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Strategic Plan
Table of contents
A great plan lifts us all
Dear Wolf Pack family,
When we began the task of developing our strategic plan for 2023-2027, one of the first objectives was to develop a sense of how best for our faculty, staff and students, as well as our alumni and the community, to meaningfully share what I termed at the time were their most “audacious and inspiring” goals for the future.
We quickly learned that the path forward for the Wolf Pack has always been about meeting the challenges and the changing needs of Nevada. Our best ideas and our finest moments have always been forged during the times when we have been faced with our most daunting challenges. The campus was willing and eager to provide a thorough and thoughtful examination of our institutional priorities and to present a clear-eyed understanding of our vulnerabilities as well as opportunities.
The plan presented here speaks to the hopes and dreams of our constituencies, our capabilities to make those hopes and dreams possible and our institution-wide commitment to excellence that ultimately is the difference-maker in the transformational impact our University has on every person it ever comes in contact with.
I wish to thank all of the individuals — our faculty, staff, students, alumni and community — who have contributed their best thoughts and ideas as well as their time and effort in making this strategic plan a reality. The time to achieve is now.
Go Pack!
Sincere regards,
Brian Sandoval
President
Six strategic goals
The plan features six strategic goals that embody what we stand for as a university and
wish to achieve over the next few years.
Our University’s vision, mission and values serve as the foundation upon which this strategic plan sits atop, building off our rich history. The plan features six strategic goals that embody what we stand for as a university and wish to achieve over the next few years.
Every stakeholder group articulated that creating an environment for students, faculty and staff to succeed equitably was fundamental to fulfilling the University’s vision and mission and demonstrating our values. Therefore, the first goal logically became focused on our people while also acknowledging the opportunity for University growth by reaching 23,000 students by 2025 and 25,000 students by 2030.
The University community also communicated the important reality that to enable growth, investments must be made in the people and spaces that make our University great, which led to our second goal. A third key theme that naturally evolved into a strategic goal was the broad emphasis on expanding the University’s ties with the broader community to better deliver our land-grant mission and serve Nevada. This third goal enables the University to build upon our designation, first achieved in 2020, as Carnegie Engaged by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
An important accomplishment in the University’s history, as communicated through nearly all listening sessions, was achieving in 2018 the classification of “very high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, recognizing our place among the top 150 universities in the country for research activity. Therefore, the fourth goal elucidates the desire to build on the University’s Carnegie status and position our University on par with the public, land-grant members of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group of 64 leading universities in the United States and Canada.
The University community also made clear the criticality of continuing and expanding upon our leadership in policy, action, education and research for environmental sustainability, both on campus and in the broader Lake Tahoe region, thereby logically leading to our fifth goal. Finally, the University community emphasized the importance of recognizing that the efforts and successes of our campus should be shared with and amplified around the world. Through the sixth and final goal which is focused on strengthening our reputation, brand and alumni engagement, the University's "paw" print will extend beyond the state's borders.
Goal 1
Goal 2
Invest in Our Future
Deliver the services, organization and infrastructure required to support a growing University
Goal 3
Goal 4
Goal 5
Goal 6Rising to the Challenge
Wolf Pack Rising represents our University’s commitment to moving onward and upward in our continued efforts to better serve students, faculty and staff, the state of Nevada, and beyond. With the collective vision of our University community, we have charted a course for our future — now the Pack must rise to the challenge. The same way the entire community played a role in the production of this plan, we all must also play a role in its execution.
To measure our success in achieving these goals, the University community will have access to a dashboard which will track the progress of actions, outcomes, and key metrics. Our University leadership, including the President and Provost, among others, will also track progress of each University unit’s strategic plans and their alignment with and contribution to the University’s strategic plan execution. Throughout each academic year, the University community can expect to receive updates through various media, including campus announcements, newsletters, and the President’s State of the University address. Tracking and reporting progress regularly enables us to hold ourselves accountable as a University community in making progress for the future of our University.
This strategic action plan serves as a framework to enable us to advance our position as a leader in student success, faculty and staff achievement, and connection with the communities we serve. We created a roadmap that builds on our strengths, meets our challenges, and fully leverages opportunities for the future. Our University possesses the unparalleled energy, commitment, and passion to now rise to the occasion and reach our fullest potential for years to come.