To the Case Western Reserve community:
The beginning of the new semester marks an apt time to update you on Case Western Reserve’s strategic planning process—particularly because we soon will be seeking your insights.
As you know, our current five-year plan, Forward Thinking, draws to a close this summer. We have achieved many of its most significant goals, and made great progress on others. Along the way, we have learned much about the challenges and opportunities inherent in translating ideas into action.
Enormous advantages emerge from articulating and pursuing priorities; at the same time, we must always be open to serendipitous moments. Our ability to be both intentional and adaptable represents a key advantage of our compact size and collaborative environment. It also stands as a potential differentiating factor as we consider ways to distinguish Case Western Reserve among leading national research universities.
Over the past several months we have engaged more than 100 faculty, students, staff, alumni and other stakeholders in considering the next stages of our evolution as an institution. We have created five working groups to focus on discrete elements of our mission and have asked each to include consideration of three overarching themes—diversity, internationalization and technology—as parts of their deliberations. Beyond their obvious importance within the university, these three areas already have strategic plans of their own.
Below are the five working groups, along with their leadership. Next month each group will hold an open forum to present its progress and ask for your ideas. We will announce those sessions in The Daily, as well as subsequent meetings to review the overall plan as it begins to take shape. Meanwhile, for additional information about the strategic plan, please visit case.edu/strategicplan/. And, if you would like to comment on some of the primary questions facing the working groups, please visit the community forum discussion board here.
Sincerely,
W.A. “Bud” Baeslack III
Provost and Executive Vice President
The Working Groups
I. Academic Excellence
Chair: Sandra Russ, professor, psychology, College of Arts and Sciences; co-chair: Robert H. Miller, vice president for research and technology management
II. Case Western Reserve University 2026
Chair: Christopher Cullis, professor and chair, biology, College of Arts and Sciences; co-chair: Lev Gonick, vice president for Information Technology Services and chief information officer
III. Finance, Operations and Infrastructure
Chair: Mark Taylor, professor, accountancy, Weatherhead School of Management; co-chair: Christopher Masotti, vice dean for finance and administration, School of Medicine
IV. People
Chair: Richard Buchanan, professor of information systems, Weatherhead School of Management; co-chairs: Lynn Singer, deputy provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Carolyn Gregory, vice president for human resources
V. Research and Innovation
Chair: Ken Loparo, Nord Professor of Engineering, Case School of Engineering; co-chair: Robert H. Miller, vice president for research and technology management