Our Collaborative Planning Process

UM-Flint engaged in an inclusive, collaborative strategic planning process during the 2025-2026 academic year. The process was designed to:

  • Articulate a clear vision and direction for the university, ensuring that strategic priorities and long-term goals are broadly understood and actionable.
  • Foster inclusive engagement among campus and community stakeholders, incorporating diverse perspectives and building broad-based support.
  • Align university aspirations and strategies with changing demographics, evolving funding landscapes, and the shifting needs and expectations of students.  

Steering Committee

The strategic planning process was designed and implemented by the strategic planning steering committee. Members were selected to represent UM-Flint’s major operational divisions, shared governance groups, five academic units, and the student voice.

Co-Chairs

  • Abby Parrill-Baker, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
  • Melissa Sreckovic, Associate Professor of Education, Director of the Honors Program

Committee Members

  • Christy Brownell, Budget Analyst Lead
  • Chelsea Duncan, Chief of Staff
  • Gabriela Hristova, Chair of Faculty Senate Council and Associate Professor of Music
  • Julie Hollenbeck, Assistant Director of Radiation Therapy and Clinical Assistant Professor of Public Health and Health Sciences
  • Robb King, Director of Marketing and Communications
  • Christopher Lewis, Chair of Staff Council and Director of Graduate Programs
  • Mary Linton, Director of Academic Programs and Associate Professor of Nursing
  • David Luke, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Access and Opportunity and Adjunct Research Assistant Professor, Sociology, Anthropology and Criminal Justice
  • Priscilla Mac-Kittah, Graduate Student in Biology and Student Government representative
  • Chris Pearson, Dean of the College of Innovation and Technology
  • Joe Vainner, Director of University Admissions
  • Alex Xu, Professor of Marketing

Data Team

The data team conducted the internal and external environmental scan that helped define UM-Flint’s planning context. The internal environmental scan examined data related to enrollment trends, student satisfaction, student success, research activity, personnel trends, development activity, and the university’s financial position. The external environmental scan explored broader factors influencing the university, including demographic trends in Michigan, international program demand and policy impacts, state and federal higher education priorities, and regional workforce needs.

Co-Chairs

  • Jon Davidson, Solution Architect Lead
  • Zachariah Mathew, Director for Global Engagement and Senior International Officer

Team Members

  • Mohammad Alaiwat, BI Analyst Senior
  • Jerry Alexander, Student Affairs Program Manager
  • Ryan Craven, Architect Senior
  • Joanne DeVore, Research Administrator Senior
  • Tonja Lucas, Senior HR Business Partner
  • Monica Panik, Development Data Manager
  • Troy Rosencrants, Program Manager and Adjunct Lecturer in Geospatial Science

Stakeholder Engagements

Broad stakeholder engagement was central to UM-Flint’s strategic planning process. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners were invited to contribute perspectives through surveys, listening sessions, affinity mapping activities, and goal-setting discussions.

Mission/Vision/Values Surveys

The strategic planning process began in Fall 2025 with a review of UM-Flint’s mission and vision statements to assess whether they continue to reflect who we are today and the role we aspire to play in the region. This initial phase also included developing a set of institutional values to guide how we advance our mission and work toward our shared vision.

To ensure broad participation, initial and follow-up surveys were distributed to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and a wide range of community stakeholders. More than 600 survey responses affirmed that UM-Flint’s mission statement continues to reflect the university’s identity and purpose. The feedback also helped shape a new vision for our future and define the institutional values that will guide UM-Flint’s work moving forward.

Strategic Planning Process Feedback

In late December 2025, two listening sessions were held to gather campus input on the strategic planning process. These sessions provided a synchronous opportunity for stakeholders to share feedback on the process design and suggest ways to strengthen engagement and participation that complemented the web-based anonymous feedback form.

Affinity Mapping Engagements

In February 2026, UM-Flint hosted three in-person and three remote synchronous affinity mapping sessions that engaged more than 100 stakeholders. Participants identified common themes based on individual brainstorming around three guiding questions:  

  • What are we doing well?
  • What should we change, improve or stop?
  • What should we begin doing?

The themes that emerged from these sessions helped inform the development of candidate goals for the strategic plan.

Goal-Setting Engagements

In early April 2026, campus stakeholders were surveyed to collect feedback on 22 candidate goals that were inspired by the new UM-Flint vision and informed by input collected during the February engagement sessions.

Later that month, stakeholders participated in person or virtually in an open forum discussion to guide further refinements of the seven draft goals that emerged from the initial set of 22 candidate goals.  This iterative process ensured that the final goals reflected community input, institutional priorities, and UM-Flint’s aspirations for the future.

Future Engagement Opportunities

BLUEprint 2031:  Accelerating Growth, Achieving Preeminence will launch in Fall 2026. To support its successful implementation, an implementation and monitoring committee will be appointed to guide an inclusive and transparent process.  

This next phase will include opportunities for campus units to develop unit-level strategic plans, goals, or action plans that align with UM-Flint’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities. Through this continued engagement, each unit will help translate the university-wide plan into meaningful action and contribute to UM-Flint’s shared progress over the next five years.