Work is in progress to meet the goals outlined in the George Washington University’s new strategic framework, Raising Higher: OneGW’s Path to Preeminence, which will guide administrative decision-making for at least the next seven years. Three working groups are a part of the first phase of a multistep approach to executing the plan, which is being implemented to ensure that progress is clear and that strategies can be adapted, if necessary, in response to new opportunities and challenges that may arise.
“This framework belongs to all of us,” said President Ellen M. Granberg. “It reflects the ideas, aspirations, and ambitions of the GW community, and its success will depend on our continued collective engagement. These working groups exemplify the shared commitment of faculty and staff from across the university, coming together to turn our shared vision into action. This is just the first step of many, and I cannot wait to join our community in activating this framework across the university in the years ahead.”
The first major initiatives associated with the framework are focused on three topics: building an interdisciplinary research ecosystem at GW; expanding the number of distinctive D.C.-based experiences and embedding them throughout the student journey; and enhancing and aligning career and academic advising.
Working groups have been formed, with community-wide involvement, to develop recommendations related to these areas.
These first three working groups reflect the topics most frequently raised by GW community members during the framework development process. Each group has two co-chairs, a dean and a vice provost. Group members are a combination of faculty and staff from across the university, nominated by the group’s co-chairs, GW’s senior leadership team and the Faculty Senate, chosen because of their expertise in their focus areas.
Between now and May, each group will conduct research and talk with community members, and then will present recommendations on how its specific charge can be implemented. Findings and recommendations will be reported to the president and provost and shared with the executive leadership team in April. In May, an update will be shared with the GW Board of Trustees. In coordination with the Strategic Framework Steering Committee, GW leadership will decide which recommendations can and should be implemented.
Dayna Bowen Matthew, dean of GW Law, and Robert Miller, interim vice provost for research, are co-chairing the group focused on building the university’s interdisciplinary research ecosystem. President Ellen M. Granberg has charged this group with defining the essential characteristics needed for interdisciplinary research to thrive and recommending strategies to promote those characteristics across the university.
“Our committee will harness the best research ideas from across the university,” Matthew said. “Moreover, our committee will identify exciting opportunities for researchers in different disciplines to work together to produce new knowledge that will help solve some of the world’s grand challenges. We hope to achieve consensus on a set of bold, interdisciplinary areas of research in which the George Washington University can leverage its location and existing strengths to produce a growing body of impactful research.”
Further, Matthew said, her group will identify “key investments needed to create an ecosystem to support a world-class research enterprise.”
Co-chairs of the group focusing on D.C. experiences are Colette Coleman, vice provost for the Division for Student Affairs and dean of students, and Alyssa Ayres, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs. The president has charged this group with
developing recommendations to embed distinctive, D.C.-based experiences across academic programs and throughout students’ years at GW. The committee will also explore strategies to position these experiences as a signature element of study at GW, one that fully leverages the university’s location in the nation’s capital to enhance learning and leadership as well as postgraduate journeys.
“We are most excited to collaborate with colleagues who are passionate about harnessing what makes our university and our location distinctive,” Coleman said. “This is a real opportunity to think boldly about how we connect place, purpose and possibility for our students.”
Her group will develop a vision of how the D.C. experience can be woven more intentionally into student life, Coleman said, adding, “Our work speaks directly to the university’s commitment to experiential learning, community impact and preparing students for lives of leadership and service.”
The working group focused on career and academic advising is co-chaired by Jay Goff, vice provost for the Division of Enrollment and Student Success, and Paul Wahlbeck, dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. This group is charged with developing recommendations to enhance coordination between academic and career advising across the university and expanding the offerings and opportunities provided by each to improve student experience and student success.
“The committee on academic and career advising will examine ways that we can strengthen the links between our educational programs and our students' career aspirations,” Wahlbeck said. “Our students come to GW because they want to change the world, and this committee's work is to improve how the university prepares them for that important role.
“The strategic framework highlights the importance of our core academic mission: teaching the next generation of leaders and advancing knowledge through our research and creative activity,” Wahlbeck said.
Other co-chairs endorsed Coleman’s observation that the working groups will help sharpen the focus of university faculty and staff, “aligning our efforts and being intentional about how we deliver on our mission in ways that are distinctive, inclusive and future-oriented.”
In addition to making recommendations in line with its strategic focus, each group will be asked to establish a preliminary timeline for achieving its goals and outline a potential scope of work. Groups will also identify stakeholders essential to achieving the recommended goals and suggest mechanisms that should be implemented to achieve those goals, as well as appropriate performance indicators to measure impact. In addition, each group will engage key stakeholders to refine proposals and generate support, and will provide interim updates on its work.
Other Phase One initiatives already underway include upgrades to common spaces on campus, the refreshment of the GW brand, enhancing administrative support for research and redesigning the university’s budget model.