Boldly Investing

In Lives of Purpose

his summer the TLU Board of Regents approved a new strategic plan that will guide the university's priorities and actions for the next seven years to 2016 - the 125th anniversary of Texas Lutheran's founding.

The strategic plan, Boldly Investing in Lives of Purpose, is the culmination of 16 months of meetings and discusions that involved representatives of TLU's various constituencies from across Texas. Many of the particpants have been involved with TLU for years, while others - not as familiar with the university - were invited to join the planning process to bring fresh insight and perspective.

In this question-and-answer article, TLU President Ann Svennungsen discusses some of the specifics of the plan and its significance for TLU's future.

Q&A with President Svennungsen

How did this strategic plan come to be?

Reflecting back, it is amazing to see how things came together to enable a successful process. First, we received a grant from the Mellon Foundation, given to colleges with new presidents, to provide a fresh analysis of the university. And, while TLU had a strategic plan to guide us through 2009, it was clear it wasn’t truly permeating the culture – we needed to bring people together to engage in a planning process. The Mellon grant helped make that possible. At the same time, I discovered that one of my colleagues, Dr. Rick Torgerson (president of Luther College), had developed a unique way of doing strategic planning. And, not only had he led Luther College in developing two different strategic plans, he had previously spent 10 years on the faculty of Texas Lutheran. In an “ah-ha” moment, I asked him to come and help us.

How did President Torgerson help?

He came and led a board retreat during which we put together a list of framing questions – the questions we needed to answer as we looked to the next 5-7 years. These questions covered key areas: academics, student life, facilities, marketing, and development. And then we asked: Whose help do we need in answering these questions? The board retreat provided a long list of key questions and a long list of key leaders to invite as participants in the process. We spent the rest of the summer refining those lists and creating six task forces. We were heartened and grateful for the eager response of those we invited to serve.

How did you formulate the plan?

We scheduled three full-day meetings with the 65 people comprising the six task forces – including community and church leaders, faculty, staff, and alumni. I am a strong believer that good leadership includes bringing good people together with good questions and as much information as possible. So I was trusting of this process. Still, by the end of the first day, I wondered if we hadn’t asked too much. Then, at the end of the second full-day meeting, when we told people they had to present their recommendations, there was this amazing convergence among this diverse group about significant priorities for the university going forward.

How did the process increase your understanding of TLU?

Good planning builds strengths upon strengths. We saw strengths through fresh eyes and from different perspectives. For instance, one person in the process could not believe how closely our faculty is aligned with our core mission of students first, research second.

Would you say the new strategic plan embraces a whole new direction or mission for the university?

I firmly believe that a good mission drives an institution from its inception on. The original mission of preparing servant leaders for the new world of Texas in 1891 is similar to our current mission: preparing servant leaders for the new world of the 21st century – the global world. How we carry out our mission – the emphases, the programmatic shifts we make – evolves as times change. Because preparing students for servant leadership for the 21st century is different from what was needed in 1891 or even 1991, we need these overarching goals and markers toward achievement.

What do these overarching goals mean to the TLU students?

The first three goals define the student experience. The first of these stresses academic rigor and “high impact practices,” like service projects, study abroad, research, seminars, and close relationships with professors. Research on higher education is clear that high-impact or highly-engaged academic practices produce life skills that employers want – students who are team players, who have a sense of personal and social responsibility, who know how to communicate. The second goal recognizes that TLU is and will be a place where character and values formation are stressed, as students search for purpose and meaning in their lives. That search will be undergirded by a deep Lutheran understanding of vocation and a commitment to community — another way of saying, servant leadership. And the third goal emphasizes the experience of a diverse campus community that is small enough so that students can know and be known by many others. The fourth goal is also important in shaping the community because it has to do
with all the facilities, but the direct experience of the student is mainly influenced by the first three goals.

Do you see any changes in graduation requirements along the lines of service?

In the next two to three years, we may have a co-curricular diploma where each student will be required to have two to three significant co-curricular activities in order to graduate. Most of our students already are engaged in co-curricular activities: a third are in sports, 200 are in musical ensembles, many are in student government, and dozens volunteer in the community.

When do you think the strategic plan will be implemented?

