Planning process
The College of Agriculture Strategic Plan 2003-2005 (200KB PDF) was written in response to opportunities and challenges facing the College and agriculture as a whole. Ten themes were developed from information-gathering sessions held around the state involving many external and internal stakeholders. Issues, goals and strategies were developed from these and subsequent discussions, as well as from input from University, state and national sources.
The strategic plan is organized around 10 themes: Student Learning, Food Safety and Security, Economic Development, Global Programs, Rural Vitality, Natural Resources, Diversity, Public Policy, Information Technology and Stakeholder Relationships. Themes may be categorized as content (for example, food safety and security and natural resources), others as process (information technology and stakeholder relationships, for example) and some as both (for example, diversity).
Each theme begins with a brief statement, followed by goals, strategies and success indicators. Each goal is identified by its connection to the three priorities in Iowa State University's strategic plan: Learning, Discovery and Engagement. The strategies provide guidance on how each goal will be achieved. Success indicators provide ways of measuring progress on how well the College is meeting its strategies and goals. The College also will assess progress through additional key indicators associated with performance indicators and benchmarks outlined in the "Measuring Progress" section of the University's strategic plan.
The governance of the College of Agriculture is shared by the Dean and its faculty. Governance shall be organized to promote the missions of Iowa State University and the College of Agriculture and to serve the interests of our clientele. The recently revised College Governance document spells out promotion and tenure issues; policies and procedures for appointment, reappointment, advancement, and evaluation of faculty and staff; faculty committee service; and faculty voting privileges. The document is available at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/agcoll/coagovernance.pdf
The College strives for excellence in all its programs. It is particularly important that the College maintains its strong foundation in basic and applied research. This strategic plan recognizes that the spectrum of research, from the most fundamental to the most applied, is needed to address these issues. Knowledge produced from disciplinary research is the lifeblood of our educational pursuits and provides the basis for future advances in many priority areas. Because of the complex nature of issues facing agriculture, multidisciplinary approaches also must be an important part of the research portfolio.
To ensure that research priorities are relevant to state needs, a comprehensive review was conducted in fall 2003 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, a 115-year-old program led by the College of Agriculture that conducts research primarily in agriculture but also in family and consumer sciences, veterinary medicine and engineering.
The College used the review to seek Iowans' input to ensure that resources in the Experiment Station were aligned to meet the present and future needs of the state, as well as to adequately address current realities in state funding for research, extension and education.
Nearly 600 responses and comments were received from November 2003 through February 2004. A summary of key research priorities was compiled from completed questionnaires, as well as comments received from individuals and organizations. The priorities are being used to adjust resources in research programs.
Another method of assessing the College's stakeholder expectations is through the administration's meetings with the College of Agriculture Advisory Council and the Dean's Executive Council. The Advisory Council consists of about 35 members who represent areas reflecting the breadth of the College's curricula and careers chosen by its graduates. The Executive Council consists of members of the Advisory Council who represent Iowa commodity groups and the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. Meetings allow the College to share its activities and seeks input from the councils' members.
The College of Agriculture has had a long and rich tradition of global engagement. Recent developments, both local and national, led to a review of the current and future role of the College in interacting with colleagues, students, institutions and organizations outside of the U.S. A white paper describes the College’s rationale and vision for maintaining and expanding our global engagement.
