Committee to plan TCU’s future
By Blair Busch
Staff Reporter

Chancellor Victor Boschini’s newly appointed strategic planning committee got to work last week determining the direction of TCU’s future, Leo Munson, co-chairman of the committee, said.

Nowell Donovan and Munson were appointed co-chairmen of the committee that will assess the current status of the university, review the university’s aspirations and resources and draft a plan to move the university forward in the next three to five years, Boschini said.

The committee met with Dr. George Kaludis from Kaludis Consulting earlier this week to review what the university has done in the past and explore where it wants to go from here, said Munson, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs.

“The strategic planning committee must assess how we can narrow our focus and achieve the objectives that best match our character and our capabilities,” Boschini said.

The first job of the committee will be to review the progress of the Commission on the Future of TCU. Boschini asked the committee to issue a public report card that will detail which of the commission’s recommendations have been implemented and which have not.

For the incomplete recommendations, the committee will state their reasons why. Reasons could vary from lack of resources or lack of staff members to the idea being outdated, Boschini stated in a memo.

“Now we must assess where we are in implementing the commission’s recommendations,” Boschini said at Fall Convocation on Sept. 9. “Until we do so, we cannot plan TCU’s future.”

Donovan, a geology professor, said the report card will be available online later this semester for the entire university community to examine.

The commission concluded its work in fall 2000 and developed a bold blueprint for taking TCU to the next level of academic distinction and reputation, Boschini said at Convocation. The commission’s study involved 500 community and campus leaders, and 17 task forces examined university-wide issues and addressed the needs of each school and college.

“Without a doubt, the work of the commission raised the aspirations and expectations of the university community as never before,” Boschini said.

The commission recommended the recently completed construction and renovation projects that included the William E. and Jean Jones Tucker Technology Center, the John Justin Athletic Center, Waits Hall, Liebrock Village, the University Recreation Center, Steve and Sarah Smith Entrepreneurs Hall and Charles and Marie Lupton Baseball Stadium, according to the commission’s first anniversary report released December 2001.

“The Commission published to our friends and alums what the outside community should expect from TCU,” Munson said. “This raised external expectations, which makes every one of our jobs more critical and accountable.”