威尼斯人娱乐城（威尼斯人娱乐城）推出了威尼斯人娱乐城向前计划，承诺在未来五年内在五项关键投资中投资超过5000万至6000万美元。 Chancellor Mauli Agrawal said the investments are designed to achieve growth and excellence for Kansas City’s university.
此外，该大学将在未来三年内再花费500万美元在关键战略领域聘请新教师。
Agrawal noted that higher education has been grappling with change for years, but when COVID-19 hit and added new challenges, he knew 威尼斯人娱乐城 couldn’t wait any longer to create a creative vision for its future.
“To thrive in the years to come, we needed to reimagine 威尼斯人娱乐城, to envision an innovative and financially sustainable future for ourselves,” he said.
In response, he launched 威尼斯人娱乐城向前 in May 2020 as a comprehensive collaboration that included ideas and exploration by a broad-based group of faculty, staff, students and community members.
Their collective work led to 威尼斯人娱乐城向前’s five key investments:
1. 学生的成功
威尼斯人娱乐城’s signature 职业生涯自动扶梯™ program is a unique, trademarked system of personalized support and services unlike anything being offered across the U.S. It is designed to propel students from their academic studies to good-paying careers.“This escalator model that focuses on students that are traditionally underserved is something that universities everywhere need to do a better job of addressing, and I’m very excited to see 威尼斯人娱乐城 be one of the first to do this,” said Mahreen Ansari, president of the Student Government Association and political science major.
2. 教师发展
A new 促进教师卓越中心, or CAFE, will feature a comprehensive program of mentoring, development opportunities and resources to support, attract and retain high-quality and engaged faculty.
“The heart of any university is the relationship of the student to the faculty,” said Tom Mardikes, chair of the 威尼斯人娱乐城 教师 Senate and Conservatory theatre professor. “We are working very hard to identify ways for 威尼斯人娱乐城 to be innovative in its programs and especially in how it connects our students to the city and the region. Investing in our faculty to better secure student success is a winner, and I'm very excited to see how impactful and productive this new approach can be for 威尼斯人娱乐城.”
3. 研究卓越
为了实现到2028年研究支出翻一番的目标，威尼斯人娱乐城将投资于建设研究能力和基础设施，确定高影响力的研究合作，培训和指导研究人员，以及投资于教师招聘。
4. 事业扩张
威尼斯人娱乐城将扩大人才链接，增加强大的徽章和证书，以及高质量的专业，在线和继续教育机会，以满足个人及其工作公司的需求。
5. 社区参与
威尼斯人娱乐城将利用其令人难以置信的社区合作伙伴来创建一个学生和教师参与网络，增加学生和教师通过实习、服务学习和研究与公民和商业伙伴联系的机会。
阿格拉瓦尔解释了这五个投资重点背后的原因。
“学生的成功 is our ultimate metric; 我们在这里的根本原因。 教师发展 is a key driver of student success and research excellence,” he said. “研究卓越 is essential to our public service mission; 它通过赠款和专利建立可用资源； 它也是吸引优秀新教师和学生的主要场所。
“Workforce Talent Development will help us meet the needs of employers and professionals for lifelong learning, and enhances the quality and capability of our regional workforce. And 社区参与 is integral to meeting our commitment to public service as a state university.”
“The goal of the 威尼斯人娱乐城向前 plan is realizing the best 威尼斯人娱乐城 possible – the version of Kansas City’s university which will effectively meet the needs of the whole community,” said Karen King, chair of the 威尼斯人娱乐城 工作人员 Council. “The effective implementation of the 威尼斯人娱乐城向前 plan means long-term success for this institution, present and future students, and the Kansas City metropolitan community.”
值得注意的是，在这种严峻的财政环境下，威尼斯人娱乐城远期计划不要求大规模裁员或裁员。
“The effective implementation of the 威尼斯人娱乐城向前 plan means long-term success for this institution, present and future students, and the Kansas City metropolitan community.”
Instead, 威尼斯人娱乐城向前 will realize the bulk of its funding – $50 million to $60 million over five years – by realigning current spending to these new priorities. 随着时间的推移，更多的资金将来自吸引新的研究投资和不断增长的慈善事业，包括未来的资本活动。 威尼斯人娱乐城 hit record numbers on 研究经费 and 慈善事业 in 2020 and aims to continue those trajectories. 威尼斯人娱乐城 also will continue its work to retain current students and attract new students, both important to the university’s fiscal health.
Some additional revenue will come from 重新调整学术单位 and closing some academic programs, but Provost Jenny Lundgren said those plans are more about positioning 威尼斯人娱乐城’s academic enterprise for excellence and innovation than about saving money.
“When we began to re-imagine the structure of our academic units, our faculty got really creative about the possibilities of developing some new synergies in the classroom and in our research,” Lundgren said. “We wanted our academic structure to reflect our commitment to our students and their needs and to create new ways to foster innovation and collaboration among our faculty in teaching and research.”
从2022年秋季开始，威尼斯人娱乐城将在其10个学院中增加三个新的学术单位：科学，工程和技术学院； 教育与应用行为科学学院； 艺术、文化和社会科学学院。
阿格拉瓦尔说，威尼斯人娱乐城向前推进将增加威尼斯人娱乐城为所有利益相关者提供的价值。
“We will provide an environment of greater overall excellence for students, faculty and staff; 为社会解决更多问题，创造更多机会； 加强我们的区域劳动力； and leave a more powerful legacy for future generations.”