Strategic Initiatives

Educational Program | Excellence in People | Communication

Facilities and Campus | Resources and Efficiencies

1.Educational program Build an innovative, intellectually rigorous, comprehensive approach to education that promotes life-long learning, creativity, critical thinking, and civic action.

1.1 Educational pathways. Create educational pathways for students that knit together curricular and co-curricular experiences, from a foundation in academic advising and general education on through to the completion of a major field of study.

1.1.1 Bolster and support the key elements that comprise students’ educational pathways, beginning with traditional classroom work and advising, and integrating interdisciplinary studies, internships, athletics, OVCS, and other student activities. Create programs and opportunities that lead students to knit these experiences together and to reflect upon the relationships among them. In particular, enhance international experiences, including language and cultural study, traditional study away, SATAs, and TRIPs.

1.1.2 Recognize the Centers as models of new intellectual pathways—both in the curriculum and in the opportunities they provide for civic, environmental, technological, and international engagement. Provide funding necessary for ongoing strength and vibrancy of Center programs.

1.1.3 Refine and implement the College’s new plan for General Education, including first year seminars, new distribution requirements, and other features that may emerge to form a foundation for the new educational pathways.

1.2 Faculty-student engagement. Enrich the substantive engagement between faculty and students that is the hallmark of excellent teaching and learning at Connecticut College.

1.2.1 Enrich faculty-student interaction through the finest classroom teaching, collaborative research and travel with faculty, individual studies, and honors study, and promote the intellectual atmosphere on campus through increased support for lecture series, symposia, and enhanced acquisitions in the College’s library.

1.2.2 Create new social and community opportunities for faculty, students, and staff through course-dinner funds and increased involvement of faculty and staff in residence halls.

1.2.3 Develop athletic programs to a new level of excellence, and capitalize on their potential to provide shared experiences for students, faculty, and staff.

1.2.4 Support student government, student music ensembles, and student clubs and activities with the common goal of improving campus life.

1.2.5 Support faculty initiatives to revitalize and craft diverse teaching approaches, and support the development of new curricular opportunities and offerings.

1.2.6 Fund the Center for Teaching & Learning as a significant resource for faculty development.

1.3 Pluralism and diversity in the academic program. Enhance the curriculum and redesign academic and organizational structures to create new opportunities to address issues of pluralism and diversity.

1.3.1 Support and fund the creation of a Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity to provide an intellectual home for issues of diversity. This center will provide leadership for development of curricular initiatives and pedagogical techniques to integrate scholarship on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, and religion throughout the academic program.

1.3.2 Create a senior level dean position with primary responsibility for issues of diversity and equity in conjunction with the establishment of the intellectual home, and in the context of a redesign of existing administrative structures.

1.3.3 Hire a new senior faculty member who specializes in diversity/equity.

1.3.4 Enhance intellectual and co-curricular programming and staffing in support of pluralism and diversity. Specifically, examine the purposes, program, and staffing of Unity House, including its relationship to the intellectual home. In addition, consider the forthcoming recommendations of the 2004-05 Task Force on Cultural Centers.

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2. Excellence in people Recruit, retain, and support an outstanding and diverse faculty, student body, and staff committed to the mission and values of the College, which is building a pluralistic community that fosters an understanding of the responsibilities of global citizenship.

2.1 Faculty excellence and satisfaction. Enhance the support of faculty members from the point of hire and through their careers, and ensure that curricular programs and faculty resources are optimally aligned.

2.1.1 Increase faculty salaries to compare favorably with peer institutions, and ensure that funds are as equitably distributed among faculty as possible.

2.1.2 Increase the College’s rate of recruiting and retaining uniformly excellent faculty of diverse backgrounds, with particular attention to under-represented groups, by providing increased support for scholarship and creative achievement, teaching, and service opportunities and by recognizing the importance of quality of life issues for faculty.

2.1.3 Immediately undertake a long-term planning effort to address gaps between the current allocation of faculty and the needs of the curriculum. Charge the Faculty Steering and Conference Committee and Dean of the Faculty, in consultation with the Educational Planning Committee, with determining whether an increase and/or redistribution of resources is needed to meet current and changing programmatic and enrollment needs (see 5.2.2).

2.1.4 Raise the funds necessary to provide additional endowed professorships, including new faculty lines as determined through the process recommended in 2.1.3.

2.2 Student quality, access, and programs. Improve the quality and diversity of students through excellent academic and residential programs and through assured access and equity. This will maximize student experiences and make the College the first choice of more and more students.

