Strategic Visioning: Designing the Future of L&S Together
In November 2023, the College of Letters and Science (L&S) launched a comprehensive strategic visioning initiative to build on its successes and grow its future impact at UC Davis and beyond. L&S is the largest college at UC Davis, with more than 110 majors and minors, over 900 faculty and 15,000+ students with a declared major in the college. With such a large presence and foundation of excellence, we can take steps now to define what our future will be.
Led by L&S Dean Estella Atekwana and Co-Chair Colin Milburn, this four-phased initiative begins with discovery. We are asking all of our faculty, staff, students, alumni, campus partners and more what we want our future to look like?
- How can L&S provide an education without boundaries for a life with boundless impact?
- What can a leading liberal arts and science college like L&S look like in 5, 10, and even 25 years?
- What sets L&S apart at UC Davis and across higher education?
- How can we meet our challenges together as a College?
We had a tremendous response to our recent Strategic Visioning Survey. With these responses, the Strategic Planning Committee is charting the course for the future, with a mission, vision, strategies and more. Additional feedback will be solicited, with the plan being deployed in Fall 2024.
Send your comments to the Committee
The Future of L&S: Focus Sessions
| 4/25/2024 | 9:00-10:00 | SSH 2203 | Interdisciplinarity and Collaboration While interdisciplinarity is frequently upheld as a positive value and a solution to certain grand challenges, faculty and students often discover constraints in pursuing interdisciplinary research, education, and service activities. How can the College facilitate practical ways of making interdisciplinary teaching (including co-teaching or team-teaching) more feasible? What factors would improve the conditions for interdisciplinary, cross-departmental, and/or cross-college collaborations? |
| 4/25/2024 | 12:10-1:00 | SSH 2203 | Raising the Profile of L&S How might we effectively enhance the visibility and reputation of the College’s research, teaching, and public-service activities, nationally and globally? |
| 4/29/2024 | 9:00-10:00 | MSB 1147 | Educating for the Future How can we better prepare students for careers and enable versatility for the evolving professional landscape? What kinds of skills and knowledge will students need for future job markets—and for adapting to changes in those job markets? How can the College empower our students in all majors for social mobility and professional agility? |
| 4/29/2024 | 10:00-11:00 | MSB 1147 | Enhancing Wellbeing and Resilience among Students How can we make student wellbeing a more central part of college culture? How do we equip students not only for academic success but also for resilience, attending to techniques for dealing with the uncertainties, challenges, and opportunities of a rapidly changing society? |
| 4/29/2024 | 12:10-1:00 | SSH 2203 | Revenue Generation Beyond our existing degree programs and high-impact classes, are there pathways for expanding the College’s capacity for generating revenue? Are there financial opportunities to explore in programs, products, and services related to our areas of distinction and expertise? |
| 4/30/2024 | 9:00-10:00 | SSH 2203 | Learning Beyond the Classroom What are some ways to expand hands-on, practical and applied learning in our curricular offerings and beyond the classroom? How can we provide all of our students with more opportunities to participate in research, skills workshops, laboratory experiences, media and design bootcamps and fieldwork activities without overburdening faculty and staff workloads? How can the College assist students to find internships and other experience-building opportunities? What innovative possibilities might we develop to help our students learn crucial skills and gain professional legibility, both in and out of class? |
| 4/30/2024 | 11:00-12:00 | MSB 1147 | Research Funding Strategies The College is an engine of innovative research. What practical steps can the College take to enhance the capacity of faculty to get grants, small and large? What impediments or disincentives currently exist for pursuing external funding opportunities? What kinds of infrastructure or support would make a meaningful difference for improving the grant-application process? For funding opportunities that require diverse forms of expertise, how can the College help to facilitate collaboration? |
| 5/7/2024 | 3:10-4:00 | SSH 2203 | Supporting Other Departments: Student Success and Equitable Outcomes All students take courses in a variety of different departments during their time at UC Davis, whether to fulfill degree requirements, to complete prerequisites, or to pursue voluntary electives and areas of personal interest. How can L&S departments better serve students in other departments and in other colleges? What factors should be considered when designing courses that meet the rigorous standards of a particular discipline but that also recognize the needs of students pursuing different educational and career goals? How can departments improve student success and equitable outcomes in courses approved for General Education categories or designated as requirements for other majors? Can departments expand their offerings of essential skills-focused courses that students in all fields may need for future professional adaptability? |
