Lengthy project planned

The campus will undergo a mammoth internal evaluation called "strategic planning" to clarify its mission, values and priorities, IUB Chancellor Sharon Brehm said Tuesday. \nThe 18-month project will be led by a 25-member committee of students, faculty and administrators appointed by Brehm.\nBrehm said the strategic plan will create the first written mission statement defining campus direction.\n"We don't have an overall written goal," said Brehm, entering her second full year as Bloomington chancellor. "And it is important we do."\nLaw professor Fred Cate, who will head the committee, said his team will develop a mission that will be a "single brief statement saying what the campus has set out to do." \nThe committee is also charged with setting academic priorities campus wide. Cate said the priority discussions will involve student scholarships, attracting premier faculty and integrating instructional resources. \n"I think the notion is to find out what we can do to advance the quality and standing of the campus academics," Cate said.\nThe projects generated by the strategic plan will be funded by a $1,000 fee applied to freshmen for five years starting next fall. All-totaled, Brehm said she expects to collect nearly $28 million over five years, designated as the school's Commitment to Excellence.\nThe money will be allocated to new programs and projects provided the University can cover its general operating budget through tuition, private and public funds.\nIf University costs exceed revenues, the University would use the Commitment to Excellence funds to make up the difference, Brehm said.\nAll deans will submit their own version of their priorities to the committee, which will then address them as a whole. Brehm has instructed the deans to base their priorities on the following: enhancement of undergraduate education, diversity, engagement with the state, interdisciplinary potential and funding. \nBrehm said the polemic process must be completed by Feb. 1 in time for budget planning. \n"It will be a very interesting and serious conversation," she said. "We'll all talk about specific interests and work on finding a common ground." \nCate said evaluating all areas of the campus will be a cooperative task.\n"Some priorities will seem very obvious, but I think there is no question that getting into less obvious priorities is going to take a lot of consultation," he said. \nOnce the priorities are set, the deans will devise new programs to carry them out. Brehm said the final priorities made by the committee will be reevaluated yearly. \n"The plan changes over time," she said. "It drives the activities and is responsive to the activities."\nSarah Mac Gill, undergraduate representative on the committee, said the group will probe the campus interior. \n"It's important that the University have very, very high academic standings," she said. "We want to take it to the next level and improve on the solid foundation we have."\nPresident Myles Brand and the trustees will be consulted throughout the planning stages. The committee will release periodic statements to keep the rest of campus up-to-date.