University Strategic Plan Resolution

For Marquette University Academic Senate

Adopted October 16, 2023

WHEREAS

1. The University Academic Senate (UAS) is responsible for advising the senior administration and board of trustees on matters crucial to the success of Marquette University’s academic mission; and
2. UAS have consulted with faculty and staff in their respective colleges concerning their views on the content of a proposal offered for Marquette University’s next strategic plan in September of 2023; and
3. The results of those discussions have led to several proposals, offered in the spirit of collaboration, for how to build on and improve on the work that has already been done on that plan.

NOW, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

1. It is the sense of the Marquette University Academic Senate that the next Marquette University Strategic Plan draft should incorporate three overarching themes:
   
   
   1. Theme #1: Thriving Students: Marquette will be a nationally recognized leader in providing students a transformative education by developing their critical thinking skills and putting Ignatian discernment into practice.
      
      
   2. Theme #2: Inclusive, Sustainable Campus: Marquette’s students, faculty, and staff will be sustained in body and spirit, supported by mission-centered policies that promote care for the whole person (cura personalis) and strengthen the long-term health of the institution (cura apostolica).
      
      
   3. Theme #3: Care for the World: In partnership with the broader Milwaukee community, Marquette will nurture and direct its abilities to address the world’s challenges, including those identified in the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus, through growing our cutting-edge research and encouraging faith-inspired service.
      
      
2. It is the sense of the Marquette University Academic Senate that the initiatives within each of the main themes should be revised as follows:
   
   
   1. Theme #1: Thriving Students:
      • Pursue academic excellence through innovations aligned with our mission.
      • Strengthen Marquette’s culture of academic excellence by supporting infrastructure that enables faculty and students to pursue and disseminate cutting-edge research.
      • Engage and support students to help them achieve success academically and in their lives after graduation through transformative teaching, experiential learning opportunities, academic support, and career preparation.
      • Instill in students habits of discernment and action that advance a hope-filled future.
      • Welcome and support the success of a diverse student body.
   2. Theme #2: Inclusive, Sustainable Campus:
      • Invest in the well-being of every member of our campus community.
      • Recruit and retain faculty, staff and students from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences who can further advance Marquette and its mission.
      • Prioritize programs that advance Marquette’s mission.
      • Build a culture of collaborative discernment, which includes decision-making processes that build mutual trust between faculty, staff, administration, and the Board of Trustees.
      • Sustain a physical campus that promotes transformative teaching and research excellence.
      • Engage in practices to maximize Marquette’s positive impact on the environment.
      • Support Marquette’s mission with a culture of philanthropy and alumni engagement, strategic enrollment and academic planning, and sustainable operations.
   3. Theme #3: Care for the World:
      • Build and sustain research communities/networks and advance impactful scholarly work, including in areas associated with the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus (Showing the Way to God, Care for Our Common Home, Walking with the Excluded, Journeying with Youth)
      • Build and support strategic partnerships that increase Marquette’s positive impact on the world.
      • Prepare leaders who understand world’s economic and social problems and who seek to address them to create a just, environmentally sustainable world.
      • Encourage the ideas of service of faith and promotion of justice to address both local and global problems.