Comments on task group drafts welcomed

The campuswide initiative to produce a strategic planning document to steer
the UI's flagship into the next century is on target, and its architects
are now seeking public input on the plan.

In October of last year, Chancellor Michael Aiken announced the start of an
18-month process to produce the planning document, known as the Academic
Plan for the Year 2000. At the same time, he announced the formation of 10
work groups to take the process through its first stage - which will be
completed in the next two months.

The groups, each of which was assigned to study an area of concern for the
Urbana-Champaign campus, worked through the spring and summer, and through
one preliminary draft of their reports. They did so in consultation with
administrators, the Council of Deans and an appointed Strategic Plan
Committee.

Draft reports from the 10 work groups are now available to the public, and
members of the campus community are encouraged to read them and comment on
their content by Dec. 15.

Associate Chancellor Judith Rowan stressed that the draft reports "are
suggestions and observations of the work groups, and constitute
recommendations but not 'plans.' " The final reports will be reviewed by
the Strategic Plan Committee, which will ultimately issue the academic
planning document. The entire process is expected to be completed by the
end of the academic year, Rowan said.

Copies of the draft reports may be obtained at the Office of Public
Affairs, on the third floor of the Swanlund Administration Building. Copies
also will be available for review at the UI Library reference desk and at
department and college offices. Electronic versions can be read on the
campus network, on Gopher, in a folder marked "University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign Campus Information."

Areas of focus for the work groups: undergraduate education, with emphasis
on the freshman year; graduate and professional education; the campus
environment for scholarship and research; retaining and renewing quality
faculty; and the international role of the university; academic information
and the library; development of resources for sustaining excellence and
institutional renewal; building a more inclusive community; the campus'
service mission; and public image.

Rowan said any comments on the draft reports will be forwarded to the work
group chairs as they are received. At the end of the comment period, the
final reports - which may incorporate changes the chairs wish to make based
on comments received or issues raised - will be submitted to the
chancellor.

Meanwhile, the Strategic Plan Committee is currently working on a plan that
"distills and synthesizes the themes and suggestions that appear in the
draft reports," Rowan said. "The resulting document will not be finalized
until sometime after the final reports are received, so that it, too, may
take account of ideas expressed during the comment period."

Comments on the work-group draft reports should be sent to the Chancellor's
Office, Swanlund Administration Building, 601 E. John St., Champaign, IL
61820 (campus mail code 304), or by e-mail to carswell@swan.admin.uiuc.edu.