Xavier University's mission statement under construction

Xavier University is undergoing the process of planning institutional change over the next ten years. With that change, both the vision and mission statements of Xavier are under review and revision. Despite Xavier's recent undertaking of numerous identity projects such as new buildings, new academic chairs and a new Provost and Chief Academic Officer the bottom of the mission statement

is still tagged with, "Revised Aug. 19, 1987", leaving the

document untouched for 24 years. President of Xavier

University, Fr. Michael Graham, S.J., has delegated the task

of revising the mission to a committee of faculty and staff members, co-chaired by Dr. Daniel Otero, associate

professor of mathematics, and Dr. Sandy Richtermeyer, chair of accountancy and business law. "The University has changed enormously over the past 25 years," said

Graham. "There is a new caste of people here and it is time

for them to reflect on the University as it is and how they would like to see it." Graham said that though his predecessor, Fr. James Hoff, S.J., believed the Xavier mission statement to be far too lengthy and in need of revision, Hoff was never able to delegate the time or effort to

revise it. Instead, Hoff placed a prefacing personal statement on the mission statement, to summarize what he felt the true mission of Xavier was. Graham had recently followed those footsteps, until now. "[The current mission statement] is kind of an ‘everything-but-the-kitchen-sink' document," Graham said. "It is about twice, maybe three times as long as it should be." Graham requested that all University departments met before Sept. 15 to evaluate the significant strengths and weaknesses of the current mission statement, in order to provide tangible feedback to the mission-revision committee. The revision committee is composed of solely faculty and staff. "More than any group on the University, the mission statement is an articulation of the faculty and its vision," Graham said. However, Graham will be calling upon the student body for criticism eventually. "[The mission statement] tends to be the permanent University community saying, ‘here is what we are'." Graham said. "So the input [students] can provide us, once it is out for feedback, is: does this statement truly resonate with [your] experience of a Xavier University, at its best?" Future Strategic Planning "We are going to be shifting gears and undertaking strategic planning that will chart the course of the next 10 years for the institution," Graham said, "A mission statement ultimately is the rudder for doing that."

Along with using the mission statement to steer the university through the next 10 years, the vision statement—a summarized organizational trajectory of what the University is—and the statement of the University's values will be revised as the strategic planning begins.

Graham has drafted a version of the potential vision statement, which he hopes to be signed-off by the Board of Trustees around December.

"What this [process] is, is a beginning of a University-wide conversation on where we are going next; what the University will look like in 2021 and how it is we will get there," Graham said.

Graham is hopeful that this revision process will finalize with the end of the spring semester so that the strategic planning can start up before next academic year.

"I would love to designate 2012 as the year of the strategic plan," Graham said. "That we will start it in the spring and end in December."

A time frame for this strategic planning has not been established ,though Graham is hopeful that it will be confined to a year.

The University Planning and Resources Council (UPRC) will create the strategic planning, as that is the founding mission of the council. The UPRC is co-chaired by the Provost and Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Scott Chadwick and the Vice President for Financial Administration, Maribeth Amyot.

The strategic planning will change the focus of the University to internal construction from physical construction, though there will be some construction still with Alter Hall and East Campus.

"The past years have been marked with all these new buildings raising up," Graham said. "But, the energy is shifting on campus from these sort of accomplishments to a more sustained reflection on who we are and what we can do next."

One of the major focuses will be the financial status of Xavier. "We've been raising money in the past for brick-and-mortar types of things," Graham said. "We are shifting gears to focus on the fundamental University bank account: so to speak, the endowment."