Narrative Summary and Timeline
In March 2022, Chancellor Keith S. Carver and Provost Philip Cavalier launched a campus wide strategic plan refresh process. Since the creation of the “Prepare for Takeoff” in 2018, we have developed and implemented a strategic enrollment plan and experienced the disruptions from more than two years of Covid-19. Through the refresh process, the UT Martin community celebrated what we've accomplished since 2018 and explored new opportunities to pursue over the next three years. The refresh process provided an opportunity to ensure that our plan aligned with the five pillars of the UT Systemwide strategic plan, completed in 2021.
Chancellor Carver was committed to engaging all constituents in the UT Martin community in the refresh process. With that in mind, the refresh process included four phases intended to solicit extensive input from all groups on each of the five goals articulated in “Prepare for Takeoff.”
Project Launch (April 2022)
In April 2022, Chancellor Carver and Provost Cavalier selected ten faculty and staff members to serve as co-chairs for five goal committees. At a launch event in early April, they met with the co-chairs to lay out the process for updating the strategic plan and to establish expected outcomes. Chancellor Carver, Provost Cavalier, and the co-chairs selected the members of each goal committee.
Committee reviews and recommendations (May - June 2022)
Each committee met several times to review the goal and its objectives, and to create an inventory of the things that had been accomplished since 2018. Based on the accomplishments and the insights we've gained from COVID, each committee developed recommendations for work to be done in their area over the next three years.
Draft of updated strategic plan (July 2022)
Each committee completed a report that listed the accomplishments for their goal, proposed revisions to the goal and its objectives, and recommended initiatives to pursue to continue working towards the goal. The committees submitted their reports to Provost Cavalier in July, who used them to draft “Prepare for Takeoff 2.0.” The draft was sent to the committee members for comments and suggestions, after which the revised draft was shared with the Chancellor’s Cabinet for feedback.
Engagement and final draft plan (August – September 2022)
Chancellor Carver and Provost Cavalier shared the revised draft of “Prepare for Takeoff 2.0” with the UT Martin community at several pre-semester meetings in August. Provost Cavalier presented “Prepare for Takeoff 2.0” to staff and faculty leaders at the Administrative Retreat, to the faculty senate at their Faculty Senate Retreat, and to the faculty and staff at the fall faculty meeting. After these events, Chancellor Carver and Provost Cavalier circulated the draft to the entire UT Martin community for review, comments, and suggestions. Chancellor Carver presented the revised plan to the SGA. In September, he and Provost Cavalier hosted a Town Hall about the strategic plan to solicit more feedback and answer questions. In late September, Provost Cavalier presented the final version of “Prepare for Takeoff 2.0” to the UT Martin Advisory Board.
Chancellor Carver presented “Prepare for Takeoff 2.0” to the UT Board of Trustees on October 28, 2022.