In early 2019, President Zulma R. Toro invited Central faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community and business leaders to help develop a new path forward for the university.
Based on their input through a survey, interviews, work group meetings, and open forums, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) prepared a comprehensive strategic plan.
Following its review, the University Planning and Budget Committee (UPBC) submitted the plan to the Faculty Senate, which approved it on February 10, 2020.
Strategic Plan 2030: Changing Lives, Building Communities; Central to Connecticut renews Central’s mission as the state’s oldest publicly funded institution of higher education. It ensures that a strong liberal arts foundation continues to serve as the underpinning of a Central education. Building on this foundation of high-impact practices and community engagement, Central will educate career-ready graduates who are well-informed, civic-minded citizens who are prepared to contribute to the needs of our increasingly diverse society.
The plan also presents a new vision for advancing social mobility while driving economic, cultural, and intellectual vitality within the communities we serve. It also functions as a dynamic planning strategy as we strive to become an agile institution of higher education able to adapt to changing trends and emerging opportunities.
The plan includes five goals:
- Enhancing academic excellence and preparing graduates who thrive in a changing economy;
- Increasing access to higher education and ensuring student success;
- Fostering an inclusive and safe campus culture that values and encourages individuals to participate in a free and respectful exchange of ideas;
- Strengthening stewardship by advancing scholarship, service learning, and community meant for the public good; and
- Assuring financial sustainability for the future.
The SPSC also developed an Action Plan that cites key activities that will ensure the university meets each goal and objective, as well as a financial model that identifies areas of potential revenue generation and strategic investment of resources.