The University of Toledo

UT Moves Forward with Strategic Plan: Imagine 2017

As The University of Toledo looks toward its future—and the future of higher education in Northwest Ohio—it continues to make progress toward the goals outlined in its new Main Campus strategic plan, “Imagine 2017.”

Just months into implementing the plan, UT has made great strides, according to Dr. Scott Scarborough, who was named UT provost and executive vice president for academic affairs in September 2012.

Included in the plan is a restructuring of the University’s academic units into new colleges and interdisciplinary schools. These 12 new structures consist of:

• College of Communication and the Arts
• Judith Herb College of Education
• College of Social Justice and Human Service
• College of Health Sciences
• Jesup W. Scott Honors College
• YouCollege
• UTXnet World Campus
• University Press and University Teaching Center
• Center for Experiential Learning
• School of Green Chemistry and Advanced Renewable Energy
• School of Healthcare Business Enterprise and Innovation
• University Council        

In most cases, the new structures are evolutions or combinations of former units, notes Dr. Scarborough.  To keep costs lower and to match the natural strengths of certain individuals to organizational needs, existing UT personnel have been selected to provide interim or permanent leadership of these units.

Rebalancing the University’s economic model by approximately $36 million remains one of UT’s biggest challenges, said Dr. Scarborough. He notes that a Redesign Coordinating Group has been appointed to facilitate this task. “Most certainly, there must be a rebalancing of our mission elements in order to create a sustainable economic model,” he explains. “If we do not do this, all our mission elements are at risk.”

One of the key ways to address economic issues over the long-term is to improve campus visits for prospective students, particularly for high-achieving students for the new Jesup W. Scott Honors College, for which Dr. Lakeesha Ransom was named as dean in February.

Steps for enhancing prospective student visitations include:

• Moving the front-door admissions function to Libbey Hall
• Renovating Doermann Theatre for fall preview days and other related events
• Converting MacKinnon Hall to Honors College housing and offices
• Rebuilding Dowd, Nash and White student housing
• Improving campus grounds and parking

As UT moves ahead through academic and economic changes, the most essential component of its continued success is teamwork among faculty, staff, and administrators.

“I say it so often because I believe it so strongly: Teamwork is the key to everything,” Dr. Scarborough says. “If we work together, anything is possible.”