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For the past year, I have been talking about profound changes in the higher education environment, including the economic downturn and increased competition for students. University of the Sciences has taken steps to overcome these challenges. And now is the time to update the Legacy, Vision and Value strategic plan that was instituted in 2007 and that has served us well in that time.
Using Legacy, Vision and Value as its foundation, the University’s leadership has updated our strategic imperatives. This new strategy is positioning the University for the future and falls under seven core pillars:
- Create long-term financial stability
- Deploy a data-driven enrollment management strategy
- Improve market awareness
- Transform academic programming and delivery
- Create a residential campus
- Deploy technologies that transform the educational processes
- Leverage external relationships to recognize value
These imperatives will translate into action in several ways. Here are a few examples:
- Continuing to engage our alumni in more University activities and events.
- Recruiting students on a national scale.
- Raising a greater number of restricted and endowed scholarships to support financial aid.
- Developing new academic programs in health professions and sciences to address growth in educational areas and the job market.
- Deploying new technologies that will transform the educational environment and how classroom instruction is delivered and accessed.
- Creating relationships with external partners, like those outlined in this issue’s Bulletin Board, that increase enrollment and opportunities.
- Enhancing the living and learning experience for all our students through a plan for a more residential campus.
- Increasing the recognition of USciences across the region through a brand awareness and marketing campaign that is now being deployed.
These imperatives and initiatives are being put in place so that the University can continue to fulfill its mission:
“The mission of University of the Sciences is to educate students to become leaders and innovators in the sciences, the health professions, and emerging related disciplines. Building on our legacy as the nation’s first college of pharmacy, we provide excellence in teaching, research, and service.”
I encourage you to read the strategic plan that is available (www.usciences.edu/StrategicPlan) so that you can be informed about our challenges and the proactive steps being taken to address them. If you have any feedback about these steps, please e-mail me at president@usp.edu. I look forward to sharing our progress.
Sincerely,
Philip P. Gerbino
P’69, PharmD’70
President
