Five years ago the Wichita State community adopted its first ever strategic plan. This fall, in an effort to advance the goal of enhancing shared governance, the strategic planning committee unveiled a tactic to activate the strategic plan.

The Strategic Planning Town Hall, held Oct. 25, provided the initial opportunity for WSU faculty, staff, students and community stakeholders to begin the deliberations on next steps in our planning process. Attendees engaged in discussions related to the progress made to date and envisioned the benefits of satisfying the goals. The 180 attendees also had the opportunity to sign up to serve on one of seven Activation Teams (AcT), one for each of the seven ongoing goals.

On Nov. 5, the seven Activation Teams continued the work by engaging in crucial conversations, held to dig deeper into the continued relevance and potential of each goal. In January 2019, the Activation Teams will take up the task of completing a SWOT analysis of their assigned goal, evaluating progress to date and making recommendations to the full strategic planning committee for possible modifications or improvements to our current plan.

Those connected to Wichita State or interested in advising the path forward for the university should join an activation team. Meetings are scheduled throughout the spring semester. If you can't commit to a monthly meeting, come when you can and share your experiences.