February 24, 2022 My February Blog: “Kicking Off Our Institutional Strategic Planning Process: Part I” Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff, Every five years, Baruch renews its institutional strategic plan: the 2013–18 plan positioned the College as a global leader in public urban education; the 2018–23 plan forged a comprehensive and ambitious blueprint to further that aim. This spring, we will continue that tradition and launch an institutional strategic planning process for 2023–28. In the first segment <https://pmail.baruch.cuny.edu/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=buDnDIVLrEOwLxjIGORAeg&ref_id=S6DIsRNeq0u6lt8hk9UOlw> of this two-part blog, I will outline the 18-month process that is designed to chart our future by fully engaging our community and stakeholders as well as our partners and supporters. In Part I, I will outline the context of where we are as an institution, what have we done to stabilize our position in a turbulent and rapidly changing time, and then focus our view on the horizon to define the overarching themes and framing concepts as we embark on a journey into the future. In Part II, I will outline the engagement-centered planning process we will adopt as well as the major milestones we intend to achieve in the coming year. Where We Are As an Institution Since my arrival at Baruch in July 2020, the College has experienced a great deal of turmoil. The pandemic induced not only severe public health crises but budgetary stress for the city, state, and the CUNY system, adding to a persistent structural deficit at Baruch. The switch to online instruction reopened the narrowing performance gap among our students. Many in our community had experienced profound losses and hardships. Remarkably, the endurance of our people has prevailed. Staff have persevered, juggling jobs with new demands and dimensions with ever-increasing complexity, while managing a constantly shifting work environment. Faculty have pivoted to different modalities of teaching and continue to discover new ways to engage students and carry out superior research and scholarship. The unique combination of excellence and value in a Baruch education shines brightly in a gloomy climate for higher education. At a time when most colleges and universities struggle with dwindling enrollments—an overall 6.5% decline in undergraduate enrollment nationwide since the start of the pandemic—Baruch experienced an overall enrollment surge of 10.7% from 2020 to 2022; similar patterns are only found in a few selective institutions (source: Inside Higher Education <https://pmail.baruch.cuny.edu/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=AOj4SabVx0KGS6bz0kAv-g&ref_id=S6DIsRNeq0u6lt8hk9UOlw> ). Positive enrollment trends are a strong indicator and platform from which we will build our new five-year strategic plan. This month I ask that you not only read my blog post “Kicking Off Our Institutional Strategic Planning Process: Part I <https://pmail.baruch.cuny.edu/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=buDnDIVLrEOwLxjIGORAeg&ref_id=S6DIsRNeq0u6lt8hk9UOlw> ”—comment, subscribe, and sign up for notifications—but offer your feedback and insights specific to Baruch’s Strategic Planning process by responding to the survey <https://pmail.baruch.cuny.edu/PoliteMail/default.aspx?page=e2dyOXcNdkiMeh5S8fcqWw&ref_id=S6DIsRNeq0u6lt8hk9UOlw> . I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, S. David Wu President, Baruch College <> If you wish to unsubscribe from the BARUCH-STUDENTS-ANNOUNCEMENTS List, please send an E-mail to: "[log in to unmask]". Within the body of the text, only write the following: "SIGNOFF BARUCH-STUDENTS-ANNOUNCEMENTS".