Bio - Society for College and University Planning

Faculty Biography
Ronald R. Durnford
Ronald Durnford
Integrated Planning,
you say...
Planning in isolation is
not likely to be effective.
To be effective, planning
must be both integrated
in its implementation
and integrating in its
development. Planning
is a critical component
by which an institution
changes and, most
importantly, improves. In
that sense, planning is a
mechanism or process to
connect the present state of
affairs with some desirable
future state of affairs.
Planning must be informed
by and integrated with the
other two other pillars of
institutional effectiveness—
assessing outcomes
and monitoring the
environment, both internal
and external. Planning
must also integrate many
into one—the confluence
of community priorities
and institutional objectives
Society for College and University Planning
The Planning Institute
presents Ronald Durnford
Ronald Durnford has served as Vice
President for planning and institutional
research at Xavier University of
Louisiana since the fall of 2006. He
has helped to rebuild
and stabilize the
institution’s planning
processes following
the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina
which closed the campus
for six months.
Prior to his work at
Xavier, Durnford built
his professional career
at the University of
Chicago in various
administrative positions,
including his ten-year tenure
as the Associate Dean of the Social
Sciences Division.
Durnford received his B.A. degree
in political science from the
University of Missouri
at Columbia, and
his M.A. and Ph.D.
in political science
from the University of
Chicago.
In addition to institutional
planning and
academic administration,
Dunford’s other
concentrations include
institutional effectiveness,
accreditation
processes, and assessment.

Integrated Planning, you say...
The Six Competencies of Planning
People—the ability to understand and identify the
players who are or should be part of the planning
process and their roles
Language—the ability to use a common planning
vocabulary to interpret and translate the ideas of all
players
Process—learn how to create and facilitate an
integrated planning process; provide guidance and
leadership through all stages of planning, including
managing change
The Plan (as in the document)—the ability to
recognize and produce the elements of a written,
integrated plan that can be implemented and
evaluated
Planning Context—the ability to collect and filter
relevant information of the internal and external
environment
must be channeled to a shared
vision and a defined direction,
at least for the specified period
of the plan. To be successful,
planning must integrate the
needs of a community with
the goals and aspirations of its
leaders.
Integrated planning tends to
be built on broad engagement,
a defined process, and
open communication. It
will emerge from reliable
data and information that
underscores strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities
and threats. Ultimately,
integrated planning shapes
this information into practical
strategies that, if followed
and effectively applied, will
steer the organization towards
growth that is harmonious
with the internal and external
environment.
Resources—the ability to identify alternative and
realistic resource strategies and align them to stated
plan priorities
For more on the Planning Institute and Planning,
go to http://www.scup.org/page/profdev/pi
Faculty Contact Information
Ronald R. Durnford
Vice President, Planning and Institutional Research
Xavier University of Louisiana
1 Drexel Dr, Box 229
New Orleans, LA 70125
Work: (504)520-5031
Email: rdurnfor@xula.edu
SCUP Workshop Contact:
Geri Durka-Pelok
geri.durkapelok@scup.org
Faculty Biography 2009