Our strategic plan outlines our goals, categorized into six aims, which we will act upon to achieve our vision.
At the close of every academic year, the plan will be reviewed. Updates will be posted at the start of each fall semester. The N2025 Strategic Plan provides the broad organizing framework for our goals.
Strategic Plan
The strategies, expectations, and metrics for each goal, and a timeline for completing them, are included.
Progress will be shown using these symbols:
Yearly Reports
“I am pleased to share this year’s progress report on the college’s Strategic Plan. After the second full year of coordinated activity within and across every unit in the college, we have much to be proud of.
“I encourage you to review this report and learn more about the outstanding progress we are making in the College of Arts and Sciences.”
Dean Mark Button
Aims and Timelines
Promoting the Liberal Arts and Sciences, Life-Long Learning, and Student Success
Ellie Woody, Spanish and political science.
- We will promote, innovate, and ensure widespread access to the transformative value of a comprehensive and integrated liberal arts and sciences education.
- We will be a national leader in experiential and life-long learning opportunities.
- We will improve the time to degree for all students and reduce the graduation achievement gap for underrepresented, low income, and first-generation students.
Research and Creative Activity with Impact
- We will be a recognized national and global leader in science, humanistic inquiry, and creative activities that advance new knowledge, enrich our understanding, and address complex problems to improve lives.
- We will strategically enhance graduate student education and training to increase the impact of our research, scholarship, and creative activity.
Adam Houston, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
Research to Solve Local and Global Challenges
Catherine Eichhorn, Department of Chemistry.
- We will leverage existing areas of research and creative strength to address some of today’s most pressing challenges, including but not limited to: systemic racism and inequity, climate change and resilience, national and global health disparities, global peace and human rights, and quantum materials and technologies.
Broadening Community Engagement with the Liberal Arts and Sciences
- We will enhance the land-grant mission of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln by expanding our partnerships with local, national, and international organizations and businesses, broadening our alumni networks for student career success, and utilizing our scientific expertise and creative achievements to enrich the lives of all Nebraskans.
Campus and community.
Leading in Inclusive Excellence and Diversity
Alice Kang, Department of Political Science and Institute for Ethnic Studies.
- We will enact and sustain a culture that respects and honors the dignity of all.
- We will be a leader in inclusive excellence through the recruitment, retention, and advancement of diverse faculty, staff, and students.
- We will invest in education, research, and creative works that address forms of injustice, oppression, and marginalization, including systemic racism, sexism, and heterosexism.
- We will be a leader in inclusive excellence through the development of curricular and co-curricular innovations and collaborative community partnerships.
Investing in Leadership and Professional Growth
- We will build and sustain a culture that promotes participation and professional development for everyone in the college – faculty, staff, and students.
- We will ensure CAS is a place where student, staff, and faculty satisfaction makes people want to learn, work, and grow.
Participants at the All-Staff Conference.
Our Details and Drafts page is dedicated to chronicling the development of the strategic plan, which started in 2019. The drafts, participants, and activities surrounding each draft are outlined.