Change Starts Here

Strategic Conversations

Tune in for this behind-the-scenes view from UT faculty and staff who are participating in the execution of Change Starts Here: UT’s 10-Year Strategic Plan to Increase Impact.

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We are committed to keeping you informed as we execute the strategic plan and will be sharing updates on this website, via an email newsletter and on various social media channels.

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Frequently Asked Questions

• Why do we need a strategic plan? Why now?
  

  We are at a critical and exciting moment for UT, Austin, higher education, and the world. We have a unique opportunity to innovate and create educational and research opportunities beyond our traditional offerings by embarking now on this Strategic Plan.

  • Texas and Austin are experiencing unprecedented growth, and developing into diverse centers of culture, arts, commerce, and education that provide opportunities for UT researchers, students and educators to engage and lead.
  • Innovation, information, and technology are rapidly overhauling many aspects of 21st century life and UT has the breadth and excellence to drive innovative research and educational engagement for the benefit of society.
  • Our significant size, capabilities, diversity and mission as Texas’ flagship university both empower and compel us to have a meaningful and positive impact on lives, communities, and social mobility in Texas and beyond.
• How does the strategic plan align with the DEI plan and the new capital campaign?
  

  Change Starts Here is being coordinated with our recently launched capital campaign, What Starts Here, and DEI plan, You Belong Here, which will collectively set a course for UT towards an even more impactful, robust and inclusive future.

• What are the key components of the strategic plan? Aspiration, Pillars, Initiative Areas and Measures of Success
  

  Aspiration: A compelling vision statement that describes the institution UT aims to become in the future (~10 years from now) and inspires the community.

  Our Aspiration: Become the world's highest-impact public research university, unleashing knowledge, opportunity and innovation from the heart of Texas.

  Pillars: 5 top priorities within the umbrella of the aspiration. Below is a summary that includes key elements. Please read the full strategic plan for more information. 

  PEOPLE
  We will serve more students and learners and cover more of their financial need; aggressively pursue outstanding, high-potential talent; achieve the objectives set forth in our ambitious Plan for an Equitable and Inclusive Campus; and engage our graduates for life.

  PLACE
  We will embrace and enrich the spirit of Austin and Texas by strengthening UT’s leadership role in health, innovation, talent development, scholarship, and the arts through simplifying and promoting new avenues for collaboration and taking advantage of and reimagining our campus.

  EXPERIENCES
  We will deliver exceptional, transformative experiences for students, staff, faculty, and alumni through a vibrant residential campus environment; holistic support of all students, staff, and faculty; the creation of small communities and shared campus-wide experiences; and high-quality operations.

  EDUCATION
  We will drive educational innovation​ through new degrees, interdisciplinary education, innovation in pedagogy, and linkage to our research, and we will strategically expand Continuing Professional Education offerings to prepare learners for dynamic futures.

  RESEARCH
  We will lead the world in research at scale in three broad areas of exceptional importance to Texas and the world: Technology and Society, Energy and Environment, and Health and Well-Being.

  Initiative areas: Broad areas that will comprise of initiatives that will enable UT to achieve its goals (e.g., attract outstanding staff members who are inspired by UT’s mission). Our plan has over 40 initiative areas. Please see the plan PDF to read more about these areas.

  Measures of success: Measurable results that will mark progress toward the aspiration (e.g., Reduce student debt-to-income ratio for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students) Please see the plan PDF for more details about our measures of success.

• How will we have more impact?
  

  UT’s strategic plan is our refreshed vision for having positive impact at scale. Our opportunity is to work together to achieve it.

  • Our broad reach and excellence across areas of scholarship, research, the arts and health allow our faculty and students to create knowledge and impact at a breadth and depth that others can’t.
  • UT Austin is already one of the most highly regarded universities in the world with 500,000 alumni, faculty collaborations around the globe, and the iconic Longhorn brand. We have an exceptional position from which to enhance our global reach and impact.
• How will this university-wide strategic plan interact with college, school, and unit (CSU) plans?
  

  CSU-level plans should be complementary to university-level plans, though they may be more specific and include distinct priorities and initiatives. To start, CSU-level plans should align with the mission, values and vision for UT. We also expect several themes to be common across both, such as diversity, equity and inclusion, and research initiatives that interconnect several disciplines. Finally, a CSU-level plan might clarify and articulate the CSU’s role in university-wide initiatives.

• Who is responsible for creating and leading the strategic plan?
  

  The UT strategic planning process is led by UT leaders and engaged a broad and diverse set of faculty, staff and students through interviews, working sessions, focus groups on strengths, potential aspiration, and big ideas. The entire UT community participated by posting ideas for strategic initiatives that were based on the pillars and promoted the aspiration of the university. Over 1000 ideas were posted.

