Rocket Nation Recovery Part 14 – week seven begins with UToledo leaders holding alumni meetings in Atlanta, a little over 1,000 students moving into the dorms, and the UToledo board of trustees planning for a summer strategic planning retreat during the first week of classes.
The enrollment and alumni relations teams should be complimented for collaborating to bring Atlanta area high school guidance counselors to the alumni events over the next few days! Have similar joint gatherings with high school guidance counselors been held or scheduled in Toledo, Ottawa Hills, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Detroit?
Last week the UToledo board of trustees expressed their support of the strong leadership team and their bold, creative and collaborative approach to solving the enrollment, financial and morale crisis.
In mid-2020, UToledo leaders took a bold step to spend over $2M to retain the services of Huron Consulting Group to execute “several concurrent, transformative engagements” including:
1. Budget model design https://lnkd.in/gWvWVsdN
2. Academic portfolio review (November 4, 2021) https://lnkd.in/gnvb4dsw
3. Financial opportunity assessment
4. Executive advisor support
In June 2021, in another bold move, UToledo leaders had Huron Consulting present their findings to the institution and The Rocket Nation https://lnkd.in/gZ4M-aCZ.
Considering that it’s two years later, as a trustee would you ask questions about what bold, creative and collaborative steps UToledo leaders have taken to implement some or all of the Huron Consulting recommendations since June 2021? Would you analyze the impact these recommendations had/are having on the enrollment, financial and morale crisis today?
If you were a trustee, would you want to know what actions UToledo academic leadership has taken over the past two years to implement some or all of the recommendations in the academic portfolio review? Would you want to know what actions have been taken by finance leadership to implement the budget model design?
If you were an interim executive leading academic decision making would you take actions to implement some or all of the recommendations in the academic portfolio review? Or would you leave it to the next academic leader to implement the recommendations in the 2024-25 academic year?
If you were a trustee, with UToledo leadership entering its fourth year would you focus over the next two weeks on implementing some or all of Huron’s recommendations? Or would focus on long term strategic planning? Or would you make time in your busy schedule to hold emergency meetings on both?
It’s ok to feel uncomfortable in a crisis. Please pray for thoughtful, compassionate accountability and urgent actions to revitalize The Rocket Nation.