Dear Marquette colleagues:
For the better part of this calendar year, our Marquette University community has been engaged in thoughtful planning efforts for our Marquette 2031 Strategic Plan and our complementary Securing Our Future initiative. These planning processes were inextricably linked: the cost-savings and revenue from the Securing Our Future recommendations will help fund the investments outlined in our strategic plan.
In this first month of our academic year, we have made significant progress with the priorities of the strategic plan. And yesterday, the Securing Our Future Steering Committee published its report of recommendations, which we have reviewed and accepted.
We extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Jill Guttormson, dean and professor of nursing, and Ralph Weber, vice president and general counsel, for their leadership of the Marquette 2031: Securing Our Future Steering Committee, and especially for their willingness to meet with more than 1,000 people and 45 different groups throughout the process. This work would not have been possible without the 25 members of the Steering Committee who put in countless hours of work during the spring and summer. The collaboration and commitment of this cross-campus team was inspiring to see and reaffirmed that we are better when we consider a diverse range of viewpoints and perspectives.
Integrated implementation
We are now bringing these efforts together and moving forward with one strategic plan implementation process. The Board of Trustees endorsed the strategic plan in December 2023, and its implementation is a key outcome identified in the position profile for Marquette’s next president. Throughout strategic plan implementation, we will remain steadfastly committed to our mission, vision and guiding values.
As announced last week, strategic plan implementation is being co-led by Alix Riley, chief academic effectiveness officer, and Lora Strigens, vice president for planning and facilities management. The Securing Our Future committee recommendations will be implemented over time as part of the “Healthy Campus” theme of our Marquette 2031 Strategic Plan.
As the strategic plan implementation process continues, we remain committed to shared governance and we will ensure that process is followed. There is a clear shared governance process outlined in the Faculty Handbook regarding decisions for which University Academic Senate and its standing committees should be consulted, and an expectation that leaders give serious consideration to faculty bodies’ recommendations before decisions and actions are taken.
One foot raised
Saint Ignatius of Loyola once counseled Jesuits that they should live “always with one foot raised,” ready to go where their mission led them. As an institution, we see our mission as leading us down this road in stages:
- Working with unit leaders to implement the specific recommendations from the Securing Our Future report
- Developing clear action plans for the transformative recommendations by the end of FY25
- Determining the near-term and longer-term investments in the Marquette 2031 Strategic Plan initiatives
The transformative recommendations will need additional expertise and integrated planning from across campus over the coming months to strategically implement. ELT and the Marquette 2031 Strategic Plan co-leads are identifying existing working groups (where possible) or new leaders/co-leaders for each of the transformative recommendations so that we sustain our momentum. We will announce that implementation structure in the coming weeks via Marquette Today.
As of today, the precise financial impact of the transformative recommendations is not yet known. Once the working groups for each transformative recommendation are further along, we will work with the Office of Finance to determine the financial impact and identify additional actions that may be needed to reach the $31 million Securing Our Future goal. We remain committed to reinvesting 40% (~$12 million) of that goal into funding the initiatives outlined in our Marquette 2031 Strategic Plan, including staff and faculty compensation, and student success. Reinvestment will happen throughout the next six years as progress is made.
Higher education is at a crossroads, and how we respond as we approach our 150th anniversary in 2031 will undoubtedly define our next 150 years. We must act now – so that we can shape our own future – rather than having it decided for us by factors outside our control. Together, we will proceed with intentionality of process and structure; fortitude to make the changes that have been approved; and accountability across campus.
We know that change is hard, and we are grateful for your willingness to walk this path together as we carry out this important work. By implementing our Marquette 2031 Strategic Plan, we will ensure our Catholic, Jesuit mission guides us into a hope-filled future.
Thank you for caring so deeply about this special place. We appreciate all that you do for Marquette.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kimo Ah Yun
Acting President
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Joel Pogodzinski
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
