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Faculty Endorse Strategic Plan Draft, Trustees to Follow

After receiving input from students, faculty and alumni, the strategic plan made its way from a stack of white papers, surveys and meetings to a formal draft. On Thursday, 90 percent of Andover faculty members voted to endorse the draft.

The Board of Trustees will review the faculty-approved draft and will vote on September 26. If they do not suggest any revisions to the draft, the plan will become final and the implementation process will begin on October 3.

The draft aims to align Andover’s future institutional efforts along three major themes: Equity & Inclusion, Creativity & Innovation and Empathy & Balance.

Below is part of the edition of the draft sent to Faculty members on Wednesday night.

“…We launch the 2014 Strategic Plan from a position of strength. Given the vast experiences and global roots of our student body, connection becomes at once more possible and more necessary. Our challenge ­— and opportunity — is to link our students meaningfully to each other, to their school and to the world. Guided by the principle of financial sustainability, we will concentrate our resources over the next three to five years on the advancement of three sets of strategic priorities, each indispensable to and often intersecting with the others.

“By promoting EQUITY AND INCLUSION, we will move toward full realization of opportunity for young women and young men from a broad spectrum of backgrounds. CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION in and out of the classroom will spark the intellectual curiosity of students with wide- ranging academic talents and life experiences. We will weave lessons of EMPATHY AND BALANCE throughout our program, teaching our students to acknowledge their obligations to others and the natural world, to respect diversity of thought and to value health and reflection.

“We focus this Strategic Plan on the quality and fullness of the Andover experience. We will ensure that each of our students appreciates the advantages of living and learning among peers with various perspectives. We will forge new understanding beyond the traditional boundaries of the academy. We will recognize that ‘Non Sibi’ calls for civic engagement, self-awareness and prudent use of resources. We will define and model sustainable excellence born of curiosity and discernment,” according to an email from Rachel Skiffer, Dean of Strategic Planning.