Fr. Spitzer's Operational Plan

Bringing Gonzaga’s Strategic Plan to life

By Father Robert J. Spitzer, S.J.

I will begin by briefly reviewing the seven goals of our Strategic Plan and then address the Operational Plan which will make these goals a reality.

The seven goals of our Strategic Plan:
To commit every area of the University to the reflective engagement of her Jesuit, Catholic, and humanistic Mission.
To educate and transform quality students in an enriched academic environment.
To deepen the engagement of the entire university in the development of the whole person.
To increase diversity and affirm the value of human difference.
To develop men and women for a more just and humane global community.
To secure the financial future of the University.
To foster the tradition of lifelong relationships with alumni, our friends, and the broader community.

In my year-opening presentation to the faculty, I spoke about a proposal for how the University could operationalize these seven goals. To this end the administration has identified five sources of revenue for the five parts of our Operational Plan. I will take each in turn:

Operational Funds for Perpetual Expenses for Quality Improvement (e.g., salaries)
The administration has developed precise algorithms to determine the revenue base from growth and other areas to support these initiatives. Some of the major, immediate priorities entail increases in: adjunct faculty salaries; tenure faculty, particularly for core courses; staff for advising; faculty development (particularly for participation in professional societies and scholarship); Career Development office and Gonzaga Alumni Mentoring Program; diversity student retention program; recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff; academic service-learning; expanded language offerings; residence hall chaplains program; and improvement, renewal, and replacement of instructional equipment.

Operational Funds for One-time Expenses for Quality Improvements
Much of this category is devoted to improvements in technology and equipment. Some of our chief priorities are software for document imaging across the University, University Relations reporting software, and Future Perfect budgeting and forecasting software (all of which are currently being installed); self-service tools; website reconstruction; a data warehouse; a University-wide portal; and a disaster recovery system. Other non-technology items include new specialized equipment for biology, chemistry, and physics labs, and equipment to facilitate environmental improvements, utility savings, and other green initiatives.

Campaign Gifts Designated for New Facilities
As I noted in my last column, we anticipate building five new facilities in the next four years. These will be funded mostly by campaign gifts: (a) a new freshman residence hall (south of Catherine Monica) for 340 students (Phase I already under construction – to be completed in September 2009) and two wings on the same facility for 166 students each – totaling 332 students (Phase II – to be initiated in 2010 and completed in September of 2011); (b) a new student center on the site of the COG, the parking lot behind the COG, and two lots north of the COG; it will be 160,000 square feet including a 750 seat auditorium for general use and concert hall (25% larger than College Hall and four times bigger than the current COG); architectural design will begin after January 2009; (c) a four-level parking garage which will have a large retail outlet facing Hamilton Street (with products for students and others – coffee shop, drug store, computer store, etc.); design has been completed and construction will likely begin early in 2009; (d) a new 20,000 square foot science building (to the south of the Hughes building); it will have additional undergraduate and research labs, and offices for increased faculty (design will begin immediately after our on-going fundraising effort is complete); (e) a tennis and golf facility on the site of the Legacy Fields (behind the Academy Retirement Center); construction will begin immediately after fundraising is complete. Additionally, a new academic building (on the site of the Knights of Columbus Hall on Boone Avenue) is planned for 2015.

Campaign Gifts and Market Returns for Scholarship Endowment
Currently the University has approximately $90 million available for scholarship endowments (our total endowment is $154 million). In order to meet the demands for merit and need-based scholarships arising out of the declining college-age population and its changing demographic, we believe we need to move our scholarship endowment figure from $90 million to $330 million. We hope to raise over $150 million in scholarship funds over a nine-year period from our upcoming endowment campaign (from cash pledges, gifts of restricted stock, planned gifts, lead trusts, Unitrusts, pledged income from unrelated businesses, real estate gifts, remainder interests in insurance policies, etc.). Additionally, we anticipate that our market returns on investments (after five percent annual spending) will yield approximately $90 million to our scholarship endowment over the next nine years. Our Investment Committee’s performance justifies this. This will assure that Gonzaga will remain highly competitive and that our education will be available to students within the changing demographic.

Campaign Gifts for Non-Capital and Non-Scholarship Endowments
 Several of you have expressed an interest in endowing our academic, mission, and student life programs. We tried to match the University’s needs with your interests and came up with 10 major categories of non-scholarship endowments each of which had several priorities: (a) Faculty Development and Enrichment – priorities are faculty research, faculty professional development, and law research; (b) Professorships and Chairs –  two professorships each for the College of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering and Law; (c) Academic Centers – priorities are teaching and advising, global engagement, undergrad leadership, Catholic secondary education, commercial law, engineering design and center on aging; (d) Programmatic Endowments – priorities are Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, graduate scholarships/fellowships, Core Curriculum/integration projects, Honors Program, Magis Program, endowment for Law Clinic/law and justice, Native American Indian Law education, general college program, library collections resources and Summer robotics institute; (e) Faculty Recruitment and Retention – priorities are start-up research funds, hiring bonuses, and diversity hiring; (f) Undergraduate Research – priorities are McDonald Work Award Grant enhancement, endowments for undergraduate research in natural science, social science, and engineering; (g) Jesuit Catholic Intellectual – priorities are professor of Jesuit intellectual tradition, Jesuit research professor, and Catholic studies professor; (h) Mission – priorities are endowments for University Ministry (particularly retreat programs), service programs, ethics programs, Native studies, and Law mission fund; (i) Student Life – priorities are diversity retention initiatives, Ignatian spirituality initiatives, healthy and safe community, outdoor programs and environmental stewardship, and center for mind, body, and spirit; and (j) Technology – priorities are student technology and technology center.

As you can see, Gonzaga looks forward to an incredibly bright future. The successful implementation of this Operational Plan will not only assure our academic quality and financial stability, but also will leverage all of our educational, mission, and student life strengths to their optimal level. Thank you so very much for all you have done and all you will do in the future. Our students are the true beneficiaries.