The long range planning team reports were distributed around campus this week. The reports summarize the long range planning teams' ideas for the future of Oberlin. The reports will be evaluated by the faculty and resubmitted to the committees for final synthesis in the next few weeks.(see introduction and strategic recommendations in this week's insert.)
The long range planning process was initiated by President of the College, Nancy Dye last fall. The process began with focus groups eliciting suggestions from students, faculty and other community members on what issues will be most important in Oberlin's future.
The focus group reports were used to define the committees that would further examine the general topics that emerged. The 14 committees were made up of faculty, staff, alumni and students. They have spent the year thinking about and discussing different aspects of the College to determine long-range values and strategic plans in various areas.
A series of town meetings were held in early March which were designed for the committees to solicit comment from students. The meetings were intended to be a check for the committees to make sure they were on the right tracks. A few meetings drew attention such as the Future of Athletics in Oberlin committee while others were not as well attended.
The committees took the issues raised in the town meetings and continued to work until last week when they submitted their reports to the administration. These drafts were later given to the faculty and the college community.
Dye's final report on the process, which synthesized the research conducted and the recommendation made by each of the 14 committees was introduced at the General Faculty (GF) meeting last Tuesday.
The GF will meet again on April 29 to talk more about the report and a vote will be taken at the May 20 meeting for final adoption.
The approved reports will become the guiding forces for the College's future.
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