Tom Dwyer, executive vice president, treasurer and CFO, who has played a critical role in fashioning FOCUS 2011, rightly states, “none of what we have mapped out in the areas of FOCUS is possible if we put the institution at long-term financial risk, or if we don’t make the right investment in our employees, our technical and physical resources, and in our endowment.”
By strengthening the foundation we are committing to renewed advancement efforts, to protecting and growing our endowment, developing our physical and technological infrastructures, and expanding and enhancing our human resource capabilities.
Patricia McLaughlin, J.D., was hired in February as senior vice president of institutional advancement. She and her team are strategizing and implementing an integrated advancement effort that will position us to take advantage of the corporate and foundation grants. Our renewed advancement efforts are designed to improve infrastructure and grow the endowment. “We will take the necessary steps to continually enrich our ability to provide the resources necessary to ensure exemplary educational and experiential opportunities for our students and faculty,” notes Patricia.
We are committed and have already begun developing the appropriate physical and technological infrastructures that support our efforts and position our students and employees to succeed. Merlin DeConti, senior vice president of facilities management, and John Smithers, chief information officer, are working with the campus presidents and leadership teams on campus-specific facilities and infrastructure plans. For various reasons within and outside our control these plans often have longer time frames associated with them, and we will have to establish priorities and exercise the necessary discipline to focus on the long-term benefits.
Finally, and most importantly, as our workforce and organizational needs evolve we have to develop our most important asset—our people. University leadership is committed to developing and implementing a training institute that will provide programming at all campuses to help enhance the personal and professional lives of all employees.
Debi Gray, former Norfolk Campus President, has currently assumed the role of director of the training and development institute, and is spearheading a human resource development plan along with Robin Krakowsky, senior vice president of administration. This HR development program will have a phased approach and enable us to build competencies, knowledge and desired behaviors across the institution.
The
areas of FOCUS 2011 are intertwined, and the responsibility does not fall
simply on the shoulders of those who work in the areas of academics,
student services,
admissions and career development—every one of us has to take ownership
for the success of our individual graduates and the institution as a whole.
Accomplishing FOCUS 2011 means we each have
at least two deliverables: one, commit to raising the bar; and two, demonstrate
genuine care, consideration and compassion as we seek to become better than
we are today—no matter what position we hold, our length of service
or our specific role.
© 2006 Johnson & Wales University. All rights reserved.