2.2.1 Maximize student experiences on campus through a set of initiatives that enhance faculty–student engagement (see 1.2.1-6 above), and through improved facilities, alleviation of enrollment pressures on residential spaces and curricular offerings, and the smooth articulation of residential programs and curricular offerings.

2.2.2 Use financial aid and multicultural programming to achieve clearly articulated goals for recruiting and retaining high quality students of all backgrounds, as well as to achieve targets for selectivity and yield.

2.2.3 Develop a pre-orientation transitional program to provide incoming underrepresented students with the skills, networks, and opportunities to meet the challenges of a new academic environment.

2.3 Staff excellence and satisfaction: Enhance the support of staff members from the point of hire and through their careers, and to survey and plan for adequate staff resources.

2.3.1 Bring all salaried staff to the midpoint of their salary range within two years as recommended in the 2004 Staff Salary Review Report.

2.3.2 Review and refresh the recommendations of the 1998 Quality of Staff Work Life Committee Report to the President.

2.3.3 Improve the structural diversity of the College staff.

2.3.4 Provide funding for staff training programs across departments, especially as needed to update skills in the trades and computer technology.

2.3.5 Assure that staffing levels in all College departments are appropriate to provide excellent service, with particular attention to those areas that have been significantly reduced in recent years.

2.3.6 Plan for succession and turnover in staff ranks to assure retention of institutional memory.

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3. Communication Communicate Connecticut College’s aspirations and successes in order to raise its profile and reputation among all constituencies and to foster a proud, connected alumni body.

3.1 Create and implement a comprehensive integrated marketing and communications plan to assure that all College communications are consistent in message and tone, coordinated in their delivery, and accurately reflect the quality of education at the College and the College’s mission and values.

3.1.1 Implement a new marketing and communications program, and revitalize, promote, and consistently use the College’s standard graphic identity plan.

3.1.2 Feature distinctive values and programs—for example, the College’s strong commitment to international and environmental education—and highlight the College’s successes and financial standing prominently in publications.

3.1.3 Develop and support a community relations strategy to recognize and celebrate the pivotal role of the greater New London community in an integrated educational experience.

3.1.4 Consistently reflect the College’s strong commitment to a pluralistic community and its current reality in communications of all types.

3.1.5 Form a team drawn from the offices of Advancement and College Relations to carefully articulate programs and goals in outreach to alumni and potential donors. Strengthen support for the existing team from the offices of Admissions and College Relations that plans outreach to prospective students.

3.1.6 Use the Strategic Plan to build a compelling case statement for a comprehensive campaign and to create effective campaign communications materials.

3.2 Enhance the College’s web presence. Create and maintain a Web presence that reflects the strengths, characteristics, mission, and values of the College.

3.2.1 Redesign the College Web site to build dynamic relationships with all constituencies, including prospective and current students and parents, alumni, faculty, staff, trustees, and the public.

3.2.2 Hire appropriate communications staff to oversee, manage, improve, and redesign the College’s website on an ongoing basis to assure the currency of this vital communications tool.

3.2.3 Include a focus on the definition and value of a liberal arts education on the Web site, create links from the liberal arts page to specific Connecticut College programs, and feature a high-end media presentation to showcase the College and its programs.

3.3 Raise programmatic visibility. Develop projects to gain name recognition as well as national and international visibility in the College’s areas of strength.

3.3.1 Enhance the College’s visibility through new initiatives such as the development of a Faculty/Staff/Student Speakers Bureau and creation and promotion of a speaker series featuring alumni and other high-profile individuals. Revive the granting of honorary degrees and establish a prize related to institutional strengths in environmental studies, international relations, the arts, or commitment to pluralism.

3.3.2 Strive to maximize exposure to new audiences by developing a strategy for bringing additional conferences and events to campus.

3.4 Foster proud, connected alumni: Develop and sustain an alumni body proud of its connection to the College.

3.4.1 Develop excellent programming for and communications with alumni—including events, reunions, publications, web presence, and personal contacts—to build mutual support: the College will aid alumni in their continuing process of education and engagement, and alumni will be guarantors of the College’s reputation and financial successes.

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4.Facilities and Campus Enhance, steward, and administer the buildings, infrastructure, and grounds of the College’s beautiful arboretum campus so that they embody the values of the College and support the educational experience.

4.1 Preservation and protection of the arboretum campus. Preserve and protect the historic campus buildings and the beautiful, expansive arboretum.

