News and Planning Process

University President William P. Leahy, S.J., articulated his thoughts on Boston College’s University Strategic Planning Initiative:

In January 2016 Boston College launched the University’s Strategic Planning Initiative (USPI)—a new strategic planning effort to identify institutional priorities for the next decade.

The University Strategic Planning Initiative Steering Committee will conduct internal analyses, gather recommendations and ideas from the University community, and identify priority areas of focus before creating a strategic plan draft document for review by the Boston College Board of Trustees.

January 2016: Fr. Leahy names Executive Vice President Michael J. Lochhead and Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley to serve as co-chairs of the USPI, and establishes an executive committee to oversee the work.

February 2016: A steering committee composed of deans, faculty, senior administrators, and students is named and chartered with assessing progress made on Boston College’s previous strategic planning efforts and identifying new strategic priorities.

Spring 2016: 24 self-study teams are formed to evaluate progress made during the past 10 years, identifying trends and changes in higher education that may affect Boston College, and exploring strategic opportunities.

• Nine academic teams: the University’s eight schools plus University libraries
• Eight major administrative areas, from student affairs and athletics to finance and facilities
• Seven teams assessing University-wide initiatives that span multiple schools, departments, or divisions.

Summer 2016: The results of the 24 self-studies are presented to members of the Executive and Steering Committees followed by a retreat to identify major themes and begin to develop proposals within the context of the University’s mission, ongoing institutional goals, and available resources.  

Fall 2016: Seven preliminary themes are shared with community to solicit feedback through town hall-style conversations for faculty and staff, student events, theme-specific listening sessions, an online form, meetings with alumni leadership groups, and a webinar held for alumni and friends of the University. Based on the community’s feedback, the seven preliminary themes are combined and prioritized into four Strategic Directions.

March 2017: Initial draft of the four Strategic Directions and accompanying proposed initiatives are discussed by the Board of Trustees at an extended Board retreat.

June 2017: After incorporating the Board’s thoughtful feedback, the Strategic Directions are endorsed at the June 2017 Board Meeting.

August 2017: The approved Strategic Directions are shared with the Boston College community at the University’s 2017 Convocation ceremony, via website, and through a community-wide email broadcast.

Strategic planning is a central component of the culture of planning and assessment that has permeated Boston College for decades.   

Boston College’s previous strategic planning effort, the University Assessment and Planning Initiative (UAPI), featured input from more than 200 members of the University community, including faculty, students, alumni, and administrators. Its completion in 2006 led to the creation of the Seven Strategic Directions, which set a clear institutional path for Boston College in anticipation of its 150^th anniversary in 2013.

UAPI also led to an accompanying 10-year Institutional Master Plan to provide the infrastructure to support the Strategic Plan, and inspired the Light the World campaign to fund selected programs and projects.