Preparation

Work on the strategic plan for the next decade (2019-2030) started during the summer of 2017, during which time a strategic planning team was formed, called Vision 2030.

The team started their work by visiting Elon University, a peer institution that has undergone a rebranding and is noted as a premier liberal arts university that is successfully navigating the current challenges of higher education.

The team then examined Calvin University’s core idea throughout history as an aid in targeting a desired future state. The team held on-campus forums where they asked questions that dug deep into important core tenets at Calvin to help them assess Calvin’s strengths and weaknesses. Those questions were:

  • Whom do we serve?
  • What do we serve?
  • Where do we serve?
  • When do we serve?
  • Why do we serve?
  • How do we serve?
  • Against whom do we serve?

Vision and Values

The Vision 2030 team dissected the discussions that emanated from core idea-related questions, along with additional engagement with the Calvin community (faculty, staff, students, alumni, board of trustees, parents of students, and alumni board) through forums and workshops in order to develop vision and values statements for Calvin to live by in the future.

A major change to note reflected in the vision statement is that Calvin College will transform its structure into that of a university. This change was unanimously approved by Calvin’s Board of Trustees in May 2018, with the name change officially happening on July 10, 2019 – a date that commemorates John Calvin’s birthdate.

Strategic Planning Process

The Vision 2030 Strategic Plan, tied to the newly formed vision statement, is the strategic plan for Calvin for the next decade. It will be divided into two halves, with Calvin focusing on Strategic Plan 2019 – 2025 Goals and Strategies first.

Forming the plan was, once again, an all-encompassing process. The Vision 2030 team welcomed the greater Calvin community (faculty, staff, students, and alumni) into the strategic planning process to help identify and refine strategic options. The magnitude of participation was impressive:

  • Over 50 people participated on the Vision 2030 team or on exploratory strategic planning teams.

  • Presentations by the exploratory teams were the focus of the 2018 Fall Conference for Faculty and Staff.

  • Thirty-five planning workshops were organized across campus.

  • There were 112 meetings between the time Vision 2030 was approved by the board of trustees in May 2018 until the board approved the strategic plan in May 2019. The sessions varied in length from ½ hour to ½ day, while the number of participants varied from 3 to 50.

  • Over 1,260 people participated in providing feedback on drafts of the strategic plan.

The creativity and wisdom gleaned from these groups were instrumental in providing insight to the Vision 2030 team as they formed four goals and ten strategies meant to guide Calvin through 2019 – 2025. The goals represent what Calvin seeks to accomplish, while the strategies convey how Calvin intends to make it happen. The goals and strategies were unanimously endorsed by Calvin’s Planning and Priorities Committee as well as by Faculty Senate before being approved by Calvin’s Board of Trustees in May 2019.