Planning and Progress
NMU's approach to planning has been divided into three distinct phases: Could, Should, and Will. In the fall, we asked what could NMU do by reaching out to our community far and wide. This included students, alumni, faculty, and staff members, as well as parents, community members and leaders throughout the Upper Peninsula, who shared their thoughts and ideas with the University.
As we entered the should phase, this work was brought back to campus and we've been distilling all of the great ideas into realistic and achievable strategies. Coming next is the will phase, where a clearer picture of the future of NMU will emerge, including where we're going and how we'll get there.
Contact IE@nmu.edu with any questions.
Winter 2024: Refinement
A number of engagement opportunities occurred during Winter 2024, allowing additional synthesis of the Mission and Vision Themes into Strategies, or how NMU's future goals will be achieved. Opportunities to engage with elements of the plan included critical conversations with the NMU Board of Trustees, students, and administrative leadership, in addition to a campus wide survey and guided conversation with University Assembly members. In all, more than 1,000 additional comments and ideas were captured and used to refine our direction.
Campus Wide Engagement Sessions: April 17th - 23rd
Participants took a sneak peak of the latest drafts of elements of NMU's next Strategic Plan and shared their feedback at campus wide Engagement Sessions, held April 17-23, 2024.
MORE TO COME!
Community Visioning Dinner Findings
NMU's Community Visioning Dinner was hosted in November 2023. View the resulting Fall 2023 Mission and Vision Theme documents:
Fall 2023: Listening
Through the Community Visioning Dinner and Survey, internal and external stakeholders shared almost 3,000 comments in fall 2023 related to what NMU is today (Mission) and what NMU plans to become in the future (Vision). They have been organized into themes, which will be used as we consider refreshing elements of Northern’s mission and vision statements, and will contribute as building blocks for development of the next strategic plan.
Community Visioning Dinner
The Community Visioning Dinner was held on November 8th, 2023 and provided off-campus community members and valued partners a chance to share thoughts about the future of NMU. Guided by trained Student Facilitators, Community Visioning Dinner attendees took part in small group discussions around the university's purpose and vision for the future, and ways in which NMU and the community could better align for greater impact.