GOAL: Review the draft 3.0 documents and provide feedback to build a more complete document. Focus on priorities.

  • Academic program growth needs to be a priority along with building a billion dollar endowment. Allowing faculty to get started building and accessing resources as soon as possible makes sense and is the most import initiative.
  • “Creating a common experience within the liberal arts general education” and “create experiences that ensure career success and are connected with curriculum” could be combined or should be connected.
  • “work with students to better define living/learning expectation for the entire campus” could be combined with “create vision for the future of McPherson College residential life”
  • Tuition revenue model is important and since it can be worked on independently of the other initiatives should be started right away.
  • Some of the elements are independent of others, while some elements are dependent on work of groups like the faculty. Prioritizing the faculty work will be important.
  • Take growth into consideration with facilities plan and pursue the obvious projects.
  • Lots of discussion about size and it was concluded that the entire plan is build to attract students as well as employees and others (donors and friends and alumni) to McPherson College. We want to attract people, dollars, resource, ideas that will drive the right kind of growth.
  • How will faculty find the time to do all this? It will be important to create priorities and focus. Staging the plan will be just as important as the actual initiatives.
  • Integrating teaching, development, scholarship and as many elements that go into an entrepreneurial faculty member will be important so it is not just adding another task.
  • E Faculty a great recruiting tool and should be considered in marketing efforts.
  • Defining our uniqueness. What are we willing to do that sets us apart? Define and articulate our community.  What is our definition of liberal arts and entrepreneurship? 
  • Examples of common experiences that have been discussed include- technology, water usage or sustainability, economic issues. Big themes give context to the general education learning experience.
  • E Faculty as a tool to get to the bigger purpose of living out our mission. The bigger purpose is the fun part. 
  • The plan is starting to reveal how not only faculty connect with the plan but also staff.
  • Experiences that ensure career success important and finding ways to give students global experiences at a low cost is also important.
  • The community initiative is political. How do we get the local community, who wants to treat both 4-year schools equally, to support us in important ways.Continuing to connect the community with things like career and service and entrepreneurship seem like good ways to start.