Go Out and See What You Can Find

It seems that a large part of my internship with the President's office has fallen into two main categories: talking with people and reading. For those of you who know me, you can probably surmise that I am thoroughly enjoying myself because I enjoy doing both of those things.

In the increasing theme of my own smallness, I am beginning to learn about the concept of long-term planning. I don't think that many students realize the extent of long-term planning that the University has become involved in through the years. The progams and initiatives that we are currently involved in at ACU were laid out in the Centennial Vision statement which was announced in 1998. So, before any of us went to school here, the University had already decided to pursue programs that would benefit us and consequently benefit the University.

The University is currently in the process of crafting what they are calling the VISTA document. (The name is drawn from a poem in Walt Whitman's classic collection "Leaves of Grass") The VISTA document is the University's vision statement as the University begins its second century and points toward 2016. This date is only significant because it is 10 years after the current vision statement reaches its terminus.

I have said all of that to say this, I am trying to find out how I can work best in a system that values long-term planning and visioneering, while also serving the needs of a constituency that has a much shorter expected time table for results. How do I share the information about the University's long-term plans and how the efforts of S.A. integrate with what the University is seeking to do down the road with a student body that views the University from a 4-5 year perspective? I guess these concerns and questions are the issues that I must learn to deal with in order to be effective. That is why I am in Abilene all summer, because once Welcome Week hits, I will be thrown into the ring, and the foundation for who we are and what we will be about must be laid. Otherwise, looking for success is a chasing after the wind.