Drexel University 2030 Plan - Schuylkill Yards

Drexel 2030 – Designing the Future

Drexel University 2030 Plan - Schuylkill Yards Skyline

Drexel 2030 – Designing the Future

Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan: Designing the Future — Drexel’s 2030 plan is built upon six strategic imperatives
to ensure institutional excellence.

S ince its founding, Drexel’s distinctive fusion of experiential learning, research, and scholarship has prepared students of all backgrounds to face the world’s challenges with creativity and a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Built into the Drexel model, and advanced in the University’s last strategic plan, is the power of partnerships—from local solutions-based learning and civic engagement with communities and organizations in Philadelphia, to global research collaborations, to deep and productive relationships with a broad array of cross-sector employer-partners. In the coming decade, Drexel will build on this heritage of collaboration to respond both to profound shifts in higher education and to the broader challenges facing society, which include the fault lines around inequity, systemic racial injustice and economic uncertainty exposed by a global public health crisis. To ensure that the education—and student experiences—that we provide are as responsive, impactful, and inclusive as possible, this plan articulates strategies for more effectively and intentionally uniting our academic and scholarly enterprise to meet the needs of the rapidly changing work environment that our students will encounter, whether for the first time, or as lifelong learners.

Shared Values

Integrity - Inclusion - Impact - Integration - Innovation

Integrity

Build trusting relationships with and among academic, corporate, government and global community partners by adhering to the highest ethical standards; respecting shared governance; supporting worklife balance and equitable policies; demonstrating impartiality, freedom from conflicts of interest and exceptional stewardship of resources; and engaging in transparent, values-based decision-making.

Inclusion

Nurture a learning community diverse in backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas, free from bias or discrimination, making education more accessible and producing equitable outcomes. Ensure that underrepresented and dissenting voices are sought, heard, and integrated into decision-making processes. Demonstrate respect and caring for others whether in an academic, employment, community, or global context.

Impact

Infuse excellence into every aspect of the University, from the education of students to the application of research and creative activity, in order to make a positive difference in the world.

Integration

Blend immersive educational experiences, research, scholarship, broad partnerships and community engagement in order to generate agile learners, teachers and solutions that benefit society through courageous leadership, innovative partnerships and a spirit of collaboration.

Innovation

Foster responsiveness, flexibility, entrepreneurship and creativity to generate novel, useful and relevant ideas and solutions that positively transform both individuals and communities.

Mission

Drexel University is an urban research university that integrates education, scholarship, diverse partnerships, and our global community to address society’s most pressing challenges through an inclusive learning environment, immersive experiential learning, external partnerships, transdisciplinary and applied research, and creative activity. We prepare graduates of diverse backgrounds to become purpose-driven professionals and agents for positive change.

Vision

To Design the Future through the innovative integration of education, scholarship, diverse partnerships, and our global community.

Imperatives

Drexel University will build a sustainable culture of education, scholarship and collaboration that enables the University to:

Expand Drexel's Research Impact

Generate new knowledge and impactful solutions by growing basic and applied research and fostering transdisciplinary collaborations both within the University and with external partners.

Harness the Power of Partnership

Integrate and align curricula, scholarship, community engagement and global partnerships in an internationally recognized problem-solving model for university/community collaborations.

Empower Students to be Purpose-driven, Global Citizens

Graduate adaptable, culturally competent, empathic alumni capable of seizing opportunities for the betterment of themselves and their communities.

Foster & Strengthen an Inclusive & Equity Driven Culture

Establish a diverse, inclusive and antiracist learning community that provides equitable opportunities for excellence and achievement for all faculty, students, professional staff, and partners.

Set the Standard for Cutting Edge, Adaptable Curricula

Rapidly develop and deliver agile curricula to partners and individuals of diverse backgrounds and ages that are responsive to market demands and the needs of a global society.

Enhance & Expand High-Quality, Immersive Learning Experiences

Enable students to enhance and apply their education while developing professional skills and an appreciation for the diversity of human experience by providing engaging, immersive learning experiences.

