Update on FUture Focused strategic plan, consultants

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to update you on the progress of our strategic plan, FUture Focused, and plans to partner with consultants on key objectives primarily under the strategic plan’s Sustainable Future priority.

The Senior Administrative Team met recently with Credo, our consulting partner on the strategic plan, and began to outline the objectives we will focus on this year along with assigning initiative leaders and the working groups that will help plan and execute the related tactics.

Credo also is assisting with developing a dashboard to track our progress on the strategic plan. When completed, this dashboard will be available at the FUture Focused website, furman.edu/strategic-plan.

The strategic plan is an extension of our longstanding practice and culture of assessment, study and reflection – as well as our desire to continuously innovate and advance Furman’s vision, mission, goals and success.

One area of focus this year will be ensuring a strong and sustainable financial future for the university. We will begin to tackle the two objectives under the Sustainable Future priority, (1) Bolster our Financial Foundation and (2) Articulate the Furman Brand, by partnering with consultants who will help guide us in collecting and interpreting data and developing strategies to improve financial strength.

Our work with consultants will include conducting a comprehensive review of Furman’s business model and operations, athletics investment and academic programs to find areas where we can improve our practices while remaining consistent with our liberal arts and sciences mission. We will also study the university’s brand and reputation through surveys and an analysis of Furman’s and our competitors’ marketing to sharpen our messaging and how we tell our story.

We will hold an open forum September 12 for faculty and staff to provide further updates on the strategic plan and our work with consultants and to discuss and answer questions about the 2024-25 budget and compensation. We will follow up with more details on this forum soon.

All of this work is about securing Furman’s future. We may learn some things in the process that will require tough decisions and even adjustments to the strategic plan. The goal is to ensure we enter our third century with strength and clarity.

I look forward to working together to continue to build on and elevate our excellence.

Warmly,

Elizabeth