Trustee Conner added that we need to revise the strategic plan based around our new reality.
The second goal under the core value of belonging relates to becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). These designations have gone away at the federal level, so this goal should probably come out of the strategic plan. Some of the initiatives under this goal could be included in the Strategic Enrollment Management plan. Chair Hensler stated that goal number two under belonging needs to be removed, but some of the initiatives could be reallocated or positioned into other areas. Goal three under belonging is essentially around recognizing that we must work to create a diverse university community and foster a sense of belonging. We are doing this work. However, we may want to rethink some of the initiatives based on what comes out of the Shared Equity and Belonging Leadership group. President Wohlpart summarized the final Core Value 3, which is stewardship. The first goal under this core value relates to implementing a university wide sustainability plan. This plan is complete and being used. In addition, Dr. Susan Kaspari is offering summer workshops for faculty to build sustainability into their courses, which is an initiative under the sustainable practices goal. The second goal under stewardship relates to understanding and elevating shared governance and creating leaders in place. We have completed a collaborative process for studying shared governance with faculty, staff, students, and administrators. Those individuals were selected by the shared governance leaders of those groups, and the Board of Trustees approved that document last May. The last goal under stewardship relates to our budgeting. The board asked for the creation of a five-year financial plan and the creation of a sustainable financial model, which Vice President Klucking’s area has developed. We still have work to do to build our reserves. In terms of fundraising, in the last four years, we have raised on average about $8M a year. In 2025-2026, we raised $13.1M. This is a record. In addition, our endowment has grown from $37M to about $75M. President Wohlpart explained that to revise the current strategic plan, we would have to develop a process with all the shared governance groups. This would include developing communications to the university and deciding the best way to get feedback and direction. Updating a strategic plan should not be like creating a strategic plan from scratch. It will be taking things out that we are not going to do and adding things that we will be focusing on. It should be a streamlined process. Framing the revision of the strategic plan to match our budget reality will be key. Chair Hensler asked that during the October meeting the board get an update on where we are with the strategic plan, including a timeline.
Trustee Nellams would like to make sure that during this process our new reality is being communicated, and folks know this needs to happen now.
Trustee Jenkins added that it will be critically important to have a structured enterprise-wide framework to evaluate the stop and defer work. We need to make sure we are evaluating everything and
5 Board of Trustees Minutes July 16-17, 2026
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator