Dear Colleagues,

Now that I have completed more than 30 discussions with the academic units, staff and student senates, campus organizations, classes, and the regional campuses, I wanted to provide a brief summary of some points of agreement that have emerged from this fall's meetings:

• Some programs have already achieved national prominence.
• Success in realizing the goals of Vision Ohio will require investing resources selectively. A top priority for strategic investment will be additional faculty lines.
• Budget decisions must be made in a transparent environment with reliable and meaningful data readily available to decision-makers.
• Most decisions should be made at the college or planning unit level, not the central level.
• Accountability at all levels and throughout the institution is critical to meeting goals.
• Incentives and rewards should be based on quality, performance, and productivity.

More than 600 staff, faculty, and students participated in these meetings. Each academic department or school submitted a response document outlining areas of excellence, areas of opportunity, challenges, concerns, and suggestions for implementation. All planning units are submitting a set of performance metrics to establish goals and guide the assessment process.

The most frequently asked questions focused on the budgeting process outlined in the "talking paper" submitted by the Task Force Resources Committee (see Appendix B in the original draft document of Vision Ohio). Because many community members want to learn more about the new budgeting process and other elements of the plan, the implementation process will involve educational sessions to inform the university community. A calendar of events - open forums, reports on progress, draft documents -- will be posted on the Provost's web site to encourage participation in the implementation process as the work gets underway.

Ten implementation teams -- Undergraduate Priorities; Graduate Priorities; Resources; Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability; Research and Creative Activity; Interdisciplinary Programs; Quality and Diversity of Students, Faculty, and Staff; Infrastructure; Partnerships; and Environment -- have been appointed. All teams have strong representation of all constituent groups (listing of Implementation Team memberships will be posted on the Provost's web site). These individuals are dedicating considerable time to these efforts, and one of their highest priorities is to keep the university community informed of their progress and their deliberations.

If you would like a representative of a particular team to attend a staff or unit meeting, please contact the chair or co-chair of the team. Members would be happy to inform you of their work.

The comment period on the planning document, extended to October 15, 2005, has now ended. The edited document will soon be posted to the Provost's web site. The next goal is for the implementation teams to finish their work by the end of this academic year. By Fall Quarter 2006, we will begin to put the plan in place. Though Vision Ohio will remain a "living" document, we will begin to use it as our roadmap to guide our way into the future. I urge you to participate in this critically important process.

Kathy A. Krendl
Provost
304 Cutler Hall
Ohio University Athens, OH 45701
(740) 593-2600