We are working very faithfully, trying to develop timelines for meeting each of these goals. Some ideas can be implemented quickly. Some will take four to five years. Curricular revisions especially take time. For instance, one idea is to introduce a January term, like TLU had in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. This takes time, but everyone is working on it – faculty and administrators together working on a deliberate plan of action.

What can alumni expect to see first from the strategic plan?

The first thing they will see is a master plan for current and future facilities – with recommendations of what we need to build, remodel, or retrofit. A committee is currently in the process of selecting a firm to lead us in that master planning process.

Doesn’t the strategic plan include that?

We’ve included priorities – a fine arts building, football stadium and convocation center, a redefined role for the Alumni Student Center and library. The master plan will tell us how much each option will cost, what we can afford, what are some good ways to make that happen. From that we’ll discern what we can accomplish by 2016.

What are the most important considerations?

We must decide what we can afford – and what are our top priorities. How much money do we need for scholarships to make the distinctive TLU experience accessible to all the students who need it? How much will the recommended capital improvements cost? Then, we need to prioritize – how much to raise for scholarships? For buildings? For endowed professorships? Then we begin the conversations about a comprehensive campaign. But that’s months in the future.

Doesn’t it cost money to do a master plan or do a campaign?

I am thrilled about the significant gift that Ed and Linda Whitacre gave to support the master plan and strengthen our development office for the launching of a comprehensive campaign.

The plan calls for increasing enrollment to 1,500, and possibly growing to 2,000 students. Were there discussions about becoming even larger and adding graduate programs in the future?

TLU is dedicated to small classes and personalized interaction between faculty and students. The strategic plan calls for us to reach 1,500 students by 2016, and we will explore the implications (both financially and culturally) of growing to 2,000 students. The plan focuses on enhancing TLU’s already strong, liberal arts undergraduate program and does not recommend investment in graduate programs.

Is there a goal you are particularly passionate about?

I’m passionate about the whole plan – but the first three goals really inspire me. I cannot separate them. They are woven together to create the distinctive fabric that is TLU.

I am thrilled about TLU’s recognition in the 2009 US News & World Report as one of the nation’s 15 most racially diverse liberal arts colleges (the only Lutheran school mentioned and one of only four church-related schools). This means that TLU students rub shoulders with people from different ethnic and racial groups in ways they otherwise would not. I’m also passionate about the plan’s call for greater investment in faculty – a faculty that is already deeply engaged in the totality of students’ lives. And, I love the way goal two speaks about character formation, and about our whole community being shaped by TLU’s rich understanding of vocation – that sense of servant leadership. The three goals together are inseparable. They make the TLU experience distinctive.

In implementing the strategic plan, what will be particularly challenging?

Moving forward and not losing momentum. Change produces gain, but it includes loss. And loss creates resistance. Pacing the change for the next seven years is part of the leadership challenge. I said in the beginning that we will have failed in this plan if, first of all, we do not stretch ourselves; or if we pace ourselves in an unhealthy way so we stretch to the breaking point; or, third, if we stretch ourselves away from our mission. I think avoiding those tendencies is part of the challenge.

Fast forward to 2016 – what will TLU look like?

I see an even more magnetic place that attracts students and faculty and administrators who are passionate about the mission. I see a more beautiful place. We will have some facilities that are new and some will be refurbished. And it will be a place that is thriving in its distinctive mission. TLU will have even greater brand recognition – people will know who we are. It will have an even greater circle of friends and donors who are  eager to help it thrive. That is my vision.

Beyond that and because of it, our student body will be transformed by the kinds of experiences they have here. I anticipate we will have a few more Lutheran students, more international students, more from outside of Texas, and a somewhat higher academic profile. Some will come with great academic preparation – and be transformed by the opportunity to discern their deepest passions and recognize how they want to serve the world in their vocations. Some will be less prepared and realize they have more gifts and more capacity than they ever imagined. All will know mentors and be known by mentors here – and will leave this place prepared to meet the world with confidence and purpose.

For me, it boils down to this: I want people to come here, receive what they need to become all they can be, and then go out into the world as servant leaders.

For additional perspectives on the new TLU Strategic Plan, see Faculty Q&A and First Person. ♦

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Click here to view the Strategic Plan