Executive Summary

This revised strategic plan, based on the 1989 plan Achieving Distinction, calls for The University of Iowa to continue its efforts to develop national leadership in selected educational and research programs and to become one of the ten best public universities in the nation. Such an aspiration demands a strong and vigorous emphasis on quality; the focusing of effort, time, and funds; an attitude of receptivity to change; and an aggressive campaign to obtain new private and public funds. This pathway to distinction emphasizes the importance of building on the strengths of The University of Iowa as a major research university which is dedicated to educational programs of exceptional quality. The essential tool for improvement is a strategy of focus, allocating resources to the highest quality programs or to those programs with significant promise of attaining distinction. Progress toward achieving the University's aspiration depends on the participation of the entire University community and the support and understanding of friends and alumni, external constituencies, and the citizens of Iowa.

Institutional Goals

As a step toward realizing the aspiration of "achieving distinction," the plan calls for a concerted University-wide effort to raise quality over the next five years. The most general priorities of the plan are reflected in seven University goals:

• Comprehensive strength in undergraduate programs. The University should have a broad, but not all-inclusive, range of undergraduate programs which emphasize central educational areas.
• Premier graduate and professional programs in a significant number of areas. The University should have a core of exceptional programs of advanced education.
• A faculty of national and international distinction. The University should compete for the very best junior faculty and, through recruitment and retention, develop a sizeable body of senior faculty who are leading figures in their fields.
• Distinguished research and scholarship. The University should promote and support the best possible research and scholarship, in support of the discovery of new knowledge, enhancement of instruction, and contribution to economic development.
• A culturally diverse and inclusive University community. A diverse community is absolutely necessary to prepare students for life in a multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial national and international society.
• Strong ties between the University and external constituencies. The University should have an integrated outreach effort that informs external constituencies about its curriculum, listens and responds to their concerns, and works with them to advance the quality of the institution.
• A high-quality academic and working environment. The University should provide a safe, humane, healthful, and intellectually stimulating environment.

For each goal, the plan presents a set of objectives and strategies (recommended actions), many of which are designed for implementation by departments, programs, colleges, or administrative units.

Institutional Strategies

Eleven strategies (actions) are recommended for implementation by the central administration. These institutional strategies are designed to (1) respond to and shape the environment of the University and (2) foster University-wide conditions enabling departments, colleges, etc. to implement specific strategies. The institutional strategies are to:

• Develop an enrollment management system to meet quality and diversity objectives while maintaining access for all qualified Iowa students.
• Maintain current enrollment and staffing levels, but examine the distribution of resources across programs to improve the match between student needs and resources; recruit and retain the highest quality faculty and staff.
• Develop a high-performance, unified, University-wide electronic communications infrastructure.
• Encourage and support the professional development of faculty and staff.
• Use the "Criteria for Institutional Enhancements and Reductions" to reallocate resources and create funds for innovative proposals and flexible resource pools.
• Give priority among state funding requests to improving physical infrastructure and core resources (libraries, information technology, and equipment).
• Strive to develop a climate of process review and continuous improvement in the quality and efficiency of University services, both academic and nonacademic.
• Examine the academic and administrative structures of colleges for improved efficiency, communication, and responsiveness to educational needs.
• Enhance the University's external relationships and visibility with its various constituencies.
• Examine the consequences of health care reform for the University with particular attention to educational programs in the health sciences colleges.
• Develop proposals for more extensive use of the Oakdale Research Campus.

A Flexible Framework

As a written and public document, the plan will promote understanding of the broader context within which the University shapes its future. It is designed to identify important policy issues and foster favorable conditions for intellectual endeavor across campus. The plan recognizes that many of the most important decisions of the University are made in departments and colleges rather than in the central administration. It serves as a framework that encourages departments, programs, colleges, and administrative units to work within an integrated whole. Each of these units now has developed its own strategic plan as a complement to this University-level plan. Achieving distinction in teaching, research, and service programs will be based on the implementation not only of this University-level plan but also on those created by colleges, programs, departments, and other administrative units.

Over the next five years, the Strategic Planning Committee will continue its work by reviewing and commenting on first-level strategic plans in the context of overall University planning. It will consider revisions in the strategic planning process and issue annual reports on recommended adjustments in the University Strategic Plan based on changes in environmental conditions, opportunities derived from first-level plans, and suggestions from the University community