Office of the Assemblies

Acknowledged by M. Pollack.

Dear Ekarina,

Thank you for submitting GPSA Resolution 6, “Calling for the Development of a Strategic Plan”. While the University Assembly is still discussing its draft Resolution 3, I welcome the engagement of the GPSA as the voice of our graduate and professional students in helping determine the future course of the university.

The GPSA is correct that a strategic planning process can bring focus and energy to areas that an organization wishes to prioritize and advance. However, a strategic plan is not always necessary for an institution to progress, and I believe that in Cornell’s case there are compelling reasons why a centralized strategic planning process is unnecessary at this time and could, in fact, be counter-productive.

In recent years, Cornell has experienced numerous leadership changes, but the university has nonetheless succeeded in navigating a number of strategic challenges without a central strategic plan in place. We are currently moving forward on several key priorities, including:

• Enhancing faculty hiring and spurring new discovery. The Provost’s office is spearheading this effort through several radical collaboration initiatives.
• Strengthening the social sciences at Cornell. The Provost’s Review of the Social Sciences is reviewing the current state of the social sciences at Cornell and identifying opportunities for strengthening work in these fields.
• Enhancing diversity and inclusion. The recently formed President’s Task Force on Campus Climate is charged with addressing campus-wide issues of bias and intolerance that you cite in the resolution, and Cornell’s colleges and units use the Toward New Destinations framework to organize their diversity initiatives and programming.
• Strategically developing Cornell’s opportunities in New York City. The President’s Visioning Committee on Cornell in New York City will envision what Cornell’s presence in the city might look like over the next decade -- blue-sky thinking that is most appropriate for faculty members to undertake. 
• Advancing Cornell’s teaching. The new Center for Teaching Innovation, established as a resource for Cornell’s teaching community, is offering a range of programs and services centered around effective teaching and innovative learning practices.

In each of these initiatives, and others like them, a process is being used that includes the involvement of constituents and stakeholders across campus for feedback.   The GPSA and the other Assemblies have a significant role to play in addressing many of these priorities, and the administration will continue to rely on participation and input from the Assemblies as well as the broader Cornell community.

Because of the breadth of intellectual activity at Cornell, which is one of the university’s great strengths, our deans and directors are granted a great deal of autonomy and authority over the trajectories of the various colleges and units. College and unit priorities are typically reflected in the strategic plans they develop. Leadership from the president’s and provost’s offices is essential in advancing priorities that transcend college and unit boundaries, such as those indicated above, and in evaluating opportunities and decisions made at the college level within the context of the total university. Given Cornell’s very successful decentralized academic model, a centralized strategic planning exercise, on top of what already occurs elsewhere in the university, is unlikely to yield substantial benefits.

Much like the individual colleges and units, the GPSA has, itself, created a strategic plan in partnership with the Graduate School, the Office of Student and Campus Life and other campus units. The Graduate and Professional Community Initiative 2013 (GPCI) has promoted action on a number of strategic priorities related to graduate and professional education and life at Cornell. I was pleased to learn that the GPSA will begin updating the GPCI this spring to reflect new strategic priorities for graduate and professional students at Cornell.

I sincerely appreciate the GPSA’s interest in helping to guide Cornell toward a bright, successful future, and your input has prompted numerous discussions on how we can best proceed in this regard.  While the considerations listed above lead me to believe that a centralized strategic planning effort is not the most effective approach, I am fully committed to working with the Cornell community to move us forward and realize that future. 

Thank you again for your involvement and your ideas.

Sincerely,

Martha Pollack

Martha E. Pollack

President, Cornell University