February 11, 2011

Dear Colleagues and Friends of Santa Clara: Strategic planning has guided much of Santa Clara’s success over the past two decades. This planning enables us to realize our vision and establish our distinctiveness in the competitive environment of higher education. Thus, our planning looks both inward at our own needs and aspirations, and outward at opportunities and risks in the world. An effective strategic plan must be selective, identifying targeted priorities rather than addressing all of the University’s needs and activities. We will have much important work to do over the next five years that is not mentioned in this plan, but the priorities identified here will make the greatest difference in strengthening Santa Clara at this time. Like our previous strategic plans, this plan is rooted in our Jesuit commitment to academic excellence. The plan reflects Santa Clara’s vision of creating an academic community—faculty, staff, students, and alumni—that educates citizens and leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion and cultivates knowledge and faith to build a more humane, just, and sustainable world. Our strategic priorities will advance our vision by strengthening our ability to provide students with a holistic education, empowering them to shape the world that humanity deserves. These priorities will inform more specific objectives and guide the next level of planning. The priorities, along with the Campus Master Plan and the desire to bolster other programs such as athletics, student life, and alumni engagement will also help shape and inspire the goals of the University’s next comprehensive campaign. Sincerely, Michael E. Engh, S.J. President

Mission The University pursues its vision by creating an academic community that educates the whole person within the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, making student learning our central focus, continuously improving our curriculum and co-curriculum, strengthening our scholarship and creative work, and serving the communities of which we are a part in Silicon Valley and around the world. Vision Santa Clara University will educate citizens and leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion and cultivate knowledge and faith to build a more humane, just, and sustainable world.
Strategic Priorities As the oldest operating university in California, Santa Clara is proud of its Jesuit, Catholic identity and poised to secure our future as one of America’s most distinctive institutions of higher education. To realize our vision and advance our mission in the next five years, this plan identifies the strategic priorities that will strengthen our capacity to provide the kind of education needed to help our students shape a better world for all. An integrated approach to Jesuit education permeates each of the five strategic priorities of this plan:
A Santa Clara education continues to be distinguished by its attention to the formation of the whole person and educate leaders of competence, conscience and compassion. Priority One: Excellence in Jesuit Education A Santa Clara education is distinguished by its attention to the formation of the whole person—one who has the knowledge and skills to act effectively (competence), the determination to reason morally (conscience), and the capacity to feel solidarity with the poor and powerless as well as the will to relieve suffering(compassion). Cultivating these qualities, which are inseparable in a well-educated person, requires us to pursue an ever more integrated approach to Jesuit education. Such an education includes opportunities to acquire breadth and depth of knowledge, use that knowledge for the common good, and deepen a faith that does justice through spiritual development, interreligious dialogue, and creative engagement with culture and society. To enhance excellence in Jesuit education, we will: Foster the development and integration of competence, conscience, and compassion. Ensure successful implementation of the undergraduate Core Curriculum. Establish the University as a national and international leader in theological study and service to the wider Catholic community. Advance the University’s mission and identity as a Jesuit, Catholic university. Increase our standing in American higher education as an example of excellence in Jesuit education.
SCU provides students, faculty, and alumni opportunities to become immersed in the rich cultural diversity and entrepreneurship and innovation – characteristics of the Silicon Valley. There are many reasons why people from all over the world choose to work, study, and live in the Silicon Valley—its spirit of technological and scientific innovation, entrepreneurialism, cultural diversity, and natural beauty to name a few. Silicon Valley is more than a location; it is a state of mind characterized by an innovative and imaginative approach to creating new opportunities in our globalizing world. By strengthening ties with our surrounding communities and our local alumni network, the University can offer students, faculty, and staff opportunities to think in new ways, and to learn from and contribute to both the leading institutions that make Silicon Valley attractive, and to the most marginalized groups in Silicon Valley that call out for help. While learning from Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation, Santa Clara University can also play an important role in raising the moral and ethical questions that inevitably arise with the creation and use of new technologies. To promote engagement with Silicon Valley, we will: Increase learning, service, and research opportunities with Silicon Valley corporations, institutions, and communities. Strengthen distinctive academic niches, particularly at the graduate level, that will address the needs of Silicon Valley, both locally and in its global outreach. Promote Jesuit values in ways that enhance the humanity and common good of the Silicon Valley community. Partner with Silicon Valley companies to enhance student learning, provide state-of-the-art delivery of course content, and improve the University’s administrative functions through technology.
