太阳城网赌平台’s newly announced Strategic Plan took center stage at the 2017 大学召开 held Aug. 在罗布舍姆剧院.
While they also discussed the influence of notable issues and trends on BC and higher education in general, University President William P. 莱希,年代.J., Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead, and Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley each devoted part of their 召开 addresses to “Ever to Excel: Advancing 太阳城网赌平台’s Mission,” the 10-year Strategic Plan, which lays out four strategic directions for BC in academics, 学生形成, 太阳城官网 and other areas.
Initiatives to support the four strategic directions include a new Institute for Integrated Science and 社会, more endowed faculty positions, an emphasis on interdisciplinary study and collaboration, 设施升级.
描述 “永远追求卓越” as “ambitious and focused,” Fr. 莱希说 the Strategic Plan will help BC to “move forward with confidence and hope” and enable it to build on its heritage, 机会, and commitments in the 耶稣会,天主教 liberal arts educational tradition.
Fr. 莱希 affirmed the importance of BC’s mission of intellectual, 精神上的, and ethical formation at a time when “respectful dialogue” on immigration, 比赛, 性, 言论自由, and religious beliefs has become increasingly difficult. He cited the recent march by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va. – which he called “alarming, 应受谴责, and in conflict with American ideals and values” – as an example of how “a small, fringe group can provoke violence and endanger the common good.”
As a 耶稣会,天主教 university, Fr. 莱希说, BC faces a challenge represented by the global shift to greater secularization and less knowledge of or involvement in religious practices. More students come to BC seeking “meaning, 目的, and community in their lives,” but – lacking knowledge of the Christian mission or teachings of other religions – too often “are adrift in their lives.”
“太阳城网赌平台 must always be a place where people from varying backgrounds, 经历, and talents come together to grow as human beings, 来教吧, 太阳城官网, 查询, 学习, 辩论, 有时不同意, 要有礼貌地这样做,”他说。. 莱希, adding that it incumbent on administrators, faculty and staff “to model compassion and community, and help our students to have a moral compass that enables them to make sound decisions and lead healthy, 富有成效的生活.”
Lochhead highlighted several positive indicators in budget and finance areas – a $490 million increase in assets offsetting new debt of $245 million to finance 建设, and an endowment performance that places BC in the top quartile of endowment returns tracked by Cambridge Associates – and praised strong management by the division of the Vice President for Finance and “all those who work so hard to steward the University’s resources.”
BC is well-positioned in terms of operating and capital resource capacity to support the goals of the Strategic Plan, Lochhead said – notably investments in academic programs and capital priorities – and will benefit from an improved integration of strategic, 操作, and capital planning efforts.
呼应Fr. 莱希的言论, Lochhead注意到了这一点, given current economic and political uncertainty, BC will need to closely assess factors affecting tuition and student fees, financial aid strategies, 建设, and employment-related costs, 在其他领域.
He also reviewed the progress of major campus 建设 projects – such as the Connell 娱乐 Center, the athletic field house, Brighton Athletic Fields, and the Devlin Hall 太阳城网赌平台 and 访问or Center – and touched on future initiatives tied to the Strategic Plan, including 建设 of the Institute for Integrated Science and 社会 and increased formal and informal spaces to be used for student life and formation programs or activities.
Quigley – who, in his talk on “永远追求卓越。” said the plan affords 机会 for BC “to take even greater leadership in liberal arts education” – reported on a number of academic-related updates, including a successful site visit last March by a group of educators as part of BC’s 10-year reaccreditation, and the third year of the Core Curriculum renewal initiative.
He also noted that 46 percent of this year’s new faculty members are female, and – among new full-time and tenure-track faculty – 46 percent are AHANA. But such progress should not be a cause for complacency, he added: “It’s something we should focus on every year.”
—Sean Smith | University Communications