Looking to the Future with Villanova's Strategic Plan

Looking
to the
Future
Strategic Plan will help Villanova reach new horizons
By Je n n i f e r Sc h u
By almost any measure,
Villanova University’s
prestige and performance
are at an all-time high. In
the past couple of decades
the University has outpaced
its traditional competitors and is
building a national reputation, attracting
increasingly top-notch students and faculty.
Now it is time for the next step.
Within the next decade, the value of a
Villanova education could be indisputably
recognized as among the best in the world.
That is the vision of Villanova’s President,
the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A.,
Ph.D., ’75 A&S.
Father Donohue has outlined that
vision in the University’s Strategic Plan,
“Igniting the Heart. Inspiring the Mind.
Illuminating the Spirit,” designed to build
on success achieved in recent years and
guide the University through 2020. Core to
the Plan, which was approved by the Villanova
University Board of Trustees in
December 2009, are Villanova’s distinctive
attributes of academic excellence, strong
community, service to others, personal
attention and a platform for success. One of
the primary goals is to effectively communicate
these qualities to the world at large.
“During the next decade, Villanova
will seek to achieve unprecedented levels
of distinction, while remaining true to its
history, tradition and values,” says Father
Donohue. “Doing so will require that we
clearly communicate the unique value of
the Villanova experience.”
That sentiment is echoed by Stephen
Fugale, who heads the Strategic Planning
process in addition to serving as Villanova’s
vice president for Technology and CIO.
“We want to be not just well known, but
understood,” he notes. “We want to tell
the Villanova story.”
Part of the challenge of delivering this
message is that while Villanova is not considered
a national research university—
despite the fact that it has strong Ph.D.
programs and extensive research opportunities
for undergraduates—it is also not a
pure liberal arts college. This requires the
University to clearly define and communicate
its benefits and value in comparison
to other premier schools.
“We are committed to continuing to
elevate our position in higher education,
while preserving what is distinctly
‘Villanova,’ particularly our Catholic
and Augustinian traditions, including
excellence in teaching, intellectual
exploration and service to others,” says
Father Donohue.
Strategies for success
To realize this vision, the University will
focus on executing five strategies:
strengthening its undergraduate programs,
including a new liberal arts and sciences
core curriculum; providing an increasingly
diverse intellectual climate; focusing on
and promoting the excellence of its faculty
scholarship and graduate programs; communicating
Villanova’s distinctive identity
and value proposition more effectively;
and engaging the full Villanova community
more actively and aggressively to
build the financial resources and facilities
necessary to achieve these goals.
Primary to the Strategic Plan is for
Villanova to continually provide its students
with an increasingly challenging and
engaging academic environment, characterized
by a strong liberal arts foundation,
exceptional professional schools and interdisciplinary
studies. In striving to provide
greater discourse and diversity of thought,
it will enroll increasingly high-achieving
students, and in the Augustinian and
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