Early in the process it became evident to Committee members that their work might best be described, alliteratively, as positioning Academic Affairs to 'confront, control, and create.'
CONFRONT
Confrontation of challenges centers on five areas of primary concern for UW-Green Bay: dwindling resources, changing demographics, marketplace shifts, escalating technological challenges, and chronic communication and coordination issues. The Planning Committee's assessment included a SWOT Analysis listing 37 strengths; 85 weaknesses, 40 opportunities, 26 threats and 33 trends.
CONTROL
Control speaks to the desire to be empowered. The Committee agreed UW-Green Bay cannot rely on the state to give us all the resources and directions we need; other resource streams (grants, contracts and revenue-generating activities, for example) afford greater control of our own destiny. Control also entails freedom, in particular from 'outcome inhibiting processes,' another way of saying internal processes should be streamlined where possible to avoid unnecessary red tape. Community partnerships also provide the University a measure of control over its future.
CREATE
Creative problem-solving, the third key element, is of course already evident across Academic Affairs and the larger University. Examples include success in landing private support for First Nighters and Friends of the Cofrin Library initiatives, in grant writing for research and key initiatives, in the spectrum of Outreach and Adult Access programs, and many others. Community partnerships are numerous and include the Institute for Learning, Campus Compact, the NEW Social Work partnership, SBDC and others. Streamlining of processes is taking place in faculty/staff recruitment and hiring, and the University Committee is reviewing the curriculum approval process.
