The Strategic Planning Process
Strategic planning is the process of determining where you are now, where you want to be and how you will get there.
— PRESIDENT HARRIET B. NEMBHARD
Community Connections
During President Harriet B. Nembhard’s first 100 days, she invited the Harvey Mudd College community to meet with her to share their thoughts on how the College can continue to accelerate its success in a rapidly changing world. Through a combination of individual and group meetings with students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, trustees and friends of the College, and through an online suggestion form, community members shared what they value most about Harvey Mudd, as well as what they view as both their challenges and aspirations for the College.
President Nembhard summarized these initial conversations and comments in the 100 Days of Community Connections Report, which serves as a starting point for the strategic planning discussions the community engaged in as it came together to envision what Harvey Mudd College could become by 2035.
The Strategic Planning Timeline
Preparatory work on the strategic plan began late in the fall semester of 2023. The bulk of the work was completed during the spring 2024 semester, with the SOAR Analysis, Working Group discussions and reports, Steering Committee draft plan development and sharing the draft with the HMC community all occurring over the course of the semester. The plan will be finalized over the summer of 2024 and will be presented for approval to the HMC Board of Trustees during the board’s September 2024 meeting.
SOAR Analysis and Working Groups
From there, the community came together in meetings to conduct a SOAR (Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results) analysis. From this assessment, three working groups were formed: Imagine Harvey Mudd, Academic Vision, and Student Experience. Each group was asked to compile a brief report outlining their recommendations based on the SOAR analysis.
Strategic Plan Steering Committee
These inputs were reviewed by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, which developed a draft Strategic Plan. This draft plan was shared with the community in a series of online and in-person meetings as well as during Family Weekend and Alumni Weekend activities in spring 2024.
Plan Implementation and Approval
The plan was shared with the board of trustees and will be finalized and approved by the board in September 2024. From there, the final plan will be shared with all stakeholders in the community and implementation will begin.
This plan serves as a framework for developing ongoing goals and initiatives that will support the achievement of our shared vision for the future of Harvey Mudd College.