Dear APU Community,
I commend the extensive engagement of faculty, staff, and students in the implementation of Renewal: Strengthening Our Capacity for Cultivating Christ-Centered Scholars and Leaders. As you know, Renewal sets out a three-phase implementation plan to Refocus (2020-21), Rebuild (2021-22), and Renew (2022-27). This first year of implementation brings institutional focus to deliver our educational mission with excellence in the midst of COVID-19; address issues of identity, equity, and justice; and create a sustainable financial enterprise through right-sizing and reorganization of the institution’s resources. I want to highlight three key areas of progress in the last six months since the launch:
Engaging Faculty, Staff, and Students: Building upon the strong engagement in Fall 2020 around the five Grand Initiatives, 15 Working Groups are now active with another five beginning. Approximately, 275 faculty, staff, and students will be involved in these 20 [Working Groups, addressing 39 action items set out in Renewal for focus in 2020-22. The Working Group model exemplifies the principle of shared governance, with strong representation and regular engagement with the Faculty Senate and Staff Council, along with clear alignment to our WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) reaffirmation activities.
Communicating Progress: Collaboration between the Offices of the President and Provost, along with the new Division of Strategic Communication and Engagement, is helping to develop regular and coordinated messaging to highlight progress and celebrate early successes. While I look forward to publishing the first Renewal Annual Report of Progress in September 2021, I have compiled a list of what I consider early success and progress.
Strategic Focus: I am encouraged by the adoption of Renewal language throughout the APU Community. As hoped, Renewal is driving our institutional focus, fundraising, and decisions. For example, all non-academic divisions will have engaged in the rightsizing initiative by June 30, with the academy’s rightsizing efforts slated for completion by Fall 2022. The development of a high-level Renewal dashboard will provide focus and accountability on stated outcomes and performance indicators.
I am deeply grateful for the commitment shown by so many of my colleagues and student representatives for this process of renewal as we aspire to be the premier Christian university of choice for our culture and times.
Together,
Andrew Barton, EdD
Vice President for Strategic Planning and Mission Integration