Whitworth University Board of Trustees Approves Five-Year Strategic Plan Focusing on Human and Financial Flourishing

The Whitworth University Board of Trustees has approved a five-year strategic plan that was built through a yearlong collaborative process under the leadership of Whitworth’s University Council.

“The plan is anchored in our Christian mission,” President Scott McQuilkin says. “It is the center of everything we do: our programming, our stewardship of university resources, our commitment to our people, and the ways in which we communicate Whitworth’s educational experience.”

The plan contains 22 objectives organized under four broad goals: 

• Innovation & Learning

• Human Flourishing

• Financial Flourishing

• Story 

“Through the execution of this plan, Whitworth will hold fast to its Christ-centered identity while advancing in a host of programmatic, systematic, relational and financial ways,” McQuilkin says. “It focuses on key strategic elements that we believe necessitate particular attention, in human and capital resourcing, for future successes.”

The first of those goals, innovation and learning, will guide faculty in cultivating programs and practices grounded in the university’s Christ-centered-mission. This includes fostering a culture of data-informed processes that equips academic leaders to make decisions based on clear metrics; strengthening partnerships between Whitworth’s College of Arts & Sciences and the schools of continuing studies, education, business and health sciences; and implementing non-credit bearing educational programs.

The second goal, human flourishing, encompasses students, faculty, staff and Whitworth’s external partners. It seeks to enhance success for students in a way that promotes retention and graduation rates and focuses on the emotional, mental, spiritual, relational, financial and physical wellness of all students. It is designed to provide them with the education and resources needed to experience holistic well-being. This goal also seeks to enhance inclusion and belonging throughout Whitworth’s curricular and co-curricular programming.

Financial flourishing, the third goal, includes improving student success and persistence by increasing participation in university housing and residence life programs and by providing more opportunities for alumni, parents and community members to engage more deeply with the university.

The final goal, story, seeks to help Whitworth grow its national and international standing as an unapologetically Christ-centered university by enhancing the public’s understanding and appreciation of the institution as a leading liberal arts university and as a leader in Christ-centered higher education.

To learn more about the objectives in the new strategic plan, click here. 

About Whitworth University:

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. 

Contacts: 

Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu.