[ Mission and Leadership ]

A Strategic Vision for Elmhurst College

Purpose
Goals
Educational Program
Heritage and Values
College Community
Non-traditional Programs
Students and Faculty
Campus Facilities
Resources
Commitment


Purpose
Elmhurst College makes a difference in the lives of students so they can make a difference in the world.  It is our special mission to prepare each graduate to:

• think deeply
• connect broadly,
• serve usefully, and
• live faithfully

In pursuing this mission, we combine liberal arts education and professional preparation while emphasizing active learning, broad perspectives, collaborative engagement, and personal accountability.

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Goals
We are committed to providing the world with graduates who are prepared to think deeply about their work and about the issues they will face because they have become active learners, engaged directly in research, creative endeavor and the practice of the disciplines they have studied, with rich experience in the world outside of the classroom.  We want them to be able to connect broadly across disciplinary boundaries and across the barriers that separate people because they have lived and learned in a diverse community, gained even broader perspectives by encountering other cultures in different places and times, explored interdisciplinary approaches to understanding, and thought carefully about the meaning and impact of their lives as citizens and as professionals.  We want them to be prepared to serve usefully because they have learned to analyze underlying structures, developed skills of both teamwork and leadership, become effective and creative collaborators, and come to value civic engagement.  We want them to be prepared to live faithfully because they have clarified and strengthened their own values and assumed personal responsibility for keeping faith with those values and for maintaining high standards of morality and integrity in all they do. These are the goals that drive our work as a college.

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Educational Program
The educational program we are building will have consistent strength in the basic arts and sciences disciplines as well as several academic areas in which we are able to field programs of special distinction.  A well-conceived and executed program of general education for all undergraduates will help align the student experience with our educational mission.  A unique set of educational activities (such as the Center for Professional Excellence, the Niebuhr Center, the Center for the Health Professions, and the Honors, International Studies, and Service-Learning Programs) will provide opportunities of uncommon value for Elmhurst students to strengthen their preparation for fulfilling lives and careers.  And a range of student activities, athletic programs, and leadership opportunities will support the holistic development of participants.  In all aspects of our work, we will strive to maintain a culture of innovation and a commitment to accountability.

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Heritage and Values
As a college founded in 1871 by German immigrants to help prepare leaders for their churches and schools, Elmhurst has a long tradition of service to society and the affirmation of the spiritual basis for living meaningful and purposeful lives.  We welcome and serve a pluralistic student body from many faith traditions, and we continue to be a college of the United Church of Christ, valuing our heritage as a community that is committed to scholarly inquiry, respects spiritual growth, and stands for inclusiveness and social justice. 

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College Community
We believe our educational goals are best pursued in the context of an intimate community where people know, support, and challenge each other; where students and professors are partners in learning; and where individuals assume responsibility for the common good.  Thus we want Elmhurst to be, at its core, a college of exceptional quality where capable students work closely with a dedicated faculty and staff in small classes, in individual and collaborative projects, in real-world settings, and in varied student activities and learning opportunities.  We seek to create a more vibrant campus community by increasing the number of residential students living and learning on campus full time, while continuing to serve students who are active participants in college life but who commute to campus. 

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Non-Traditional Programs
As we build a strong campus community, it is a special asset to be able to invite others to benefit from and enhance the College.  We wish to serve students of any age who want to pursue degrees on a part-time basis or pursue other educational objectives.  Programs for such students (such as accelerated undergraduate programs and master’s-level graduate programs) are designed to extend our service to a wider range of students, contribute to the strength of our educational offerings, and help support the core undergraduate mission of the College.

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Students and Faculty
A college is, first and foremost, people.  We will continue to select and support faculty who are excellent teachers while remaining active in their respective disciplines.  We will give particular attention to helping each professor continue to grow in both scholarship and pedagogy.  As our ability to craft our student body increases, we will aim at academic potential and motivation to learn.  We will continue to build a dedicated administrative and support staff that supports our educational mission with competence and integrity.  We will seek ratios among these groups that are both effective and efficient in supporting the mission of the College.  Across all these groups, we will seek diversity of background that enhances learning for all, and we will insist on an inclusive community that welcomes and values diversity.

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Campus Facilities
A college’s campus should enhance learning as well as house it.  As we continue to build on the tradition of a beautiful and well-maintained campus, we will seek to improve the ability of the College to achieve its educational mission, reinforce and deepen the sense of community on the campus, sustain the look and feel of the historic campus, develop the campus as a model of sustainable design, and enhance the campus’s relationship to the larger community.  In the near term, this work will include increasing the residential capacity of the campus and strengthening science facilities, while we prepare to improve facilities for the performing arts, athletics and academic and student life generally as well as provide the parking, accessibility, and infrastructure essential to the wise development of the campus.

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Resources
The educational experiences we want for our students will require considerable resources as well as imagination and creativity in making the most effective use of those resources.  Accordingly, we seek new levels of financial support, a significantly enhanced endowment, and a growing culture of philanthropy across all constituencies of the College.  We will enhance the relationships the College has built with a wide range of constituencies and seek new networks and alliances to support our students and their learning.  We will remain committed to helping assure access as students and their families face the financial challenge of an Elmhurst education.  Meanwhile, we will explore ways to achieve even greater educational effectiveness more cost-efficiently.

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Commitment
The College we envision will be—and will be recognized as—the strongest institution of its kind in the Chicagoland area and a national benchmark of educational effectiveness in the value we add to student lives.  The Board of Trustees and the senior leadership team of Elmhurst College are committed to achieving this vision and invite all faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the College to add their engagement and support as together we build the Elmhurst College of the future.

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Developed by the Advisory Council for Strategic Planning and the President: endorsed as a Provisional Statement by the Council, October 10, 2006; accepted by the Board as a working document to guide preparation of the next strategic agenda and capital campaign.