  Specific leadership roles in the Strategic Planning Process include:

  • President Hartzell, the UT Strategic Plan Advisory Committee, the Faculty Strategic Plan Leaders and key operational leaders meet regularly to oversee the development of the Strategic Plan and operational improvement efforts.
  • UT Strategic Plan Faculty Leaders (Bobby Chesney, Richard Flores, and Lauren Meyers) have led the effort to develop the Strategic Plan and engage and consult the campus on it.
  • Operational improvements are being sponsored and guided by both academic leaders and functional leaders; overall guidance is being provided by Darrell Bazzell, Larry Singell, and members of the Advisory Committee. Initiatives are led and supported by teams of staff and academic leaders to ensure operational improvements meet the needs and deliver value to all university stakeholders.
  • Communications related to the Strategic Plan and operating improvements are being led by Emily Reagan and a broad team of communicators, including faculty experts, aligned with key UT stakeholder groups.
  • Paul Kinscherff, President Hartzell’s Deputy for Business Development and Planning, coordinated the overall effort.
  • Janet Huang will lead the Transformation Support Office (TSO) beginning June 1.
• What progress has been made to date?
  

  This is our plan. The process was launched by President Hartzell and came together with extensive input from the UT community.

  • It was led by three senior faculty co-chairs – Lauren Ancel Meyers, Bobby Chesney, and Richard Flores – who extensively engaged faculty, staff, students, deans, vice presidents, leadership, donors, and alumni.
  • We conducted more than 275 small and large groups that collectively added up to thousands of hours of dialogue and surveyed 1,500 individuals to understand the current situation and operational opportunities.
  • This is the beginning of our decade-long journey. Change Starts Here will evolve with our learning and circumstances as we implement the plan over the coming years.
  • Development of the You Belong Here DEI Strategic Direction was spearheaded by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, with support from committees made up of campus stakeholders, who extensively consulted with faculty, staff and students.
• What work remains to be completed on UT’s strategic plan?
  

  UT leaders will continue to work collaboratively to support development of UT’s strategic plan by mobilizing the initiatives and operational improvements. Future work will include:

  • The strategic planning team will conduct meetings across campus during the summer and fall to:
    
    • Tap staff and faculty with the right experiences to be “Initiative Leaders” that lead progress within each initiative area
    • Define how we will measure UT’s impact and collect, refine, group, and prioritize strategic initiatives
    • Integrate and support the development of our DE&I strategies as the DEI planning team prepares for the launch of their full plan in the fall of 2022.
  • Support initiative mobilization and leadership insights with a Transformation Support Office which will:
    
    • ​Build a long-term capability and mechanisms to maintain momentum with the program of effort by providing:
      
      • Leadership visibility and insights
      • Initiative success and change management
      • Communication, with support from University Marketing and Communications
      • Support to CSU strategy development
  • Enable each CSU to develop their own strategy, closely aligned to UTs to increase the impact of current and future efforts
  • Create and release an annual Impact Report that highlights and celebrates our achievements
• How will UT ensure that the process continues to engage stakeholders and is inclusive of the diverse UT community?
  

  The UT strategic planning process engaged members across the UT community, including faculty, staff, students, deans, vice presidents, leadership, donors, and alumni, among others. We conducted more than 275 group sessions, focus groups and interviews, and 1,500 survey responses. These broad engagement efforts were foundational to the 10+ year aspiration and strategic pillars for UT. Additionally, these efforts helped identify potential initiatives that will enable us to deliver on these strategic pillars. 

  We have developed initiative areas designed to deliver on those strategic pillars and we look forward to continuing to gather broad input, engagement and support from across the UT campus community. We will continue to engage with the community as we define and launch initiatives that will help us deliver on our aspiration and create a better UT for our entire community. All staff, faculty, and students can also continue to participate in their individual CSU strategic planning efforts.

• What were the benefits of having an external partner assist with building the strategic plan?
  

  President Hartzell took a comprehensive approach to defining our overarching strategy that created a roadmap for the next decade and beyond. The role of the consultants was to work collaboratively with the UT community to help formulate recommendations for UT President, Advisory Committee, and functional leader approval, to accelerate positive change, and to help build internal capabilities.

  External consultants bring prior experience, processes, and tools as well as third-party perspectives, benchmarks, and insights that help UT generate new and better ideas. They also bring a high level of focus and energy that keeps our strategic planning effort moving forward, thus enabling more analysis, faster decision-making, and broader engagement.

• How was Bain selected?
  

  UT held a competitive bid process in the Spring of 2021 to select a partner to assist in developing a strategic direction; UT leaders, Faculty Council, and Staff Council were involved in the selection process.

  Ultimately, UT determined that Bain was the best choice for this vital role based both on its experience and its alignment with UT’s core values and mission. Bain has had successful engagements with Tier One universities including Berkeley, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Cornell. Bain has also engaged with Dell Medical School. Additionally, Bain is highly regarded for its commitment to workplace diversity, equity, and support for the LGBTQ+ community

• Where can I get more information on the strategic plan?
  

  We are committed to transparency through the strategic planning process. This website will be the hub for all communication, and we will also be sharing updates regarding progress, findings, events and other information via an email newsletter, social media, and other channels.

  We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter if you have not yet done so. You can also listen to a new podcast called “Strategic Conversations,” on Spotify or Apple, which provides a behind the scenes view from UT faculty and staff who are participating in the process.

  Check with your college, school or unit leadership to discover the strategic planning process in your area.

  If you have a story about how your CSU’s or the university’s Strategic Plan has impacted your work, please submit it here.

  If you have additional feedback, please send an email to Internal Communications.