FOUR PILLARS
Four Pillars
Through my conversations with members of the Georgia State community in combination with my own aspirations for Georgia State, I believe there are four major pillars to build upon. I believe these are the most impactful aspects of the university — present and future.
1 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
For 25 years, Georgia State has ranked among the top research universities and has been distinguished by the tremendous expansion of its innovative research enterprise. For the past four years we have been the highest-ranked university without an engineering, medical or agricultural school. From across disciplines and through collaboration, we are helping to solve the complex challenges of the 21st century. Georgia State research is on an incredible trajectory. From FY11 through FY21, our research expenditures have more than doubled from $93 million to nearly $200 million, and our scholarly publications, citations and press mentions have never been higher. Can we double this productivity over the next decade? We will ambitiously pursue this continued research growth and impact as we refresh and expand our community of faculty, staff and student scholars.
2 STUDENT SUCCESS
Georgia State is committed to student success and has eliminated achievement gaps based on race, ethnicity and income. We are a nationally recognized leader in this area, but we need to continue to push ourselves to go even further. We have dramatically increased graduation rates in our baccalaureate and two-year programs, but we can and should do more. We should continue our ambitious drive toward even better outcomes. The effort will require us to be even more committed to developing and scaling innovative, evidence-based student supports and first-of-their-kind academic pathways that enable our students to earn meaningful, affordable credentials.
3 COLLEGE TO CAREERS
Georgia industries, government, nonprofit organizations and graduate schools are taking preparatory training into their own hands. Universities need to provide direct preparation for students focusing on “college to career” experiential learning while also facilitating career professionals who return to college to reskill. Adding new, innovative scholarly and corporate opportunities while incorporating existing experiences, such as athletics and military-affiliated programs, into the overall student experience can create better student outcomes and allow us to stand ready to strengthen the workforce. In addition to Georgia State’s existing Quality Enhancement Plan and career-focused projects within our schools and colleges, the next chapter must include further transformation of our infrastructure and facilities while partnering to build shared spaces with key stakeholders who provide postgraduate opportunities for our students. I envision a campus where deep partnerships are co-branded on our buildings and within our learning spaces. We should have the most diverse and the most career-ready students in the nation.
4 IDENTITY AND PLACEMAKING
We are one of the most diverse institutions globally in one of the fastest-moving cities. We provide students of all backgrounds access to one of the country’s most innovative and creative learning environments. The identity of the university and our student body should be shared nationwide. We are leading as a model for inclusive excellence, and we must continue to build equity and recognition for faculty, staff and students. We will continue to inform our communities about what we’ve done, where we’re going and what we can do to advance the institution in diversity, equity and inclusion. At the same time, our campus spaces must be the most inviting and rewarding for our students’ collective experience. On the Atlanta Campus, Georgia State can become a “college town downtown,” a sought-after destination for students in our region and globally. Building an even stronger culture within the most intriguing spaces will unify our current community while creating a lifelong connection to the university.
Immediate Initiatives
Although major initiatives will begin after a reflective process of strategic visioning, there were ideas and one-year investments that came out of my first 60 days that seem to resonate with the community and are too good to delay. Below is a set of immediate initiatives I would like us to plan over the next few months and start by the beginning of 2022.
Strategic Planning
As we begin a new strategic planning process at Georgia State, it is a time to vision and dialogue about what the university can become. As a result of our previous plan, Georgia State made significant strides in many areas, including supporting students and increasing graduation rates for all undergraduates, raising research funding, and establishing new structures and programs that launched academic excellence and culture. Yet we have not reached our full potential!
Strategic Planning
As we begin a new strategic planning process at Georgia State, it is a time to vision and dialogue about what the university can become. As a result of our previous plan, Georgia State made significant strides in many areas, including supporting students and increasing graduation rates for all undergraduates, raising research funding, and establishing new structures and programs that launched academic excellence and culture. Yet we have not reached our full potential!