In an effort to receive community feedback on its far-reaching initiatives, University officials recently placed the extensive Virginia 2020 reports online.
Virginia 2020 is a long-range strategic planning commission, created by University President John T. Casteen III, that aims to ensure the University's success in teaching, research, service and meeting educational needs of students in the 21st century.
The multi-faceted initiative will examine ways to improve the University's performance in the fields of the fine and performing arts, international activities, public service and outreach, and science and technology.
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"Casteen has a vision for the University, and I think the Virginia 2020 Commission is necessary to carry out these visions," said Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
International Activities Chairman Brantley Womack said he thinks it is valuable to make the reports accessible to the public, so the University knows how students, faculty and community members feel about the importance and relevance of such topics.
"This is an opportunity not only for those who spent hours on proposals but also for other people to know what's going on and things to think about," Womack said.
The endeavor to create Virginia 2020 began in the spring of 1998 and is now close to completion.
The planning process includes improvements in the areas of the fine and performing arts, international activities, public service and outreach and science and technology. Casteen chose these areas recognizing they had some weaknesses, said Anita K. Jones, science and technology planning commission chairwoman.
"We hope that by 2020 U.Va.'s arts programs are thought of as one of its strongest departments," Fine and Performing Arts Chairman Robert Chapel said.
Jones commented on the specific aims of the science and technology committee.
"Because of the major part technology is playing in the real world, it is important to advance the research and education capacity at Virginia," Jones said.
Casteen has great hopes for Virginia 2020, saying he thinks it could potentially bring about "a more diverse set of programs and support bases than ever before."
He said the program's fate rests on many factors.
"It depends on the faculty's success in finding consensus as to purpose, the deans' successes in pooling resources to accomplish larger purposes and our common success in planning and funding new centers of excellence," he added.
Casteen said he encourages feedback about the program from the University community.
"Very little that is durable happens in universities without broadly based community contributions to plans and commitments to goals," he said.
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