Strategic Planning

Prior to the December 2021 Bennington College Board of Trustees Quarterly Meeting, trustees worked with senior leadership members in 5 sub-committees to explore and define the main elements of the strategic planning process. These committees looked at the following areas: Campaign & Signature Programs; Campus Planning & Enrollment; Hyperconnected Digitized World; Mission, Values, & Core; and Process & Charge. The charge articulated by the Board of Trustees led to the formation of a steering committee that involves representatives of all campus constituencies.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee was convened in February 2022 and received its charge from president Laura Walker. The committee is an 18 person group comprised of college leadership, staff, faculty, student, alumni, and trustee representation. The Committee is chaired by Provost Maurice Hall. The goal of the Steering Committee is to unify and synthesize the strategic proceedings and conversations that have already begun and to develop a framework and priorities that will be the foundation of a strategic plan and financial model to be crafted with senior leadership and the board. The plan, which will be adopted by the Board of Trustees, will:

• Put forth a unifying and shared vision for Bennington’s future, a mission statement and set of values 
• Create a shared understanding of Bennington’s strategic challenges and identify opportunities  that will be inspiring and compelling internally and externally 
• Articulate and evolve our unique model of teaching and learning, examining our commitment to individuated study relative to the collective, as well as the realities, opportunities and challenges of an increasingly technology-driven world
• Identify areas of focus–”signature” areas that will position Bennington to attract students 
• Create a rigorous financial model and an approach to fundraising 

This strategic planning process also gives us the opportunity to: 

• Build trust among the college community by cultivating a transparent, inclusive and joyful planning process and develop tools for self-reflection and analysis and support 
• Develop tools of self-reflection and analysis that support ways of looking inward as a community, outward at the world around us
• Live our commitment to antiracism, continually evaluating what we do and what we stand for through the values of diversity, equity and inclusion
• Embrace a comprehensive approach to mental health and wellness for the whole community, identifying and integrating practices of self-care and care for one another within both curricular and co-curricular experiences on campus

Steering Committee Members

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee is chaired by Provost Maurice Hall, and will serve as an advisory body representative of the diverse perspectives and experiences of constituencies across the college. Committee members have been invited who represent a cross-section of faculty, students, staff, and alumni representation. A diversity of perspectives is an important aspect of the committee’s function and has informed the nominations.  

The first meeting of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee meeting was held on February 24. The committee convenes biweekly. 

Community Engagement 

Critical to this work will be the implementation of an engagement strategy, which will be developed and refined by the steering committee, for all constituents of the college, including students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, trustees, families, and supporters. The committee is charged with overseeing the community engagement strategy’s implementation, as well as with synthesizing and organizing the observations, sentiments, and responses—collectively the community’s output—that will become the articulation of the component parts of our strategic plan, inclusive of a mission statement and values.

Mission & Values Living Room Sessions

In the spring of 2022, “Living Room sessions” were created by the Steering Committee and conceived as a space for all the different stakeholders at Bennington College to come together and contribute to our mission, values, and strategic planning work. Sessions were co-hosted by a steering committee member and different partners across campus. Held at different locations, at different times of day and open to the whole community, the data and feedback from the sessions was used to inform the writing of the Mission Statement & Values.

More than 115 community members participated in one of eight living room sessions, ranging from students, faculty, staff and alumni. Sessions included: 

• Thursday, April 21 | Crossett Library, co-hosted by steering committee member and student, Annika Owenmark ‘25, student Piety Exley ‘22, and Jared Della Rocca, Director for Library Services 
• Monday, April 25 | Virtual, co-hosted by steering committee member and Director of Special Projects, Elio Jahaj ‘18 and faculty member Nicholas Brooke 
• Tuesday, April 26 | Virtual, co-hosted by steering committee member and Dean of Research, Planning and Assessment, Zeke Bernstein and faculty member Amie McClellan  
• Tuesday, April 26 | Virtual, co-hosted by steering committee member and faculty member, Jenny Rohn and Technical Instructor in Visual Arts, John Umphlett 
• Tuesday, April 26 | New York City (alumni) Hosted by Sekka Scher ‘90, Jonathan Marc Sherman ‘90 & Cinnamon Booth ‘93, and co-facilitated by President Laura Walker and Provost Maurice Hall. 
• Thursday, April 28 | Virtual (International community members), co-hosted by steering committee member and student Muhammad Ammar ‘24 and steering committee member and Director of Special Projects, Elio Jahaj ‘18
• Tuesday, May 3 | Virtual (alumni) A second session for alumni was co-hosted and facilitated by strategic planning steering committee member and trustee, Suzanne Brundage ‘08, along with fellow trustee, Gabriela Yadegari ‘21. 
• Wednesday, May 4 | virtual (BIPOC community members) co-hosted by Assistant Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Xiomara Giordano and First-Year Counselor, Sebenele Ndlangamandla ‘21

Mission Statement Drafts Feedback

In mid-May, four draft mission statements written by our own two very talented writers, Dean of the College and Director of the MFA in Public Action, Brian Michael Murphy, and Director of the Bennington Writing Seminars, Mark Wunderlich, were presented for feedback across several sessions with various community constituent groups. Participants were guided through a facilitated conversation to focus on their response to the ideas and concepts presented, not as a line edit. 

