Goal: Build our capacity to deliver on our mission

Strategic Rationale

Our capacity to deliver on our mission relies on a sustainable strategic approach to managing our operational and financial resources as well as on maintaining enrollment at capacity while managing the tuition discount to sustainable levels.

The commitment, creativity and energy of all our staff will set the tone and drive the pace of implementation. We embrace the importance of developing a supportive, high-performance culture, characterized by the confidence, optimism, pride and enthusiasm of all who work at the College at every level.

In an increasingly demanding environment, we must also ensure that the College achieves the financial capacity to sustain and fund the core instructional mission of the college; faculty‐led curricular innovations; the accessibility goals of our student recruiting efforts, and the upgrade of our facilities. As Sarah Lawrence moves to establish a sustainable economic and operational foundation, we have set as one of our highest priorities a return to a policy of annual increases at or above inflation beginning in 2011-12. The College is also strongly committed to improving faculty and staff compensation, with the goal of bringing compensation to the median of our peer institutions, taking into consideration the cost of living in the New York metropolitan area, by the year 2020. Generating the resources needed to support this will be dependent on the success of the planned capital campaign. Alongside our ambition to increase our fundraising and revenue generation capacity, we are equally committed to managing our cost base, and making most efficient use of space and other resources. We will seek out organizational and structural changes that enhance our capacity to deliver on our mission even as they reduce expenses.

Strategic Priorities

• Foster an effective, professional and diverse working environment and ensure support for and recognition of staff contributions to our mission.
  • Engage faculty and staff in SLC strategy and values
  • Streamline internal communications and policies
  • Create professional training and career development opportunities for staff
  • Leverage the professional skill sets of staff by encouraging cross-training of staff whenever possible
  • Improve staff-faculty communication through shared participation in governance and college planning activities
  • Celebrate staff’s contributions to the development of SLC; create opportunities to build staff espirit d’corps.

• Establish a sustainable economic and operational foundation for our future
  • Upgrade annual fundraising capacity
  • Achieve financial aid balance
  • Add new revenue sources
  • Develop new graduate, undergraduate and non-credit programs
  • Improve space utilization
  • Launch Capital Campaign
  • Re-engage alums through strong alumni networks
  • Embed sustainability principles into all college operations