Santa Clara offers its students a 21st-century education that provides an understanding of global complexities coupled with opportunities for action and engagement. A 21st century education requires global understanding—an understanding that leads to action and engagement. Santa Clara will extend its ties with others around the world to offer our students a deeper understanding of the global context of their lives and work. Through our existing study abroad and immersion programs, our academic curriculum, our membership in the global network of Jesuit universities, and our Silicon Valley location and its global reach, we are well-equipped to promote understanding of global issues and prepare students to use their knowledge and skills to help address these issues. To foster global understanding and engagement, we will: Enhance and expand global learning opportunities here and abroad, including those resulting from our relationships with Silicon Valley–based international corporations and organizations. Attract more international students and visiting scholars. Build partnerships with universities in the international network of Jesuit universities and other targeted institutions.
Through teaching, research, and community engagement, SCU advances the knowledge and understanding of the ways in which social justice and sustainability intersect. Our integration of social justice, as a priority of the Society of Jesus, into our teaching, research, and community engagement has established Santa Clara as a leader in American higher education. More recently, Santa Clara has drawn national attention for our commitment to sustainability, including the promotion of environmental stewardship in our campus operations. Santa Clara can distinguish itself further by advancing academic and public understanding of the ways in which social justice and sustainability, broadly defined, intersect. As a Jesuit university in Silicon Valley, we are in an excellent position to illustrate the connections among a healthy environment, just societies, and a vibrant economy that meet all people’s fundamental needs, especially those of the global poor. Santa Clara’s focus on advancing understanding of a just sustainability should inspire a broad and enlivening range of activities and perspectives. We understand sustainability as involving three components: environmental protection, economic development, and social development. Questions of sustainability and justice are not the province of a single discipline, or point of view, but can be illuminated by all fields and perspectives. The co-curriculum also offers many opportunities to integrate these questions into students’ lives. To advance justice and sustainability, we will: Increase and enhance curricular and co-curricular learning specific to sustainability and justice. Develop a distinctive and substantial research focus on justice and sustainability. Model how a Jesuit university can contribute to sustainability and justice through its service, operations, and outreach.
Santa Clara continues to strengthen the quality and diversity of SCU’s faculty, staff, and students while providing the resources and facilities necessary to support advanced teaching and scholarship. Santa Clara must continue to strengthen the quality and diversity of the academic community—our faculty, staff , and students—by providing for the strong and sustainable infrastructure needed to make the University’s vision a reality. Our efforts must begin with renewed investment in the faculty. We will hire more full-time faculty, both tenure track and non-tenure track, and provide them resources to pursue new knowledge. Students learn best when they engage with professors whose passion for teaching informs their active scholarship and professional engagement, which in turn inform their teaching. Providing more time and resources for an increased number of full-time faculty will enhance teaching effectiveness by helping the faculty to stay current with rapidly changing knowledge and methods. This will attract better undergraduate and graduate students, provide more opportunity for them to conduct research with faculty, and strengthen their preparation for future work and study. It will also attract more external research funding to support the University; produce new knowledge that makes the world more humane, just, and sustainable; and boost Santa Clara’s reputation in national rankings of universities. Our vision also depends upon attracting students who have the preparation and motivation to take full advantage of the distinctive educational experience Santa Clara offers. It depends as well upon retaining experienced and effective staff , many of whom contribute directly to learning and scholarship, and all of whom help to create the financial, technological, and operational conditions for a successful university. To strengthen our academic community, we will: Provide greater support for excellence in and integration of teaching and scholarship. Recruit and retain a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff, and students. Add and upgrade facilities to support learning, scholarship, and community. Advance our ability to assess student learning and programs in ways that are manageable and used systematically to improve learning in the curriculum and co-curriculum. Strengthen the University’s shared governance structure and processes. Increase integration of strategic planning, program review, budgeting, facilities master planning, and capital campaign planning.
