President Gerry Bradley noted the “excitement in the room” as he kicked off a Town Hall meeting on April 30 to a full house of faculty, staff and students in the Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium. The event also was livestreamed.
The meeting began with a presentation by Vice Provost Bob Goldstein outlining the results of 2022-23 climate surveys based on the experiences and assessments of faculty, staff and administration. The surveys revealed the university’s strengths in the areas of cost-of-living within the region, supervisor effectiveness and work-life balance. Themes around compensation, quality of facilities, budget cuts and administrative recognition were among the areas of needed improvement. Goldstein concluded with information on overlapping results across all surveys and highlights of progress, including modernization of facilities, Employee Success Center initiatives and establishment of strategic budget principles.
Goldstein emphasized the goal to “map climate surveys into the Strategic Plan process.”
Strategic Plan co-chairs Cherie Dawson-Edwards and Alma Ljaljevic-Tucakovic talked with the audience about the effort to wrap up the current plan and the process underway for the university’s next roadmap.
“We decided to continue with the four pillars in the current Strategic Plan because they reflect the core values of the university,” Ljaljevic-Tucakovic said.
The areas of focus: learn, discover, connect and work are each led by a different committee chair or co-chairs who each spoke briefly about their work.
Interim Provost Katie Cardarelli underscored the importance of university-community input throughout the development process of the Strategic Plan 2026-2030.
She outlined the following tentative timeline:
- Mid-May – Initial draft to UofL senior leadership
- June – Initial review by the Board of Trustees
- Late August – First full draft to campus community with opportunities for feedback
- October – Completion of second draft
- Late November – Final draft to Board of Trustees with a vote in December
Additional resources:
- Watch the complete Town Hall on UofL’s YouTube.
- The Climate Survey Report, Executive Summary and a feedback form are available on a SharePoint site. (Log in to your UofL account to access these materials.)
- Learn more about the Strategic Plan 2026-2030. (This site will be updated as the Strategic Plan develops.)
- View the photo gallery from the Town Hall on UofL’s Flickr.
