Campus-Wide Working Group Themes
Dec. 7, 2023
The themes identified below represent broad priority areas for the College’s focus across the term of this Strategic Plan (the next 5-10 years). The themes are meant to be wide-ranging and suggestive in order to give the working groups the necessary latitude in which to operate. These multidisciplinary teams correspond to each theme and will be made up of faculty, staff, and students. The groups will be charged to identify specific goals aligned with each of the themes and to recommend potential initiatives that could meet those goals. Undergirding the work of each theme are the values that we have released to the community for comment and discussion, and that we will continue to refine in the early spring semester. The values should be reflected across the goals and initiatives that each working group will recommend.
When identifying the themes, the steering committee often highlighted important challenges that need to be addressed in the College’s physical plant and infrastructure. Through the Campus Master Planning process begun in fall 2022, important findings emerged that now must be aligned with the broader strategic planning process. To that end, the steering committee has recommended the formation of a “Lafayette Campus” working group consisting of current members of the Campus Master Planning group, as well as additional faculty, staff, and student representation. In addition to areas identified by the other working groups, the Lafayette Campus working group will focus on several key items resulting from the Campus Master Planning process, such as accessibility, connectivity, safety, technology, and infrastructure.
Learning at Lafayette
- How can the College support, develop, and enhance the academic focus at the core of our institution?
- How can the College make a Lafayette education distinctive?
- How can the College support academic programs more equitably, as well as support interdisciplinarity and co-curricular engagement?
Example areas for working group exploration:
- Bolstering interdisciplinarity at the College and providing better support and structures for coordination and collaboration across program areas
- Promoting academic excellence
- Allowing for curricular innovation and artistic creativity
- Exploring our values through the curriculum, including how one makes an ethical and environmentally sustainable global impact
Working at Lafayette
- How can the College build a community of care, empathy, and belonging for all of its faculty and staff?
- How can the College better support the wellness, growth, and professional development of faculty and staff?
- How can the College proactively attract and retain diverse talent that best serves the mission and values we have articulated?
Example areas for working group exploration:
- Supporting wellness and a sense of belonging for all who work at the College
- Creating an inclusive and collaborative culture where shared governance is robust and valued
- Strengthening a campus infrastructure that sustainably nurtures the body, mind, and spirit
- Developing sustainable policies and practices – physical, technological, practical, and financial – that support the College community in living their values
Enriching student life at Lafayette
- How can the College improve the coordination and integration of academic and co-curricular programming to support holistic student learning and development?
- How can the College better ensure that students have opportunities to engage deeply with faculty, staff, alumni, and fellow students in the process of learning, growth, and development?
- How can the College leverage co-curricular programming, including athletic participation, to best prepare students for life after Lafayette?
Example areas for working group exploration:
- Supporting student health, multidimensional wellness, and belonging through innovative and inclusive practices
- Developing opportunities for mentoring with faculty, staff, alumni, and potential employers
- Leveraging the residential experience, and spaces and places across the campus, to promote student connection, belonging, and flourishing
- Creating opportunities for leadership exploration and development
Connecting beyond Lafayette
- How can the College augment the connections between our campus community and the world beyond Lafayette?
- How can the College be more intentional and better coordinate the reciprocal opportunities for learning and scholarship that exist in the many communities we inhabit, including Easton, the Lehigh Valley, the Commonwealth, country and world?
Example areas for working group exploration:
- Improving communication between the College and the local community
- Defining pathways for coordination and collaboration in community-based learning activities
- Increasing opportunity for College engagement with local and regional economic-development
- Enhancing study abroad and other place-based learning activities
The Lafayette Campus
- How do the findings from the Campus Master Plan group align with the mission and values?
- How do campus physical plant issues impact the areas of exploration identified by the other working groups?
- How do issues related to campus accessibility, connectivity, and safety impact the experience of learning, living, and working at Lafayette?
Example areas for working group exploration:
- Prioritizing campus master plan findings to encourage alignment with the stated mission and values of the College, in particular, managing the campus through a lens of environmental sustainability, and unifying all campus spaces, including the Arts Campus, Metzgar, Downtown Easton, and Bushkill Drive
- Consulting with other working groups to assist with their exploration of physical plant issues related to their theme
- Leveraging resources, including technology, to improve accessibility, connectivity, and safety