É«ÇéÊÓƵ

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Implementation Teams

Each co-chair will be tasked with implementing a specific set of activities to meet the university's defined goals. Team members are designated to support efforts to meet the defined goal within each of the five priorities.

Becoming a Premier Public Research University: A New Kind of HSI.

Executive Sponsor: Hala Madanat, Ph.D., Interim Vice President for Research

GOAL 1: Position É«ÇéÊÓƵ to ultimately achieve R1 status:

Key Activities:

GOAL 2: Leverage É«ÇéÊÓƵ’s unique identity to enhance the quantity and quality of scholarship.

Key Activities:

Resilience. Designed to Thrive

Executive Sponsor: Agnes Wong Nickerson, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs, and Adrienne Vargas, Vice President for University Relations and Development

GOAL 1: Diversify and expand revenue streams that support our mission and our scholarly and creative activities, teaching and athletic aspirations.

Key Activities:

GOAL 2: Allocate resources with transparency, equity, efficiency and accountability.

Key Activities:

GOAL 3: Invest in organizational practices that prioritize the responsible management of resources with a focus on global and environmental sustainability.

Key Activities:

We Are É«ÇéÊÓƵ.

Executive Sponsor: Jerry Sheehan, Vice President for Information Technology

GOAL 1: Foster an inter-connected and equitable É«ÇéÊÓƵ experience through implementing resource generation and allocation, communication and information-sharing, and systems of transportation. 

Key Activities:

GOAL 2: Expand É«ÇéÊÓƵ’s academic infrastructure and partnerships to meet the needs of broadly diverse learners in our region, across the nation, and the world.

Key Activities:

Equity and Inclusion in Everything We Do

Executive Sponsor: J. Luke Wood, Ph.D., Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity

GOAL 1: Ensure that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across campus are
aligned and implemented consistently, effectively and efficiently.

Key Activities:

GOAL 2: Foster and sustain an environment where all students, faculty, staff and alumni feel welcomed, supported, and valued by the university.

Key Activities:

GOAL 3: Recruit, retain and advance graduate students, faculty and staff who can and will effectively support the diverse student body and communities served by É«ÇéÊÓƵ.

Students at Our Core 

Executive Sponsor: Salvador Hector Ochoa, Ph.D., Provost and Senior Vice President

GOAL 1: Ensure that all members of the campus community are prepared to advance student success by deepening the quality of learning and closing equity gaps.

Key Activities:

GOAL 2: Expand access to affordable, high-quality university undergraduate and graduate education for the people of our region and beyond.

Key Activities:

GOAL 3: To support student success and well-being both inside and outside the classroom, É«ÇéÊÓƵ will strategically increase its programming, resources and capacity to provide mental health, wellness and basic needs support for all undergraduate and graduate students.

Key Activities:

Strategic Planning Committee

Strategic Planning Team Organizational Structure

Committee Members

Meet our Consultants

É«ÇéÊÓƵ is embarking in a landmark planning process and, through that process, is committed to generating input from all levels of the university. To ensure broad participation, É«ÇéÊÓƵ is drawing on expertise from both within and outside of the organization. An expert-informed initiative will strongly contribute to the campus community’s ability to develop a strategic plan that will define not just the future of one campus, but three: the É«ÇéÊÓƵ main campus, É«ÇéÊÓƵ Imperial Valley, and the potential development of É«ÇéÊÓƵ Mission Valley. Skilled and nationally-recognized experts have been engaged to support and help guide this effort, and we encourage you to get to know them below.

Emeritus Consulting Group

Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen is Chief Executive Officer of Emeritus Consulting Group, a firm that uses organizational development principles to assist nonprofit, public and education entities in enhancing their effectiveness for the public good. Clayton-Pedersen brings a wealth of experience to the firm’s work, particularly with respect to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion and facilitating discussions around inclusive excellence.

Clayton-Pedersen previously worked with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in several capacities. From 2010 to 2016, she was a Senior Scholar and co-Principal Investigator directing the work of AAC&U’s Preparing Critical Faculty for the Future Program, funded by the National Science Foundation. From 2000 to 2010, she served first as a Senior Policy Director, then Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal, directing ongoing programs and several grant-funded projects. Prior to joining AAC&U, Dr. Clayton-Pedersen was deeply engaged for 16 years at Vanderbilt University, where she served in senior leadership roles in student affairs, a public policy center, academic affairs and athletic affairs. She conducted more than 20 institutional studies on retention, climate for diversity, and student programming. Throughout her 35-year career in higher education, Clayton-Pedersen has provided consultation on program evaluation, inter-organizational collaboration, diversity and institutional change in a range of settings and working with stakeholders nationally and internationally.

Sonja C. P. Armstrong, whose expertise stems from developing an expansive legal practice to public, is president and chief operating officer of Emeritus Consulting Group LLC.

Armstrong has served as both associate general counsel and special counsel at Chicago State University, a public, urban institution. As a generalist in higher education law, she has been responsible for oversight of issues relating to labor and employment, governance, athletics, residence life, academic affairs and student discipline, among other areas. One of Armstrong’s most significant campus endeavors involved a 15-month presidential appointment as interim director of intercollegiate athletics to restructure an emerging division of the university – creating a culture of compliance, an environment for successful student outcomes and a focus on institutional mission.

Prior to joining Chicago State University, Armstrong was an attorney at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, one of the largest, most well-respected national law firms based in Chicago. While in private practice, she served as legal counsel and advocate for a diverse group of public and private entities – including higher education institutions – in business, regulatory, complex litigation and dispute resolution matters. Overall she was responsible for resolving challenges faced by her clients and fostering trusting relationships at all levels within these organizations. Handling that work effectively required her to use collaborative approaches to chart the best course of action to reach each client’s organizational objectives.

AASCU Penson Center for Professional Development

Howard Cohen, Ph.D. is the AASCU Penson Center for Professional Development (APC) Executive Director and a Senior Associate of its consulting group, which works primarily with public regional universities. Cohen also holds the distinction of Chancellor Emeritus at Purdue University Northwest. Prior to his 10-year tenure as Chancellor, Cohen also served in academic and administrative appointments within the University of Massachusetts and University of Wisconsin systems. His areas of focus include strategic and academic planning, department chair leadership, leadership team development and executive coaching. Cohen is expected to be the lead consultant for the strategic planning components of our engagement, working in conjunction with other APC colleagues as needed.

Sal Rinella, Ph.D. is a former university president who has served as a consultant with APC and other organizations in all sectors of higher education for the past 14 years. Rinella also has been a facilitator and author for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) roundtables and monographs, leading discussions of timely topics including New Forces and Realities: Making the Adjustment and The Presidential Role in Disaster Planning and Response. From 1994 to 2000, Rinella served at the helm of Austin Peay State University, an institution known for its collaborative, integrative learning community that tremendously expanded over the past three decades. Rinella’s areas of emphasis include strategic planning and positioning, identifying transformational programs and initiatives, formulating partnerships to advance the institution and team development.