president announces strategic initiatives for transforming TCNJ over the next five years

Speaking to a standing-room-only audience in the Library Auditorium on October 31, President Gitenstein outlined five strategies for assisting the College in an integrated transformation of its academic and student affairs operations.

The integration of these core operations will ultimately help transform “the college experience for our students” and will assist in transforming this “very fine public institution into a national exemplar of public residential undergraduate education,” Gitenstein said.

The initiatives go beyond strictly academic and student affairs matters though, and include plans for diversifying revenue streams; enhancing the campus’ physical plant; better positioning the College; increasing partnerships on the local, state, and national level; and ensuring accountability and transparency in all of the College’s operations.

The five initiatives, which are listed below and detailed in the podcast of President Gitenstein’s speech, resulted from “deliberate conversations with the members of the Committee on Planning and Priorities and the leadership of faculty, staff, and student governance organizations.”

“These initiatives are not ends in themselves, but strategies for us to continue to improve in delivering our mission in a safe and secure environment,” the president said. “Underlying the entire project is a need for us to be more proactive in telling our story; marketing and publicizing what we are doing so very, very well; and sharing our desire not to sit on our laurels but challenge ourselves to be even better.”

For the next five years, The College of New Jersey will commit to the following strategic initiatives to support integrated transformation:

1. We will focus resources on articulating and clarifying the position of The College of New Jersey as a fully engaged and accountable institution that embraces the value of an academically competitive mission. This strategy will assure that we have the authority to realize the integrated transformation.
2. We will continue to diversify revenue streams. This strategy will provide additional financial resources for the integrated transformation.
3. We will enhance the facilities and campus physical plant. This strategy will assure that we have the facilities to support the integrated transformation.
4. We will assure institutional accountability and transparent engagement with our stakeholders, including the general public. This strategy will provide the data both to support our record of success in the integrated transformation as well as the data to direct our aspirations to improve.
5. We will participate as the middle partner in the P-20+ discussions. This strategy will facilitate liaison with our partners in expanding access to the integrated transformation.