The beginning of the school year always brings a flurry of new buildings, programs and services to the Elon community. This year boasts new residence halls, a freshman class that sets new standards and an environmentally-friendly print management system, to name a few.

While students work to adjust to the new changes, administrators are busy looking forward to the list of improvements that lie ahead.

The future of the school is outlined in a set of institutional priorities that derive from a strategic plan called NewCentury@Elon which was prepared in 2000. The long-term plan sets objectives for the university to meet over a decade’s time. Opening a law school and receiving various accreditations are examples of strategic plan goals that Elon has already met.

Every June, senior staff members take a retreat to Elon’s conference facility in Seven Lakes, N.C. While there, they update each other on various elements of the university, from admission standards to environmental consciousness. They work to find a set of goals that will lead the university as a whole in the upcoming year.

“In the institutional priorities we take our overall strategic plan down a step,” said Dr. Leo Lambert, president of Elon. “We find how to break down these big goals so that we know year by year that we are making progress towards the vision that we have.”

Every school year brings changes as Elon strives to meet high standards that seem to escalate each year. Last year saw the opening of Koury Business Center and a new push for campus-wide recycling. This year will have its own set of challenges that administrators hope to accomplish by the end of the school year.

The set of 33 institutional priorities has goals listed under seven categories: academic excellence; competitive admissions; strong, supportive, diverse community; student-centered environment; resources to support excellence; outstanding campus and technology; and a new category, sustainable environment.

In Lambert’s annual address to faculty and staff on August 20, he touched on many of the goals that the university will promote throughout the year. Faculty can expect a further merging of teaching and scholarship as research, publication and intellectual achievement grow in importance. Though some worry a shift towards scholarship could distract faculty from being quality teachers, Lambert believes that good teaching is informed by good scholarship.

“I think Elon is just becoming an academically stronger institution year by year. The place of scholarship here is growing more prominent,” Lambert said. “We see the faculty role at Elon as one in which you can’t really artificially separate out faculty responsibilities in teaching from their interest in scholarship.”

Elon’s academic development also includes higher standards for students. As the university strives to attract higher caliber students, they plan to increase scholarship funding for academic prizes. Higher amounts will be granted for Presidential, Honors and Fellows scholarships next year.

One of the most ambitious aspects of this year’s institutional priorities is the extensive emphasis on the environment.

The university hopes to reduce energy consumption by 6 percent and become an Energy Star campus. Alternative-fueled vehicles have already started to be a standard on campus.

“You’re going to see this in the institutional priorities every year,” Lambert said. “There’s so much to do in terms of how we can be a more environmentally responsible campus, it’s not even possible to think about getting it done in one year. This is going to have to be part of our future planning for years and years to come.”

Administrators will meet in December to evaluate the progress made during fall semester. Soon after, they will begin to think about the 2008-2009 school year. What’s on the agenda for next year? The strategic plan holds some clues, but we’ll most likely have to wait and see.

News Editor: Olivia Hubert-Allen - 08/29/07