and three of this series outlined the two key goals of the strategic plan that was approved by Centre’s Board of Trustees at their January meeting: global citizenship and experiential learning. But the far-reaching aims of the plan extend to every area of the College, including faculty, staff, enrollment and student body, and facilities.

1. The goals for faculty and staff share many elements: to recruit, retain and reward individuals who are committed to the College’s mission and reflect and support an increasingly diverse community.

The following summarizes the College’s initiatives for faculty:

• Establishing and pursuing appropriate targets for faculty salaries
• Creating an internal teaching and learning “think tank”
• Examining sabbatical policy
• Increasing resources for faculty professional activity
• Conducting outside reviews of academic programs
• Providing additional grant-writing and grant-seeking assistance for faculty
• Creating learning opportunities for faculty personal enrichment (this is also a goal for staff)

For staff, the following initiatives seek to address the goal of attracting and retaining women and men committed to the Centre Experience:

• Establishing and pursuing appropriate targets for staff salaries and wages
• Exploring alternative distribution strategies for employee benefits
• Providing support for continuing education
• Increasing diversity
• Developing a more thorough orientation program for new staff
• Creating greater connections between the faculty and staff by developing activities that would bring them together

2. Centre will strive to maintain its current position as a nation leading “best value,” positioning itself as the least expensive option of its national peer group. In order to remain a viable option for students from all economic backgrounds, Centre will, at the least, double that proportion of endowment that provides financial support for students. Centre will seek to remain a strong competitor for academically able Kentuckians regardless of individual financial circumstances by:

• Increasing the size of the College through managed, controlled enrollment growth and continued attention to retention
• Maintaining the College’s commitment to being a place both of high achievement and high opportunity
• Establishing a premier scholarship program
• Increasing the number and percentage of foreign students
• Expanding promises of the Centre Commitment

3. Centre will maintain and enhance a holistic learning environment in a highly residential community by creating physical facilities and spaces that support and match the quality of the College’s academic and student life programs, and are judged to be friendly to the physical environment. The initiatives for achieving these goals include:

• Renovating and expanding science facilities
• Constructing a true campus center
• Refurbishing the Norton Center
• Addressing additional athletic and recreational space needs
• Renovating existing residence halls and considering the construction of new residential facilities
• Examining the need for a new classroom/academic office building
  
  

Over the next few weeks, additional Web stories will address other goals and initiatives of the strategic plan.

Centre's Board approves new strategic plan click here for goals.

Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 of the series "Centre's Board approves new strategic plan."

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.