Dear Members of the USF Community,
The University of San Francisco launched a strategic planning process in the summer of 2020. As we near the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the work that will help shape USF’s future, I am pleased that the university has embraced a stakeholder-driven process to craft our plan.
I am impressed with the work to date and am grateful for the dedication of the Strategic Planning Core Committee, the members of the four working groups, and all the USF community members who have been contributing to the development of our next strategic plan. Hundreds of faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders participated in listening sessions and completed surveys last fall to help inform the guiding values for this process and to refine the strategic priority areas of focus. You can find descriptions of the strategic priority areas, membership of the four working groups, and progress updates on the Strategic Planning web pages.
This process is guided by the vision for USF’s strategic plan:
- To re-imagine our Jesuit, Catholic university in the 21st century — what makes us distinctive in both our curricular and non-curricular offerings as a local and global institution.
- To create an inspiring and living strategic plan that positions the university to persevere and thrive through current and future challenges, crises and opportunities.
- To be informed by the needs, ideas, and recommendations obtained through community input in previous initiatives such as the Magis Project, Campus Climate Survey, and WSCUC re-accreditation process, integrated with current and continuous feedback from USF community members.
- To consider new and emerging trends in higher education.
- To provide transparency of process and a prescription of solutions.
- To propel USF toward continued educational excellence, financial and operational soundness, and the strengthening of a more equitable and just world for all people.
The work of discerning the university’s strategic plan takes time. I am grateful to the members of the Core Committee and the many members of our community who have engaged in thoughtful discussions, detailed study, and careful consideration. The Core Committee will continue providing periodic updates to the USF community by email and on myUSF to keep us all informed of their progress. The Core Committee will update the Board of Trustees in June.
This work will indeed help shape our university’s vision for the future, and it is work done in service to students, faculty, staff, and alumni in our beloved community. Thank you for being attentive to the progress being made in crafting and delivering this plan.
Sincerely,
Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J.
President