October 15, 2007
Dear Student Affairs staff:
Greetings from Berkeley! As many of you know, I left Eugene for California at the end of July, just two weeks after becoming Vice President for Student Affairs, in order to participate in a 6-month fellowship at UC Berkeley. While I have been away, I’ve been exposed to many new and exciting aspects of leadership; skills that I plan to make good use of when I return to the UO full-time in January.
Last Friday I had the pleasure of returning to Eugene to participate in a very productive retreat with the Student Affairs directors. Just as I did with them, I want to begin to share my vision for the Division of Student Affairs. Without a strong vision, sense of community, and direction, it will be very difficult for us to do all that a Division of Student Affairs is geared to do: purposefully create programs, services, and learning opportunities for students that are directly in line with the University of Oregon’s academic mission. We also miss out on the obvious synergies that can be created when we work across departments within our division and with our academic partners for the common good. In order to accomplish this, however, we will have to do things differently.
I’m asking directors to assume more of a divisional leadership role, as opposed to just a singular departmental focus. I will also be asking for other capable leaders within the division to help us craft an aggressive strategic plan that will guide us toward a common purpose over the next 5 years: to become the most innovative and excellent Student Affairs division on the West coast—bar none—and to become a multicultural organization that is committed to inclusion and equity.
With the best programs, most innovative practices and unparalleled attention to details not only can we make our division successful, but great. Doing so will also enhance the likelihood of increasing our resources (allowing us to achieve even better outcomes), and allow us to improve our student’s lives, helping them achieve their educational goals in order to become successful, well-adjusted global citizens.
To be successful, we must not settle for anything less than excellence. It will not be enough to be the best department anymore; we all need to start thinking about what we can do as individuals, groups, and departments to become the best division.
Regardless of what position you currently hold, whether you are a classified or an unclassified staff member, your voice is important and we must find ways for broad participation from everyone in the division; because everyone’s voice truly does matter. It will also be very important for us to adopt a culture of working more collaboratively and with a common vision—everything we do needs to be in service to that vision and our mission. Activities that are not serving our mission and goals or are no longer a priority must be changed or discontinued. With limited time and resources we must keep only those efforts that are successful and move us toward our goals.
Over the next few weeks, your director will be sharing more specific information about this exciting time we are embarking upon. They will be asking for your input and participation and I sincerely hope that you will bring your expertise and energy to help us transform the Division of Student Affairs.
Upcoming Activities:
Formation of Pre-Planning Committee for 5-year Strategic Plan (pre-planning document to be submitted to the VPSA by December 15th)
Formation of Student Affairs Strategic Planning Committee (to commence January 2008, with a finished report to the VPSA by August 15, 2008)
Nominations of staff to participate in 9 key Student Affairs Divisional Initiatives (Director’s will discus the initiatives with their respective staff’s and submit names of interested individuals to VPSA by November 15th)
Student Affairs Breakfast: Excellence in Action. (This annual event is an opportunity for each department to showcase accomplishments from the past year; date TBD (sometime in late January)—I hope everyone that can attend does so!!
Yours sincerely,
Robin H. Holmes, Vice President
Student Affairs