December 7, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

To address the University of Montana’s need for ongoing strategic planning and disciplined implementation, I am realigning existing staff to form an Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation (OSPI) for our University. The office will report to me.

Unlike other institutions, UM historically has lacked a dedicated office focused on continuous strategy development, ongoing strategic enrollment planning and action-oriented implementation of our campus’s good ideas.

Despite this, we have made significant progress over the past several years in focusing our campus’s efforts around our five Priorities for Action (PFAs) and moving from a mindset of ideation to one of focused execution. Our gains in enrollment, retention, research and other areas are a direct result of these efforts.

Additionally, the University Design Team’s outstanding work over the course of the past academic year resulted in a compelling vision for what a flagship for the future should look like, as well as a set of exciting strategic initiatives to help move us toward that aspirational vision. We have incorporated those ideas into our PFAs, and the Strategic Enrollment Planning process currently underway is helping to ensure we implement many of these ideas.

However, strategic thinking and implementation must be ongoing, and to fully realize our vision, we must embrace the hard, day-to-day work necessary to translate opportunities and ideas into reality. This is why we are establishing the Office of Strategic Planning and Implementation. In short, OSPI will ensure a consistent and transparent operating rhythm for our planning, budgeting, assessment and implementation efforts. Because an enrollment lens is so vital to the health of UM, our ongoing strategic enrollment planning also will nest under OSPI. Critically, this office will hold accountable leaders across the institution as we execute on our priorities and transparently communicate progress.

This office will be co-led by two existing executive team members – Mary Kreta and Kelly Webster – whose roles will be expanded. Mary will be promoted to Vice President for Enrollment Management and Strategic Initiatives. Mary’s responsibilities are expanding significantly to include strategic enrollment planning, a universitywide effort to adapt our academic portfolio, recruitment methods and student support practices to create sustainable enrollment growth. Additionally, she has assumed responsibility for our military outreach and support efforts.

We will also expand Kelly’s role, promoting her to Chief of Staff and Associate Vice President for Strategic Planning and Implementation. Her current role will grow to include responsibilities for the day-to-day operations of OSPI, which will include leading a small team dedicated to coordinating UM’s efforts to generate, vet and prioritize mission-aligned ideas; to translate those ideas into action; to monitor progress on key initiatives; and to create layers of accountability.

The OSPI team and office structure will be defined and announced in the coming weeks. The UM community deserves leaders who understand that vision is empty without attentive, tireless support for and partnership with those tasked with making that vision a reality. In Mary and Kelly, we have leaders of tremendous capability, character and commitment to this University’s success. I am grateful for their leadership and excited about the path ahead for this team.

Seth