As our schools consider the future of their academic programs, they will need to make decisions about how to invest in a disciplined and purposeful manner. A strategic process, one informed by objective data and sound analysis and premised on transparency and participation, should determine academic priorities. And the priorities that emerge from that process should guide budgetary and organizational decision making, not the other way around.

Since the Ten by Twenty was introduced, our university has made new academic commitments in a range of strategic areas, many of which are detailed in the Snapshots you will find along the side. For each of these commitments, and for future ones, the tests to which we should hold ourselves continue to be: Have we placed a premium on faculty leadership in strategic decision making? Have we employed an inclusive approach that comprises a multitude of voices? And, have we embraced assessment and data to inform our decisions, in order to make the smartest choices about where to direct our academic resources and energies in the face of funding challenges?