The Geneseo Strategic Planning Group is currently working on Geneseo Strategic Plan 2021. Over the next two months, the planning committee will commission polls and host public forums to receive feedback on the potential GSP2021 draft, which is due in May. President Denise Battles officially charged the committee with drafting GSP2021 on Nov. 13, 2015, providing a list of nine qualifications for the draft as well as materials from which to draw.
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carol Long is in charge of leading the SPG as it continues to administer polls and garner support. Long expressed her satisfaction with the draft process so far.
“This is a really great opportunity in changing the direction of the college and 2021 is [Geneseo’s] sesquicentennial, so that’s kind of fun,” she said.
Besides Long, the committee is made up of what Battles referred to in a November email to the college community as a “cross section of faculty, staff and student members.” According to Geneseo’s website, there are 15 members of the SPG, including representative professors from different departments, administrators and two current students.
According to committee member Student Association President senior Andrew Hayes, GSP2021 is in the feedback phase of the drafting process. On the GSP2021 website, there are four polls that anyone can take. Web visitors can also leave comments on those polls or on other aspects of the GSP2021.
The fourth of the six polls the group has created went up on the website on Tuesday March 1. The group’s student representative SA Director of Business Affairs senior Daniel Martin referred to the poll as concerning “Digital Geneseo.”
Along with the topic of “Digital Geneseo,” students can also take polls on the proposed revisions regarding the mission, value and vision statements on “Resilience in Geneseo” and on “Global Geneseo.” According to Long, the last two polls will cover “Inclusive Geneseo” and “Geneseo for the Public Good.” All six of the polls will close on March 28.
In addition to administering online polls, the SPG is hosting a total of three public forums. The first public forum occurred on Feb. 18 in Doty Hall. Long described the proceedings as “a mediated world café type of forum where we took a lot of notes and feedback from students.” She estimated that there were approximately 30 attendees.
Hayes characterized the feedback from the first forum toward the SPG’s direction as positive overall.
“The first forum was concentrated on input from the campus community on our revised mission statement, values and vision statements,” Hayes said. “I think the feedback we’re getting is that we’re generally heading in the right direction.”
The second public forum will be hosted at the Big Tree Inn on Friday March 4 from 8-9:30 a.m. The third forum will be on Wednesday March 9 in Integrated Science Center 115 from 5:30-7 p.m.