Original 2030 Masterplan
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Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL 62901
618-453-2341
chancellor@siu.edu
Main Content
VIVID DESCRIPTION OF THE FUTURE STATE
- Imagine 15,000 students enrolled by 2030
- Imagine a top 200 ranking by US News and World Report
- Imagine SIU Carbondale being renowned for having a campus that is diverse, inclusive, and where every student feels safe and at home
- Imagine our campus leading the way by being completely carbon neutral within the decade
- Imagine if we were no longer a best kept secret in our region…
- Student Success & Engagement
- Objective 1: Increase student population
- Objective 2: Increase retention/persistence rates
- Objective 3: Increase graduation rates
- Objective 4: Create a strategy for fostering post-graduation success in our students
- Objective 5: Cultivate a positive university environment
- Objective 6: Enhance engagement in the learning experience in and out of the classroom by investing in resources and learning spaces (faculty, technology, new courses, facilities, improvements, experiential learning opportunities, etc.)
- Objective 7: Investment in the needs of our students with efforts that begin before their arrival and continue after graduation
- Objective 8: Strategic enrollment, retention, completion, career development and placement with specific focus on our campuses commitment to meeting student needs and goals
- Expand outreach areas to different regions including Missouri, Kansas, and Texas
- Utilize current students and alumni during the recruitment cycles
- The offices of Admissions, Student Affairs, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion will collaborate on at least one major outreach event each semester
- Implement a “Recruit Back the Pack” campaign for the fall semesters
- Implement a “Plan Ahead the Pack” campaign for the spring semesters
- Develop an intensive partnership with District 95 and other Southern Illinois districts to implement 7th and 8th grade planning campaigns
- Enrollment management task force will complete a comprehensive, viable, strategic enrollment management plan that is adopted by all key stakeholders
- Intentional career services: host workshops, mentor programs, placement into jobs/internships
- Develop student ambassador programs in all colleges and leadership training opportunities
- Build programming that assists with life skills and assisting students with building soft skills not learned in the classroom
- Host an all-campus event that includes the community (increase the number of social events in general)
- Identify opportunities for more alumni engagement and involvement with students
- Create more paid and unpaid research opportunities
- Strengthen and expand Living Learning Communities and Freshman Interest Groups
- Create summer programs that offer additional support
- Promote networking with national organizing, alums in industry, and professional organizations
- Work with the community to create more dynamic student life experiences in and around Carbondale
- Further enhance student advisement, early warning systems, tutoring opportunities, mentoring opportunities (student-to-student and student-to-faculty)
- Career objectives (recruiters/advisors/faculty): utilize career center partnership, tools/assessment for recruiters/advisors, and increase collaborations
- Increase gainful employment and internship programs for all graduates, enhance collaboration of Career Development Center with academic programs in collaboration with the Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- Objective 1: Be intentional in our recruitment, support and advancement of a diverse student body, faculty and staff
- Objective 2: Create safe spaces for all students
- Objective 3: Increase cross-cultural engagement between students, faculty and staff.
- Objective 4: Cultivate and nurture a campus community that values, respects and supports diversity, equity and inclusion
- Objective 5: Increase retention and graduation rates with racial and ethnic parity
- Reallocate University resources so that diversity, equity and inclusion is clearly prioritized and valued
- Focus on economic development opportunities that attract diverse businesses in our community
- Diversify the curriculum so that all students learn about DE&I
- Reward faculty for cross-disciplinary collaborations
- Proactively develop social activities for new faculty to aid retention
- Provide more formal opportunities for mentoring to support new (and mid-career) faculty
- Conduct yearly workshops for Associate Professors to prepare for promotion to full Professor
- DE&I initiatives need to be discussed regularly in meeting (walk-the-talk)
- Incorporate DE&I into faculty on-boarding and New Student Orientation
- Increase staff and resources for programming for students — especially first generation and marginalized students
- Increase mentorship opportunities and resources for underserved populations
- Improve communication between academic programs
- Invest in defining, evolving, and sustaining a robust organizational culture
- Provide pipeline programs and mentorships
- Improve our capability for early detection of needs and disabilities
- Provide scholarship dollars that target underserved populations
- DE&I training for Residential Life staff (includes directors, hall directors and resident assistants)
- Develop opportunities for faculty, staff and students to engage in scholarship and research activities that address DE&I social issues
- Branding & Partnerships
- Objective 1: Stronger relationships with alumni and donors as ambassadors for SIU, resulting in more private gifts to support University’s mission
- Objective 2: Better collaboration with Carbondale (and greater region) business leaders to invigorate social vibrancy within the community
- Objective 3: Increased enrollment
- Objective 4: Position SIU as a leader and an important and reliable resource on key subjects
- Objective 5: Elevate the prestige of SIU Carbondale and increase visibility of research and other hands-on opportunities for students
- Objective 6: Clearly define what it means to be SIU Carbondale
- Objective 7: Improved communication and collaboration across the University
- Define roles for alumni and advise alumni on how they can make a difference
- Examine how to improve University–alumni communication, including how we use technology to reinforce two-way communication
- Evaluate expanding “Forever SIU” campaign
- Seek targeted and unique opportunities to engage alumni and donors
- Pursue partnerships between campus entities and community entities
- Include pride in the region as a theme in overall marketing endeavors
- Leverage the beauty of our region as part of our enduring identity
- Capitalize on student successes to market the university
- Foster collaboration among campus departments to achieve streamlined and efficient conveying of our message
- Define external partners and objectives of partnerships for mutual benefits
- Identify a position responsible for maintaining and establishing strategic partnerships
- Evaluate effectiveness of agreements and adjust as needed
- Pitch more news stories of interest to national media
- Leverage social media, marketing and advertising, including billboards, commercials, print publications, targeted digital advertising, etc.
- Develop an “elevator pitch” to describe SIU Carbondale
- Evaluate current branding and develop clear and consistent brand standards
- Promote consistent standards to campus community
- Establish a shared vision of where we want the university to be
- Identify key people to implement the vision and establish clear roles to improve efficiency
- Research & Innovation
- Objective 1: Strengthen our research profile and status as an R2 institution, with the ambition of creating the infrastructure and identifying the resources required to seek R1 status
- Objective 2: Establish several areas of research excellence that will gain national and international recognition
- Objective 3: Target strategic hiring of faculty who can contribute to building and growing areas of research excellence
- Objective 4: Invest in centralized infrastructure that is needed to support the overall research enterprise
- Objective 5: Establish a strategic, research-focused vision and strategy in research
- Objective 6: Nurture a spirit of collaboration of research and innovation across the university and the SIU system
- Identify the requirements to be recognized as a Carnegie R1 institution and make investments toward achieving that designation
- Secure permanent leadership for the research enterprise, including assuring there is long-term leadership in place for the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and other key research-focused units that can work together
- Provide incentives to faculty to become more proactive in seeking external funding
- Identify signature doctoral programs and strategically invest in them to increase capacity and productivity
- Convene a group to develop a strategic plan for research and innovation
- Analyze current projects to determine potential impact on university goals
- Study the utility of developing focus areas for research and innovation
- Increase the quality, focus and number of showcase events in research/innovation
- Work toward ensuring appropriate facilities, staff support and funding are committed to the research enterprise
- Incentivize faculty grant applications, research productivity and intellectual property development, including through promotion and tenure
- Enhance graduate assistantships and undergraduate research opportunities
- Sustainability
- Objective 1: Embrace digital transformation investments and activities across campus
- Objective 2: Pursue campus-wide energy efficiencies
- Objective 3: Seek to achieve a renewed campus strategy on sustainability and reducing the campus’ environmental impact
- Identify and implement an e-signature and workflow product and campus policy
- Reduce paper consumption across campus by creating business processes embracing paperless transactions
- Evaluate space utilization across campus and develop a plan to right-size the physical space of the university to reduce energy usage and eliminate costs
- Create a strategic plan to address the use of coal while pursuing alternative energy opportunities
- Support the work of the university task force on sustainability and establish a sustainability education program, including recycling
- Invest in the technology infrastructure across campus, from classrooms and research labs to offices and student housing
- Embrace office technology such as Voice over the Internet Protocol (VOIP) and robust cyber security tools to keep campus safe
- Replace antiquated software systems, from accounting services to grants management
- Pursue a farm produce lifecycle
- Use the campus’ focus on the environment and sustainability as a marketing niche to prospective students
- Partner with the City of Carbondale and other entities to pursue more green initiatives on and off campus
- Support the implementation of broadband access in the surrounding regions, especially in rural and underserved areas
- Pursue an opportunistic cloud-first philosophy to reduce footprint and power consumption
Student Success & Engagement
We will have a diverse and culturally responsible student body that is fully engaged in the SIU Carbondale experience, thriving in the face of robust academic challenges, and that has gained practical skills to allow them to enter the workforce as effective ambassadors for our University.
OBJECTIVES: DEFINES WHAT SIU WILL ACHIEVE
KEY INITIATIVES: HOW SIU WILL ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be the model for inclusive excellence; we will engage and welcome all stakeholders on and off campus.
OBJECTIVES: DEFINES WHAT SIU WILL ACHIEVE
KEY INITIATIVES: HOW SIU WILL ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES
Branding & Partnerships

SIU Carbondale will be a “first-choice” institution, compared favorably to the flagship institution. The University will take a much stronger role in actively improving connections within the community, state, nation, and world through key partnerships.
OBJECTIVES: DEFINES WHAT SIU WILL ACHIEVE
KEY INITIATIVES: HOW SIU WILL ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES
Research & Innovation
SIU will support and foster the discovery of knowledge and creative professional achievement to benefit the world and the people of our region.
OBJECTIVES: DEFINES WHAT SIU WILL ACHIEVE
KEY INITIATIVES: HOW SIU WILL ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES
Sustainability
To become known as a forward-thinking, environmentally responsible University that embraces sustainability, reduces its carbon footprint, pursues conscientious energy efficiencies, and creates new innovative practices to become a leader in sustainability within the state and higher education community at large.