Goal 1: Clarify and articulate AUP’s mission, thereby strengthening the University’s capacity to achieve academic excellence as an independent, autonomous institution.

The first goal calls for a review of the University’s mission and expression of its vision for the next decade as an autonomous institution. It directs the community toward the pursuit of higher academic standards, greater selectivity, and excellence in teaching and research. It requires a review of academic structure and of the legibility of the curriculum to students coming from all over the world. It calls for the creation of undergraduate and graduate programs that are aligned with mission and core values, and the dissolution of underperforming programs that fall outside of AUP’s mission. Achievement of the first goal necessarily rests upon the enrichment of our assessment culture, and the promotion of student learning and success via feedback loops at all levels. It also calls for the recruitment and retention of a vibrant, engaged faculty, and the promotion of and support for interdisciplinary research in alignment with mission.

Goal 2: Raise AUP’s reputation, visibility, and recognizable identity, in France, in the US, and in the international higher education arena.

The second goal requires consolidation of the academic research and curricular strengths of the University, and massive outreach to make them better known. It includes increasing support for faculty research and development, which President Schenck made a priority from the outset of her mandate by raising the Faculty Development Fund by 25%. Under this rubric, strategic partnerships with a range of mission-compatible institutions—including American liberal arts colleges, French and European national institutions, and the consortium of American international colleges and universities where AUP already plays a leadership role—are deemed to be critical. Finally, improvement of admissions and advancement outcomes shall result from achievement of this goal.

Goal 3: Attend to relationships inside and outside the University, notably by establishing new governance models and processes for AUP.

The third goal envisions the reparation and maintenance of community relationships within the University and professional relationships outside the University, notably with the French government and with American organizations in Paris. It calls for improvement of both internal and external communications, including the public Web site and AUP’s public relations function. It calls as well for a strengthening of faculty governance and creation of a shared governance model in which all contributing constituencies understand their role. Finally, this goal includes fostering, with the board chair, a climate in which board self-evaluation and renewal can take place.

Goal 4: Articulate a master plan for refreshing and renovating AUP’s central Paris campus.

The fourth goal prepares for full renovation and expansion of AUP’s urban, distributed campus in the heart of Paris, where mission, curriculum, and ambitions for outreach can best be supported. It calls for a ten-year campus master plan to include purchase of AUP’s largest classroom building, renovation and refreshment of all buildings, a massive banner signage project to mark the University’s presence in the 7th arrondissement, and an eventual purchase of a fourth building to group a learning commons and student services. It also calls for reflection on the advisability of dormitories, and the role of student housing in recruitment and retention.

Goal 5: Enhance the University’s fundraising capability and success.

The fifth goal calls for enhancement of the University’s advancement capacity, along with the creation of a new department of University Advancement and Outreach. It calls for a new model of communicating with alumni and winning their participation and investment in AUP. It requires greater and more systematic stewardship of donors, and greater recognition of major gifts. It has spurred a rethinking of board responsibilities, and a renewed commitment to fundraising. Finally, it calls for the launching of several small campaigns in honor of AUP’s 50th Anniversary, and the development of an overarching fundraising strategy for AUP.

Goal 6: Build a sustainable and efficient business model for AUP in alignment with mission.

The final goal calls for the creation of a sustainable economic model that reduces tuition dependence, creates new revenue streams, and improves the University’s management of existing resources. This goal combines both the financial and the managerial in its effort to seek efficiencies, and rests upon sound planning based on alignment of financial allocations with mission, and periodic assessment of progress.