President's Letter
Dear Colleagues:
Five years ago this fall, Montana State University embarked on a bold journey, guided by our strategic plan, “Mountains and Minds: Learners and Leaders.” Bold because the plan posited very ambitious goals. Bold because the goals in the plan charted an innovative direction of integration and interdisciplinarity for our land-grant university. Bold because we put the plan not on a shelf but at the forefront of resource allocation decisions.
As we look back now on the fifth year of the plan, we can celebrate achievements in all areas, even exceeding some targets ahead of schedule. We can also renew our bold efforts to achieve the targets we have yet to reach.
As the 2017-2018 academic year unfolds, Planning Council has recommended we focus on five objectives:
Learning 1: Assess, and improve where needed, student learning of critical knowledge and skills.
Discovery 1: Elevate the research excellence and recognition of MSU faculty.
Discovery 3: Expand the scale, breadth, and quality of doctoral education.
Access 2: Diversify the student body.
Stewardship 1: Attract, develop and retain the best faculty and staff to achieve the MSU mission.
During the past academic year, we have been looking for ways to plan, budget, and develop programs in these objectives, not at the expense of other good objectives, but to shine a spotlight for a short while in order to make concentrated progress. At the same time, we have been assessing progress on the previous year’s priority objectives, and we are making plans for the following year. Your university is driven to improve continuously!
As you read the following pages, I hope you will celebrate our successes and recommit to achieve the remaining targets with me.
Go Cats!
Waded Cruzado
President