Community partners come together for strategic planning dialogue session

Working together for the good of the community and Wright State University and its students were themes of the latest Wright State University’s latest strategic planning community dialogue session.

More than 30 community partners, faculty, staff and alumni got together to share stories about Wright State University during the dialogue session on March 7. The discussion was held at the Montgomery County Business Solutions Center in Dayton in effort to get input from more community partners and alumni, though the event was open to all.

Participants gathered in small groups for intimate conversations in which they shared stories exemplifying peak moments of success they or others experienced at Wright State. Attendees said they valued the opportunity to talk with and hear from people in the broader community.

“I think this whole process is going to allow us to hear all the voices that come together and that we can make a collaborate effort. And that’s my hope leaving these kinds of meetings — that all voices do get heard and that we see the next few steps for us very clearly,” said Dan Noel, instructor of leadership studies in education at Wright State.

Many participants said they are committed to helping Wright State succeed, for the benefit of the region and students.

“Everybody was engaged, everybody was very positive. They want to see Wright State succeed. They have a lot of good ideas for how to help Wright State succeed, and that’s all about working together as a community and a university to make that happen,” said Dennis Andersh, executive director of the Wright State Research Institute.

Community members, faculty, staff and alumni and shared positive stories about Wright State during a community dialogue on March 7 to help refine the university’s vision, mission and values statements as part of the ongoing strategic planning process.

“My personal passion and love for the university started when I was a freshman. I’m a first-generation college student, and I really afford the opportunities I’ve had because of Wright State,” said Ryan Rushing, who graduated with bachelor’s degree in political science and is now pursuing his MPA while serving on the Beavercreek City Council.

The community dialogue session will help refine the university’s vision, mission and values statements as part of the ongoing strategic planning process, The Wright Path to 2025: Pride, Transformation, Potential.

The strategic planning process also includes the creation of a new plan aligned with university resources and metrics that can measure the outcomes of those strategies. The plan will guide decisions at the university on a day-to-day basis.

Community members have just a few more opportunities to participate in a community dialogue session.

An online dialogue session will take place Friday, March 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. Registration is required.

Prior to the event, participants will receive an email with instructions on how to participate online.

The Student Government Association will host the Raider Community Dialogue on Tuesday, March 13, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Student Union Endeavour Room.

The dialogue sessions are open to students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners.

The strategic planning process will continue after the strategic plan is complete and it will regularly be revisited and adjusted based on the community’s continuous input. The strategic planning process is intended to start an ongoing dialogue among the campus community that encourages continuous reflection and revision of the community’s hopes and priorities. The conversations are a chance for community members to engage with others across the university in meaningful ways.

The strategic plan will guide Wright State by creating a vision and focus that directly aligns resources with the community’s values, strengths, and the strategy built around them. The planning process will be continuous and will put Wright State in a position to thrive in higher education’s changing environment, help the university achieve financial sustainability, and foster a campus atmosphere that provides graduates with opportunities to excel in fields that define the future.

Working in small groups, community dialogue participants reflected on and shared stories exemplifying moments of success they experienced at Wright State.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee is guiding the university’s efforts to include a wide range of perspectives from the Wright State family and the broader community. The committee includes 33 Wright State employees, students and alumni as well as community leaders. It is co-chaired by Schrader, David Bright, chair of the Department of Management and International Business, and Michael Wiehe, director of the Applied Policy Research Institute.

The first phase of the planning process is focused on gathering community input to develop an updated vision, mission and values statement for Wright State. The statement should reflect a compelling perspective about the core identity of Wright State and its future.

In April, the committee will host an event to unveil the updated vision, mission and values statement and a draft strategy statement.

From May through September, the committee will use what it learns from its outreach efforts in the spring semester to further develop strategy statements, priorities and goals, as well as metrics to measure the effectiveness of the strategies.

The goal is to deliver a strategic plan to the Board of Trustees by October 2018 for its approval.

You can stay up to date with the planning process by visiting wright.edu/strategicplan.