INITIATIVES
WHERE WINTHROP HAS BEEN Mahony took a few minutes to talk about where Winthrop has been, its current status, and challenges facing Win- throp and many other colleges and universities. He touched on Winthrop’s 1886 founding and significance as a wom- en’s college; the growth and variety of academic programs in the 1900s; the university’s journey through integration in 1964 and coeducation in 1974; the rise of intercollegiate athletics in the 1980s; its establishment as a university in the 1990s; and the numerous facilities changes the univer- sity completed in the 2000s.
“These changes did not always occur easily and were often accompanied by some disagreements, but we benefit from the vision and resolve of those who made possible the Winthrop we’ve come to know and love,” Mahony said.
WHERE WE ARE Mahony noted that Winthrop continues to be widely known for its stellar student experience — one that pro- vides an environment where motivated, engaged students can thrive. He touted the solid institutional reputation the university has built that has been validated by numerous third-party organizations and results of the National Survey of Student Engagement, the gold standard for measuring student experiences, that provides evidence of how well Winthrop’s efforts in a variety of areas compare to, and often exceed, other colleges and universities.
“I think we should be proud of this legacy, and I can tell you personally, I take the responsibility that comes with it very seriously,” Mahony told attendees. “We are clearly building on success, and we want to ensure we do not lose what has made this university special to so many people for so many years. That being said, we are facing challenging times today that will require us to adapt and change, just as Winthrop has had to adapt and change in the past.”
CHALLENGES
Mahony touched on the following challenges that Win- throp, like other colleges and universities, faces:
• The nationwide trend of institutions having to live in a new reality of reduced state funding and increasing costs, which have forced greater reliance on student tuition and fees;
• An adult student population that is growing faster than traditional students, a challenge that Mahony feels an obligation to meet, but that will require new programs and new approaches;
• An increased emphasis on technology in education; and
• The need to develop a culture of philanthropy in order to move forward as an institution, while lessening the financial burden on students.
“Overall, we clearly need to revise our strategic plan to re- flect this new environment, so we can continue to provide to our students what is needed today, while continuing to ensure the same Winthrop experience that generations of our graduates have enjoyed,” he said. “We must demon- strate the same determination as those have in the past if we want to keep Winthrop moving forward.”
THE WINTHROP PLAN Before he discussed the strategic plan itself, Mahony stressed the importance in understanding Winthrop’s approach to presenting the plan and for implementing the plan.
“It will be transparent. Our goals and how we are measur- ing them will be public for everyone to see,” Mahony said. “Every year, people will know not only what our goals are for the long term, but also what our goals are for the short term.”
Mahony added that the plan and the process of review- ing it will drive Winthrop’s allocation of funds. “We must ensure that we dedicate our resources to our most critical needs and not spend them on things that would simply be nice to do. Every discussion related to resource allocation will come back to this plan and whether each proposed expenditure furthers our abilities to reach our goal,” he emphasized.
He went on to say: “In other words, this is not a plan that will sit on a shelf collecting dust. We will live and breathe it every day, and everyone will know who we are and what we are trying to achieve.”
Mahony then walked through each of the following five goals, initiatives and metrics that make up the Winthrop Plan:
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