I am glad to share with you the College’s new strategic plan, which serves to guide our decision making and outlines the College’s priorities.

In January, we began in earnest to develop our strategic plan for the next five years. Working with the University’s Office of Strategic Planning & Institutional Research, we convened a Strategic Planning Committee made up of a cross-section of Mendoza faculty and staff who were charged with drafting four items:
(i) A mission statement describing our purpose as a College;
(ii) A vision statement stating where we want to be in the future;
(iii) Our objectives for the next five years; and finally
(iv) The key results that describe the outcomes of the actions we plan to take to achieve those objectives in the near future (1 – 2 years).

Our intention throughout the process was to create a strategic plan that is guided by and in support of the larger mission, vision and goals of the University, while also providing a roadmap for our departments, staff and faculty members in setting their own objectives and key results (OKRs). We hope that the strategic plan has a practical use, helping all of us to align our efforts through the sharing of the College’s priorities.

We still have some work to do; in particular, to finalize the College’s key results (KRs) that provide specific and measurable actions to support our priorities in the year ahead. On a yearly basis, we will ask the programs and departments to align their annual strategic goals with the College’s KRs to ensure we're working together to achieve our five-year goals. We will communicate the KRs in the near future.

I have included the mission statement, the vision statement and the goals from the strategic plan below. You also can pick up a beautifully designed one-page printed version from Faculty Support, which would be fit for display in your workspaces.

MISSION: As a leading business school guided by the University's Catholic identity, the Mendoza College of Business seeks to grow the good in business to improve the human condition in an ever-changing society. Through impactful research and educational programs, we contribute to the formation of ethical business leaders who integrate the mind and the heart, and have the competence to see and the courage to act.

VISION: The Mendoza College of Business will be a premier global business school widely recognized for innovative research, rigorous educational programs and formative student experiences, all informed by our Catholic character. Mendoza will be the business school of choice for talented students, faculty and staff who are called to serve and have a desire to advance the human community through business as a force for good.

GOALS:

(i) Elevate the quality and quantity of impactful research with relevance to business and society.
(ii) Provide an unsurpassed educational experience that contributes to the formation and preparation of undergraduate students who will meaningfully contribute to the world.
(iii) Elevate our flagship MBA program while offering a strategic portfolio of specialized graduate programs that are distinctively mission-centric, are market-relevant, leverage faculty strengths and contribute to Mendoza's advancement.
(iv) Develop an innovative curriculum and formative experiences that integrate the business disciplines with the perspective of the human person, preparing students to contribute, cooperate and compete in an ever-changing society.
(v) Attract, hire, develop and retain a diverse, world-class faculty and staff who advance our mission and extend our vision.
(vi) As a community of students, faculty, staff and alumni in pursuit of excellence, cultivate an engaged, caring and inclusive culture informed by the University's Catholic mission.

Please note: Tomorrow (September 20) from 2:30-3:30 p.m, we will hold our first Business Encounters meeting for all staff in Stayer Commons A on the topic of the strategic plan. As announced earlier, the Business Encounters are optional one-hour meetings open to all Mendoza staff members with the intention of facilitating conversation on key strategic initiatives. The topic for tomorrow is the strategic plan. Please bring your questions and feedback.

I am very grateful to the members of the Mendoza Strategic Planning Committee, who devoted countless hours to creating our strategic plan: Corey Angst, Brad Badertscher, Tim Bohling, Shane Corwin, Mike Crant, Heather Denton, Hong Guo, Vamsi Krishna Kanuri, Ken Kelley, Rob Kelly, Stephannie Larocque and Kara Palmer.

In Notre Dame,

Martijn