We will take the UB 2020 framework to the next level by creating a statement of institutional direction that will guide our next actions. This will be a narrative for the next generation, a strategy road map that can take full advantage of the opportunity before us.

This statement of institutional direction has four major parts. We first state our key institutional goals. These goals drive all of our more specific decisions. Then, we describe the core values that guide our actions. The core of the narrative follows with the description of 11 strategies.

The academic strategy comes first articulating the key educational and scholarship priorities for UB. The 10 other strategies cohere around and are designed to support the UB academic strategy.

The document concludes with a description of the key next steps and final thoughts about what UB might look like in 2020.  In laying out our future in this way, and by participating in its development the entire campus will have a shared sense of where we are headed and why and how we will get there.  This is the beginning step in realizing the full promise of UB 2020.

The strategies offered here build upon our strengths and successes to best create lasting impact. We are an excellent university but we can improve and adapt to changing realities. The strategies we employ should respond to the most important challenges and take advantage of the most realizable opportunities.

We will guard against inclinations to address every possibility at the same time or possibilities that divert us from our goals and most needed improvements. The entire campus community should weigh in on these questions.

We have decided, in the interest of having a healthy campus debate to offer many ideas in the strategy sections knowing that we cannot implement all that are proposed. We do this to consider alternatives for action, to imagine the possibilities.

But before we do this, it is important to suggest the areas where strategies may have greatest effect. We will also suggest criteria that might be used to select priority initiatives as we move toward the final version of the statement.

What are the areas where we might benefit most from new direction, new funding, or new energies?

As we explore these targets of opportunity, the next natural question is how much should/can we do now and over time and what are the most important areas in which to focus?  How will we decide what are our priorities? Below is a beginning list of the key principles we might employ in reviewing the many initiatives that will surface in this process.