The staff and faculty of the Comm School already amaze me in so many ways. Since I was announced in early May as the next John A. Griffin Dean, many members of the community have met with me regularly on Zoom to support the transition. They have been helpful, enthusiastic, and generous with both their time and energy.
Last week, the leadership team—nearly 20 staff and faculty—joined me for a rigorous virtual retreat that spanned two full days via Zoom. We worked in small groups to talk about all facets of the School, and we began to create a robust near- and far-term foundational vision. We answered questions such as:
- “What do we want to be known for?”
- “If we were 10 times bolder, what would we do?”
- “What three things should we do immediately?”
Together, we identified four key initiatives and brainstormed concrete action steps that will be used to formulate our near-term tactical agenda for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Over the next few weeks, our strategic planning team will be codifying the information and getting feedback from staff and faculty, and subsequently, will present it at the outset of the semester.
From there, as we move into our next century in 2021, we are looking forward to engaging the broader community to help us identify our role in solving the critical challenges facing society and to help us strategize how we can deliver on the mantra of the University of Virginia to be both great and good.
I hope you will join us in this endeavor.
