Inauguration Thank You and Strategic Planning Invitation
Dear Macalester Community,
Thank you to all of you who were able to join us virtually or in person for Inauguration. What a weekend, filled with opportunities to come together as a community and celebrate being back together. We certainly felt a strong sense of Macalester pride during the weekend, and hope you did, too!
For those of you who were not able to take part and would like to watch the ceremony, you can see it on the Inauguration website.
We also were excited to share more about our strategic planning process (“Imagine, Macalester”) during last Thursday’s Big Questions event. Here’s a link to that recording in case you missed it.
Your input and participation will be critical to creating a strong and inspiring strategic plan that will be used to guide Macalester into the future. We will keep you informed on our work through our strategic planning communication hub, which we will update regularly. You’ll see as you explore the site that it includes a range of background materials and information that will help inform our work together as a community.
Today, we are opening the application process for an important role in the planning process: our volunteer Strategic Planning “Champions.” The Champions will serve as guides and liaisons, helping the college’s senior leadership team review and interpret the feedback gathered from the full Macalester community, and identify key themes that emerge throughout the process. You can find more information, including application details, on the Strategic Planning Champions page. The deadline for applying is Monday, October 25.
Upon review of the applications, the college’s senior leadership team will select a diverse group of 14-16 individuals to serve who will represent students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni. We are looking for volunteers who are optimistic, curious, and eager to hear others’ perspectives. This volunteer role requires an extensive commitment. At this point, we are estimating an average of two hours per week from November through April. If any of the selected Champions are students who receive need-based financial aid, funds will be available to support participation as a work-study option.
In addition, we’d like to invite all members of the Macalester community to join one of our upcoming planning sessions.
- November 19: Campus Community Planning Kick-Off Sessions. Faculty, staff, and students are invited to join an in-person kick-off to discuss college priorities and the strategic planning process. The faculty/staff session will be held in the morning (9-noon CT) and the student session will be held in the afternoon (2:30-5:30 CT). We recognize that the time slots may not work for all. To the extent it is possible to avoid scheduling other meetings and allow for asynchronous classwork that day, it would be helpful to maximize flexibility in order to make attendance possible for those who wish to participate. Please know there will be opportunities for those who are not able to join to share their input later.
- January 25: Alumni and Parent Town Hall from 7-8:30 p.m. CT. This virtual session will provide an opportunity for alumni and parents to join us to discuss college priorities and the strategic planning process. Again, those who cannot participate will have other opportunities to provide input.
Along the way, we welcome any input you’d like to share at [email protected].
With appreciation,
Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera, President
Dr. Lisa Anderson-Levy, Executive Vice President and Provost
October 11, 2021