4.1.1 Increase the value and ensure the preservation of existing structures through a major five-year capital reinvestment program in line with the 2003 Facilities and Land Management Committee’s Asset Reinvestment Study.

4.1.2 Renovate classrooms into modern, comfortable, and flexible teaching/learning spaces as proposed in the 2004 Classroom Improvement Plan.

4.1.3 Refresh residential spaces as part of a campus-wide maintenance program.

4.1.4 Increase resources for the care of campus grounds and plantings to preserve the ongoing beauty and integrity of this valuable asset.

4.1.5 Undertake the planning for implementation of the major component of Connecticut College’s campus master plan that calls for the creation of a pedestrian friendly, automobile-free central campus by the College’s centennial celebration in 2011.

4.2 Construction and renovation. Construct new buildings and renovate existing facilities to meet essential academic, residential, and co-curricular needs.

4.2.1 Ensure the quality of student residential life by completing the renovation of Hamilton and Marshall Halls, addressing needed upgrades in all living spaces, and constructing a new residence hall.

4.2.2 Renovate and expand Shain Library to create a modern library and information commons that will serve as an attractive and vibrant intellectual center in support of research, scholarship, and campus life.

4.2.3 Build a new academic building to support mathematics, computer science, and the biological sciences, to maintain the viability and high quality of these curricular programs, and to create new synergies among these disciplines.

4.2.4 Complete the programming and planning necessary to support the social sciences. Identify and begin to address the most critical issues in Winthrop Hall, Bill Hall, New London Hall, and Fanning Hall, and revisit the Master Plan’s vision of a social sciences corridor. (See 4.1.1 and 4.1.2)

4.2.5 Construct a new fitness center to meet the growing need of students, faculty, and staff.

4.2.6 Complete the programming and planning necessary for the relocation of the Children’s Program onto the main campus.

4.2.7 Complete the programming and planning necessary for housing an intellectual home for the comparative study of race and ethnicity (see 1.3.1).

4.2.8 Transform physical spaces on campus to reflect a pluralistic community, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Acts.

4.3 Adoption of green policies. Remain a leader in safeguarding the environment.

4.3.1 Adopt a green building policy for construction, renovation, and building operations to assure environmentally responsible practices.

4.3.2 Continue to promote current environmental initiatives, such as recycling and the pursuit of green energy sources, and remain a leader in the search for new ways to protect the environment through local practices.

4.4 Construction and maintenance of a robust technical infrastructure. Provide the technical infrastructure and information systems necessary to assure high levels of reliability and performance.

4.4.1 Expand, upgrade, and maintain campus networks to maximize the speed and reliability of electronic access.

4.4.2 Continue to investigate network communication trends, including wireless technology, and provide new communication technologies as appropriate.

4.4.3 Continue to invest in the modern information systems and technical staff needed to maximize intra-campus communications and efficient operations.

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5. Resources and efficiencies Build the resources and endowment to support College programs, and develop processes for program review that allow more efficient use of these resources.

5.1 Comprehensive campaign. Undertake a comprehensive fundraising campaign to support all aspects of the College.

5.1.1 Significantly increase the endowment through the addition of new unrestricted or broadly restricted budget supporting gifts, and enhance specific parts of the educational program through special restricted gifts.

5.1.2 Raise the funds needed to enable the capital construction projects described above in 4.2.1-8.

5.1.3 Raise funds for net asset reinvestment, deferred maintenance, and offset of depreciation.

5.1.4 Raise annual fund giving to a historic high that is sustainable for the foreseeable future.

5.2 Seek new sources of revenue. Identify potential new revenues from development of current holdings and from increasing enrollments, and to investigate the implication and costs of generating those revenues.

5.2.1 Consider other new sources of revenue that may present as opportunities, including development of the waterfront and the sale or repurposing of College rental property, for better use of College resources.

5.2.2 Stabilize enrollment between current levels and 75 additional students, so as to enrich programmatic flexibility and maximize net revenue. Take careful account of the associated costs of any increased enrollment, carefully assess the likely impact on the College’s selectivity, and maintain the current faculty-student ratio (see also 4.2.1).

5.3 Efficient use of resources. Create ongoing and agreed-upon processes for programmatic reviews.

5.3.1 Continue the systematic review process undertaken by the Priorities, Planning and Budget Committee during the College’s annual budgeting cycle and evaluate the contribution of all of the College’s activities to its mission. Coordinate this work with reviews of educational programs, faculty resources, staff resources, and the College’s administrative structures and staffing.