1. Towards a Global, Beyond Boundaries Land Grant
April 28, 2017
Provost Thanassis Rikakis

2. Towards a Strategic, “Sloped”, Investment Approach to Annual and Long-term Planning and Budgeting
Differentiation:
University characteristics
Areas of national/international strength
Align resources to strategic planning
Strategic Contraction, Maintenance, Strategic Strengths

3. Integrating Bottom-up Inputs (and relevant feedback) to Develop a Hierarchy of “Sloped Investment” Strategies
University
College
Department
aggregate
Institute
inform

4. Integrating Bottom-up Inputs (and relevant feedback) to Develop a Hierarchy of Strategies
Allows for a network of initiatives of multiple scales:
Strategic areas of strength should be multifunction (research, education, engagement)
From focused to large-scale – they are all important!
Something not aggregated directly to the next level is not lost at its current level (and may have indirect connections to the next level of aggregation)
For example: a major strategic strength of a department may not be connected directly to a college cross-cutting focus area or university-level destination area, but the department can still emphasize/invest in it, in partnership with the dean, and that department strength can be critical to our overall plans as a university for a long time to come
Facilitates synergies and efficiencies
Examples: cross-college and cross-university facilities and staff, comprehensive collaborators cohort, strategic hiring, competitive start-up packages
Facilitates VT-shaped activity
Disciplinary strategic activities strengthen the vertical
Cross-cutting strategic activities strengthen the horizontal

5. Implementation Strategies for VT Knowledge
The verticals: Departmental/Disciplinary Strengths
Ask departments to develop a few nationally bench-marked strengths within their units and focus a significant part of their resources on these strengths
Departments will also maintain other areas of activity and critical regional strengths so Virginia Tech can remain a comprehensive land grant for VA
Balance between national, regional and complementary strengths up to department/college
PIBB process, ADS, academic VP offices can help with strategy, analysis and predictive modeling
The horizontals: Pathways general education + Destination Areas + Institutes + IGEPS
Promote complex collaborative inquiry and problem solving for all students and faculty through multiple interrelated, cross-cutting instruments
Pathways integrative general education for majority of undergraduates
Integrate IGEP concepts into majority of graduate degrees
Facilitate strategic interdisciplinary research and translation through continuous strategic evolution of university institutes
Enhance and interconnect the rich VT cross-cutting ecosystem with the development of Destination Areas: transdisciplinary, multi-function (education, research, engagement), problem-focused areas of inquiry and translation with outcomes of scale
The enhanced T
Develop cross-cutting technology curricula that allow the majority of our students to graduate with 21st century technology expertise; become a national leader in X+T curricula
Integrate the technical/scientific and the humanistic across key VT educational and research experiences to advance a liberal education and integrative discovery for the 21st century
The V
Develop large-scale, multi-function (research, education, engagement, philanthropy) partnerships with industry and community with significant potential for societal engagement, service and impact
Utilize partnerships and student life opportunities to advance formal and informal experiential learning (internships, research experiences, joint labs, live learn communities, and many more)