Even before Stetson President Christopher F. Roellke, PhD, officially shared the university’s plan for the future at the DeLand Campus Faculty & Staff Reception and Meeting on Feb. 28, he made three points abundantly clear. Kindness, flexibility and collaboration, he asserted and repeated, will be integral to all. 

Roellke opened with a signature statement, one that leads off his new Office of the President website: ‘Kindness not only matters, it enables us to listen, to engage with others unlike ourselves, and to consider paths we forge together to make our community, in fact, the world a better place.”

Then he continued to emphasize its importance, stating, “You’re going to hear an awful lot more about kindness and the importance of kindness in the society in which we live as we move forward together with our strategic plan, which is going to take Stetson from Florida Gem to National Treasure.”

“We’re all educators,” he told the hundreds of faculty and staff in attendance. “We are all recruitment and retention officers at the university. And if you’re kind with our [students], good things are going to happen.”

And he concluded that “at the core of our strategy is relationship richness. You’re going to get something at Stetson University if you work here or if you study here, that you’re not going to get at a larger [university community].” 

As for flexibility of the strategic plan, he rhetorically asked the gathering, “We don’t want a strategic plan that’s 185 pages and sits on a shelf someplace, right?”

Accessible, Readable and Energizing

Instead, “What we have,” he cited, “is a strategic plan that is accessible, readable, energizing to the community, but also flexible. The world changes very rapidly these days. So, why pigeonhole yourself into a set of objectives and strategic priorities that may have to change. For example, no one could have predicted the global pandemic. … It is a dynamic document. It is not static — intentionally, not static.”

“The purpose of this strategic plan is to acknowledge the prevailing challenges in higher education and to establish priorities that advance a distinctive identity for Stetson relative to its peer and aspirant institutions,” Roellke continued. “The priorities and initiatives outlined in the plan reflect a renewed and steadfast commitment to a relationship-rich learning experience that draws on the university’s traditional strengths, invests in faculty development, leverages the state’s vital economic and geographic assets, innovates in curriculum development and delivery, and develops an entrepreneurial and sustainable economic model. Ideally, the priorities and investments suggested in this plan yield a distinctive identity and national reputation for Stetson University and its holistic, integrated, contemporary and experiential approach to education.” 

With those words, Roellke detailed the five core themes of the FORWARD TOGETHER Strategic Priorities Framework, 2023-2030: Experiential, Contemporary & Integrative Learning; Student-Centered Success & Wellness; People, Culture & Inclusive Excellence; Lifelong Relationships & Connections; and Comprehensive Sustainability. (For full details, see brochure.)

In brief, here are the Strategic Priorities:

Experiential, Contemporary & Integrative Learning

Our relationship-rich approach to education emphasizes personal connections, critical thinking, moral reasoning, written and oral communication, imaginative inquiry, creative expression, and lively intellectual debate. 

Student-Centered Success & Wellness 

Stetson’s campuses are learning laboratories where students put theory to practice through peer leadership, Greek life, academic and athletic competitions, student employment, professional consulting, international travel, and a myriad of student organizations and programs.

People, Culture & Inclusive Excellence

We foster a supportive and caring community where wellness, global citizenship, civil discourse, and civic engagement are central to our identity. 

Lifelong Relationships & Connections 

Our graduates enjoy a lifetime of meaningful personal relationships and professional connections. 

Comprehensive Sustainability 

Stetson University is regularly recognized for providing a high-level Return on Investment measured by future earnings and career progression.