Initiatives

The Executive Planning Committee (EPC) has further identified specific Initiatives—or actions—that will ensure we are actively pursuing the goals of this strategy and will allow us to measure our progress. The Initiatives described in this plan will be undertaken as top priorities, tied to resources as they are identified, but the EPC understands that with a long-term plan such as this, Drexel needs to remain flexible and capable of adding new initiatives and re-prioritizing in ways that support our Strategic Imperatives, as conditions and the market change.

Build a Culture of Equity

Ensure there is no racism or bias in University policies, practices and culture and achieve equitable outcomes for all students, faculty, and professional staff.
Take race into account in implementing strategies and build learning opportunities in support of change by acknowledging disparities and harm.
Address potential implicit biases in systems, policies, planning groups, leaders and leadership groups, and in how we recruit and advance students, faculty and professional staff.

Foster Transdisciplinary Education, Research and Scholarship

Building on our deep commitment to civic engagement, Drexel will address society’s most pressing challenges by focusing on the critical intersections of Health, Technology/Engineering, Design, Social Sciences and their impact on our most vulnerable communities.
Develop transdisciplinary clusters at the intersection of identified sectors to maximally leverage current strengths while generating new opportunities for education, scholarship, collaboration with external partners, and entrepreneurial engagement. Cluster development will include specific sub-initiatives, including:

Expanding inter- and trans-disciplinary research and education aligned with identified sectors and clusters by incentivizing teams and collaborations driven by strong internal trend assessment, revised academic structures and process and comprehensive external partnerships.
Integrating and coordinating university-wide partnership development to support key priorities aligned with identified sectors and clusters, including increasing co-op and clinical placements, research opportunities and enrollment.
Strengthening and aligning the humanities and social sciences at Drexel to enhance activities in identified focus sectors and clusters and their intersections with society.

Build more diversity in faculty and revise curriculum to advance the University’s mission and strategic goals of an anti-racist community with equitable outcomes.

Optimize Student Growth, Experience and Opportunity

Develop and implement smartly balanced, flexible, transdisciplinary core competencies to build strong critical thinking skills across all disciplines.
Expand, connect, and codify co-op and civic engagement programs to ensure that all of Drexel’s programs include experiential learning opportunities that are both industry and society focused.
Invest in innovative research and scholarship that builds on academic strengths and academic partnerships based on clear, transparent criteria aligned with identified sectors and clusters.
Build and utilize diversity in faculty and curricular offerings to engage students and support development of cultural competence

Strengthen Regional Engagement

Leverage Greater Philadelphia and Drexel’s position at the nexus of its two innovation districts and federally designated Promise Zone to create solutions to be captured, codified, and shared regionally, nationally, and globally.
Identify regions nationally and globally in which to grow partnerships to yield increased enrollment, co-ops, clinical placements, curriculum sharing, and research consortia aligned with identified sectors and clusters

Enhance and Coordinate Internal Capabilities

Establish Drexel’s capacity to lead in remote learning, through our continued development of innovative remote delivery of experiential learning and industry participation
Develop and implement an infrastructure, including stakeholder capabilities, for rapid prototyping of programs that attracts students at all phases of learning, including growing online undergraduate and life-long learning programs using both face-to-face and innovative remote and hybrid platforms.
Grow internal capacity to identify trends based on students’ interests, partnerships with industry, and data analysis

Establish and Maintain Fiscal and Operational Strength

Identify and create new sources of revenue aligned with the strategic plan that ensure Drexel’s viability, while leveraging innovative partnerships to create new revenue streams to address the rising cost of education.
Implement Responsibility Center Management (RCM) as the foundation of a sound financial plan for the University ensuring adequate resources are available to support the strategic plan and address the rising cost of education.
Define inefficiencies which exist in current operations and operational gaps that would limit strategic success and develop plans to close these gaps and build operations infrastructure needed to ensure long-term success
Change policies and systems using intentional and visible processes that build understanding of the importance of inclusive practices.
Complete $750 million capital campaign, craft the next campaign toward the implementation of the strategic plan, and grow endowment so it achieves $1 billion in value.