Guiding Principles

Inclusive and Collaborative 

Input from faculty and staff is critical in our pursuit of Hopes & Aspirations High. The presidential commissions, work groups and task forces have been intentional in soliciting input through a myriad of methods, including focus groups, surveys, and meetings with leaders who represent staff and faculty groups. Later this spring, we'll share additional ways faculty and staff can contribute ideas that address our goals.

Strategic Planning

Initiatives and actions related to achieving the Hopes & Aspirations High vision support TXST's mission and complement the university's strategic plan and planning process. Hopes & Aspirations High will inform the strategic planning process to fuel TXST's continued growth as a "student-centered research institution dedicated to excellence, equity, inclusion, and innovation."

Bold and Transformative

Achieving our goals will likely require necessary, respectful disruption to the status quo as we seek out new and different opportunities, such as international student recruitment and online degrees. Our ambitious aspirations require us to unite behind a shared vision and take bold action to bring that vision to life.

Phased and Incremental

Our transformation will not happen overnight. It will occur in phases, wherein we assess our environment, identify unmet needs, and work to meet those needs. To execute significant initiatives or complex changes approved by Cabinet, we may form implementation or tactical teams to follow the work of the commissions and task forces.

Transparent and Candid

My commitment as president is to remain accessible, communicative, and candid. I'll share regular updates with faculty and staff by email about the progress we're making, as well as publish outcomes from the work groups, commissions, and task forces online.

Data Driven and Evidence Based

Our faculty and staff have been intentional and thorough in gathering and analyzing data related to our goals. Key recommendations from the work groups have included benchmarking TXST’s previous and current programming and metrics, as well as how TXST compares to peer and aspirant institutions. Early recommendations approved by Cabinet are supported by data that demonstrate the efficacy of each proposal.

Interconnected Goals Dismantle Silos

Achieving success in one goal feeds growth in the others. For example, increasing enrollment generates revenue needed to expand retention initiatives, student services, and staffing levels. Achieving R1 will not only improve student success outcomes, it will bring more resources to TXST, attract high quality students, expand degree offerings, and make our graduates more competitive in the job market. Pursuing our goals in silos ignores how interconnected our goals are and drastically limits our potential. It will take a coordinated, university-wide effort.

Do "More with More" in Some Areas, and Less in Others

Doing “more with more” (as I shared at Convocation) is essential to catapult TXST to the NEXT level in our teaching and research mission. Most of the improvements we strive to make require significant funding, so achieving “more with more” requires us to have more revenue and resources, but it also requires us to have less of other things like expenses, redundancies, duplications, and outdated programs and services.