CLAS Strategic Plan

Executive summary

The strategic plan for the period 2023-2028 for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) at Wayne State University (WSU) was developed with input from key constituents including faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends. It includes the college's vision, goals and new and ongoing initiatives in the context of returning to pre-pandemic normalcy in the college.

Methods

A fifteen-member college-wide committee comprised of representatives of all stake-holding groups, including undergraduate and graduate students, worked together during 2022 to create a Qualtrics survey and delineate related college initiatives.

Data was collected via (a) a survey sent out in April 2022; and (b) a community Town Hall that took place in Oct. 2022. The committee examined websites and institutional data and evaluated the survey results from 395 respondents, of which 183 were from faculty (40% response rate), 55 were from staff (11% response rate), 142 were from students (2% response rate) and 15 were from alumni and friends. The CLAS Strategic Plan mirrors the plan presented by the university and targets the same goals but includes specific CLAS initiatives. The CLAS goals and plan for the five-year period are delineated below.

Goal 1: Innovative teaching and student success

This goal includes student-centered activities, faculty and teaching excellence, curricular adjustments and infrastructure improvements.

Related initiatives

• Enhance student success and retention through participation in learning communities, internships, undergraduate research and other initiatives.
• Emphasize excellence in advising using early assessment of at-risk students, which can benefit from more individual attention and increased participation.
• Improve technology in classrooms to accommodate hybrid, high-flex and remote options and promote better outreach strategies to non-WSU students, nationally and internationally, for a global education.
• Offer career-facilitating certificate programs, which can provide an excellent grounding for various career paths. Career certificates can be offered in conjunction with majors/minors to undergraduates, non-degree students and graduate students.
• Increase student awareness of transfer articulation agreements, dual enrollment programs and accelerated M.A. opportunities.
• Remove barriers to interdisciplinary and intercollegiate curricular development.
• Champion compassionate teaching for all students and elevate the experience of students with disabilities.
• Invest in faculty and staff training in the areas of teaching and engagement with the Office of Teaching and Learning.
• Have departments review their own (and each other's) course offerings to build more inclusive curricula.
• Encourage curricular interdisciplinarity and team teaching across departments and programs.

Goal 2: Excellence in research

This goal focuses on research via faculty leadership, collegiate incentives and infrastructure support.

Related initiatives

• Recruit and retain CLAS faculty with demonstrated active research, scholarly leadership and creative activity.
• Promote, highlight and support community-engaged research across all fields and disciplines among students and faculty.
• Strengthen research collaborations across disciplines and foster the generation of knowledge through research to teaching and public forums.
• Support mid-career faculty with mid-career grants where possible, to bolster their productivity and scholarship.
• Strive to improve research infrastructure including equipment, data storage methods and lab space.
• Continue offering grant writing workshops to increase the capture of extramural funds.
• Bolster and deploy grant support staff in an efficacious manner, investing wherever possible in training and hiring.
• Increase research incentives and recognition to encourage excellence and enhance our institutional reputation.
• Promote innovation and commercialization of research discoveries.

Goal 3: Outreach and engagement

This goal highlights our successful partnerships and new initiatives in the City of Detroit and our community.

Related initiatives

• Continue formal internships with the city across all CLAS departments.
• Be the "go to" partner for Detroit on holistic and longitudinal research and evaluation of projects, initiatives and services.
• Highlight the work of our community-accessible clinics in psychology, speech therapy and audiology.
• Amplify our relationships with the neighboring Museum District and the Michigan Science Center and elevate our own museums, exhibits and the Humanities Commons.
• Partner with the Detroit Public Schools on tutoring activities including Math Brigade and the Detroit Recreation Center.
• Enhance outreach and partnerships with high schools and school districts that include and go beyond metro Detroit.
• Host and participate in campus events including STEM Day, AP Day and Future Warrior Day.
• Partner with the higher education programs of the Michigan Department of Corrections.
• Elevate CLAS reputation of academic excellence, community services and socio-economical impact via social media and marketing as part of a modern urban university.
• Promote partnerships between Wayne State and the city of Detroit via movement and mobility, outdoor classrooms, walking tours and funding for field trips, class projects, classroom speakers, guest lecturers.

Goal 4: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)

This goal recognizes the importance of social climate and inclusion in the recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students.

Related initiatives

• Infuse DEI values and initiatives across all departments to create a sense of belonging for all faculty, staff and students.
• Recruit and retain intellectually and culturally diverse faculty and provide robust support structures to ensure their pre- and post-tenure success.
• Develop retention programs for underrepresented minority students, including peer mentorship and research and internship opportunities, with attention to entry-level classes.
• Remove barriers to higher education for first-generation, immigrant, minority students and all students coming from non-traditional backgrounds, including students involved with the criminal justice system and students with disabilities.
• Recognize/reward efforts of faculty and staff towards improving diversity, inclusion and equity at the university by incorporating inclusive teaching and diversity statements in award packages.
• Broaden academic programs and class offerings that focus on intercultural and global engagement and the histories, contributions and cultures of diverse peoples.
• Enhance engagement with K-12 schools in the city and in metro Detroit to develop diverse pipelines of students prepared for success at Wayne State.
• Partner with the Office of Multicultural Student Engagement in the development of spaces and initiatives that support the wide diversity of races, cultures, creeds and orientations.
• Partner with the Student Disability Services to promote universal design and the academic, cultural and social engagement of students with disabilities at Wayne State.
• Foster the establishment of DEI committees in disciplinary clusters and/or departments.
• Review data from GEARS to develop a college-wide policy on gender equity in service, teaching, research and pay.
• Develop programs to encourage promotion to the next rank and pathways to leadership roles.
• Establish funds to support research projects promoting DEI and social justice.
• Work with the Office of Equal Opportunity on developing training on bullying and harassment.

Goal 5: Financial sustainability and operational excellence

This goal supports revenue growth through enrollments, development and extramural research.

Related initiatives

• Enhance existing programs (e.g., AP Day, STEM Day) and develop new programs/initiatives (lab tours and mini-lectures by all departments at Open House, the Science Olympiad) to increase student enrollment and tuition revenue.
• Encourage and support departments in the promotion of recruitment of city, metro, out-of-state and international students.
• Support departments on the "best practices" related to student retention for reputational and financial success.
• Increase extramural funding and revenue through research excellence, impactful science, innovative technology and entrepreneurship.
• Increase revenue through philanthropic donations, by working with Philanthropy and Alumni Relations and the college and by reaching out to potential donors, alumni, corporate, community entities and mission-based foundations.
• Enhance existing revenue streams and develop new sources from professional services and active business partnerships.
• Exercise transparent and efficacious budgetary and financial operations through annual budget hearings.
• Infuse one-time funds into faculty research and deferred maintenance projects.

2023-2028 CLAS Strategic Plan Committee