A roadmap for a successful Newman University
Newman began a process of planning for the future during the first year of Kathleen Jagger’s presidency in 2020. Over the past year, that future came into clearer focus with the creation of the university’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan which included input and feedback from various internal and external stakeholders.
The resulting blueprint centers on two main areas — University Thriving and Cultivating Student Success.
Realizing that the success of any institution relies on its financial, human, cultural, social and physical environment, the first goal directs Newman to concentrate on strategically developing and aligning its resources with university priorities to meet current and future demands.
Thriving Main Objectives
Fortifying financial stewardship and sustainability is a key to Newman’s ability to live out its mission. Ensuring that it operates in a sustainable manner will allow it to continue to educate students who are empowered to transform society while protecting our heritage and physical spaces.
Increasing Catholic Identity visibility and integration throughout campus is essential to the university’s success to live out its mission, which is critical to ongoing success. Aligned with its core values, the strategic plan guides the actions and decisions of the university.
Strengthening human resources is necessary to better support faculty and staff and to continue to develop a diverse workforce. This objective calls for a review of monetary and nonmonetary employee benefits and keys on offering competitive compensation and benefits to support the hiring and retention of qualified mission-driven employees.
The fourth objective is establishing and investing in more best-practices in university management. Increasing administrative efficiency and effectiveness along with implementing strategic communication to increase transparency and community engagement are paramount. Modernizing and improving systems and data quality will positively impact decision-making and enhance user experiences and efficiencies.
Cultivating Student Success Main Objectives
Newman University’s mission defines its commitment to prepare and educate its students to prepare them to make a difference in whatever path they choose in life. The senior leadership team also recognizes that cultivating student success and growth requires a campus and community environment that fosters a sense of belonging and inclusiveness, and a respect for and celebration of differences that enriches the Newman community.
The first objective of the second goal is improving and enhancing a welcoming and student-center culture. Success in this area will increase retention and graduation rates, support the overall student well-being, engage more students in a broad range of activities and promote accessibility of integrated student services, while leveraging Newman’s advantage of being located in a thriving metropolitan community.
The second objective, enhancing academic excellence in all degree programs, will occur through incentivizing innovation, expanding the Navigator student success and support program, and prioritizing ongoing curriculum development. In addition, this objective aims at increasing capacity of existing programs with high demand and supporting faculty development.
Creating and fostering an exceptional, dynamic and diverse student-life experience is the third objective. Through the delivery of engaging activities, the students’ sense of belonging is strengthened. Focus of this area are elevating campus programs and services for commuter students and students of diverse backgrounds, and becoming an emerging Hispanic Service Institution.
