5-1-09: Duke: Looking at the Duke Budget

University Reviewing Strategic Plan Amid Downturn

Durham, NC -- The word “retrenchment” appears just once in a memo Provost Peter Lange sent recently to the university’s deans, asking them to re-examine their strategic goals in the face of the economic downturn. Duke’s senior academic officer cited the word as something to avoid, saying the deans should strive instead to keep innovating even as they search for ways to save money.

“We must be careful that the planning process does not result in a retrenchment from these goals,” Lange wrote, referring to the goals and strategic priorities in the university’s strategic plan, Making a Difference. “It is important for us to think creatively and ambitiously about how we can continue to foster synergies across these goals, and continue to establish our unique institutional identity through collective actions.”

Lange has asked the deans to take a fresh look at Making a Difference, and the plans for their own schools, and report back to him on how they can best pursue their objectives amid tighter constraints. His office is coordinating this simultaneous review of strategic goals at the school and university levels. It will focus especially on how to enhance faculty excellence, promote strong graduate and professional programs and enrich the student experience while advancing critical university strategic themes: interdisciplinary study, knowledge in the service of society and internationalization.

As part of the process, the provost’s office will sponsor a series of discussions with faculty to examine current challenges in higher education and issues specific to Duke. It also will reach out to students and staff, and invites members of the Duke community to send comments through the university’s “Enduring a Troubled Economy” website.

“We’re asking how we can maximize our ability to move forward when things aren’t very good,” Lange said at the April 21 Primetime forum in Griffith Theater at which he and other senior Duke administrators discussed the university’s response to the financial situation. “We want to enlist as many people as possible in that process.”
Provost's Memo

The March 31 memo from Provost Peter Lange to the deans asks them to review the school's strategic plan, identify the most crucial priorities and to seek ways to be innovative while relying on less resources. For the full text of the memo, click here.

In a message accompanying Lange’s memo, President Richard Brodhead emphasized the importance of “keeping our eye on the deep missions of the schools and university and leading our colleagues in envisioning how to meet those goals in a new resource environment. In a sense, our task is to return to our recent strategic planning and strategically adapt it to a new landscape.”

Lange has asked the deans to send him their preliminary plans by October 12, to serve as a basis for discussions with several faculty advisory and oversight groups, including the Academic Council. “The development of a final plan for each school will be an iterative process, so that we achieve the correct balance between school and university goals. Our goal is to have a final plan by late winter 2010,” he wrote.

http://www.dukenews.duke.edu/2009/04/stratplan.html