After more than a year of campus-wide conversations and collaboration, the George Washington University launched its new strategic framework, Raising Higher: OneGW’s Path to Preeminence, that will guide its priorities and decision-making in its third century of operation in the nation’s capital.
The framework reflects ideas and feedback from hundreds of students, staff, faculty and alumni across the GW community who helped envision the university’s future in a rapidly changing higher-education environment.
“Rooted in the insights and ambitions of our community, this framework charts a bold course for the future that is both strategic and adaptable,” said President Ellen M. Granberg. “While we can take pride in the collaborative work that brought us to this point, our greatest pride will come from the creative ways this framework will be brought to life across our community, all with the goals of improving student success, building our research enterprise, and strengthening our foundations for excellence in the years ahead.”
The effort began during the spring 2024 semester, when the university hosted a series of community-wide, future-focused conversations. Hundreds of participants joined discussions on the future of higher education and the workforce, while others shared their thoughts through an online feedback form.
Those conversations were distilled into a summary report that identified common themes across GW’s constituencies. Four central ideas emerged: advancing impactful knowledge through interdisciplinary excellence, reimagining skill development for the future, redefining authentic leadership for modern challenges and turning ideas into action as a premier global convener.
Building on that foundation, the university formed an Innovation Committee, primarily made up of faculty members, to translate these themes into potential strategies. Over several months, the committee reviewed institutional research, hosted town halls, invited the community to submit “idea briefs” and held informal discussions across schools and departments.
“From the beginning of this process, it was clear that the GW community had so many incredible ideas and perspectives to share about who we are as an institution and what would shape our path to preeminence,” said Interim Provost John Lach. “GW’s greatest strength is our people, and the framework will continue to be driven by our people—their ideas, their efforts, their impacts.”
More than 400 people participated and 170 idea briefs were submitted, highlighting opportunities for collaboration and growth. From that feedback, two guiding imperatives emerged: to enhance GW’s distinctiveness and impact and to lay a foundation for the university to become a preeminent institution in higher education.
“Our work was challenging, in large part because the GW community is so passionate,” said Columbian College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor Ethan Porter, a member of the Innovation Committee. “We had to sift through many great ideas, evaluating each one from many competing perspectives. What unified the committee—and what unifies the GW community—is a belief that GW is capable of excellence. With guidance from the committee and the community, there’s no doubt that GW can achieve its extraordinary potential.”
The committee completed its report in January, recommending ways GW could strengthen its research impact, reimagine teaching for a changing workforce and expand its role as a global convener.
That report served as the foundation for the Strategic Framework Steering Committee, which spent the spring reviewing recommendations and synthesizing input from across the university. The committee refined the work into three overarching institutional priorities and associated goals, designed to preserve the spirit of the original themes while providing a clear roadmap for the years ahead.
Throughout March and April, the steering committee hosted nine leadership briefings to gather feedback, including with the Board of Trustees, Faculty Senate and Staff Council and held a meeting with the Student Government Association (SGA) to ensure current students had their voices heard.
“The meeting provided SGA leadership with the opportunity to offer thoughts and opinions on the strategic framework,” said SGA President Ethan Lynne. “It was an incredibly helpful meeting where they heard firsthand ideas from students on how to make sure the strategic framework best represents everyone.”
SGA Vice President Liz Stoddard added that the meeting “not only shed light on the future of GW but also provided a great opportunity to involve students, whose input is incredibly valuable and essential to enhancing GW and the overall student experience.”
Once the draft framework was shared for public comment, five open community briefings followed, attracting more than 150 registrants and 80 participants. Another 83 people submitted feedback through an online form, all of which was carefully reviewed and incorporated into the final version.
With community feedback now integrated, GW is preparing to implement the framework’s first phase—translating the priorities into tangible actions that will guide academic planning, operations and investments across the university.
"Joining GW as the university launches its strategic framework is especially energizing,” said Sevin Yeltekin, dean of the School of Business. “This structure gives us direction with flexibility. We can pursue bold initiatives while staying responsive to new opportunities.”