Progress
In 2008-2009, after three years of implementation, the Strategic Implementation Advisory Committee (SIAC), chaired by Provost Earl Lewis and Executive Vice President for Health Affairs Fred Sanfilippo, led the deans, strategic plan initiative leaders, cabinet members, and others in taking stock of Emory's strategic plan progress thus far. To name a few accomplishments to date:
- Oxford College saw its largest applicant pool ever, while Emory College enrolled an all-time high
- The freshman class of 2013 is one of the most diverse and academically talented classes ever admitted
- Student engagement earned the university the national President's Higher Education Community Service Award
- Emory once again was listed as a top place to work by US News and World Report, in its assessment of "America's Best Colleges"
- Emory's faculty, students and staff continue to garner awards and accolades. As a consequence of the hard work of many, we competed for a record number of grants and contracts. Total awards logged through August 31st reached $484,250,353, an increase of $73 million over last year.
- President Jim Wagner and Professor of Neurology Mahlon R. DeLong, at the same time, were elected as fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- Professor of Psychiatry Helen Mayberg and new School of Nursing Dean Linda McCauley earned election to the Institute of Medicine.
- At the international, national and local levels hundreds of our colleagues earned recognition for their scholarship, teaching and service. Scores received prizes for their articles or books; others, because of the significance of their work, became editors or associate editors of the leading publications in their fields.
Most major organizations review their strategic plans every three to five years to make sure they are on course, which includes an environmental scan. The upheaval in the national economy has affected the plan's implementation. Given the dramatic decline in the value of Emory's investment portfolio and diminished short-term investment earnings, the University must apply funding to fewer activities and at a slower pace. As a result, the review and evaluation process for the first three years of the strategic plan's implementation was accelerated. The strategic plan has been updated based on the conclusions of that process and continues to move the university toward its vision as an intellectual community.
The Strategic Implementation Advisory Committee (SIAC), comprised of president's cabinet members, deans from across the University, and strategic theme leaders has been in place to shepherd the implementation activities of the plan as it evolves. The SIAC's role is to develop priorities, review achievements, and guide strategic implementation activities (particularly those of the strategic themes and initiatives).
The SIAC meets every other month to review progress or proposed key changes in the strategic plans of the schools, major units, and themes. SIAC¿s Executive Committee (Provost Earl Lewis, Executive Vice President of Health Affairs Fred Sanfilippo, and Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration Mike Mandl) sets the agenda of the committee's work and facilitates communication with other key structures, such as the President's Cabinet and the Ways and Means Committee.
A process of coordination and linkage to budgets and programs supports the strategic agenda and undergirds the implementation activities. The strategic management process includes linking implementation activities to current processes, developing and managing ways to monitor implementation progress for the University and for the schools and units, aligning strategic plan implementation across its various components, providing a central repository of resources and information, and helping develop ways to communicate progress and new developments. A committee known as the Implementation Support Team, comprised of associate deans and other senior administrators, meets after the SIAC meetings to help coordinate strategic implementation with operations and annual reporting across schools, units, and strategic themes and initiatives.