Strategic Plan Midpoint Update: Progress, Reflection, and Evolution

Dar Baruch Community,

This spring, we came together as a campus community to reflect on the progress of Baruch’s 2023–28 Strategic Plan and to consider the broader changes shaping the future of our students, our institution, and higher education more broadly.

From the beginning of this midpoint review, our purpose was not simply to assess what we have accomplished, but to ask what we are learning. A good strategic plan must provide direction and discipline, but it must also remain responsive to changing conditions, emerging opportunities, and the lived experiences of the community it is meant to serve. That is why this process has been so important.

Through surveys, focus groups, campus conversations, and the Strategic Plan Midpoint Summit, we heard from students, faculty, staff, and leaders across the College. On May 6, we gathered for the Strategic Plan Midpoint Town Hall to mark this milestone, reflect on our shared progress, and look ahead to the next phase of implementation.

Three years into the plan, it is clear that the Strategic Plan continues to provide a strong foundation for our decisions, investments, and priorities. We have made meaningful progress across all four strategic priority areas, and that progress reflects the commitment, creativity, and shared purpose of the Baruch community.

At the same time, the midpoint review surfaced several important themes that will help guide our work going forward. Across many conversations, our community emphasized the need for deeper collaboration, stronger communication and transparency, continued attention to student success, support for excellence in teaching and research, and clearer guidance in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence. We also heard about the importance of improving systems, simplifying processes, strengthening advising and student navigation, and creating more effective structures for shared ownership across the College.

These themes do not alter the direction of our Strategic Plan. They help us refine its implementation and ensure that our next steps reflect what we have learned together. They remind us that implementation is not only about completing initiatives, but also about building the culture, systems, and habits that allow those initiatives to succeed.

In the months ahead, we will develop an addendum to the Strategic Plan that reflects what we have learned from the community at this midpoint. The addendum will identify where we should adjust our approach, clarify areas of renewed focus, and outline new or emerging initiatives that will help us respond to the evolving needs of our students and the College.

We expect to share the addendum with the campus community in Fall 2026 and will hold a town hall to review it, discuss the next phase of implementation, and respond to questions.

In the meantime, I encourage you to continue sharing your questions, reflections, and suggestions by emailing President@baruch.cuny.edu. Your perspectives remain essential as we move from reflection to action.

Thank you for your continued partnership in advancing Baruch’s Strategic Plan and for your commitment to our students. Together, we will continue building a stronger, more connected, and more forward-looking Baruch.

Sincerely,

S. David Wu
President, Baruch College