Fundamental Values The University is committed to these core values, which guide us in carrying out our mission and realizing our vision: Academic Excellence We seek an uncompromising standard of excellence in teaching, learning, creativity, and scholarship within and across disciplines. Search for Truth, Goodness, and Beauty We prize scholarship and creative work that advance human understanding, improve teaching and learning, and add to the betterment of society by illuminating the most significant problems of the day and exploring the enduring mysteries of life. In this search, our commitment to academic freedom is unwavering. Engaged Learning We strive to integrate academic reflection and direct experience in the classroom and the community, especially to understand and improve the lives of those with the least education, power, and wealth. Commitment to Students As teachers and scholars, mentors and facilitators, we endeavor to educate the whole person. We nurture and challenge students—intellectually, spiritually, aesthetically, morally, socially, and physically—preparing them for leadership and service to the common good in their professional, civic, and personal lives. Service to Others We promote throughout the University a culture of service – service not only to those who study and work at Santa Clara but also to society in general and to its most disadvantaged members as we work with and for others to build a more humane, just, faith-filled, and sustainable world. Community and Diversity We cherish our diverse and inclusive community of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni, a community that is enriched by people of different backgrounds, respectful of the dignity of all its members, enlivened by open communication, and caring and just toward others. Jesuit Distinctiveness We treasure our Jesuit heritage and tradition, which incorporates all of these core values. This tradition gives expression to our Jesuit educational mission and Catholic identity while also welcoming and respecting other religious and philosophical traditions, promoting the dialogue between faith and culture, and valuing opportunities to deepen religious beliefs.
Note: This initial set of objectives will be refined as the priorities of the Strategic Plan lead to more specific objectives.
A Santa Clara education continues to be distinguished by its attention to the formation of the whole person and educate leaders of competence, conscience and compassion. A. Foster the development and integration of competence, conscience, and compassion. Metrics Student learning in the undergraduate Core Curriculum as evidenced in Pathways papers, reflections on experiential learning for social justice, and other student work. Student learning in undergraduate majors and graduate programs as evidenced in capstone projects, theses, and other student work. Student discernment and pursuit of their vocations as evidenced in National Survey of Student Engagement data, surveys of recent graduates, and study of undergraduate Community of Scholars. Effectiveness of programs and structures that support interdisciplinary learning, collaborative scholarship, and engagement with the poor and disempowered. Participation in other experiences that cultivate active and integrated learning such as community-based learning placements, immersion trips, local field trips, and internships. Involvement of undergraduate and graduate students in the three Centers of Distinction. B. Ensure successful implementation of the undergraduate Core Curriculum. Metrics Additional tenure-stream faculty positions that support understaffed Core areas. Reduced class sizes in sequenced Foundations courses. Adoption of more active teaching and learning methods. C. Establish Santa Clara as a national and international leader in theological study and scholarship. Metrics Faculty contributions to religious studies and theology through presentations, publications, awards, and leadership roles in the profession. Increased enrollment at the Jesuit School of Theology. Increased faculty and student participation in international organizations devoted to the study of religion. Increased collaboration between faculty from the Jesuit School of Theology and the Religious Studies Department in teaching, scholarship, and programs. D. Advance the University’s mission and identity as a Jesuit, Catholic university. Metrics Formation programs, seminars, retreats and other means for faculty, staff, and students to deepen their understanding of the Jesuit mission and Catholic identity of the University. Service to the wider Catholic community, including both the local and the global Church. Teaching, scholarship, and programming that promote interreligious dialogue with diverse communities. Evidence of interreligious understanding from the National Survey of Student Engagement, Cooperative Institutional Research Program, and other national surveys. E. Increase our standing among Jesuit and Catholic universities. Metrics U.S. News and World Report rankings of American universities. Rankings of U.S. professional schools. National university data from the National Survey of Student Engagement, Cooperative Institutional Research Program, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and other sources.
SCU provides students, faculty, and alumni opportunities to become immersed in the rich cultural diversity and entrepreneurship and innovation – characteristics of the Silicon Valley. A. Increase learning, service, and research opportunities with Silicon Valley corporations, institutions, and communities. Metrics Formal partnerships with Silicon Valley companies and other organizations for learning, service, and research. Student participation in local internships, community-based learning placements, and community-based research projects. B. Strengthen distinctive academic niches that will allow us to educate future leaders of Silicon Valley, both locally and in its global outreach. Metrics Effectiveness of academic programs in each College and School that take advantage of the University’s location in Silicon Valley and promote innovative and imaginative thinking and pedagogy. Academic programs that address the needs of Silicon Valley for specialized knowledge and competencies. Number of SCU graduates employed by Silicon Valley corporations and organizations. C. Promote Jesuit values in ways that enhance the common good of the Silicon Valley community. Metrics Engagement with Silicon Valley organizations that draws upon and highlights SCU’s fundamental values as a Jesuit university. D. Partner with Silicon Valley companies to enhance student learning and the delivery of course content through technology. Metrics Number of courses that incorporate technology to enhance student learning. evidence of increased student learning through use of technology.
