Second Strategic Planning Meeting Specifies Deadline

After a positive meeting last Wednesday in which many faculty members openly shared their long term plans for Exeter, Principal Lisa MacFarlane said she expects three to five “big ideas” to emerge from the strategic planning process by the end of this year.The meetings were facilitated by a previous colleague of MacFarlane’s at the University of New Hampshire (UNH), James Varn. Varn serves as a Professor of Political Science and Assistant Provost for Faculty Development and Strategic Planning at UNH.According to faculty members, Varn’s experience with the strategic planning process and its complications served him well as he led the meetings.Modern Languages instructor Mark Trafton said Varn “did an excellent job and really seemed to understand the unique dynamics of our faculty.” Despite it being an “assertive” and “sometimes cantankerous group,” Trafton said Varn was an effective leader in encouraging participation from a wide range of voices.

“It was affirming to hear so many thoughtful colleagues thinking carefully about the school and keeping kids at the center of the discussion.”

Dean of Students Melissa Mischke agreed with Trafton. “Having somebody who is external lead the conversation and sophisticated and capable in that area is really helpful,” she said, and explained that because Varn is not “emotionally attached” to the issues at hand in the way community members are, he was able to more effectively steer the conversations.Two years ago, former principal Tom Hassan embarked on the strategic planning process, a long-term effort inclusive of faculty, trustees, alumni and students that would work to frame the school’s future trajectory in all of its facets. He decided last year that there would be five days in the 2015-16 calendar with strategic planning meetings in place of classes. Last Wednesday was the second of these meetings.Principal Lisa MacFarlane said that the work done on strategic planning during the end of Hassan’s tenure has proved useful as she takes over the process.“The Principal’s staff and the faculty did a lot of work to analyze and understand what we do and to think of ways in which we could improve what we do,” she said.The strategic planning conversations have covered a wide range of topics since then that span the long-term interests of the Academy. After synthesizing the last two years of work, MacFarlane said she expects three to five “big ideas” to emerge, all of which the ultimate strategic plan will address. She said she hoped that there would be an initial draft by the end of this academic year and that it would be approved by trustees next school year.While the main topics that will compose the final strategic plan have not yet been finalized, MacFarlane said that important concerns like student body demographics, technology and community values have all arisen as vital to address in discussion.Faculty members lauded MacFarlane’s ability to step into the complex process and easily take the lead of a diverse faculty and a difficult conversation.Science instructor Townley Chisholm said that MacFarlane’s tactics have given faculty members “a very clear, firm timeline for the strategic plan,” assigning more specific meaning to the meetings which “[s]ome faculty members may have a little fatigue about,” Chisholm said.Adjunct music instructor Jon Sakata agreed. He said that after last week’s meetings, he left “with a deep sense of shared collective will, excitement of trajectory, and incisive thoughtfulness that permeated the room.”Faculty were also impressed by the open atmosphere of the meeting, which fostered a diverse range of voices throughout the discussion. Speaking about Wednesday’s meeting, a faculty member who requested to be anonymous commended the cooperative environment of the discussion.“There were lots of voices from faculty, young and old. It was affirming to hear so many thoughtful colleagues thinking carefully about the school and keeping kids at the center of the discussion,” the faculty member said.Sakata also noted a sense of evolving “social ecology,” through which the faculty sought to “proliferate creativity and creative solutions,” and to “produce even finer gradients of care and collaborative potentialization across ages, institutional category and affiliation.”While many faculty members saw the time as both important to the school’s progress and well-used, many were sorry to have cancelled classes. Faculty members were hesitant to express frustration at the loss of class time on the record, and most explained that despite their frustrations, the time was worth the sacrifice.Mischke said that although losing class time is far from ideal, strategic planning is a priority for the school and must be addressed, even if that means it takes the place of other work.The anonymous faculty member said that despite the importance of the strategic planning meetings, “it is hard to miss classes.” With that said, the faculty member said that the cancellations were inevitable. “I don’t see a way around it. As long as the meetings feel productive, and this one did, then it is hard to argue with making time to do this work.”Despite the few setbacks, most faculty expressed positive views on the planning process. As the school year continues, three more meetings will be held: one in January, February and April. The steering committee, which consists of a mix of faculty, staff, principal staff and trustees, is also scheduled to have a “kick-off” meeting in the near future. Additionally, MacFarlane scheduled a town hall-style meeting for Nov. 11, 13 and 19, in which she will meet with staff to go over the materials covered in faculty sessions.In an effort to hear all voices of the Exeter body, MacFarlane also reached out to the Dean of Students office to develop a plan of engaging students in the conversation. She expressed an “eagerness” to hear student opinions on what the Exonians of the future will look like and how to prepare for their arrival.Mischke said that she was excited to incorporate the voices of the students and the alumni. Currently, she is brainstorming ways to most effectively involve them in the process.Further increasing accessibility, several resources and avenues for participation will be available electronically. All strategic planning materials will be uploaded onto its own page on ExeterConnect, including work from previous years, minutes from this year’s meetings and any electronic materials sent out. In addition, a discussion board will be set up on the ExeterConnect page and an email, strategicplanning@exeter.edu, will be used for idea submissions.Trafton suggested one future idea for the next meetings of strategic planning. Impressed by the first two, he would like to see a continued focus on a sense of equity across campus between faculty, staff and the administration. He stressed the importance of making sure Exonians feel connected and experience a high quality of life. “Even though one can’t always quantify morale, it certainly goes up and down in our school body, and when it is higher almost everyone benefits,” he said.MacFarlane encouraged more community members, such as Trafton, to provide their own input for strategic planning. So far, she has been impressed by the “quality and generosity” of those who have offered suggestions, and hopes to see more involvement in the future.“Please don’t hesitate to write to me with your comments,” MacFarlane said. “I welcome all who care about this school to be a part of these substantial, thoughtful and important conversations.”