Gustavus Acts 2.0Strategic Plan

Since 2015, the Gustavus community has been looking forward, dreaming big, and thinking strategically. Our overall aim has always been clear—to preserve and advance the excellence of the educational experience we offer our students. We seek to provide Gustavus students with a liberal arts education that develops global citizens.

During the past five years we saw major successes, fueled by support from you—our alumni, family, and friends. We then prioritized our next targets, and put our community to work seeking innovative strategies to reach them. We look to the future with optimism and confidence, compelled by an ambitious goal that sparks our collective imagination and focuses our work.

Now, we lean into year five. It will be a historic year for Gustavus and for the world. This is the midpoint. This is how we act next.

Here is our vision:

Gustavus equips1 students to lead purposeful lives2 and to act on the great challenges3 of our time through an innovative liberal arts4 education of recognized excellence5.

  1. Every action at Gustavus moves students toward discover of self — their beliefs, values, and relation to the world. We build capacity through experience. Students graduate equipped for life and career.
  2. Our students discern their vocation, think deeply and critically, and ignite their passions through knowledge and discovery. Our students then live on purpose and with purpose. They care.
  3. Our students are doers. They are aware of and engage with real-world concerns. They seek to understand complex societal issues, and they act on them with hope for positive change.
  4. Students learn boldly, stretching their minds in the classroom and beyond. Through active collaboration with faculty, alumni, and business leaders, their liberal arts education comes alive.
  5. We set the bar high in everything we do. And the world will notice.

GOAL ONE: Diversify and expand the Gustavus community.

The next five years will focus on building programs to reach and support more people so that students study in an environment that reflects the world in which they will live and work. Explore Goal 1
Lund Expansion
Message from the President

GOAL TWO: Deliver a distinctive and integrated liberal arts education.

“Integrated” means a student’s experiences in and out of class operate in tandem to build a transformative college experience. “Distinctive” means notable and desirable, recognized excellence. Explore Goal 2

GOAL THREE: Achieve financial, institutional, and environmental sustainability.

It’s all about systems and structures that maximize the College’s long-term success and viability. Explore Goal 3

Who Will Lead Next?

Spread out through the College is a vast network of leaders and experts providing guidance, insight, and management. Here are just some of the folks driving the strategic plan safely and securely through shifting sands. Learn More

The Plan: Gustavus Acts 2.0

This winter the Gustavus community assessed the progress of the Gustavus Acts Strategic Plan and weighed in on next priorities. The strategic plan is, indeed, a living document.
View Gustavus Acts 2.0
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