In an effort to incorporate further suggestions into the final draft of the University's new strategic plan, Provost Robert Barchi and Executive Vice President John Fry hosted an open forum yesterday afternoon for students, faculty and staff.
Faculty in attendance raised issues with items omitted from the new plan, ranging from post-doctoral students to student services to Native American studies.
The event -- which featured a presentation of the plan's main initiatives followed by a brief discussion with the audience --came one day after administrators released a draft of Penn's new five-year agenda.
"What we have is a plan that's close to being finished and ready for discussion," Barchi said. "But this is still a draft, so we're open for suggestions that, swerving to have the weight of the University behind them, could still conceivably be inserted."
"We believe that one of the principle challenges is the same as one of our principle strengths -- recruiting and retaining an outstanding faculty," Barchi said. "It is the strong point of the University, but without it we would not be the great University that we are."
The new plan will attempt to build upon what administrators feel are University's strengths -- its faculty, diversity, urban setting, international scope and entrepreneurial assets -- by implementing a series of specific initiatives to address future challenges.
Barchi highlighted the plan's emphasis on research, differentiating Penn from its peer institutions, increasing the University's financial capacity and keeping up with the rapid changes in information technology.
Yet, despite the broad range of goals that Barchi outlined, the audience spoke about what members perceived to be the shortcomings of the new plan.
Associate Dean of Post-doctoral Research Training Trevor Penning, for one, expressed concern about the plan's failure to mention post-doctoral fellows in its academic initiatives.
"When it comes to academic excellence, everyone agrees that maintaining the research enterprise is paramount to the University's success," Penning said.
Penning expressed concern over the plan's strict focus on undergraduate and graduate students with regard to enhancing the University's research capacity.
"For those of us who run research labs, there's a third entity -- the post-doctoral researcher or fellow," Penning said.
Penning's recommendation that administrators add postdoctoral students to the plan's research goals was endorsed by other members of the audience, as well.
"Post-doctoral students are people who play much more significant roles in making contact with trans-national identities," a faculty member who asked to remain anonymous said. "It's more than research -- it's connecting Penn to the rest of the world."
In response, however, Barchi said that while the plan may not explicitly mention certain departments and programs, it was designed to accommodate a wide range of areas.
"There are a number of places in which post-doctoral education would be included," Barchi said. "But that doesn't mean that things that are not in the plan are not necessarily not of strategic importance."
Graduate Student Center Director Anita Mastroieni questioned another part of the draft.
"I was a little surprised not to see student services or University life mentioned in the plan in terms of strengthening student services and the non-curricular activities on campus for students, and the delivery of those and the infrastructures required for the delivery of those," Mastroieni said.
Again, Barchi noted that the plan's outline of specific goals would not necessarily overshadow the University's fundamental programs.
"This is something that we consider almost bread and butter," Barchi said. "A number of these areas come under the rubric of things that we have to make work -- it almost goes without saying."
Other suggestions brought up during the forum included the establishment of a Native American Studies program at Penn and the need to make the University a link between West Philadelphia and Center City.
Barchi said that he would take the input provided by the audience into consideration while preparing a final draft of the plan for the Trustees to review at their June meeting.
