Chancellor Reaves
Trained as an academic, I am focused squarely and keenly on the academic success of our students and this university. The Strategic Plan that we recently shared with all faculty and staff certainly reflects my strong commitment to the core academic missions of this university, which are teaching and research. For the next five years, the Plan will direct our efforts and resources toward supporting WSSU’s highest priority of providing the best possible education for our students.
First and foremost, the Strategic Plan is designed to retain and graduate our students in greater numbers. That is the business that we are in, and why the university exists – to produce college graduates. The Strategic Plan is also designed to improve post-graduation outcomes for our students by better preparing them to compete in the 21st century’s global economy.
At the heart and center of the Plan is the effort to reform our curriculum, which has not undergone a serious review or revision in more than 50 years. Currently, we are trying to teach the students of the 21st century using 20th century methods.
For example, we ask 17 year-old students when they arrive on campus what they want to be and we require them to declare a major. We then force them into classes and onto a career path before they have a chance to expand their minds, to learn how to learn, and before they have the information needed to make informed decisions about their futures. We should not expect students to know exactly what it is that they want to do by the time they enter college, instead, we should expect them to be prepared to do whatever they want to do by the time they leave college. Our goal is to be sure that they leave Winston-Salem State with a well-rounded educational experience – an experience that will prepare them to be successful in their field of choice.
What we try to teach too soon is subject matter, as opposed to teaching our students how to think. If they develop critical and analytical thinking skills, while improving their ability to communicate, to speak and to write, they will be better prepared for career options that will certainly change over their years in the workforce.
Recently, I addressed a group of students and explained to them the importance of mastering what are considered the “soft” skills. I told them that I am sure they realize that the knowledge they may need to be successful five years from now may not exist today. That is how rapidly change comes in today’s environment.
Our students understand change. They deal with it, for example, as they constantly update their electronic technology and change the ways that they communicate. They also understand the need to keep pace with changes in the way that students are educated. They know that the world around them is in constant flux. and if they are to compete for the best jobs and for slots in the best graduate and professional schools, that their education must reflect the latest ways of thinking and learning about the world.
That’s what the Strategic Plan is truly all about – guiding Winston-Salem State University in its efforts to be an institution of higher education that is relevant in the 21st century.
We are excited about this Plan and I know that some of the faculty are excited as well. This new direction will enable our educators to sharpen their skills and to teach new courses that are tied more directly to their research because, as every academic knows, good research informs good teaching.
For some, as is always the case, change will be difficult, and it will come more slowly. I understand that. There are, however, goals and strategies in the Plan that will require the support of everyone on the campus – and that includes the faculty, staff and students. Successful implementation of the Plan will require that we all assume responsibility for the success of our students.
