Development of the Strategic Plan

Beginning in Fall of 2021, George Mason University commenced its next round of periodic strategic planning.

As we celebrated our 50th anniversary as an independent institution, it was time to reflect on the university we have become and the direction we should chart for the next 50 years. Dr. Ken Walsh, Professor in Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering and Vice President for Strategic Initiatives/Chief of Staff, led the new strategic planning effort.

The planning processes resulted in the development of an actionable, five-year strategic plan that affirms our vision and mission and solidifies the direction for George Mason through targeted priorities, strategies, and actions. The foundation of this plan was driven by the feedback we received from hundreds of stakeholders, as we aimed to make this an inclusive process that considered diverse perspectives from within and around the Mason community.

To help facilitate this effort, we engaged Attain Partners, a local consulting firm, which worked closely with a Steering Committee, Working Group, and the George Mason community to gather feedback from leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and others to help inform the strategic direction of the university. The plan was also informed by the recommendations report provided by the George Mason Innovation Commission, a group that convened some of the university’s most enterprising faculty, staff and administrators to envision, discuss and recommend strategic possibilities for the direction of the university.

3 phased high level timeline. first phase is developing the plan from february to june 2022, then drafting the implementation roadmap from september to december 2022. An arrow points from this second phase to a note that the BOV approved the plan in december 2022. the third phase says executing the plan and tracking progress, which is from spring 2023 onward.

George Mason University thanks the following members of our community who participated in the strategic planning process.

If you have questions or comments about the Strategic Direction, contact University Business Consulting at ubc@gmu.edu