Wayne State University recently kicked off the planning process for its 2022-27 strategic plan, and all members of the campus community are invited to participate.

The plan will serve as a guide for Wayne State’s future initiatives and build on the progress and growth achieved under the 2016-21 plan, “Distinctively Wayne State.” A virtual town hall event was hosted by President M. Wilson and Board of Governors Chair Marilyn Kelly on April 19 to reflect on WSU’s accomplishments over the past five years and share key aspects and processes for the development of the new plan.

All members of the campus community are invited to complete a survey and share input that will be taken into consideration during the planning process. The planning process will be completed in four phases, beginning with input and analysis in spring 2021 and commencing with the execution of the new strategic plan in January 2022.

The 2022-27 Strategic Plan Steering Committee will be co-chaired by Interim Provost Laurie Lauzon Clabo, Provost Mark Kornbluh (upon his arrival as permanent provost this summer), Vice President for Research Steve Lanier, and Vice President for Marketing and Communications and Chief of Staff Michael Wright. Board of Governors Chair Marilyn Kelly will represent the board on the committee. The committee will also have support of MGT Consulting, a consultancy with expertise in higher education strategic planning.

Over the last five years, as a result of the of the vision set by the previous strategic plan, WSU has celebrated many milestones. The campus community’s embrace of our mission, vision and values and the goals/objectives of “Distinctively Wayne State” resulted in notable successes over the past five years, including:

• Exceeding our six-year graduate rate goal of 50% while exhibiting a record rate of improvement.
• Tripling the Black student six-year graduation rate.
• Increased freshman enrollment, including the three largest freshman enrollments in Wayne State’s history.
• Creation of the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement.
• Exceeding our Pivotal Moments campaign goal of $750 million.
• Increased research grants and expenditures.
• Record applications for the School of Medicine (SOM), now exceeding 10,000 applications annually.
• A record improvement in the diversity of the SOM’s students.
• Completion of the new Mike Ilitch School of Business, made possible by the largest funding gift in Wayne State’s history.
• Repurposing of an existing campus building to create a new STEM Innovation Center.
• Positioning of Wayne State and its president as leaders in the fight to eliminate health disparities. This includes leadership during the pandemic on policies for dealing with health disparities, and leadership in the testing and mobile testing of first responders and vulnerable citizens.
• A joint venture with the Detroit Pistons to build a new G-League arena on Wayne State’s campus that will also be used by WSU Athletics and students.

To share your input for consideration, complete this form.

More information about the strategic plan can be found on the president’s website.