Strategic Initiatives

Our strategic goals focus on the thought leadership of our faculty, engaging and developing students to become high performing leaders, forging wider and deeper partnerships, and building an infrastructure for continued success. Each goal area is explored in the following pages. Statements of supporting actions are listed for each goal area. Key metrics to monitor and measure good progress are not included in this abbreviated document. Instead, each supporting action is accompanied by a key milestone statement, some of which are metric-based. While the goal areas will remain constant over the five years, supporting actions will evolve as completed and with changing needs and challenges. Achieving these goals will propel us toward fulfilling our mission and achieving our vision.

 

Thought Leadership

Goal #1: Increase the visibility and impact of our knowledge creation activities.


SUPPORTING ACTION #1:
Recruit additional high visibility scholars.
Key Milestone: Make two incremental Haslam Chair Professorship appointments over the next five years.

SUPPORTING ACTION #2:
Further expand the size of summer faculty research packages to attract and retain research productive faculty.
Key Milestone: Address the summer funding “gap” over the next five years to offer compensation packages that are more competitive for top research productive faculty.

SUPPORTING ACTION #3:
Promote the hosting of niche academic conferences and industry/academy interactions and support of Haslam faculty in academic and professional (and joint) association leadership roles.
Key Milestone: Host at least two such events per year. Support high profile academic and professional association leadership roles of Haslam faculty in collaboration with departmental efforts.

SUPPORTING ACTION #4:
Increase the college’s output of quality publications.
Key Milestone: Annually increase the number of publications per faculty (three-year rolling average) for all item categories listed in the “Publications” category of the faculty reporting system, with particular focus on journals defined by departmental lists.

SUPPORTING ACTION #5:
Enhance the publication record and quality of placement of PhD students.
Key Milestones: Annually increase the percentage of PhD program students and recent graduates publishing in high quality disciplinary journals; annually increase the percentage of PhD students placed at schools targeted by the academic departments.

 

Student Engagement & Success

Goal #2: Enable students to achieve higher value added educational outcomes, employment and career progression opportunities, and to develop their leadership potential and capabilities.


SUPPORTING ACTION #1:
Fully implement the Haslam Leadership Series (BUAD 100, 200, 300, 405).
Key Milestone: All four courses in the series developed and offered on schedule.

SUPPORTING ACTION #2:
Develop and implement a retention and graduation strategy aimed at our undergraduate population.
Key Milestone: Increase the college’s overall freshman to sophomore retention rate at pace with the university. In the process, increase retention and graduation rates of all sub-populations.

SUPPORTING ACTION #3
Deliver high quality co-curricular and experiential learning opportunities (e.g., internships, international experiences, engagement in student-led professional organizations, undergraduate research, and expanded volunteer service opportunities) that compliment the Haslam curriculum and develop leadership potential.
Key Milestone: Increase the number of available opportunities and student participation rates in engagement experiences.

SUPPORTING ACTION #4
Enhance post-graduation outcomes.
Key Milestone: Increase the post-graduation placement metrics of all academic programs (undergraduate and graduate), based on program specific goals.

 

Connections

Goal #3: Build on our value-enhancing partnerships and connections.


SUPPORTING ACTION #1:
Nurture inter-college programmatic collaborations and industry- and government-facing centers and forums.
Key Milestone: Launch at least one additional industry-facing, research-engaged center during the next five years.

SUPPORTING ACTION # 2:
Create a Haslam quality and satisfaction survey instrument and regularly use it with our external stakeholders.
Key Milestone: Actively gauge experience quality, level of services provided, and strength of partnership, and track improvement in the satisfaction of our stakeholders’ (employers, alumni, and executive education corporate participants) engagement with Haslam over time.

SUPPORTING ACTION #3
Expand the geographical reach of our graduate degree and non-degree programming.
Key Milestone: Offer online degree and non-degree graduate business education, beginning with the Master’s in Supply Chain Management.

 

Infrastructure for Success

Goal #4: Enhance the work environment supporting faculty and staff success and our knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, and knowledge application activities.


SUPPORTING ACTION #1:
Grow the size of our tenure line faculty.
Key Milestone: Add 25 incremental tenure line faculty over the next five years.

SUPPORTING ACTION #2:
Successfully complete the “Join the Journey” capital campaign.
Key Milestone: Surpass the $250 million contribution mark within the campaign dates.

SUPPORTING ACTION #3:
Support and leverage staff educational and professional development opportunities.
Key Milestone: Establish and fully implement the Staff Professional Development Fund and accompanying policy.

SUPPORTING ACTION #4:
Obtain all necessary approvals and funding for an additional business school office/classroom building.
Key Milestone: Achieve listed status on the university, Tennessee Higher Education Commission, and state capital building priority lists within five years.

SUPPORTING ACTION #5:
Reach the statewide diversity demographics (e.g. 17 percent African American, 5 percent Hispanic) in our faculty, staff, and student populations.
Key Milestone: Reach the 50 percent point on each of the statewide diversity demographics in our faculty, staff, and student populations, within the next five years.

SUPPORTING ACTION #6:
Through e-learning, enhance the educational experience on campus and increase the geographical reach of our academic programs.
Key Milestone: Successfully launch online offering of all targeted undergraduate courses within three years.
Key Milestone: Successfully launch the college’s first fully online master’s program within two years.