TWU – Connecting the Dots

LEADING IN A
COMPLEX WORLD
When arriving here in 2014, I was immediately struck by the long and storied history of faculty, staff, students
and incredible alumni—stories known by far too few.
Steve Jobs once said that it’s only in looking back that we can “connect the dots.” For Texas Woman’s, looking
back revealed a wonderful legacy but also a challenge to take that legacy even further into the future.
To lay the groundwork for that challenge, a university-wide team collaborated to create a strategic plan based
on our raison d’être, “Educate a woman, empower the world.” That plan has sharpened our focus on preparing
students for the world they will enter; bolstered academic, research and athletic activities; and nearly doubled
the physical footprint of our university—bringing our student life and academic support services to a level that
is becoming the envy of our peers.
Meanwhile, our faculty and students continue to pioneer new approaches to meeting the needs of our everexpanding
state—from cutting-edge preparation for those in nursing and the health sciences, to cultivating
entrepreneurs and educators, and advancing strong programs in the arts and sciences. And we do these things
well—The Economist ranked us 45th in the country and Dallas Business Journal ranked us #1 in the region for
our graduates’ earnings vs. the cost to attend.
Plans often go on shelves with little noticeable outcome. I could not be more proud that our strategic plan,
Learn to Thrive—and all those who have had a hand in creating it and bringing it to life—will result in the
creation of many more noteworthy “dots.” Dots, that when connected in the future, will make Texas Woman’s
University a prominent and important centerpiece in the lives of our students, our faculty and staff and the
entire state of Texas.
“You can’t connect the dots
looking forward; you can
only connect them looking
backwards. ... You have to
trust in something – your gut,
destiny, life, karma, whatever.
Because believing that the
dots will connect down
the road will give you the
confidence to follow your
heart even when it leads
you off the well-worn
path; and that will make
all the difference.”
—Steve Jobs
Carine M. Feyten, Ph.D.
Chancellor and President