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Strategic Planning Volunteer Champion Role Description

Background

Macalester College is embarking on a year-long strategic planning process with the goal of developing a strategic plan that inspires and guides the college, while helping us utilize our many strengths and navigate a number of challenging higher education trends. The strategic planning process will involve every constituency of the college, including those who live and work on campus, as well as alumni and parents.

Overview

The planning process offers everyone a chance to participate, with an important part of the success being volunteer Strategic Planning Champions, a group of 14-16 members from across our community. 

The role of the Strategic Planning Champion is to engage all of the college’s constituents – including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents – in thinking about the future of the college. The Champions will serve as liaisons between their constituents and the college’s senior leadership. They will be responsible for reading and learning, gathering input and feedback, organizing findings, identifying themes emerging from the process, meeting with Macalester’s senior leaders, and communicating updates back to their constituents.  

This is a very important role and will take a deep commitment, spending an average of two hours per week over the months of November 2021 through April, 2022. If any of the selected Champions are students who receive need-based financial aid, funds will be available to support participation as a work-study option.

Responsibilities

  • Participate in a one-day orientation to be held on December 4
  • Promote opportunities for engaging with the strategic planning process through your constituencies
  • Meet with the college’s senior leadership 
  • Attend college events, conduct listening sessions with constituents, interface with existing groups, have 1:1 conversations, and engage in other ways you can think of to gather input and feedback 
  • Read, study, and learn about trends in liberal arts education, in projected demographics of students, in what future employers are looking for, etc. 
  • Distill and synthesize the input and feedback that will come in from various sources such as the on-line suggestion box, Town Hall events, etc. 
  • Present high-level themes and priorities that emerge through the various streams of dialogue to Macalester’s senior leaders during strategy sessions
  • Serve as ambassadors for the planning process and as liaisons who communicate on progress with your constituents

Time Commitment 

  • November 19: For Faculty, Staff and Students — participate in one of the Campus Kick-Off events, if available
  • December 4 (full day): Participate in the Champion Orientation with a dinner after the orientation
  • December-March (average 2 hours per week): Gather information from constituents through existing events, reading/studying, having 1:1 conversations, holding listening sessions, etc. 
  • January TBD (7 hours): Participate in strategy session with Macalester’s senior leaders
  • February through April (approximately 4 times for 2 hours): Participate in Theme Team Meetings
  • April TBD (7 hours): Participate in strategy session with Macalester’s senior leaders

Selection of students, faculty, staff, parents and alumni as Champions will be based on the following criteria:

  • Deep passion for higher education and strong desire to see Mac realize more of its substantial potential
  • Optimistic, curious, and eager to hear others’ perspectives
  • View change as an opportunity for growth and improvement 
  • Believe that growth requires a willingness to challenge the status quo
  • Able to engage with the Macalester community in reading, learning, thinking, and sharing ideas with courtesy and respect
  • Available to participate in a day-long orientation for the volunteer Champions on Saturday, December 4

Tenure: November 2021- April 2022, with the opportunity to review the Strategic Plan draft over the summer, if desired
Contact [email protected] for more information