A 40-member Strategic Planning Council, charged with guiding the process of developing a vision for West Virginia University for 2020, was announced at Monday’s Faculty Senate meeting.

The Council will function much as a steering committee for President James P. Clements’ Strategic Plan, and will be charged with collecting input from the WVU family and using that input to set goals across all campuses and disciplines. Provost Michele Wheatly will co-chair the process along with Chancellor of Health Sciences Christopher Colenda.

Wheatly, who announced the members of the Council since Clements’ was attending a memorial service for the miners killed in Raleigh County last week, said the 40 professors, students, administrators and community members are “an astonishing cast of characters.”

Among those selected were dozens of faculty, including Senate Chair Nigel Clark, who will also chair the Strategic Planning Council. A complete list of all members will be available Tuesday at http://wvutoday.wvu.edu .

Once goals have been set, work groups will be formed around various key areas, providing an opportunity for even more persons to participate. Three work groups have already been formed to look at systems and structures related to innovation, inclusivity and international initiatives.

Wheatly expects the council will do much of its work in the next several months and have a plan ready for discussion and refinement in the fall.

In other business, the Senate:

• Heard from the two candidates for Senate chair-elects: Leslie Cottrell, an associate professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine; and Marjorie McDiarmid, a professor in the law school. Senators will receive their ballots soon.

• Listened to a presentation from Hugh Kierig, director of WVU Transportation and Parking, on the future of the PRT. Kierig hopes to secure enough federal funding to help pay for a $92.8 million upgrade to the PRT.

• Approved a new education degree, several new courses and course changes.

• Modified the Student Evaluation of Instruction questionnaires to reflect online courses.

• Agreed to send a revised Faculty Constitution to the faculty assembly for approval in October. The new constitution establishes a quorum of 25 percent for the assembly to conduct business. The current constitution does not specify a quorum, resulting in a de facto requirement of 50 percent, plus one.

-WVU-

aj/04/12/10

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