
Opportunities to Engage

Listening Sessions
Throughout the process, MBU will engage a wide variety of stakeholders in listening sessions to get feedback about the future of Mary Baldwin.
Questions from Previous Listening Sessions
- What is your vision for Mary Baldwin’s position in higher education in 2035? What should we be known for?
- What are the most important things we need to do in the next 5 years to reach that position/vision?
- How will the undergraduate, graduate, and online populations change over the next ten years? How can we attract, retain, and support those students?
- How do we enhance the well-being, professional development, and work environment for all faculty and staff at MBU?
- What revenue streams, grants, and partnerships should be considered to advance the University over the next decade?
Engaging as a Department/Division
In addition to listening sessions, faculty/staff can invite Cameron Shirley or other members of the Strategic Planning Committee to facilitate a small group session with individual divisions or departments. You may also want to facilitate these sessions internally. Below are a few exercises that you can do within your areas. Please share feedback via email with Cameron Shirley at cmshirley@marybaldwin.edu.
If you would like to share individual feedback with the strategic planning committee outside of listening sessions, please complete the Mary Baldwin 2035 Strategic Planning Feedback Form.

Optional Exercises For Institutional Planning
The following optional exercises can be completed by individual departments, programs, or units. Strategic planning committee members can also facilitate exercises with your group.
A. Discussion Prompts
- Case Scenario: If A Competitor College Or University Were To Move To Augusta County, What Might That Institution Look Like? How Might Such A Competitor Structure Their Institution To Best Compete With Mary Baldwin?
- Imagining MBU: If You Were Tasked With Designing A Brand New Mary Baldwin University, From The Ground Up . . .
- What Kind Of Institution Would You Design?
- What Values Or Priorities Would You Ensure Undergirded The Institution?
- What Would You Include From The Current University? What Would You Change?
- How Would You Design Change If You Were Functioning With A Restrictive Budget?
- How Would You Prepare For Emerging Trends And Threats To Higher Education?
- Headlines: Mary Baldwin In The News In 2050
- If Mary Baldwin Was In The News In 2030, What Would You Hope The Headline(S) Would Read? Dream Big.
- How About 2040? 2050?
- In Order To Achieve Such Headlines In 2030, 2040, Or 2050, What Might The University Need To Be Doing To Prepare?
- Share Your Headlines With The Group. Which Headlines Are Most Interesting Or Surprising? Why?
- Mary Baldwin In 2030, 2050, And 2075: What Do You Imagine Mary Baldwin Or Your Department Will Look Like In 2030?
- What Will Be The Primary Goals?
- What Will Be Markers Of Success?
- How Will Work Be Organized Or Prioritized?
- What Do You Hope Will Be Stay The Same As Today?
- What Do You Hope Will Change Or Evolve?
- What About In 2050? What About In 2075?
- Professional Development:
- What Would Most Improve Your Experience As A Faculty Or Staff Member?
- What Would Most Enhance Your Professional Development As A Faculty Or Staff Member?
- How Can We Better Meet The Needs Of The Multiple Generations Working At Mary Baldwin, And How Can We Help Those Generations To Work Well Together?
- What Additional Benefits Would Be Worth Considering For Faculty And Staff? If New Benefits Could Only Be Added By Trading Off With Existing Benefits, What Current Benefits Would You Consider Trading Away?
B. Start – Stop – Continue
Effectively balancing all the initiatives and priorities of a university is an evolving process. This simple exercise to evaluate progress, effectiveness, and changing priorities can provide a fresh perspective on the vision for the future.
ImportantNote: While it is easy to become focused on specific actions or tasks, this exercise is designed for thinking about higher level departmental initiatives or goals. At these early stages of the strategic planning process, thinking “at the 30,000 foot level” about larger goals and vision is most productive
- Set up three marker boards or flip charts (start, stop, and continue). participants take 5-10 minutes to brainstorm and then write their ideas on marker boards or flip charts to answer the following questions.
Start
What Should We Start Doing?
List Initiatives Or Ideas That:
- The Department Or University Is Not Doing, But You Think Should Be Done.
- New Ideas That Have Or Have Not Been Considered Before.
- Ideas To Address Emerging Trends, Achieve Important Outcomes, Or Improve Results.
Stop
What Should We Stop Doing?
List Initiatives Or Ideas That:
- Are Not Working Or Achieving Desired Outcomes For The Department Or University.
- No Longer Align With Departmental Or University Mission Or Goals.
- Are No Longer Effective Or Valued.
Continue
What Should We Continue Doing?
List Initiatives Or Ideas That:
- Are Working Well For The Department Or University.
- Are Successful Or Effective.
- Align Well With Mission And Values Of The Department Or University
2. Each participant receives three sticky dots and votes by placing their dots next to the ideas they like best on the flip charts. they can put all three dots on one idea or distribute their dots on three different ideas.
3. Discuss which ideas receive the most and least votes. consider, as a group, the ideas with the most votes, the implications of those ideas for the next strategic plan, and how to proceed with those ideas.
Please fill out our planning key ideas form here (password required):