| 5/7/2024 | 4:10-5:00 | SSH 2203 | Creating New Programs / Renovating Majors / Redesigning Degrees What new programs—majors, minors, certifications—would help to prepare UC Davis students for the world of tomorrow? How can we help existing programs in L&S to better address the needs and uncertainties of the future? How can we support the growing number of students wanting to pursue double- or triple-majors? How might program structures, curricula, and degree requirements be reconsidered in ways that cultivate depth and expertise while also providing our students with flexibility, portable skills, and resilience to navigate the complexities of a rapidly changing world? |
| 5/8/2024 | 10:00-11:00 | SSH 2203 | Advancing Advising Students regularly identify effective advising as among the most vital elements for a successful college experience. How can the College strengthen our current advising systems, and what near-term or long-term changes might improve our approaches to advising? How can we optimize the efficacy of student advising and provide better support for staff and faculty advisors? |
| 5/8/2024 | 2:10-3:00 | SSH 2203 | Reducing the Administrative Burden What practical steps can we take to improve efficiencies and achieve excellent results in our organizational and operational activities at all levels of the College? How can we reduce the administrative burden? |
| 5/9/2024 | 11:00-1:00 | MSB 1147 | Impacts of AI How can we plan for the impacts of artificial intelligence on teaching, learning, and research? How can we prepare students for a future where AI is ubiquitous? What can we do to be leaders in this rapdily transforming digital landscape? |
| 5/9/2024 | 12:10-1:00 | MSB 1147 | Impacts of AI |
| 5/16/2024 | 9:00-10:00 | SSH 2203 | Space Configurations and Reconfigurations How can the College enable and incentivize faculty and staff to make better, more creative use of space? Can we imagine beneficial alternatives to our current configurations of space for research, teaching, administration, and other college-level functions? Thinking about both physical space and cyberspace, what are the constraints and the opportunities for reconfiguring our working spaces and learning spaces to address the needs of the future? |
- Past Strategic Visioning Faculty Listening Sessions
Date
Time
Location
Group
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
2:00-3:00
MSB 1147
MPS
Friday, March 8, 2024
1:00-2:00
Voorhies
Voorhies Administrative Unit
Friday, March 8, 2024
10:00-11:00
Virtual
MPS
Monday, March 11, 2024
2:00-3:00
Kerr 693
Orange Cluster
Monday, March 11, 2024
3:00-4:00
Kerr 693
Orange Cluster
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
12:00-1:00
MSB 1147
MPS
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
3:30-4:30
Sproul 912
HArCS (Language and Literature)
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
12:00-1:00
Virtual
HArCS (Language and Literature)
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
1:30-2:30
148 Everson
Arts Administrative Group
Friday, March 15, 2024
12:00-1:00
SSH 2203
Blue Cluster
Monday, March 18, 2024
12:00-1:00
SSH 2203
Blue Cluster
Friday, March 22, 2024
10:00-11:00
Virtual
Arts Administrative Group
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
12:00-1:00
Young 166
Yellow Cluster
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
3:00-4:00
Virtual
Hart Interdisciplinary Programs
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
4:00-5:00
Virtual
Hart Interdisciplinary Programs
Friday, April 12, 2024
12:00-1:00
TBD
University Writing Program
Friday, April 19, 2024
12:00-1:00
DSS SSH 1231
Yellow Cluster
Strategic Planning Committee
Estella Atekwana (co-chair)
Dean, College of Letters and Science
Colin Milburn (co-chair)
Professor and Gary Snyder Chair in Science and the Humanities, Department of Science and Technology Studies
Alex Aue, Professor, Department of Statistics
Mark Foncannon, Director of Student Engagement and Success, College of Letters and Science
Annaliese Franz, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Success, College of Letters and Science
Kristin Lagattuta, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology
Jessie Murray, Chief Administrative Officer, Orange Cluster Administration
Sam Nichols, Professor of Teaching and Chair, Department of Music
John Scott, Executive Associate Dean, College of Letters and Science
Akshita Sivakumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Design
Jesús Velázquez, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
Lisa Walsh, L&S Dean’s Advisory Council
Lauren Young, Associate Professor and Placement Director, Department of Political Science
Ed Kiggins (ex-officio), Director of Strategic Communications, College of Letters and Science
Charlene Mattison (ex-officio), Assistant Dean of College Relations and Development, College of Letters and Science
The strategic planning process is led by Jane Harrington, a trusted strategist, executive coach, organization development practitioner, educator and attorney located in Sacramento, California. Possibility, purpose and service guide her work. With experience across industries and sectors — including education, health care, technology, law and government — she guides organizations to achieve their highest aspirations. She is an Aggie, with a J.D. from King Hall. She also holds an M.A. in Organization Development, an M.A. in Education, and a B.A. in Art History and English.
Contact Jane at jharring@ucdavis.edu.