When I interviewed for the position of dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, many of you said “we don’t know who we are as a school; we haven’t yet declared our identity.” It is completely understandable why the faculty, staff, and students may feel this way. Our school was started only 15 years ago, and few teenagers know what they are going to be. However, now is the time to define it. Strategic planning is common for a new leader, but few leaders get the opportunity to work with an organization to redefine its vision, mission, and core values for the foreseeable future. In this Dean’s note, I focus on our new Vision statement and the process the school used to develop it.
Our journey so far: Vision, mission, and core value statements are made once every 15 to 20 years for an organization. They are not revisited on a regular basis in the same way as strategic plans are routinely revisited. Fifteen years ago, we set an aspirational vision statement: The Colorado School of Public Health will become one of the nation's premier institutions for public health education and research, with top recognition for its work in selected areas and an outstanding reputation for delivering education, training, and service programs that are based in science, proven in practice, and adapted through creativity to meet pressing population health needs.
Today, we proudly declare that we have achieved this vision. We are a premier institution. We are nationally recognized for our outstanding education, research, and practice. It is time for the Colorado School of Public Health to set its sights on a new vision statement that reflects where we are going and what we want to achieve. We are ready for the next chapter.
A New Vision: As part of the strategic planning process for the next five years, the school leadership engaged Bridgepoint Coaching and Strategy Group. Their vision statement is “where strategy meets the bottom line.” This is a firm focused on true organizational growth. I then asked Michelle Kuba, Assistant Dean of Operations, to lead the strategic planning from the school side. Under her leadership, groups of faculty, staff, alumni, and students have been meeting, collecting feedback from focus groups, conducting surveys inclusive of all faculty, staff, students, and alumni to finalize our new vision statement for the Colorado School of Public Health. The result? I am excited to announce the new vision statement is:
“Public Health Elevated. Rising Together for a Healthier Future for All.”
What This Means: We are not just reimagining public health at Colorado School of Public Health; we are leading the charge in public health education, championing health equity, conducting innovative research, and connecting and building partnerships for a healthier future. The vision is about elevating how we advance, teach, research, and deliver public health.
“Rising Together for a Healthier Future for All”
Our Commitment: This line is crucial. It defines us. We believe in a healthier future shared by everyone and we aspire to do all that we can to achieve this goal. We are a community that collaborates across our three campuses, with the communities that we serve, and with public health partners across the state and around the globe to work towards the improvement of health for all people. As a champion of health equity, we address inequities through our research, teaching, and practice, engaging authentically with communities, locally and globally.
Your Involvement: As we move forward with this vision statement, and finalize our mission statement, core values, and strategic objectives for 2024 to 2029, we want your input. We aim to do more than list items that can be checked off in our strategic plan, and to truly elevate the school. Get involved by reaching out to Michelle Kuba, Assistant Dean of Operations.
At this point in time, committees have been formed to explore current issues and barriers and to define how we will define success in several different areas that impact the school:
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Research
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Education
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Identity and Branding
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Advancing EDI (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion)
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Workforce and Practice
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Operations/Funding/Collaboration
If you would like to provide input on any of these areas, please reach out to Michelle. These committees will be meeting over the next few weeks and will provide the fundamental ideas that will shape the strategic plan for the next five years.
The implementation of the strategic plan will be another phase beginning in the fall that will be conducted by even more members of our school community. We look forward to keeping you updated as we charge forward.
Please note, we have created select logos and email signatures with this new tag line, Public Health Elevated, for your use, here.
March 15, 2024