Taking the Lead in the 21st Century
Albright’s New Strategic Plan Defines Goals for the Future

The College’s new strategic plan, “Taking the Lead in the 21st Century,” was approved by the Board of Trustees in February. The plan focuses on a leadership role for Albright among the nation’s liberal arts colleges, and charts five strategic goals for 2003-2008. The plan also redefines the College’s mission statement and vision, and articulates a core set of values for the institution.

The strategic plan presents a new version of Albright’s mission statement and a statement of values for the College. “Our mission statement needed to be simplified and restated,” said President Zimon. “And while our values have guided Albright for generations, and we have always had a strong sense of what things are important to Albright, those values were never fully captured on paper. I strongly believe it is important to have those values in a form that we can all see and use as guiding principles.”

Albright’s mission is “to inspire and educate the scholar and leader in each student, building on a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences and a commitment to the best of human values, fostering a commitment to a lifetime of service and learning.”

The strategic plan also now states, “Our core values represent the principles that we seek to impart to our students during their experience at Albright. As an institution, we also strive to follow these values in our own daily work and interface with each other. These values are: student centeredness, integrity, competence, civility, faith, trust, courage, loyalty, commitment, liberal education, personal and civic responsibility.”

The strategic plan presents a new version of Albright’s mission statement and a statement of values for the College.

The plan’s five strategic goals focus on academic leadership, holistic education, strengthening the Albright community, service leadership and institutional leadership.

Academic leadership encompasses building distinctiveness through Albright’s leadership in interdisciplinary study, collaboration and diversity. Objectives include taking the national lead in interdisciplinary study, with new concentrations and programs that enable students to study and think beyond the traditional limits of individual academic disciplines. In addition, the plan calls for building endowment to create faculty chairs, creating the most technologically advanced learning environment across the disciplines, particularly in the sciences, increasing opportunities for undergraduate research, and creating graduate programs. New academic programs on the horizon include arts management, neuroscience and psychology/business.

Providing a values-based education that follows a holistic education model – mind, body, spirit – is the second strategic goal. This goal focuses on educating the whole person to enable character development, an entrepreneurial spirit, leadership potential, spiritual growth, and keeping our students foremost in everything the College does. Objectives include creating programs that develop the whole person, fostering new learning opportunities in and out of the classroom, and expanding athletic and physical fitness facilities, including construction of a multi-purpose stadium for outdoor athletic activities.

To enhance and strengthen relationships among all College constituencies and to live the College’s ideal as a diverse, vibrant community is Albright’s third strategic goal. Strategic objectives include providing development opportunities for all members of the Albright community, strengthening the College’s collaborative culture by providing more opportunities for different members of the campus community to work together, and emphasizing character-building in everything the College teaches.

The fourth goal, to strengthen Albright’s commitment to service to the community and instill in students the belief that service to others is an important component of a values-based education, is reflected in several objectives. They include establishing service as a fundamental tenet of an Albright education, increasing the College’s contributions to the surrounding community, and reinforcing the value of life experience as part of the education process, for example, by incorporating service learning into the Spanish curriculum to take advantage of opportunities afforded by Reading’s large Latino population.

The plan’s five strategic goals focus on academic leadership, holistic education, strengthening the Albright community, service leadership and institutional leadership.

The final strategic goal, to achieve excellence in institutional management by pursuing and measuring quality in all areas, and through sound fiscal management, is defined in objectives including strengthening the College’s financial health and undertaking a comprehensive fundraising campaign. In addition, the plan calls for implementing a new campus information system to integrate information from all campus departments including online registration, grades, finance, student information, human resources, alumni affairs, etc.

According to President Zimon, the strategic plan is designed to be an ongoing process, with annual review, revisions and integration of objectives into the College’s budget. “‘Taking the Lead’ is the starting point for a process that will keep this plan—and its underlying mission, values, and detailed objectives—as alive and vibrant as the College itself. The task of creating a plan for the future is now complete,” he said. “The next step is to begin to put the plan into action, and to use it as a springboard for a dynamic future.”

For a copy of “Taking the Lead in the 21st Century,” please contact the President’s Office at 610-921-7600 or e-mail bvagnoni@alb.edu.