Santa Clara offers its students a 21st-century education that provides an understanding of global complexities coupled with opportunities for action and engagement. A. Enhance and expand global learning opportunities here and abroad which include drawing on our ties to Silicon Valley-based international corporations and organizations. Metrics Number and effectiveness of partnerships with universities in Latin America, Africa, India, and China. Effectiveness of global learning experiences in undergraduate and graduate programs. Accessibility of global learning experiences for students in all degree programs. Variety of models for global learning opportunities – in length of study, time of academic year, and location (including in the Bay Area). Amount of financial aid available to students who otherwise would not be able to study abroad. B. Attract more international students, faculty, and visiting scholars. Metrics Number of exchange faculty and students from other countries who teach and study at SCU. Number of regular faculty and students from other countries who teach and study at SCU. C. Build partnerships with universities in the international network of Jesuit universities and other targeted institutions. Metrics Number and effectiveness of educational partnerships with Jesuit and other institutions worldwide.
Through teaching, research, and community engagement, SCU advances the knowledge and understanding of the ways in which social justice and sustainability intersect. A. Increase and enhance curricular and co-curricular learning about sustainability and justice. Metrics Student participation in courses, experiential learning programs, co-curricular opportunities, and research related to sustainability and justice. Relevant student learning in the undergraduate Core Curriculum. Relevant student learning in undergraduate majors and graduate programs. Establishment of the Department of Environmental Studies and Science with a stand-alone major and separate leadership for the Environmental Studies Institute. B. Develop a distinctive and substantial research focus on justice and sustainability. Metrics Number of presentations, publications, grants, awards, and professional leadership positions related to justice and sustainability. Number of research collaborations on justice and sustainability among Santa Clara’s faculty, between faculty members and students, and between faculty members and external organizations. Amount of internal and external funding for projects on justice and sustainability. Increase in tenure-stream faculty positions for teaching scholars with expertise in integrating sustainability and justice. C. Model how a Jesuit university can contribute to sustainability and justice through its service, operations, and outreach. Metrics Metrics and targets defined in Santa Clara’s Climate Neutrality Action Plan, including carbon neutrality. Recognition as one of the top five Catholic institutions in the United States in maintaining a sustainable campus and in educating for sustainability (using the STARS rating system). Partnerships with local organizations to promote sustainability and justice, especially in regard to climate neutrality, sustainability research, and public dialogue
Santa Clara continues to strengthen the quality and diversity of SCU’s faculty, staff, and students while providing the resources and facilities necessary to support advanced teaching and scholarship. A. Provide greater support for excellence in and integration of teaching and scholarship. Metrics Increased proportion of the faculty who are tenure-track. Increased proportion of non-tenure-track faculty in full-time positions. Increased opportunities for course reductions among research-active tenure-track faculty. Increased percentage of classes taught by tenure-track faculty members in strategic areas. B. Recruit and retain a diverse community of outstanding faculty, staff, and students. Metrics Diversity of faculty and staff, especially of sex, race, and ethnicity. Diversity of the student body, especially low-income students, students of color, first-generation undergraduate and graduate students, and international students. Academic profile of incoming undergraduate and graduate students. Demonstrated interest among admitted students in an education for competence, conscience, and compassion as evidenced in prior activities and applications. C. Add and upgrade facilities to support learning, scholarship, and community. Metrics Classrooms, laboratories, and other facilities as defined in the Master Plan. D. Advance our ability to assess student learning and programs in ways that are manageable and used systematically to improve learning in the curriculum and co-curriculum. Metrics Evidence of enhanced student learning and program improvement based on assessment data. Feedback from faculty, staff, and administrators on the manageability and usefulness of assessment and program review. E. Strengthen the University’s shared governance structure and processes. Metrics Feedback from faculty, staff, and administrators on the effectiveness of shared governance, including participation, communication, efficiency, and outcomes. F. Increase integration of strategic planning, program review, budgeting, facilities master planning, and capital campaign planning. Metrics Alignment of University budget and capital campaign with goals identified in strategic plan, departmental program reviews, and facilities master plan. Alignment of departmental goals reported in program review self-studies with evidence obtained through assessment of student learning.

2011 Strategic Plan