May 7, 2012

The Task Force held the final of its 40 small group consultations on April 13, though we continued to receive feedback via the website until late in April.  In the intervening weeks the group has met several times to review what it has discovered, and to reach agreement on all the items listed in our April 4 posting.  

The Task Force submitted its report to the Dean on May 4.  The Dean is overseas until May 12, but will make decisions about next steps when he returns.  It is his intention to take something to Arts Faculty Council for approval before long.

On behalf of the Task Force members, we would like to thank everyone who took the time to meet with us, to send feedback via the website, or to write to or call a Task Force member to let us know what you think.  It has been a privilege to chair this Task Force, and a pleasure to find out about the excellent work being done in all parts of the Faculty.

Dave DeVidi
Theresa Libby
Task Force Chairs

April 4, 2012

In this first phase of the Faculty of Arts Strategic Planning process, we hope to use the feedback we receive in our consultations to generate broad agreement in a few important areas which can then guide the more detailed planning for the future that will begin later in 2012.  In particular, we would like to generate:

1. A mission statement:  This is a high-level statement of why the Faculty exists: what do we do and for whom do we do it?  It should be stated in a way that would be broadly assented to by people internal to the Faculty, but which also communicates clearly to the public.
2. A vision statement:  Based on the values that motivate the work that happens in Arts and our mission, the vision statement should be a brief, clear statement that suggests where we aspire to be as an organization five-to-ten years from now.  Ideally, it would be inspiring. 
3. A statement of the values that guide what we do in the Faculty of Arts. 
4. A list of guiding principles and strategic goals.  At this stage, these must remain fairly abstract, as the Dean is committed to ensuring that faculty, staff and students in the Faculty, and allies of the Faculty, have appropriate input into how the Faculty moves forward from here.  Nevertheless, we intend that they reflect what we have heard, and that they not be empty collections of platitudes.

While this is just the first step, it is an important one. Decisions about what we think is important will guide our fundraising efforts (rather than having our fundraising guide us), and influence how we promote the Faculty to prospective students. Please see 'Reactions wanted' and add your comments and opinions.

March 14, 2012

The Task Force is now well into the process of holding "small group" consultations.  We have so far held about 15 of the approximately 45 such meetings we have planned.  The Task Force will meet again as a group on March 21.  After that meeting we will be posting some statements based on the feedback received to date via this website and in the consultation meetings. And, again, we ask for your responses to those.  

Thank you to everyone who has provided us with responses so far, whether in meetings or on the website or by email.

David DeVidi and Theresa Libby
Task Force Chairs

February 8, 2012

The Strategic Planning Task Force members have now met three times to begin the process. Two weeks ago, we met to establish the purpose and functions of the Task Force. Then, at last week’s meeting, we discussed the range of questions to be considered by all members and affiliates of the Faculty of Arts during the upcoming strategic planning consultation meetings. Today’s meeting focused on confirming the process (and logistics) for conducting the meetings, and on the range of Arts-relevant data that will be shared on this website.

It was determined that there are approximately 43 groups that the 13 Task Force members will be conducting meetings with over the next month or so. While the specific groups will be published on this website as soon as the meeting schedules are confirmed, the breakdown of groups to be consulted looks roughly like this:

• 15 departments and SAF
• 6 staff groupings
• 2 to 4 undergraduate groupings
• 4 graduate student groupings
• BSIA and Arts interdisciplinary programs
• Faculty in each FAUC (4 meetings)
• Staff from the FUACs
• Stratford campus
• Arts-affiliated librarians
• Co-op Ed / employers
• Alumni
• Arts retirees
• People from other UW faculties who coordinate joint programs with Arts
• Centre for Teaching Excellence and Centre for Extended Learning

Some faculty or staff may find themselves invited to multiple meetings; if you receive multi-invites, we hope you will use the different meetings to raise issues especially relevant to your different roles.