The UC Davis Vision: The Campus’s Strategic Plan

Looking back at UC Davis’ history, we can see how we have grown from our roots as a pioneering “ag” school into a dynamic, diverse university that is discovering what matters to the futures of our students, the people of California, and the evolving needs of our world. In this, our centennial year, we pause to honor this distinguished heritage and, with certainty, to look forward to a second century that is to be equally filled with innovation, inspiration and a tradition of service that enriches our collective quality of life.

With this context and commitment as our foundation, we have charted a strategic course for our future. Our UC Davis Vision: The Campus’ Strategic Plan expresses our most comprehensive campus vision, and identifies the goals, strategies, and assessment measures needed to achieve our aspirations. It reflects, at its core, our academic mission, as expressed in our campus’ Academic Plan. But it also recognizes the university’s responsibility to support the broadest intellectual and developmental needs of our students, to ensure an optimal workplace for our staff, to foster a creative and equitable community, and to provide the physical environment and administrative infrastructure needed to steward our enterprise.

UC Davis is currently working with faculty, deans, academic officers and the Academic Senate to develop a new Academic Plan for the 2009-2014 time period. Expected to be completed in the winter of 2009, the plan will include information on the campus’ academic priorities, collaborative efforts, faculty resources, curricular intentions, assessment mechanisms and overall resource needs. Once complete, it will clearly influence our UC Davis Vision: The Campus’ Strategic Plan and provide further impetus to guide decision making and refine our thinking about resource priorities. Until then, the current strategic plan should be seen as a transitional tool that continues to showcase our institutional commitments and encourages our progress in attaining them.

The UC Davis Vision: The Campus’ Strategic Plan reflects the suggestions and the accomplishments of many members of the campus community. Indeed, it presumes that our community is the foundation upon which our aspirations depend. Our pledge is to provide the leadership and support to achieve these goals. With focus and resolve, all of us-together-can secure the brightest of futures for our campus.

Larry N. Vanderhoef
Chancellor

Enrique Lavernia
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

The UC Davis Vision: The Campus' Strategic Plan

Mission

Through a distinctive tradition of core-discipline excellence, interdisciplinary collaborations and productive partnerships, UC Davis teaches students to think critically, objectively and creatively and to be lifelong learners, engaged leaders and productive citizens; pursues research to advance knowledge and to address state, national and global challenges; and serves the public through the generation, broad dissemination and application of knowledge.

Vision

UC Davis, a land-grant university and leading international academic institution, achieves the highest level of intellectual excellence within a diverse, collaborative community whose members share a passion for teaching and learning, an abiding commitment to discovery through research and creative activity and a strong tradition of engagement and application of knowledge.

Distinction

UC Davis offers an unparalleled breadth of superior academic and extracurricular programs within a supportive campus community promoting collaboration and excellence.

Goals

Learning

Provide enriching learning experiences that develop the intellectual and leadership capacity of students and advance the campus's educational objectives.

Strategy: Instructional Programs

Ensure that the campus maintains and develops high-caliber courses, curricula and academic programs.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Evidence of educational effectiveness, including results from the periodic assessment of instructional programs in relation to program and campus educational objectives for students
• Increase in departmental/programmatic commitment to honors programs
• Growth in the number of UC Davis students who enroll in prestigious graduate and professional school programs
• Provision of the highest-quality graduate curriculum responsive to emerging areas of scholarship within each program

Strategy: Faculty-Student Interaction

Enhance the quality of faculty-student interactions.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Increase in the proportion of undergraduate classes taught by tenure-track faculty, including an increase in the number of freshman seminars and seminars for transfer students
• Support for student and faculty participation in campus chapters of academic/professional societies and in sponsored student group competitions
• Expansion of undergraduate and graduate participation on appropriate departmental, graduate program and college committees
• Opportunities to work in small groups and have access to at least one small class (30 students or less) in each major

Strategy: Beyond the Classroom

Expand research, internship and international experiences for undergraduates.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Expansion of the quality, number and breadth of research and creative activity
• Increase in the quality, number and range of international experiences
• Growth in the number of students completing academically based internships

Discovery

Lead in the pursuit of knowledge, both in established areas of inquiry and in newly emerging frontiers.

Strategy: Excellence in Research

Invest in targeted areas of established and emerging excellence and distinction.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Increase in national and international leadership and recognition of UC Davis research programs as reflected in prestigious awards and appointments for faculty and research staff (e.g., Pulitzer Prize, election to membership in major societies, appointments to leadership roles in professional organizations and journal editorial boards)
• Improvement in the ranking of UC Davis programs in national surveys that are based on research visibility and excellence
• Growth in the level of extramural funding across all disciplines (e.g., NSF, NIH, NEH, USDA, DOE, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation)
• Enhancement of the number of participants in, and impact of, interdisciplinary initiatives
• Increase in the dissemination of knowledge through appropriate venues (e.g., books, creative works, licenses and patents)
  
• Timely implementation of promising new initiatives that expand the realm of knowledge

Strategy: Graduate Students/Postdocs

Advance the role of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the research enterprise.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Expansion in the quality and quantity of mentoring programs and support services for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
• Increase in the number of publications and creative works by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows
• Successful placement of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in positions that utilize their research experience
• Expansion of resources for the support of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, including but not limited to increases in funding for internal fellowships and in the number of externally awarded fellowships and traineeships (e.g., NSF, NEH, NIH)

Strategy: Responsive Management

Strengthen research at all levels by facilitating the application for and management of grants of all sizes across all disciplines.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Increase in the number of applications and awards for single- and multi-investigator grants
• Responsiveness to user feedback surveys and improvement in areas where needed (e.g., rapid internal processing of proposals, proactive search for and timely dissemination of information about funding opportunities, improved responsiveness to limited submission funding opportunities)
• Mobilization of the expertise and experience of senior faculty to mentor new investigators
• Development of training opportunities to facilitate more effective fiscal management of grants

Engagement

Effectively engage the university in the lives of the broader communities it serves.

Strategy: Region/Nation/World

Contribute to the solution of society's most pressing problems locally and around the globe through disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, life-long education and community partnerships.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Increase in level and quality of research and educational activities devoted to addressing key societal issues and improving quality of life (e.g., food and nutrition, human and animal health, environmental stewardship, K-12 education, historical, artistic and cultural awareness, community and economic development and national security)
• Expansion of number, nature and impact of researchers involved in disciplinary and interdisciplinary work focused on societal issues
• Enhancement of responsiveness to designated issues of international, national and statewide need
• Gains in internal, regional, national and international recognition for research and education that successfully address societal issues

Strategy: Alumni and Friends

Build and enhance enduring relationships with alumni, parents of students and friends of the campus.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Increase in number of alumni/parents/friends engaged in volunteer activities and philanthropic support of the campus
• Expansion in number and quality of lifelong learning opportunities and participation by alumni, parents and other community members
• Growth in quality and number of national and international alumni events
• Improvement in quality and number of communications to alumni/parents/friends as well as maintenance of current contact data for these groups to enhance information exchange

Strategy: Economic Development

Provide effective and active support for the economic development and quality of life in the region and state.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Creation of partnerships with local government, public and business agencies and school districts that foster economic growth or development
• Expansion of quality, variety and number of industry interactions and partnerships
• Enhancement of level and quality of technology-transfer activities
• Successful development of the research park
• Increase in quality and number of communications, conferences, workshops and educational programs devoted to economic development
• Enhancement of public awareness of UC Davis' contributions to the region's economic development
• Growth in educational programs that prepare ethical leaders and other professionals for today's complex workplace and the state's development

Framework for Success

Provide the human, physical and financial resources necessary to achieve our goals.

Strategy: Students

Enroll and graduate academically talented and diverse undergraduate, graduate and professional students.

The campus will continue to refine admissions processes and will provide increasing support and services to attract excellent students and maximize their success.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Alignment of demographics of campus undergraduate student population to better reflect the population of California
• Increase in the number of high-achieving students enrolling at UC Davis
• Improvement in competitiveness of financial support packages with other peer institutions, with special emphasis on scholarships and fellowships
• Increase in rate of growth in overall recruitment of graduate students in keeping with systemwide efforts
• Increase in the number of prestigious national and international awards and fellowships received by UC Davis students
• Reduction in time-to-degree for all student populations

Strategy: Faculty and Staff

Recruit, develop and retain a distinguished and diverse faculty and staff to increase national and international distinction and leadership in learning, discovery and engagement.

UC Davis will enhance existing programs and create new initiatives to assist in the recruitment, development and retention of the highest-quality faculty and staff.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Increase in number of endowed chairs and professorships
• Increase in the diversity of faculty and staff to better reflect the population of California
• Provision of tools to faculty and staff that streamline administrative processes and allow for more support to the core mission of teaching, research and public service
• Provision of faculty/staff compensation/classification levels to be competitive with peer universities
• Expansion of faculty/staff benefits and nonacademic resources competitive with peer universities (e.g., housing, child care, parking, recreation, cultural events)
• Availability of opportunities reflecting work-life balance and gender-based issues for faculty and staff
• Expansion of recognition programs and awards for outstanding teaching, research and service

Strategy: Diversity and Respect

Foster and sustain a diverse, respectful and cohesive campus community.

The campus has long promoted a commitment to this objective through the Principles of Community established in 1990. The next step in this commitment is to apply more effectively, institutionalize and administratively embrace these principles through program growth and evaluation.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Availability of opportunities to develop cultural competence for students, faculty and staff
• Responsiveness to issues challenging the campus's cohesiveness
• Evaluation of campus climate through periodic surveys, data collection and assessment and implementation of compelling recommendations
• Improvement of physical spaces and programs that support diverse communities and provide a welcoming environment
• Growth in number of opportunities for successful leadership development for students, faculty and staff
• Expansion in number of opportunities for constituent groups to be successfully supported and connected to the university community

Strategy: Facilities and Technology

Provide the physical facilities, information resources and technology infrastructure necessary to achieve national and international distinction and leadership in learning, discovery and engagement.

With a high rate of enrollment and research growth, existing facilities are nearing or have achieved capacity. New and renovated facilities are needed to maintain excellence and provide enhanced opportunities for faculty, staff and students. Facilities should be designed in a manner that supports the campus's educational objectives.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Completion of facility renovations and new construction, including classrooms, academic and administrative offices, research space and other support facilities
• Sustainability of library acquisitions and provision of increased electronic access
• Enhancement of information and educational technology infrastructure, access and training
• Expansion of availability and accessibility to computing resources for faculty, students and staff
• Transformation to a more sustainable campus in terms of energy consumption, resource utilization, waste generation and environmental impact

Strategy: Financial Success

Aggressively pursue the financial resources necessary to achieve national and inter-national preeminence in learning, discovery and engagement.

With limited potential for increased state support, the campus must take aggressive actions to gain other resources to support its mission.

Indicators of achievement will include:

• Prioritization of campus learning, discovery and engagement objectives
• Acceleration of level and rate of growth in sponsored funding and private giving
• Increase in overall fund-raising trajectory through comprehensive campaign
• Enhancement in number and extent of successful advocacy efforts, particularly with external stakeholders (e.g., legislators, alumni)
• Growth in levels of appropriate corporate sponsorship

| Last updated: October 25, 2007

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