As of May 20, more than 110 community members have participated in a mission feedback session, including students, staff, faculty, alumni and trustees. Sessions have included:

• Wednesday, May 11 | The College Steering Committee (CSC)
• Wednesday, May 11 | Senior Staff 
• Wednesday, May 11 | Public Feedback Session I (recording link | passcode: 2i.9yB$J )
• Friday, May 13 | Public Feedback Session II  (recording link | passcode: Xz#@5Oyi )
• Monday, May 16 | Public Feedback Session III (recording link | passcode: 4D.FZwHX)
• Tuesday, May 17 | Trustee Feedback Session 
• Friday, May 20 | Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Summer 2022: Mission Refinement 

Community feedback was incorporated, and the four drafts were refined to two drafts, which were presented at the May 27, 2022 Board of Trustee's meeting. Over June and July, Mark Wunderlich and Brian Michael Murphy embarked on another round of revisions in conversation with Cabinet members to arrive at a singular version of the draft mission statement. Simultaneously, a first version of draft community values was developed. 

On Wednesday, August 3, the board of trustees reviewed a new draft direction of the mission, and on August 25, 2022, a singular draft of the mission was shared with the community and trustees for final feedback. At the same time, a preliminary draft of community values was shared for a first round of feedback from the community. More than 160 members of the community reviewed the mission and the values. 

The mission feedback was reviewed with select members of the strategic planning steering committee, cabinet, senior staff and mission writers, Mark Wunderlich and Brian Michael Murphy. The final version of the mission statement was agreed upon and was submitted to the board for a vote of approval on September 16. The final mission statement was announced and shared to the community in September, and has been updated on our website. It was also determined that the refinement of the shared values will continue into the fall semester. 

OUR MISSION [FINAL]:

Bennington liberates and nurtures the individuality and rigorous creativity of its students, supporting them as they forge their own paths and work toward a world more beautiful, sustainable, democratic, and just.

Core Values Development

On August 25, 2022, a first draft of core values was shared to the community for feedback via electronic survey (accompanying the final draft of the mission as referenced above). In addition, a feedback session with student house chairs was facilitated at the Brick House on September 30, 2022, and values related feedback from one of three staff council + cabinet working groups convened over the month of November 2022 was also obtained and shared. All feedback received was reviewed, summarized and analyzed by members of the strategic planning steering committee, and a second draft of core values was created in January of 2023 with the consensus of the committee. 

As of February 2023, the Draft Core Values were shared to Faculty Executive Committee, Student Council, and Staff Council in advance of the the March 9, 2023 "Our Community Our Vision: A Day Long Conversation About Our Collective Future". 

Community Feedback

On March 9, 2023, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee hosted Our Community Our Vision: A Day Long Conversation About Our Collective Future. The event was a full day of participatory and collective imagining sessions based on the progress to date of the steering committee, and began with a workshop devoted to gaining feedback on our values. More than 200 students, staff, and faculty members participated throughout the day.

Over the month of March and into April, members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee worked to synthesize the feedback given on the values. A working draft has been developed and will be further shared with the community the in fall 2023.   

Goal Development

Additionally, over the summer of 2022, four work groups were appointed, convened, and charged to transform the “four building blocks” president Walker had identified into concrete goals and supporting objectives. The charges o each four building blocks included: 

• Energize the Core: Develop an exciting, bold, and courageous vision for a Bennington education that embodies our mission and values; attracts and retains a community of exceptional students, faculty, and staff; and accelerates successful, purpose-driven lives for our graduates.
• Innovation & Partnerships: Build upon Bennington’s history of innovation by imagining programs and partnerships that are mission aligned and position the College as a leader in the advancement of creativity, pedagogy, sustainability, entrepreneurship, social justice, and public action. 
• The Whole Person: Develop and begin systematic changes to our approach to individual and collective wellbeing and health that center equity and respect for the whole person. Shift and create core practices, structures, and systems to acknowledge and address community health needs, and to support student, staff, and faculty’s right to succeed, flourish, learn, heal, and grow in a healthy environment.
• Storytelling: Advance Bennington College's position as a leader in storytelling by amplifying our existing pedagogical strengths within storytelling, currently embodied in a broad range of legacy and emerging creative practices, and develop strategic investments to support opportunities and foster connections with storytelling at their core. 

Members of each work group have included:

Over the summer and fall of 2022, work groups in tandem with the steering committee convened and refined the four building blocks into six aspirational draft goals with supporting draft objectives that will drive heart of the strategic plan. On Friday, November 4, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee reached consensus and agreement to advance the six draft goals. 

As of February 2023, the draft six goals were shared to the Faculty Executive Committee, Student Council, Staff Council, Cabinet, Senior Staff and Trustees. 

On Thursday, March 9, “Our Community, Our Vision: A Day Long Conversation About Our Collective Future” was held. The event was a full day of participatory and collective imagining sessions based on the progress to date of the steering committee. More than 200 students, staff, and faculty members participated throughout the day. Attendees were engaged in critical conversations in response to the committee's draft values and draft goals, as well as considered together what shared strategies and priorities will accelerate our progress towards a thriving tomorrow.  

Next Steps

Finally, a core group of steering committee members have worked to synthesize the feedback received on March 9, and have developed a draft strategic plan complete with draft values that is currently being reviewed by cabinet members. It will then be shared more broadly to shared governance constituents and trustees in the fall. Work is beginning way to develop a robust costing and prioritization strategy for the priorities of the plan. The final plan will be comprised of the following component parts: (a) finalized mission statement; (b) shared values; (c) aspirational goals; (d) concrete and actionable strategies; and (e) a newly developed dynamic decisioning framework & tool that will assist the College in “living” the strategic plan through a model of continuous improvement.