July 9, 2020
Board of Regents
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK
Dear Board of Regents,
It is with a sense of enthusiasm, optimism, and pride that we submit our collective work on the OU Strategic Plan to the Board of Regents. The President’s Academic Planning and Budget Advisory Committee (PAPBAC) was originally constituted as a special committee under Faculty Handbook policy as agreed between President Gallogly and the Faculty Senate. The committee is comprised of 11 faculty members from across the University, appointed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and the President; it is co-chaired by Sarah Ellis and Kyle Harper. In its first year, the committee provided evaluation on proposed budgetary changes in Academic Affairs. When the Board of Regents and then-interim President Harroz set out to create a Strategic Plan for the University, PAPBAC was recommissioned by the President and Faculty Senate to guide the drafting of the plan and to ensure that the vision for the future of OU benefited from the input of shared governance.
Throughout the 2019-2020 academic year, PAPBAC worked on the document. Our goal was to work in the interest of the University as a whole, crafting an ambitious vision rooted in our mission. This process was fundamentally consultative from start to finish. We worked together as a group, refining and revising the draft document, and then successively sharing it with campus stakeholders – faculty, staff, administrators, and students. The document evolved substantially throughout the process, as we received input and took into account the perspectives and suggestions of the University community. In December a series of Town Halls provided a further opportunity for feedback, and again the document evolved. The final product is a result of a great deal of reflection, hard work, conversation, revision, and feedback. We believe it represents a collective statement about what is possible for the next chapter of OU’s history.
We would like to express our gratitude for the trust shown in shared governance. The Strategic Plan is better, and the collective support behind it is stronger, because of the robust and consultative process used in its creation. For us, it has been a privilege to play a role in helping shape the future of this institution.
Sincerely,
Sarah Ellis, co-chair
Kyle Harper, co-chair
Michael Ashby
Loretta Bass
Michael Bemben
Elyssa Faison
Alisa Fryar
Matt Jensen
Dimitrios Papavassiliou
David Parsons
David Sabatini
