The Area Steering Groups (ASGs) have completed white papers for the Executive Cabinet which summarize the more than 2,800 ideas submitted from students, faculty, staff, academic staff, postdocs and alumni. Every idea and proposal that came in was read and reviewed by one or more of the steering groups. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the 100+ members of the steering groups who worked so hard to create the white papers.

The white papers reflect big themes – reimagining learning, pursuing promising new areas of research where we have an opportunity to lead, developing innovative and flexible ways of addressing problems in the world. The sense of our responsibility to the broader world comes through strongly in the papers. The ideas reflected in the white papers also convey priorities about caring for the people in our community and efficient and effective use of university resources.

The white papers summarize diverse voices in our community and do not represent a single point of view or an agreed-upon plan for the future of the university. Nor do they reflect choices between different ideas that were submitted. The papers are simply an effort to coherently present the wide range and large volume of ideas offered by our community. Ultimately, the future vision of the university will reflect considerations of: university’s core mission, values and culture, the ideas and insights received from the campus community, our alumni, trustees and external thought leaders, and the needs of our local community, our nation and the world.