February 7, 2005

President Wilson convened the third SPSC meeting of the Spring 2005 semester
at 3:00 pm. The Committee approved a report of its January 21 meeting and
asked Professor Gardner to distribute it to all faculty and staff members
and to have it posted on the Strategic Planning Web site at:
http://www2.iwu.edu/president/Strategic/

The President asked members to engage in a discussion of the criteria that
we will use to select a limited number of strategic goals from among the
many possibilities suggested by the community. He reminded us that thus
far, the two selection criteria that we have announced are (1) that a goal
be critical to the success of the university; and (2) that the focus must be
intentional lest achieving the goal be endangered.

A Committee member reported that some colleagues across the campus believe
that the only strategic goals that we should choose are those that will make
us distinctive. According to this view, goals that, if attained, might make
us stronger but not distinctive should not be priorities. Therefore, since
increasing the diversity of the campus is unlikely to make us distinctive,
these colleagues question whether such a goal is appropriate for the
strategic plan.

Several Committee members argued that pursuing only those goals that make us
distinctive could result in our emphasizing marketing gimmicks or focusing
too heavily on achieving competitive advantages in admissions at the
exclusion of other important values. Shouldn’t we concentrate primarily on
things that will make us stronger or better in achieving our mission—even if
some parts of that mission overlap with the missions of other institutions
and are thus not distinctive? Other members pointed out that pursuing goals
that make us stronger doesn’t rule out distinctiveness; indeed, the planning
process gives us an opportunity not just to create distinctions but to
understand and capitalize on the ones that already exist. Finally, it was
noted that if we required that all strategic goals create distinctiveness,
we would have to rule out areas that have been mentioned repeatedly in
messages to the Committee—such issues, for example, as providing equitable
benefits for faculty and staff and increasing financial resources.

Another Committee member asked if we might consider having a larger number
of very specific goals rather than a smaller number of broader areas, as is
currently contemplated. The group agreed that a long list of very specific
goals could easily devolve into nothing more than an unconnected “wish list”
for specific resources rather than a thoughtful articulation of priorities
rooted in institutional mission. But the group reminded itself that
individual, narrower suggestions for resource allocations need not get lost;
some may find their way into the strategic plan as specific actions to be
taken in pursuit of a broader goal. Still other specific suggestions may be
pursued as part of the everyday, ongoing work of a particular office or
committee.

Anticipating another SPSC meeting in only three days in conjunction with the
February 7-8 Trustees’ meetings, the group decided that the most productive
use of its upcoming time together would be for each Committee member to
develop his/her list of 5 to 7 strategic priorities as s/he understands them
based on the extensive input the Committee has received. At the February 7
meeting, these lists will be shared in an effort to see whether a consensus
on any priorities is emerging.

Distributed to all faculty and staff: February 9, 2005