CSUN President Erika D. Beck, students, faculty and administrators this month took another step toward the university’s future by outlining goals to strengthen campus culture, eliminate equity gaps for students and expand capacity. On May 11, Beck, Provost Mary Beth Walker and the steering committee for the “Road Map to the Future” presented the strategic directions that have emerged from a year-long process to determine how CSUN should be shaped for the future.

“CSUN is an exceptional institution of higher learning,” Beck said. “If we could be really intentional in this next stage of our journey, fundamentally rooted in our unwavering commitment to advancing equity, inclusion and justice, our potential could be virtually limitless.”

The strategic directions for CSUN include: Honor our History and Aspire to a More Equitable Future, Advance Academic Excellence, Disrupt Systemic Inequities, Facilitate Holistic Student Success, Enhance Community Connections, and Strengthen Capacity for Institutional Transformation.

Each of these strategic directions includes tasks or priorities to achieve each goal. They include:

·      Routinely assessing the campus climate to ensure equity efforts are effective.

·      Hiring more tenure-track faculty who embrace inclusive teaching methods and cultural competence.

·      Developing an institutional strategy for fostering a sense of belonging, improving retention and closing equity gaps for students and employees.

·      Expanding capacity to offer students different ways to earn a degree, including online, in-person and hybrid courses.

·      Creating, designing and building spaces to support innovative curriculum, instruction and research.

Beck said these directions are meant to support and build on CSUN’s foundation of equity, justice, inclusion and belonging. “CSUN does not need to become like any other university in L.A., California or anywhere else. We only need to become more of ourselves.”

This effort started shortly after President Beck began her tenure at CSUN, in January 2021. She embarked on a “100-Day Listening Tour” with students, faculty, staff, community members and alumni. At the conclusion of her listening tour, she issued a report with seven areas of focus that became the foundation for CSUN’s “Road Map to the Future.”  Since February 2022, Beck and the Road Map Steering committee have held more than 40 group sessions, in which more than 450 faculty, staff, students and alumni participated. The group also collected more than 460 surveys.

Starting this summer, the work toward these priorities will be overseen by divisional vice presidents, headed by Walker.

In the meantime, steering committee members are asking for feedback on the Road Map’s strategic directions. Members of the CSUN community may add their comments through May 19. The report is available online at https://www.csun.edu/provost/road-map-future

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