Strategic Plan
June 23, 2015
Dear Members of the Amherst Community,
I am delighted to share with you the Strategic Plan for Amherst College, which has now been formally approved by the faculty, student government and Board of Trustees. We are grateful to the many close readers across the Amherst community whose astute comments on previous drafts have been critical to shaping the seven priorities that direct this plan and, ultimately, will guide the future of this remarkable college.
As you know, the origins of this plan lie in the work of several faculty-led committees that began evaluating the College's strengths and challenges over a year ago. It then benefitted from the work of numerous individuals on campus and the comments of careful readers across the Amherst community. As you know, our priorities and objectives changed as a result of the feedback we received. By March, we had arrived at a penultimate version. Since then, insights from readers have guided us in rewriting the introduction to articulate our values and goals more crisply, revising the wording of several priorities, and providing more detailed information about how we will ensure the College's long-term financial sustainability.
The plan does not envision a transformation of the College; instead, it outlines vital incremental changes that will reaffirm our commitment to liberal arts education. In taking these steps, we will emphasize the connections between our academic programs and residential offerings to ensure that our graduates are prepared for the world they are entering. Building on Amherst's tradition of academic excellence, the College will exemplify the value of the liberal arts in an era of dramatic change.
The exciting work of implementing this plan has already begun on campus. Those efforts will gain momentum in the coming months and years. In the process, we will count on your ideas and input. Thank you again for your contributions to the process that led to this plan.
You can view the PDF of the plan, or request a printed copy if you prefer. Best wishes for an enjoyable summer.
Sincerely,
Biddy Martin
If you are having trouble viewing the pdf, email us at comm@amherst.edu