The Wants of the Country: Strategic Planning at Wabash College in 2007-2008

In his Chapel speech in April ’07, Wabash President Patrick White outlined four major areas of focus as the College moves through a comprehensive strategic planning process.

"I believe there are four central areas of discussion that should shape our work to create a strategic plan for the near future: our students as rising citizens of the world, our faculty as preservers and creators of true and effective liberal arts education; our college as a civil community of constant learning; and our responsibilities to the future and the larger world," said President White in his Chapel Speech.

The strategic planning process is grounded in the College's mission and core values.

The College's strategic planning structure includes four committees focused on the themes the President outlined. The President has also established a Student Advisory Committee for Strategic Planning.

Committee Charges:

Committee One: Learning and teaching about the men of Wabash
As we look to the future, we have the opportunity to explore a central question: who are the men of Wabash who will be our central concern and the agents of our mission in the years ahead? Who will be the Wabash men of the next few years, of the next five or six years, of ten years ahead?

The entire community must explore our understanding of and our hopes for the composition of the student body, faculty, and college community that would best serve the purposes and goals of a Wabash education and the “wants of the country” and the common good.

Dean Klein prepared a narrative that describes Committee One's work. Click here to download Committee One's thesis draft. Committee One conducted three surveys — of students, staff and faculty, and alumni — asking about the qualities and characteristics we most value in our student body.  The cumulative results of those surveys can be downloaded here.

Committee Two: Learning and teaching about Wabash College as a Liberal Arts College for men
The most recent strategic plan had as its stated focus effective liberal arts education for the 21st century. A commitment to Wabash College as a liberal arts college for men remains at the center of this mission. What must we continue to learn about the liberal arts in the 21st century?

Through faculty and students, through discussion of curriculum, faculty development, tradition and innovation, how do we learn more about our success and what challenges lie before us at the same time we consider what we have to teach the rest of higher education, the rest of the nation? As we look to our Mission Statement goal of educating men to think critically, about what should the citizens of the twenty-first century be thinking and learning? What are the central questions that should drive our curriculum going forward?

Dean Phillips' has written a narrative introduction to his committee's work, and you can click here to download Committee Two's thesis draft. The committee also received recommendations from the Environmental Concerns Committee.

Committee Three: Learning and teaching about the full implications of Wabash as a residential community
As a residential community committed to standards of discourse and communication, action and service embodied in the Gentleman’s Rule, we will always benefit from our continuing exploration of the central questions of how and where Wabash educates men to act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely. As a community of students, faculty and staff, alumni, and friends of the College, we affirm daily and cumulatively the Gentleman’s Rule as a point of pride and distinctive marker of a Wabash education.

But how do we build on the understanding of Wabash College as our home? As we address this area of discussion, we will address the physical needs of the campus in the master planning process, we will explore our needs and goals in student affairs and student activities, and create an understanding of our best imagination for student life at Wabash.

Dean Bambrey and CFO Griffith prepared a narrative introduction to Committee Three's work, and you can click here to download the group's thesis draft.

Committee Four: Learning and teaching about the role of Wabash and Wabash men in the larger world
What should be the appropriate role of Wabash College and the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Wabash as citizens of this community, as citizens of many nations, and as citizens of the world? What are our responsibilities to act in the larger world especially as we look to the life of Wabash men beyond graduation? What is the appropriate role of Wabash College in the community of Crawfordsville?

Wabash College men have certainly proven over the years that they have the ability, capacity, and energy to become leaders in their public life, their communities, professions, and in many other areas. How does Wabash College educate men to lead effectively? How do recent initiatives in international studies and immersion experiences further our mission?

Dean Emmick and Alumni Director Tom Runge, who chair the committee, prepared the following narrative that introduces Committee Four's thesis draft.

Faculty and staff gathered on December 18 to work through breakout sessions with the four planning committees. Click on the following links to read notes taken during those sessions:

Committee One — December 18 Notes

Committee Two — December 18 Notes

Committee Three — December 18 Notes

Committee Four — December 18 Notes