Systemic Resilience: COTA Meta-Strategy, 2021-2025

Planning

Process

During the 2019-2020 academic year, the UF College of the Arts crafted a new strategic plan, one which concludes with the college’s 50th anniversary. Using inclusive and iterative processes that engage the entire college, the Meta-Strategy positions the College of the Arts as a creative catalyst, able to respond to—and drive—society’s rapidly changing contexts.

Pillars

The College of the Arts Meta-Strategy is divided into six pillars. 

  1. Access, Equity, and Inclusion as Functional Catalysts
  2. Adaptive and Distinctive Curricula
  3. Shared Governance
  4. Student Experience Lifecycle
  5. Research and Creative Work
  6. Resource Cultivation and Allocation

Themes

Discussions on the themes are intended to surface threads of values or overarching ideas that guide all of the Meta-Strategy pillars. 

  1. Students First
  2. Cultivating New Knowledge in the World
  3. Foregrounding Public Impact
  4. Data-Informed Decision-Making and Building Efficient, Adaptive Systems
  5. A Commitment to Continual Transformation toward Justice and Equity
  6. Defining and Redefining Excellence

Working Groups

Six working groups compile a current state analysis and future recommendations for each of the Meta-Strategy pillars in Fall 2019 by hosting town halls and meeting with constituents across the college. The working groups' efforts inform the writing of the Meta-Strategy in the Spring 2020 semester.

Working groups consist of five members:

  • 1 chair
  • 2 faculty outside discipline of chair
  • 1 staff member
  • 1 student
Working Group Members

Pillar One:  Access, Equity, and Inclusion as Functional Catalysts 
Oṣubi Craig, chair
Trent D. Williams, Jr.
Megan Sheridan
Carlos Cordero
Wildlin Pierrevil

Pillar Two: Adaptive and Distinctive Curricula 
Peter Carpenter, chair
Laura Dallman
Jenny Lee
Chuck Pickeral
Amy Lao 

Pillar Three: Shared Governance 
Lynn Tomaszewski, chair
Jay Watkins
Jennifer Setlow
Barb Mitola
Emily Theobald 

Pillar Four: Student Experience Lifecycle
Kevin Orr, chair
Matt Morgan
Phillip Herr-Klepacki
Layne Thue-Bludworth
Matthew Limerick 

Pillar Five: Research and Creative Work 
Jill Sonke, chair
Moe Beitiks
Angelos Barmpoutis
MarQuelle Rawls
Kimberly Thomas 

Pillar Six: Resource Cultivation and Allocation 
James Oliverio, chair
Jemmie Robertson
Isa Garcia-Rose
Lula Dawit
Cassandra Urbenz 

Provocateurs

Provocateurs are a resource to help the college integrate and foreground the themes discussed at the Fall Symposium into the Meta-Strategy process. Provocateurs interpret and integrate these themes into the town halls, working group meetings, report outs, and other appropriate conversations. 

Provocateurs

Dionne Champion
Marshall Haning
Chris Kozak
Porchia Moore
Anthony Offerle
Colleen Rua

Fall Symposium

The College of the Arts Fall Symposium is a gathering to generate, refine, challenge, and inspire our collective thinking about what we do. It is a place to center the voices, experiences and perspectives of faculty and staff; and to connect our conversations to those going on about the academy both within and beyond our institution. At our symposium, we work together to identify relevant universal themes to focus the Meta-Strategy process.

Town Halls

These convenings are opportunities for college faculty, staff, and students to discuss the pillars of our Meta-Strategy to help inform the working groups in creating their current state and future state analyses. Each working group hosts a one-hour session of a town hall to facilitate conversation about their assigned pillar. 

Community Report Out

At the conclusion of the Fall 2019 semester, the six working groups present their compiled current state and future state analyses of their respective pillars to the college. These findings and recommendations inform the writing group's work in Spring 2020.

Writing Group

Charged with developing a written and actionable plan, the writing group utilizes the data and recommendations from the Fall 2019 semester to create drafts of the Meta-Strategy. The faculty and staff of the college review two drafts of this document to offer edits and feedback before it is formalized by the Dean's Office. 

Writing Group Members

Kevin Orr, chair
Aaron Karlson
Barb Mitola
Colleen Rua
Jay Watkins
Jenny Lee
Megan Moe Beitiks, provocateur
Porchia Moore, provocateur 
Sergio Vega