Now comes the hard part. Our intense planning process over two years has resulted in a strategic plan for SPEA’s future. We call it SPEA 2020 and it is as clear a vision as we could summon for how the school can grow and thrive. We’ve got the document. Now we have to turn its recommendations into action.
That’s where you come in, because our SPEA alumni play a critical role in our future.
We want to better utilize our 32,000 alumni around the world to assist our current students. For example, we will call upon the alumni of the IU Master’s Degree in Health Administration to help shape some of the educational innovations at SPEA Bloomington. We’ll also be asking you to serve as informal career advisors to graduates of our new healthcare programs.
Finally, we’ll ask all of you to use your skills and contacts to help us achieve our diversity goals in student recruitment, achievement, and placement in internships and jobs.
The street does go both ways. Here’s how we plan to better serve you: We are joining the Indiana University Alumni Association (IUAA) in a university-wide effort to better align alumni programs with your needs, such as personal career development and lifelong learning initiatives. I’ve asked our alumni relations staff to develop a plan to make it easier for you to engage with SPEA through attending events, taking advantage of opportunities, and sharing your expertise. You’ll be hearing more from us on that and I welcome your ideas and am grateful for your support.
First, though, I hope you’ll take a few minutes and check out all that SPEA and your classmates are doing to make a positive impact on our world and to build on the foundation you built during your time here. Speaking of that foundation, please accept my gratitude for all you’ve done to help us get to our highest rankings ever. As Michael and Lilliard detail in their notes, SPEA Bloomington is #1 and SPEA Indianapolis is #41 in the newest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
There is much to be proud of and much still to do.
