Campuses:
This plan articulates an ambitious agenda for scholarship and education aimed at protecting the health of our natural resources, food and agricultural systems, preparing learners for civic leadership, and supporting vibrant economies. The planning process for this agenda began in 2007 and involved students, faculty, staff and stakeholders in focus groups, issue-specific task forces, faculty and staff assemblies, online surveys and background research.
In addition to these efforts, the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) convened a 20-member Blue Ribbon Committee in late 2009 to address future financial planning and to help set priorities in light of the university’s economic constraints. Recommendations by this committee have contributed to the culmination of this draft and are addressed throughout the plan. The guiding principles are described below:
Maintain the public land-grant mission. The public nature of the university is central to our mission. We must focus our efforts on the fundamental values of providing students extraordinary classroom experiences through excellence in teaching, through conducting timely, relevant, and high quality research, and through delivering translational research that has an impact on Minnesota’s citizens and the global community.
Constituent groups must be central to our planning. CFANS must focus on how our programs serve our current and future constituents. Delivering value to constituents is critical to creating a sustainable position as a college. We recognize this commitment includes an awareness of shifting demographics and seek to increase diversity and inclusion capacity by reaching out to communities that we expect will be important players as Minnesota’s population becomes more multicultural. This commitment to all Minnesotans is particularly important in light of our role as the state’s land-grant university.
Our core resource and product is human capital. CFANS maintains a collaborative environment that encourages and values the exceptional contributions of students, faculty and staff; we trust that people will do their best. Our college embraces diversity and excellence. We are committed to promoting the principles of equal opportunity, affirmative action, and multiculturalism where all individuals are valued, respected, provided the opportunity to flourish, and unobstructed in their pursuit of excellence. Ongoing efforts offer a variety of opportunities for the college community to participate in planning with careful consideration given to the impact of all decision-making. External efforts include reaching out to communities that historically have not been stakeholders in our college, but that we expect will be important players as Minnesota’s population becomes more diverse.
Focus the scope of the college. The college is focused on the most pressing global issue of today and the future: a growing population and the environmental and economic stresses emerging from the increasing global demand on our natural resources.
Manage our assets with fiscal responsibility. We manage our assets with fiscal responsibility and efficiency in alignment with the college’s and university’s strategic plan, forging public and private partnerships to maximize resources and strengthen communities.
