Staffing/Support -

We have selected a consulting firm to help us through the process. Tecker International, LLC (Glen Tecker, prime consultant) has a strong record of guiding Land Grant Universities through the strategic planning process. They will be working with our college over the next several months as we create and validate our new CALS strategic plan. We anticipate that the overall process will take approximately six months, with a goal of completion being June 1, 2013. While this timeline is aggressive, we want to have a plan in place just prior to the formation of the new College of Science (COS) which will have an important impact on the future direction of CALS and the University. From the outset, it was clear that CALS needed additional leadership support to direct this effort. I am pleased to announce that Dr. Marshall Stewart has agreed to join the CALS administrative team, in a part-time role, to help with the creation, coordination and implementation of the strategic plan. Marshall currently provides leadership as an Associate Director and Program Leader for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service (NCCES) and is Department Head of 4-H Youth Development and Family & Consumer Sciences. On December 1, he will be stepping down from his role as department head to provide leadership with the college strategic planning effort as well as other initiatives in my office. He will continue to serve in his leadership roles with NCCES as Associate Director and 4-H/FCS Program Leader

Formation of the CALS Strategic Planning Steering Committee –

A 12-member steering committee has been formed. This committee will be charged with the overall design and oversight of the process. (The 12-member committee consists of the following individuals Richard Linton, Sylvia Blankenship, David Monks, Joe Zublena, Sam Pardue, Keith Oakley, John Sabella, Lisa Guion Jones, Chris Daubert, Derek Aday, Joy Martin and Jonathan Smith.) The Steering committee will meet with the consulting firm for a full day meeting on December 11, 2012. The goal of this "design meeting" is to establish the process and timeline that we will use to develop our plan. After this first meeting, we will be able to explain the overall process we will use.

Communication Plan -

As with any major initiative, communication about the process and outcomes is critical. A full communication plan will be developed so that faculty, staff, students and CALS stakeholders are aware of the progress and so that we can identify ways you can provide input. The primary point person for questions/suggestions will be Dr. Marshall Stewart. His contact information is marshall_stewart@ncsu.edu, 919.515.1681 (office), 919.215.8683 (cell). As a part of the communication plan, we plan to hold listening sessions for our college where the CALS steering committee can seek input, answer questions and address issues of interest. We will keep you updated on when these opportunities are available.

Stakeholder Input -

In the very short time that I have been at NC State, I have fully recognized that we have a very large enterprise connected to our college – one of the largest in the country. The college has many internal stakeholders that expand well beyond faculty, students, and staff on campus. We also have very expansive external stakeholder partnerships. Throughout this process, great efforts will be made to incorporate input from our very important stakeholder network – internally and externally.

My Overall Thought and Message -

This is one of the most important, and most exciting, time periods in our college’s history. The university re-alignment and formation of the new COS brings about change. We now have a window of opportunity to use the power of change in the most positive ways possible. It is my hope, that we will all work together to energize this process creating the next generation of CALS by understanding who we are and what we will become in the future. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to provide leadership and ask that you join me in this effort. I look forward to working with the university, our college, and our stakeholders to launch CALS into its next chapter.

Thanks in advance for your help and support in this important effort.