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Turning our strategic plans into action
I was honored to represent our university this month as a speaker at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)’s Leadership in Development Conference in New Orleans. My session on strategic planning focused on the power of developing OSU’s and the OSU Foundation & Alumni Association’s strategic plans in tandem. I am grateful for and proud of our culture of planning and collaboration; we set ambitious goals and then are intentional in our efforts to achieve them. There is urgency in achieving our goals as our students, our state and the world are counting on us.
With that, I am pleased to share a few of the many ways the OSU Foundation is supporting the university’s goals outlined in Prosperity Widely Shared: The Oregon State Plan:
1. Oregon State will be a university focused on big discoveries that drive big solutions.
We have partnered with the Office of the Provost on a fourth Provost’s Faculty Match program. This match will help advance the university’s research in climate science, clean energy technology, robotics and integrated health and biotechnology (areas of research where we believe we have an asymmetric advantage) and support the university in its goal to double research expenditures.
The match is designed to incentivize the creation of endowed faculty positions that help the university recruit and retain talented faculty. We are grateful for the provost’s partnership in this effort. We know this strategy works: The last three Provost’s Faculty Match programs collectively resulted in 56 new endowed faculty position funds, bringing our total to 182. Please contact Marlys Amundson, senior director of development, for more information.
2. Oregon State will be a university where every student graduates.
In support of President Jayathi Murthy’s aspirational goal for all OSU students to graduate in four years, without debt and with a job, we have increased our student success goal in the $1.75 billion Believe It campaign to $500 million. This effort will include a new initiative called Finish in Four, which is specifically designed to help Oregon students with high financial need graduate in four years. This is the university’s number one priority for philanthropy for scholarships and student support.
3. Oregon State will be a university that fuels a thriving world in every dimension.
We are working closely with partners across the university to further develop our economic development and industry relations (EDIR) strategy that includes preparing students to meet the workforce needs of employers in our region and conducting research that can be applied by partners to fuel prosperity and solve problems. Additionally, you can help us leverage OSU’s global networks and partnerships by promoting OSU Connections to employers, students, alumni and more.
The OSU Foundation & Alumni Association’s strategic plan is built on a framework with three overarching goals: secure philanthropic support, deepen and build new relationships and help position the university for global distinction. The plan is based on a number of underlying assumptions, which include the importance of engaging new donors and volunteers and the imperative that we invest in technology so we may personalize our work at scale. We will advance the plan through six big ideas:
Philanthropy
1. Raise $500 million for student success as part of the Believe It campaign.
2. Discovery Program: Proactively meet 10,000 new potential major gift donors.
Relationships
3. Double the number of volunteers engaged in formal committees or volunteer work.
4. Engage Ecampus alumni, who will one day comprise 50% of our graduates.
Positioning
5. Three states matter most (Oregon, California and Washington): Hyper-focus on our most important West Coast markets — including through events that showcase OSU’s strategic priorities.
6. Compete at the highest level: Leverage the visibility of and engagement opportunities provided by OSU Athletics like never before.
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