Contact: Maridith Geuder
STARKVILLE, Miss.--After completing his first weeks talking with Mississippi State students, faculty and staff, new university President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong is beginning a strategic planning initiative.
With the goal of identifying strengths and opportunities, as well as existing and potential areas of excellence, the land-grant institution's chief executive is planning to build on a recent yearlong planning effort chaired by Provost Peter Rabideau.
"We don't want to change things that are working well, but we want to make changes where change makes sense," Foglesong said late last week.
A new task force chaired by Gary Pike, director of institutional research, will gather baseline data for Mississippi State, comparing performance in a variety of areas to that of national land-grant universities with a similar structure and scope.
Faculty, staff, student, and community representatives will be nominated by constituent groups and appointed by Foglesong to begin the intensive analysis to be completed by July 31.
"I consider this a bottoms-up review of areas on campus, and I'm asking that the process be as open as possible," Foglesong said. To be shared and discussed with campus and external stakeholder groups, the outcomes will help shape institutional goals and the best use of its resources, he added.
Potential, but not necessarily exclusive, areas that Foglesong has identified for study are:
--Academic excellence, including the undergraduate experience;
--Research and graduate/professional education;
--Service and outreach;
--Campus infrastructure;
--Relationships with constituents and bridging experiences; and
--Employee-related matters, including salaries and benefits.
Pike's task force will collect baseline data with the support of a variety of study groups that draw membership from throughout the university community and external constituencies.
The body will make recommendations to a "State of the Future" Planning Committee chaired by Rabideau. Other members of that committee are Ray Hayes, vice president for finance and administration; Bill Kibler, vice president for student affairs; and Robert Holland Faculty Senate members Mark Goodman, Walter Diehl, Tim Chamblee, and Jeanne Swofford.
In addition to Pike, task force members include Chris Clifford of finance and administration; Joe Farris and Melvin Ray of the president's office; Maridith Geuder of university relations; Mark Goodman of communication; Jerry Gilbert of academic affairs; Lisa Harris of student affairs; Chuck Hill of the GeoResources Institute; Melissa Mixon of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; and Al Rankins of plant and soil sciences.
Information about the process is being posted at the president's Web site, http://www.msstate.edu/president/.