BU Responds: The Strategic Plan Report
Students, faculty, and alums outline hopes for future
Susan Evans (GSM'81) talks about BU's environmental responsibility.
Vanessa Porter (CAS'08) talks about building trust between students and administrators.
Loren Samons, chair of the classical studies department, talks about BU's strengths and weaknesses.
Peter Yeager, an associate professor of sociology, talks about how to improve undergraduate education.
In December, after months of research and discussion, BU's Strategic Plan Coordinating Task Force released a report outlining the University's long-term plans and visions. At the same time, President Robert Brown and the other task force members issued a challenge to the University community: tell us how this report matches up with your own hopes for BU's future.
“In the end, we really have to get feedback,” said task force member Juliet Floyd, a College of Arts and Sciences professor of philosophy. “We have to get people to tell us what works.”
Six weeks later, dozens of students, alumni, faculty, and staff have responded via the strategic report Web site, offering comments on the framework and posting suggestions about other issues affecting the University. A number of students have asked for a change to the overnight-guest policy, several alumni have requested a return of the football program, and other respondents have addressed topics ranging from the MBTA to the student-faculty ratio.
BU Today asked four respondents — two faculty members, a student, and an alumna — to discuss the strategic plan report and their views on what the University needs. Click the MP3 players below to hear Susan Evans (GSM'81) on BU and environmentalism; Vanessa Porter (CAS'08) on the relationship between students and the administration; Loren Samons, chair of the CAS classical studies department, on allocating BU's resources; and Peter Yeager, a CAS associate professor of sociology, on prioritizing undergraduate education.
Jessica Ullian can be reached at jullian@bu.edu.