College of Arts and Sciences Strategic Plan

A high priority for the College is to advance the work of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) by creating and funding educational opportunities to train faculty and staff to address unconscious bias, increase accessibility, improve cross-cultural communication, practice inclusive leadership, engage a global perspective, and implement JEDI best practices both in and out of the classrooms. Actions to create institutional support for JEDI work, better mentorship for our faculty and staff, and incorporation of diverse perspectives into the classroom are already underway.

The College will continue partnering with the Provost’s Office to ensure diverse candidate pools and enhance retention initiatives for all faculty and staff. Moreover, in collaboration with other units on campus (such as the Tracy Seeley Center for Teaching Excellence and the Office of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI)), we will continue to reexamine our curriculum and teaching practices as we collectively support the work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at all levels.

We will reimagine a curriculum that will provide a humanizing liberal arts education to all learners, ensuring that students will be prepared with forward-looking, equity-minded and globally-focused knowledge and skills. In the spirit of the Jesuit mission and a focus on cura personalis, the College will support existing -- and develop new -- opportunities for students beyond the classroom.

In collaboration with the Core Redesign Task Force, the Core Advisory Committee, and the Joint University Curriculum Committee, we will revise the Core Curriculum to better reflect an intersectional emphasis on the key issues of importance to all disciplines, including cultural diversity, global perspectives, and sustainability. We will explore novel, interdisciplinary programs, (eg. Digital Futures, JEDI certificate, Horizon Collective interdisciplinary thematic clusters of sustainability, technology, and health) that offer students the opportunity to engage from a variety of perspectives. The College’s Creative Activity and Research Day has been a successful venue for our student researchers and artists, and we will continue to identify additional funding so that all faculty, staff and students may flourish in their disciplines.

Further, as we look to advance our College’s priorities on connecting local, regional and worldwide perspectives, we will focus on enhancing our immersion and global education curriculum as well as sustaining and developing research, service and teaching in these areas. Experiential learning is an aspect of a USF education that offers students a unique experience, while taking advantage of living in an international city with the abundance of opportunities available in California. We plan to foster meaningful experiential and community-engaged learning by integrating field studies, hands-on labs and studio experiences, global immersion programs, and internships into our majors and degrees.

Collaborating with department chairs and program directors, the College will launch a holistic, data-driven process to assess the viability and vitality of programs to ensure we are offering the most dynamic and innovative educational opportunities to all our students. These efforts will contribute to the financial stability of the College and advance the University’s institutional enrollment strategic plan to ensure a sustainable future.

Our community is our people and people are our priority. Hiring excellent and diverse staff is a key step and ensuring ample opportunities for ongoing professional development is especially important. Ensuring staff continue to feel engaged in our educational mission is a fundamental step driving the success of the College in all endeavors.

We will continue to identify and establish professional development resources, recruitment and mentorship programs, and opportunities for all OPE and Exempt staff. Likewise, the College must evaluate current practices and design more effective processes for onboarding, peer mentorship, operational & administrative optimization, and community-building approaches, to ensure all staff feel integrated into College efforts.

As part of further support for staff, we need to establish ongoing training and skills acquisition to facilitate advancement, and consider how we can meaningfully reward excellent service from our faculty and staff.

The College is committed to supporting faculty in their dedication to disciplinary/interdisciplinary fields of study and artistic expression. Working with partners around the university (CTE, CRASE, Office of Sponsored Programs), we will explore ways to provide greater support to all faculty in their research, teaching and service.

We will provide mentorship and support for Part-Time and Full-time Assistant and Associate Professors as they work to meet promotional milestones; and support Full Professors in the continued development of their full academic portfolio, including research.

We will develop additional support and mentorship for BIPOC faculty, as well as resources for all faculty in the areas of ADEI, global experience, sustainability, and community engagement.

We will leverage assessment to strengthen educational effectiveness and inclusive excellence. We will continue to support the adoption of equitable and inclusive teaching practices, and through a collaborative process, redesign assessment resources to help strengthen both course- and program-level practices.

The College will also continue to fund and celebrate faculty collaborations on scholarship and creative activity with undergraduates and graduate students, USF colleagues, and academic and community partners around the world.

The College must respond to the challenge of stabilizing undergraduate and graduate degree-program enrollment, which is a critical part of the financial health of the College. In addition, we will increase the contribution from non-degree academic and professional education.

We will continue to implement an integrated enrollment plan for our graduate programs, including considering new programs, rightsizing existing programs; making the enrollment process more streamlined and effective and thus increasing yield; and increasing scholarships for our graduate students. During AY 23-24, we launched the Dean’s Scholarship for selected graduate students, implemented the Double Dons discount scheme for returning alumni, and developed the launch plan for a new Social Impact Analytics academic certificate.

We will partner with Strategic Enrollment Management to strongly support undergraduate enrollment initiatives, including strengthening the appeal of our academic undergraduate programs, facilitating outreach to prospective students, and involving staff and faculty in enrollment marketing and yield activities. During AY 23-24, we increased faculty participation in marketing and yield efforts to 31% of FT faculty, facilitated increased collaboration between SEM and targeted majors to strengthen enrollment marketing, and developed the launch plan for a new UI/UX program.

We will partner with CASA and other partners to develop and support undergraduate (FYFT and Transfer) retention initiatives, including peer mentoring and involving staff and faculty in retention activities. During AY 23-24, we increased participation of faculty in Transfer Portal Advising to 32%.

Facilities continue to be one of our top priorities to support and expand the arts and the sciences, and reimagine connection with the social sciences and humanities. Committees have been formed to assess and plan for our current and future needs. We will respond to the call from the university to develop a plan for the newly acquired buildings on Masonic or the renovation of Harney, to ensure that facilities are designed and built for accessibility and inclusivity, and to advance research, teaching and interdisciplinary collaborations, not only among faculty and staff in the College, but across other units.

Additionally, we will continue to create communal spaces where we may gather as a community and engage collaboratively across all units in the College.