Strategic Plan Implementation
The implementation of Vision 2023 reflects a pragmatic approach to capture the means by which we document successes along the road to continuous improvement within the Black School of Business. We originally created a committee structure in the Black School of Business to be action-oriented teams for implementing the strategic priorities. Each year, strategic plan committees evaluate the program on action steps associated with our goals, identifying progress made, and modify as necessary based on emerging opportunities or trends consistent with our vision.
Our strategic priorities include the following:
- Attract and retain a diverse, well-prepared and motivated student body.
- Design and implement high-impact innovative learning experiences for undergraduate and graduate students.
- Enhance program offerings by leveraging collaboration within the school, college, University, businesses, and beyond.
- Design and implement a career preparation and advancement program.
- Attract and retain professionally engaged and research-active faculty whose goals are aligned with our vision and mission.
- Broaden and deepen engagement of corporate partners, alumni, and government agencies to support the execution of our vision.
- Align organizational structure, incentives, and policy with our mission and to deliver on our vision.
- Build and communicate the Black School of Business brand.
We are thrilled with the results of our collective efforts. While causality is difficult to confirm, anecdotal evidence—in the record enrollments in the Black School of Business, in the number of underclassmen who have declared themselves to be pre-business (Behrend), and in the results of program reviews conducted of alumni, employers, and current students—suggests that activities associated with our plan are contributing holistically to a dynamic and successful center for learning and innovation.
In 2016, we formed an executive council of our Business Advisory Board to help launch strategic initiatives. In 2018, we created three additional committees tied to strategic initiatives. We have already witnessed successes with the doubling of the size of the Intrieri Family Student Managed Fund. We continue to expand upon our Innovation through Collaboration (ITC) projects and our Corporate Days that are hallmarks of our work with industry partnerships. Finally, in 2018, the Strategic Task Force undertook an extensive study of the school’s mission, vision, and strategy. The results of that study are incorporated throughout this document. In addition to these updates to the strategic plan, we also undertook several initiatives following our successful 2018 re-accreditation visit from the AACSB peer-review team.
Success is only possible because of our dynamic and motivated faculty, support of our advisory board and corporate partners, and our loyal alumni and friends of the Black School of Business who provide the infrastructure to reach higher!
Greg Filbeck