For more than a year, the University community has diligently worked to create a new strategic plan positioning Bucknell to flourish in the coming decade. This comprehensive process culminated in April, when the faculty endorsed and the Board of Trustees formally approved The Plan for Bucknell 2025: A Thriving, Inclusive and Sustainable Future.
“I’m profoundly grateful for the many months of deep reflection and tireless work on the creation of this plan by students, faculty and staff, and trustees,” says President John Bravman. “As we work together to implement this strategic plan, we will build the University’s roadmap to a vibrant and sustainable future.”
The plan developed during the 2018-19 academic year was informed by the previous year’s open forums, which included sessions on admissions, advancement, academic and student affairs, and overall finances. Infusing the final plan was extensive campus community input, garnered via open houses; digital platforms; and individual college, department, small-group and one-on-one meetings. The plan’s four overarching commitments set a path for Bucknell to further distinguish itself among peer institutions while ensuring a secure future amid higher-education challenges, including demographic shifts in the college-age population, increased scrutiny of the value of four-year degrees and rising costs.
The plan commits Bucknell to:
- Cultivate academic excellence across the institution.
- Build and sustain a diverse community in which all students, faculty and staff experience a sense of belonging supported by a foundation of inclusion, equity and access.
- Provide integrated and exemplary residential student experiences.
- Create a sustainable future through the responsible stewardship of the University’s financial, natural, human and other resources.
Each commitment is refined into priorities and strategic initiatives. In coming months, the University will develop specific tactics to advance these initiatives and priorities.
“The plan provides a framework for addressing major challenges on campus, but it doesn’t provide the details on how to do so; therefore, any successes this plan fosters will require deep and ongoing collaboration among all stakeholders,” says Professor William Kenny, music, chair of the faculty and a member of the Strategic Planning Steering and Executive committees. “The most important work is about to begin.”
bucknell.edu/strategicplanning