Penn State shares community-informed institutional strategic plan

At a glance:

• Feedback from the Penn State community has been incorporated into a revised strategic plan that is now available to aid in unit planning.
• The revised plan is pending final approval from the Board of Trustees.
• Phase three of strategic planning is kicking off with unit-level planning, which will include upcoming engagements for units about the planning process and conversations to inform unit planning.
• Unit planning is expected to continue through December 2025 with the goal to implement unit plans in January 2026.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After a robust two-year planning process, Penn State is sharing a revised version of the institutional strategic plan, which incorporates feedback from the University community. The plan, currently pending final approval from the Board of Trustees, will guide institutional direction and unit-level planning, in which academic and major administrative units create their own strategic plans.

Grounded in Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi’s vision, which was endorsed by the Board of Trustees in 2023, the plan centers on five thematic goal areas to enhance student success; grow (inter)disciplinary research excellence; increase land-grant impact; and foster diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. The fifth goal to transform health care is following a separate timeline and process to develop a draft. Once this goal is incorporated, the full plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees for final approval in November.

“The strategic plan articulates an inspiring and actionable framework to guide our efforts and help us set University-wide priorities in the coming years. I am proud of this plan, grateful for the community participation that shaped it, and excited for what it means for Penn State,” Bendapudi said. “We are a top global institution, and this plan will help us continue to build a thriving future for our students, excel in our research endeavors and maximize the ways we serve communities in support of our mission.”

The revised institutional plan — organized into goals, objectives and measures — is now available on the Strategic Plan website to aid in unit planning.

“As an institution, we are navigating a complex landscape which only underscores the importance of having a shared vision that unites us as a community,” Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde, said. “Our community-informed strategic plan is a powerful tool to stay focused on our mission.”

Interconnected goals

As outlined in the plan, Penn State is committed to empowering students to reach their fullest potential through comprehensive advising; classroom, research and co-curricular opportunities; and wellness support — preparing them not just for successful careers but for lives as informed, globally-aware and engaged citizens. Even in a fluid landscape, the University will continue to focus on expanding its research impact, with a vision to become a top 15 research institution by leveraging its interdisciplinary scholarship and expertise to tackle the most pressing challenges facing the commonwealth, nation and world.

Penn State also will continue to build strategic partnerships with industry, business and community organizations to drive economic development, innovation and workforce growth throughout Pennsylvania. Underpinning all of these efforts is the University’s dedication to fostering an environment of inclusive excellence, where all students, faculty and staff can flourish. This includes addressing institutional barriers to close student outcome gaps and cultivating a deep sense of belonging for all members of the Penn State community and creating an employee population that reflects the classrooms of tomorrow.

Community-informed process

Sponsored by Bendapudi, Langkilde, and Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff Michael Wade Smith, workgroups were formed in summer 2023 to begin the “phase one” work of crafting the new Penn State strategic plan by undertaking a benchmarking and analysis process. After their work was complete, a new set of workgroups created draft objectives, measures, and strategies during “phase two” to propose ways to achieve the goals of the institutional plan. These draft proposals were shared with the University community in fall 2024 to garner feedback that helped shape the draft of the institutional strategic plan.

Over the past two years, Penn Staters from every college, campus and administrative unit contributed to the development of the plan in a variety of ways, including by serving on committees to identify and articulate the institution’s priorities. Across all phases, more than 2,300 people — of which 37% were staff, 29% were faculty and 13% were students — engaged in sharing feedback around the plan. Penn State community members and units were invited to request a meeting to share thoughts and feedback, and throughout this process, OPAIR engaged with a variety of groups and stakeholders, including Academic Leadership Council, President’s Council, various Faculty Senate committees, University Staff Advisory Council, Graduate Council, University Advising Council, among many others.

Along with employees and students who participated, Bendapudi shared her appreciation for Penn State’s leadership team, including members of the President’s Council and Academic Leadership Council, as well as the Board of Trustees, for their engagement throughout the process.

Langkilde encouraged all Penn Staters to review each goal’s objectives and measures to gain an understanding of the institutional priorities and direction and how their unit can drive these priorities and measure their progress. By design, the plan does not include mention of every specific topic or area that is vital to the University’s mission, however, every unit and employee will have a role in helping to make progress across the goal areas.

Over time, the plan will continuously be revised and refined to reflect the University’s current priorities, needs and challenges and to build on the real-time success and outcomes as objectives in the plan are achieved. This includes the measures set forth in the plan, which may be updated or modified to appropriately support data-informed decision making or to reflect changes in strategic objectives.

“Our plan is intended to be a dynamic framework that keeps our goals and vision in sight, while also granting us adaptability and agility in our approach,” Smith said.