FVSU Strategic Planning 2020-2025 Letter from President Jones

Dear FVSU Community,

I am pleased to announce that Fort Valley State University has launched a strategic planning process that will result in the development of a new 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. The strategic planning process provides an opportunity for the university to:

• strategically and proactively address changes in the higher education landscape;
• discuss and design strategies, systems, and organizational culture changes which leverage our unique attributes relative to the global higher education marketplace;
• identify and address strengths and opportunities on which we can capitalize to enhance our distinctiveness, as well as weaknesses and threats that could impede our forward progress; and
• direct our efforts and resources toward a clearly defined vision for the future.

When completed, the plan will provide the framework for guiding our direction through 2025, and help distinguish this university as a world-class, first-choice institution where students choose to embrace their brilliance. Developing a new strategic plan is essential for several reasons. First, and foremost, a new strategic plan will provide direction for the future and serve as a public declaration of our priorities in providing a quality educational experience to our students. It also will serve as a declaration of the principles we stand on and the vision and mission that guide our great institution. Equally important, the plan will be our statement of accountability. We expect the parents and students we serve and our supporters and stakeholders to gauge our progress in achieving our goals and objectives.

I have appointed a Strategic Planning Steering Committee to lead the university-wide development of the strategic plan (see my charge to the committee here). The committee, co-chaired by Dr. Olufunke A. Fontenot, Interim Chief of Staff, and Dr. Felicia Jefferson, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, includes faculty, staff, and community representatives.  In conducting the strategic planning process, we will be inclusive and transparent throughout the process.  There will be several opportunities for the campus community to provide input that will be used to shape our future direction. All members of the campus community are encouraged to participate in one of several input gathering activities that will take place in the coming months.

FVSU has retained MGT Consulting Group, a national consulting and research firm to assist with the overall strategic planning process. MGT’s executive vice president, Dr. Fred Seamon, will serve as our lead consultant. Dr. Seamon, with decades of experience working with colleges across the country, will partner with the committee and the broader university community to develop a bold, aggressive, and visionary plan which will help us solidify our upward trajectory. As we near our 125th anniversary, it is the time to lean into our heritage of innovation and ingenuity and take the decisive steps to increase our national and international competitiveness and to enhance our value to students, alumni, taxpayers, the community, and the world.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee will keep the campus community informed throughout the process, and will provide opportunities for your input. Please engage and respond to their invitations to provide information and feedback that will be critical in remapping the direction of our institution. We anticipate the completion of input gathering activities by the end of November 2019. In the weeks to come, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee may contact you for your input.

Please check the 2020-2025 strategic planning website and your e-mail to stay informed.

Kind regards,

Paul Jones, PhD.
President