Effective strategic planning requires strong organizational support at every level of the institution. I commend the faculty, department chairs, deans, provosts, and administration for their thorough, comprehensive, and above all, honest assessments of where we are and where we hope to be in the next decade. More than 100 planning studies initiated by academic departments, by schools, by faculties, and by centers, bureaus, and institutes have informed the development of three comprehensive campus strategic plans. These plans, coupled with about a dozen administrative planning studies, have contributed to an understanding of our complex structure, and have already proved useful in focusing our efforts. The university's Program for Quality and Communication Improvement and a statewide communications analysis also support the strategic planning process.

Higher education institutions display little resemblance to their forebears, the universities of the late Middle Ages, which were composed of homogeneous groups of people committed to sharing life together as a community of scholars. In the last 100 years, the image of the ivy-covered sanctuary has been replaced with the metaphor of a huge, open network, a giant public information route where people of diverse backgrounds can pursue varied interests and agendas. The quest for knowledge has been expanded significantly and is now coupled with desires for specialized educational and social services.

Contrasting metaphors of the ivory tower and the information network each serve to fire the imagination; the attractions of the sanctuary and the open road are exciting to each of us, in different ways and at different times. The strategic planning process allows us to step back and choose, in fact to remap the direction of our institution. But first we must allow ourselves the freedom to imagine and to dream. Where do we want to go? What do we want to do in this environment? Those dreams take shape as we propose changes in the way we interact with one another, in the way we conduct daily business, and in the academic programs we foster.

The great strength of the university lies in its diversity as an institution of multiple meanings and goals, and its unity as all of its components join together with shared responsibility for the development of excellence in the institution. This is diversity in its best sense, a safe place for different, and sometimes competing conceptions of the good, the real, the true. Ideally, the American university is a haven that balances the conversations about understanding ourselves and the world around us with the training and motivation we need to improve that world. By providing the space for the critical tension between reflection and action, the university serves its most important function for the idealistic, able students it educates and the democratic society it serves.

We start with a fundamental commitment to plan our future as one university. Our departments, schools, centers, bureaus, and institutes on our three geographically separated campuses provide opportunities for creativity, cooperation, and collaboration. The strategic planning process acknowledges the strengths of our disparate units, affirms a commitment to build on these strengths, and fosters linkages that enhance our programs. We need to reorient our thinking so that we can bring excellent existing programs together in new multidisciplinary ways. Transforming opportunities into concrete programs that make more effective use of our resources is a major objective.

As the state's only comprehensive public research university, with campuses in northern, central, and southern New Jersey, Rutgers is the flagship institution in New Jersey's higher education system. The economic and social well being of our state is closely tied to the health and vigor of its state university. Enhancing Rutgers' ability to fulfill its land-grant mission of instruction, research, and public service will promote the welfare of New Jersey. Through the strategic planning process, we will rededicate our efforts to serve the people of New Jersey by the creation of new knowledge, and the transmission of that knowledge to the citizens of our state through excellent instruction and distinguished public service.

Recreating community and fostering academic excellence are central themes of the university's strategic planning process. We must change the way we operate, virtually reinventing the university to meet the challenges of restricted resources, increasing diversity, and greatly expanded demands upon higher education. Our next task will require even more extensive collaborative efforts, as we strive to bring reality to our hopes and dreams and as we position ourselves for the 21st century. We must work together to encourage individuals, constituent groups, and the state to support our university. As ambassadors for Rutgers, we all have opportunities to promote the greater good of the university. Our joint efforts will bring us to a future we have planned for ourselves. I look forward to sharing this journey with you.

       Francis L. Lawrence
       September 1995