Keene State College will begin the process of revising its mission statement. KSC President Melinda Treadwell announced a new plan to revisit the school’s values and mission statement.
“[In] the spring semester of next year, there’ll be a strategic planning committee. There’ll be faculty, staff and students represented on the committee, and there’ll be a whole semester of listening sessions and focus groups to talk about over the next three years are the most important goals for our college to deliver on our values,” Treadwell said.
Treadwell continued, “I’m hoping by summer of 2022, we’re going to have the updated mission, the bold vision for the campus and then a plan to deliver on that vision that the campus has created.”
Treadwell also explained that she is resisting telling the campus what the college’s purpose should be because she wants to hear from students.
Vice President of Enrollment and Student Engagement MB Lufkin, who is working on the committee to revisit this, explained her role on the project, “We are looking at, together with constituents across the campus [what] is our mission and our vision and our values are they aligned with where we are now and where we want to be in the future. And so there’s a subcommittee of folks that have worked on drafts of that.”
“It’s always invigorating to go back and remind yourself of what your core mission statement is, and then understand how that is relevant to today’s society and where we need to go in the future,” Lufkin said.
Provost Dr. James Beeby also explained the plans for next semester, “My plan, my intention is to have students involved in the actual strategic planning process directly. And then listening to their peers. And bringing those ideas to the committee is going to be called a coordinating committee, essentially. And it’s going to start in the spring, and there will be people on that committee from across campus, including students.”
Beeby further explained, “We’ll have focus sessions where those student representatives can talk to students and listen to them about what they would like to see the institution doing going forward.”
Beeby and Lufkin shared the excitement to be talking to students about this. “I’m really excited about it, to be honest… I want this institution to be the most student- centered institution we can possibly make it. So what does that mean? That means being attentive to the needs of students, the concerns of students and trying to give the highest quality education and co-curricular experiences for our students throughout their time here, and then as alumni,” Beeby said.
Lufkin said her favorite part of being at Keene is engaging with students. “That’s what brings us to work every day, right? And so making sure that we have that we’re offering an amazing student experience that really encourages students to persist and thrive here. That’s why it’s my favorite part of my day.”
Treadwell shared this sentiment, “I’m looking forward to hearing from all faculty or staff or students, where do we want to take this campus together? It’s not where I’m taking it. It’s where we’re all going together. And that can only be done by listening.”
