The Cornerstone Plan

Work has begun on the implementation of a five-year strategic plan for the academic division of the University, created with the input of more than 10,000 stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and others. Called the Cornerstone Plan, the name references the laying of the cornerstone on UVA’s first building, Pavilion VII, in 1817. Just as Thomas Jefferson planned the future of his fledgling university in uncertain times, today’s leadership has developed a plan designed to build on existing strengths and identify new opportunities that will distinguish UVA from its competitors in the years ahead.

“It’s a good time for us to ask, what will UVA become in its third century?” says President Teresa Sullivan, who chaired the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. “This is the question at the heart of our strategic plan.”

Leadership development emerged as the central theme of the plan, which is built on five overarching priorities, or pillars, with 15 supporting strategies. “Our relatively small size and tight-knit residential culture—our emphasis on faculty-student interaction and the values of honor, diversity, service and self-governance—make this university a natural incubator for leadership,” says Sullivan.

“The Cornerstone Plan is not a plan to solve a problem or to fix a failure,” the plan reads. “It is a plan to fortify and further distinguish what is already one of the academically strongest, best managed, most financially stable, and most affordable universities in the nation.”

Pillar 1: Enrich and strengthen UVA’s distinctive residential culture

• Student Leadership Development: Development of ethical leaders will be a central theme of University curriculum and programs. With its Jeffersonian mission, tradition of self-governance, and residential culture, UVA is ideally positioned to develop ethical citizen leaders.
• Total Advising: The University will develop an integrated approach to advising—identified as a top priority by students. Faculty, staff, alumni, and other students will provide focused academic career, and personal counseling.
• Lifelong Alumni Engagement: A “lifelong university” will provide alumni with opportunities to expand their knowledge and skills to meet pivotal challenges in their professional, public, and personal lives, and to renew intellectual interests begun while they were students.

Pillar 2: Advance knowledge and serve the public through research, scholarship, arts, and innovation

• Pan-University Research: To foster the intellectual curiosity, ambition, and energy of its faculty, the University will facilitate cross-disciplinary work by creating evolving research institutes that address key issues and provide valuable educational opportunities.
• Infrastructure and Services: The University will enhance institution-wide infrastructure and services to encourage and support research, scholarship, creative arts, and innovation by faculty and students. These enhancements include everything from administration and support for research grants and library collection collections and services to computational resources and core laboratory capacity.

Pillar 3: Provide educational experiences that deliver new levels of student engagement

• High-Impact Experiences: The University will deliver an education for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students that includes meaningful research with faculty members, community engagement, entrepreneurial experiences, and internships.
• Global Presence: More than 35 percent of UVA students have experience overseas, but more must be done to prepare students for global leadership. UVA will strengthen its global presence and develop international knowledge and cross-cultural understanding among all its students.
• Evidence-Based Education: The University will capitalize on existing on-Grounds expertise to assess the relationship between educational experiences and student learning outcomes.

Pillar 4: Assemble and support a distinguishing faculty

• Faculty Leadership Development: The University will develop a program to support the leadership skills of faculty, enabling them to become effective and highly regarded leaders on Grounds and nationally among their colleagues.
• Continuous Faculty Recruiting: Continuous active recruiting—based on long-term cultivation of relationships with potential applicants—will enable the University to broaden the pool of diverse, high-potential faculty prospects.
• Interdisciplinary Hiring: By recruiting faculty with interdisciplinary expertise who are engaged in collaborative research and teaching, UVA will build the expertise needed to solve challenging issues and offer innovative courses.

Pillar 5: Steward resources to promote excellence and affordable access

• Affordable Excellence: The University will develop a financial model that sustains AccessUVA, maintaining an academically accomplished and diverse student body, regardless of ability to pay.
• Leadership in Staff Excellence: To build staff leadership at all levels, the University will offer more opportunities for experiential learning assignments, coaching, career advising, and training for leaders across Grounds.
• Organizational Excellence: The University will pursue the optimal allocation of resources to align with institutional priorities—excellence in education, research and scholarship, and affordable access.
• Strategically Aligned Philanthropy: The University will more closely align fundraising with strategic priorities and will restructure University advancement to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency.