Long Range Plan - Appendix C

Academic Unit Planning Summaries


Faculty of Arts and Sciences

The strongest asset of FAS is the high quality of its faculty. Its 561 members are highly productive as teachers and researchers. Most have established national and, in many cases, international reputations in their disciplines. The undergraduate student body is quite regional, consistent with the state-related status of the University. Undergraduate enrollment has grown 14% since FY 1986, but is still small when compared to most public AAU universities. Graduate enrollment has remained steady, consisting of students recruited nationally and internationally.

GOAL: Lead in the establishment of a new climate for undergraduate education.

FAS will demonstrate, in noticeable ways, that the quality of the undergraduate education students receive benefits from the full participation of its high-quality, research-active faculty.

GOAL: Improve the quality of graduate programs.

FAS will improve the quality of its graduate programs such that it matches the quality of its faculty.

GOAL: Provide appropriate levels of support and competitive facilities to faculty.

Through appropriate support, FAS will enable faculty members to better carry out their research and encourage them to participate as full partners in efforts to bring about the new undergraduate culture and improve graduate programs.

Realization of FAS goals is predicated on stabilizing the FAS budget. This will require both internal reallocation of existing resources within FAS and the addition of new funds from the outside. The next phase of planning must answer the long-standing question: Although FAS is important to the intellectual quality and financial stability of the University, are all parts of FAS necessary? Even under the best of circumstances, however, these internal efforts will not fully solve the resource problem and FAS will need to obtain additional resources. Allocating to FAS a slightly larger share of the revenue its generates will preserve the quality and productivity of the academic core of the University and thus ensure that FAS will continue to generate the excess revenue on which so many other parts of the University depend.

College of General Studies

Established in 1958 to provide undergraduate education to adult students, General Studies was expected to offer traditional University majors and serve as an experimental unit for the development of new programs for nontraditional students. The changing nature of the student body, shifting socioeconomic forces in Western Pennsylvania, and the current long-range planning process present the opportunity for the University to assess the role of the College in the context of institutional goals and priorities.

GOAL: Establish a Provost-level committee to determine the future role and structure of the College.

The committee will analyze the needs of the community in relation to University priorities, conduct external assessments of similar units, integrate institutional goals and strategies, and validate the final planning document for the College.

Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business

GOAL: Attain a level of excellence among the leading American schools.

KGSB will achieve excellence in research, teaching and curriculum design for graduate education, nondegree programs, and service, and be recognized by academic colleagues, business executives, and the media.

GOAL: Enhance the quality of the School's undergraduate programs.

By creating a new BSBA program, improving the CAS/Business Dual Major, and restructuring the division into a College of Business Administration, the School will enhance the quality of undergraduate programs and their value to students and employers.

GOAL: Improve integration with internal and external entities.

KGSB will improve on the integration of its activities with other units within the University, with other leading business schools, and with the business community.

GOAL: Improve diversity.

The School will build on its current base to improve diversity within its faculty, staff, and student body.

GOAL: Prepare students for future success.

KGSB students will add value to their organizations and whose commitment to quality in their professional and personal lives will equip them for success.

School of Education

The vision of the future School of Education focuses on collaboration with schools and communities in the public and private sectors to address the critical educational needs of the region and the nation. Addressing these needs, which are growing in response to an increasingly complex and diversified society, will improve the quality of life in Pittsburgh and throughout the region and provide a wider base for disseminating new knowledge.

GOAL: Increase research and the generation of knowledge to enhance educational practice.

GOAL: Identify and educate selected students to become outstanding practitioners in education professions.

GOAL: Focus on quality urban education and diversity issues within the city and Pennsylvania.

GOAL: Significantly improve research, technical assistance, and curriculum development in international education.

GOAL: Collaborate with schools and educational agencies to prepare professionals, conduct research, and provide educational services.

GOAL: Lead in the development and implementation of successful educational strategies in basic and higher education curricula.

The School has classified its programs into four priority groups based on their quality, centrality to the professional development mission of the School and current societal needs in public basic education, and critical need for additional resources. Programs representing the primary academic core of the School represent the first two priority groups.

First level priority is assigned to those programs most closely linked to the above criteria and in need of some level of immediate investment to ensure long-term quality. These programs include: Social and Comparative Analysis; Early Childhood/Secondary Education; Foreign Language Education; Movement Science; Health Education/Promotion; and Educational/Developmental Psychology.

The second level of priority includes, again, programs closely linked to the above criteria, but in which current levels of resources must be maintained to ensure quality. These programs include: Policy Planning and Evaluation; K-12 Administration; Higher Education; Math/Science Education; English/Reading Education; Social Studies Education; Special Education-Mentally and Physically Handicapped; Elementary Education; Special Education-Vision, Hearing, Severe; Exercise Physiology; Sports Medicine/Athletic Training; School Counseling; and Research Methodology.

School of Engineering

The School of Engineering, with the nation's sixth oldest program, has been educating engineers continuously since 1843. The School's strategic plan builds on this long tradition and the solid achievements of the past decade, and prepares the School for a leadership position in the 21st century.

To accomplish identified goals, the School will pursue several courses of action. The School will improve its environment, creating a culture more conducive to scholarly work. The quality of undergraduate education will be improved through innovative teaching, integrative curricula, an international perspective, and new programs. Interfaces with industry will increase, including new strategic partnerships, innovative part-time master's programs, and new joint research initiatives. Closer ties with other University units will be fostered, including the Schools of Medicine, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Education, Library and Information Science, Public Health, and Business and the University Center for International Studies.

GOAL: Develop new and enhance current programs to achieve international recognition.

GOAL: Achieve national recognition for leadership in undergraduate education.

The School will improve its programs of undergraduate education through active learning and curricula infused with international orientation. Efforts will be made to increase the graduation rates of undergraduates. Flexibility and curricular options will be introduced to attract additional freshmen. The transfer student population from the regional campuses, "3/2" programs, and community colleges will be increased.

GOAL: Become a regional leader in collaborative efforts with industry.

The School will create new products and processes, increasing sponsored research funds by building an infrastructure for research and improving interactions with industry. Innovative part-time master's continuing education opportunities for the technical work force will be developed.

School of Law

The School of Law aspires to achieve recognition among the top 30 American law schools through achievement of nine goals.

GOAL: Successfully compete for the best students and enhance student body diversity.

GOAL: Hire and retain a diverse faculty of superb teacher-scholars.

GOAL: Afford students a richer intellectual background and greater professional skills.

GOAL: Diversify permanent revenue sources.

GOAL: Enhance national reputation by producing and publishing first-rate scholarship.

GOAL: Deploy new communications and research technology.

GOAL: Provide students effective assistance in finding employment.

GOAL: Create programs for U.S. }{\plain and foreign lawyers and judges.

GOAL: Upgrade facilities to allow effective teaching.

The School will crystalize its identity and reputation in areas where the University is already poised for national prominence. It is moving immediately to improve student services, inaugurate a computer network, enhance faculty support, and expand its continuing legal education program. The School is organizing a major Centennial development campaign. Successful fund raising efforts may allow progress toward:

The School anticipates additional funding needs for which sources have not been identified beyond University funds. These objectives include renovation of classrooms and planning and creating suitable office space for new faculty, educational programs, and administrative support. However, no new resources will be required to implement a planned review of the curriculum involving faculty, students, and alumni in envisioning future legal education. Also planned is an annual program of interdisciplinary national scholarly conferences and final implementation of a new master's program in international and comparative law for lawyers with foreign law degrees -- a self-supporting cornerstone of the new International Law program.

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

GSPIA provides: graduate education for public and non-profit sectors, and international and government-related roles in the private sector; applied social science interventions on public problems through mid-career training and interdisciplinary analysis; doctoral education for public management and analysis leadership; and expertise on these matters to other University units. The School houses major University programs emphasizing the University missions for: quality professional education; global studies; interdisciplinary teaching and research; a national and international student body; diversity; and local, national, and international leadership. GSPIA's programs focus on growing national and international needs for international affairs competence, public policy efficiency and innovation, non-profit organizations, urban and regional affairs, economic and social development, and public safety.

GOAL: Enhance clinical professional education, bridging the gap between the worlds of academy and practice.

GOAL: Increase joint programs with other University professional schools and social science departments.

GOAL: Establish joint projects with foreign institutions in regions of rapid transformation.

GOAL: Seek partnerships with non-academic organizations to analyze and manage major initiatives in the city, region, state, and nation.

GSPIA has achieved national quality in its programs in international affairs and economic and social development (one of 15 major American programs and the only one between Denver and the East Coast) and in public management and policy (top 10 national ranking). Regional quality has been achieved in the urban and regional planning program (one of 63 accredited and one of only two in Pennsylvania) and in the non-profit program.

The School perceives the need for significant additional funding for its core programs, equivalent to that provided in FY 1990. With modest reallocation, national excellence can be achieved in all programs of the School. Based on comparisons of funding, institutional priority, facilities, and location of major competitors, areas of need include space to accommodate externally funded projects and a modern learning environment, faculty enhancement for core programs, student aid, and external funding priority/assistance.

The School believes that its quality can be enhanced at the national and regional levels, building upon current strengths in areas such as placements of graduates, outreach, and analysis activities. The self-supporting International Management Development Institute is a relatively unique asset to the public and private sectors. The undergraduate Law and Justice programs pose the major problem are in need of resolution. Their fragmented structure with the College of General Studies, faculty gaps, and ambiguous missions make them weak relative to regional competitors.

School of Social Work

The School of Social Work provides a full range of University teaching, research, and service focusing on community problems. Urban research, development, and demonstration projects emphasize service to organizations, agencies, professionals, and the people of Western Pennsylvania and demonstrate leadership in community-based programs.

GOAL: Acquire additional resources to support the expanding enrollment, the School's academic programs, and the research and service activities.

The School's nationally-ranked academic programs attract many quality applicants in spite of the stringent admissions requirements. However, the School can currently admit only one of every three qualified applicants. Additional faculty resources are needed to support academic programs, especially given the adverse effects of recent retirements. The School perceives the need for additional space to support future levels of instructional, research, and service activity. Additional financial aid is needed for qualified, needy students.

GOAL: Enhance existing programs to maintain the high level of quality and to establish new areas of excellence.

One identified strategy is to pursue rapidly emerging federal funding for family support and family preservation. The School will also continue to develop and implement large-scale community research and service projects, in which the faculty already exhibit high visibility.

Efforts will be made with existing resources to enhance the School. Degree programs will be improved through accreditation self studies and review. The field practicum system will be enhanced by centralizing student placement functions. The Continuing Education Program will be strengthened and programs for distance learning developed. Faculty development activities will be emphasized. Communication vehicles to improve the public relations will be developed to highlight School contributions.

School of Library and Information Science

SLIS, recognized as a center of excellence with a strong international reputation, has a range of degree programs unmatched among its peers. Its growing enrollment, research support, and leadership in the information professions place the School at an important point in its development. SLIS is dedicated to shaping the future of the information field. Its faculty, staff, students, and programs are committed to build a global society and an informed citizenry based upon the foundation of knowledge made possible through access to reliable and useful information. Through excellence in teaching, research, and service, the School educates high quality information professionals to build upon the discipline and develop resources and tools to create, transmit, apply, and preserve information to meet society's information needs. The School has articulated several priorities to promote achievement of these goals. Resources will be concentrated on those specializations that are needed by the information professions and that reflect the expertise of SLIS faculty.

GOAL: Promote excellence in graduate, undergraduate, and professional development teaching and learning.

The School will enhance learning through the use of information technologies. SLIS will complete its curriculum revision and implement new programs for the evaluation of teaching. The School will work with other units to eliminate unnecessary course duplication and cooperate more effectively in teaching. Developing the Telecommunications program will be emphasized, as well as strengthening the curriculum of the BSIS program and its student body. Specialized MSIS tracks that respond to the needs of the profession will be developed, and MLS programs will concentrate on areas of greatest potential (archives/records management, school librarianship/services to youth, information technology, preservation, and health sciences librarianship).

GOAL: Emphasize research.

The School will develop proposals for multi-year interdisciplinary research and shape both doctoral programs to integrate faculty research interests.

GOAL: Recruit faculty, staff, and students who represent academic excellence and diversity.

SLIS will identify a new name that more accurately reflects the scope and programs of the School and continue to increase its diversity.

GOAL: Provide strong leadership locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

The School will take a leadership role in building the Information Superhighway in Pennsylvania and the nation.

GOAL: Strengthen the infrastructure for learning.

SLIS will expand continuing education to meet the needs of the information professions, using new technologies, especially distance education, to deliver these programs.

School of Dental Medicine

The School of Dental Medicine has been educating dental professionals continuously since 1896. The School's strategic plan builds on this tradition of excellence and prepares the School for a leadership position within the profession in the 21st century.

GOAL: Provide high quality educational and clinical experiences.

The School will offer academic programs and clinical experiences designed to prepare first professional, graduate, and dental hygiene students for increasingly complex treatment decisions in an environ-ment that recognizes changes in society and health policies that will significantly affect the practice of dental medicine. Regional, state, national, and international continuing education programs will be offered for practicing professionals. The School will continue to enhance its existing recruitment programs to attract and retain qualified minorities, women, and international students and faculty.

GOAL: Establish the School as a major research center.

The School will become a major center for oral health research by providing adequate support for faculty research, increasing the number of externally-funded research projects, and developing the next generation of oral health researchers. The School will expand its interface with other schools of the health sciences as well as promote broad-based interactions with other academic units throughout the University.

GOAL: Provide high quality dental services to the community.

The School will provide the community with high quality dental services, including the various underserved populations within our region, by enhancing clinical experiences for all students and providing practice opportunities for clinical faculty.

GOAL: Enhance the physical facilities of the School.

The facilities of the School will be enhanced by replacing old equipment, acquiring new equipment, and establishing a program of routine facilities maintenance by increasing the Annual Giving Fund and launching a three-year Centennial Capital Campaign with a goal of $3 million in support of academic, research, and clinical programs.

School of Nursing

The School is committed to preparing students for employment in a multicultural society; improving learning experiences and health care delivery; expanding the discipline's information base; increasing student, faculty, and staff diversity; providing service to the community; and fostering teaching excellence through clinical expertise and practice, instructional competency, and incorporating research into practice. The School environment is conducive to research, encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, and makes research an integral part of learning.

GOAL: Emphasize and enhance the clinical and academic excellence of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs.

The School will begin to downsize its undergraduate programs to ensure more highly-qualified graduates, while increasing enrollment of and curriculum flexibility for accelerated undergraduate, RN-BSN, and rural, underserved students. Nurse practitioner graduate programs will expand to include all populations in primary care and subspecialties in adult acute care. The PhD program will seek tuition support mechanisms to increase the percentage of full-time students.

GOAL: Support and enhance faculty commitment to teaching effectiveness.

In a practice profession such as nursing, teaching effectiveness is not limited to the classroom but must include clinical expertise in the care of a wide range of patients and families. The School will expand the family practice plan so that practice sites can be used as clinical teaching sites for students. School support services increase the availability and integration of technology to enhance classroom instruction.

GOAL: Increase research funding where achievements can enhance student and faculty recruitment.

Building on current success in creating a foundation of clinical research studies, and focusing on clinical applications of bio-behavioral phenomena, the School will continue to recruit faculty with high research potential, increase efforts to obtain pre- and post-doctoral awards, and utilize University research funds for faculty to leverage the School's research agenda.

GOAL: Improve the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of students, faculty, and staff.

The School will award post-doctoral fellowships to minority faculty, designate a limited number of full scholarships for minority graduate students, and continue to support the Nursing Recruitment Coalition and peer tutoring program for African American undergraduate students to increase the recruitment and retention of minority faculty and students.

GOAL: Increase development activities to provide funds for program development, scholarships, and faculty development.

Development activities will expand primarily in the area of seeking more corporate and foundation support through targeted proposals. Additional efforts will increase the School's endowment through leadership gifts, named endowments, and more personal contacts.

School of Pharmacy

In 1878, the Allegheny Pharmaceutical Association was granted a charter to establish the Pittsburgh College of Pharmacy. The purpose of the College, as stated by the founders, was
"...the cultivation, improvement, and dissemination of knowledge of Pharmacy and its collateral branches of science..."

Through its formative years to eventual formal affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh and on to present day activities, the School of Pharmacy remains dedicated to this original objective.

The School is a multifaceted organization throughout which the academic triad of teaching, research, and service is interwoven. The primary teaching program is the entry-level professional degree program, which prepares students for licensure and the practice of pharmacy. This program attracts nearly 1,000 applicants for the 120 positions in each entering class. The graduate program was completely revamped seven years ago. The present capacity is 20 Ph.D. students preparing for research careers in academia or the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, the School instituted a post-baccalaureate Doctor of Pharmacy program in 1992. Demand for both graduate programs is very high.

GOAL: Implement the entry-level Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree program.

This goal is essential to the future success of the School and to meet its continuing obligation to the University and the Commonwealth to operate a first-class school of pharmacy. Changes in societal expectations of pharmacists, health care reform, and revised accreditation standards have necessitated this change in degree (B.S.Pharm to Pharm.D.) and degree length (five-year to six-year).

GOAL: Develop pharmacoeconomic and outcomes research.

Pharmacoeconomics is the study of economic implications of drug therapy. As health care becomes more economically sensitive, the need to systematically evaluate competing therapies increases in order to make informed, cost effective decisions. Because this research will affect the professional lives of pharmacists for the next several generations, the School must actively participate in such endeavors in order to meet professional and post-graduate education/research goals.

The School will achieve these goals by redirecting resources devoted to current programs. The baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate doctoral programs will be eliminated. Resources for the development of pharmacoeconomic research capability will accrue from grant funding and participation in various managed care initiatives.

Graduate School of Public Health

From its inception in 1948 until today, the Graduate School of Public Health has experienced growth and change. It has evolved from its four original departments to its current configuration of six departments that blend the old and the new -- Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Health Services Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health, and Human Genetics. The mission of the School is to promote health and prevent disease in communities by (1) anticipating and responding to public health needs through research, teaching, and service, and (2) enhancing public health initiatives through interaction and collaboration with other health care disciplines and organizations.

In 1998, the School will celebrate it 50th anniversary. The importance of this event, as well as the current climate of health care reform, amplifies the enormous capacity that the School has to have impact on the health of the Pittsburgh community and the nation. The public health arena is a dynamic one, and GSPH seeks through it goals and actions to be both visionary and adaptable in order to meet the demands of its various communities, while continuing to contribute to the improved health of the community, the nation, and the world.

GOAL: Train leaders of public health research and practice.

GSPH will create unique and innovative training programs for students in public health, practitioners of the health sciences, and public health professionals.

GOAL: Expand scientific research that relates to public health.

GSPH will evaluate the relevance of its current and anticipated research in the context of areas of expected increased need for public health knowledge over the next decade.

GOAL: Enhance the transfer of public health knowledge to policy and practice.

The School will evaluate the effectiveness of its impact on the policy and practice of public health by requesting consultations from local, state, or federal governments; developing training programs for public health practitioners; and successfully competing for funding of demonstration projects in collaboration with local, state, or federal governments or nongovernmental organizations.

GOAL: Identify current and anticipate future public health issues by developing preventive interventions and strategies.

Fundamental to public health is the ability to identify markers of predisposition to or early stages of known diseases as well as to recognize new, emerging diseases early in their course and identify interventions that limit their spread before substantial populations are affected. GSPH will build upon existing expertise in this area and, more importantly, develop further expertise to meet the dual challenge of prevention and intervention at the community level.

School of Medicine

The School of Medicine has been recognized as one of the top 20 research intensive medical schools. During the last five years of this century, its goals are for excellence in education, investigation, and the application of new knowledge to the prevention and treatment of human disease. The previous decade has been one of tremendous growth and distinction in all three missions of the School. These accomplishments continue in the face of great uncertainties in the health care arena.

GOAL: Achieve excellence in the education of the next generation of physicians.

The School will refine and complete its undergraduate educational program (Physicians in Two Thousand), devise a new and radically different curriculum for the Ph.D. program, and adjust Graduate Medical Education to conform with national mandates seeking greater primary care emphasis.

GOAL: Further the research mission.

The School will continue the development of world class research programs in gene therapy, the neurosciences, the molecular basis of cancer, cell biology, immunology, organ and cell transplantation, and outcomes research.

GOAL: Strengthen the clinical programs by incorporating new knowledge derived from biomedical research into patient care.

This goal will have to be vigorously promoted as we enter into a time when health care reimbursement may not be sufficient to foster this most important side of research with application to patient care. An outstandingly talented faculty and a receptive health center environment will be necessary to accomplish this.

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The School, founded in 1969, is the youngest academic unit of the University. It is also unique in at least one other important respect -- unlike other professional schools of the University, SHRS is composed of six different (health) professions. SHRS is a school in transition, and it has changed substantially over the past three years. SHRS has vigorously engaged in strategic planning and was proceeding with new program development before the Planning and Budgeting System was initiated. A number of improvements are evident from these efforts: peer-reviewed funding has increased by more than an order of magnitude; scholarly productivity of the faculty has more than doubled; applications for admission have doubled; new academic and clinical programs have been launched; and a new Ph.D. degree program in Rehabilitation Science is in the final stages of review. As might reasonably be expected for a school with six different professional programs, the improvements are not uniformly distributed. Most programs have been very successful and could legitimately claim a high standing in their respective disciplines. All SHRS programs have been cost effective.

The accomplishment of SHRS goals will be facilitated in a number of ways. Perhaps the most important effort will be investment in faculty development to improve opportunities for scholarly endeavors. Interdisciplinary collaboration is also an essential element. SHRS faculty currently collaborate in research and training agendas of centers located within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, including the Comprehensive Spine Center, the Facial Nerve Center, the Vestibular Disorders Center, the Center for Sports Medicine, the Department of Neurobiology, and the Center for Neuroscience. Other collaborative relationships have been forged with Preventive Cardiology, Rehabilitation Medicine, the Veterans' Affairs Hospitals, Critical Care Medicine, the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Institute, the School of Engineering, the Graduate School of Public Health, Children's Hospital, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, and the School of Education. SHRS hopes to expand upon these interdisciplinary activities.

GOAL: Achieve excellence in applied research and service.

Many SHRS programs shall attain preeminent status in their respective areas. All shall compare favorably with similar programs at comparable universities. SHRS programs will be particularly noted for contributions to knowledge and clinical innovation in the interdisciplinary fields of rehabilitative and assistive technology. SHRS faculty will be recognized for their accomplishments in research, other scholarly activities, and clinical services.

GOAL: Become recognized for educational accomplishments.

The School will continue to improve entry-level education and training in each of its professional areas of responsibility. The School will also be recognized for educating and training the next generation of faculty and scholars.

GOAL: Participate in the industrial/economic growth of Western Pennsylvania.

The School will continue to expand its educational and applied research and development activities and, thereby, contribute to regional growth in the areas of bioengineering and biomedical technology.

Learning Research and Development Center

LRDC conducts research on cognition and learning with special relevance to education and training. The Center's work addresses fundamental questions about the acquisition of knowledge and skill, the characteristics of effective instruction, and the social and organizational factors that shape educational and training systems. The Center collaborates with teachers, school administrators, and corporate trainers in schools, the workplace, and policy councils to improve learning in the classroom and on the training site.

GOAL: Consolidate preeminence and funding for work on fundamental processes of school learning.

The Center will expand its work to include children at risk of not being served well by current opportunities and build better bridges between work on fundamental processes of learning and involvements in major school restructuring efforts.

GOAL: Continue to ground practical efforts in basic research.

To develop the intellectual capital supporting educational and training efforts, LRDC will maintain investments in high quality, instructionally relevant basic cognitive research.

GOAL: Complete the development of a coherent focus on learning in and for the work place.

The Center plans to recruit additional faculty and research teams, raise funding, and work with other University units to develop research programs and specialties for graduate study. Interconnections between educational and skill standards, research on job analysis, and new approaches to assessing competence will be stressed.

GOAL: Establish the Institute for Advanced Study in Education, making the Center the nation's think tank for educational renewal.

Establish programs for mid-career education and training leaders, officials responsible for educational policy, and training leaders from the work world. Through the Institute's programs, LRDC will become the intellectual center for people engaged in the practical work of educational renewal.

GOAL: Exploit instructional technologies in research and fieldwork.

New technological opportunities and the demands for higher schooling expectations will lead to more use of information technologies. LRDC research and fieldwork will continue to take place within the context of today's powerful information technologies.

GOAL: Expand research participation opportunities for undergraduate students.

The Center will continue plans to create an undergraduate research apprenticeship experience. LRDC will also make its expertise on technology available to improve undergraduate education throughout the University.

University Center for Social and Urban Research

Established in 1972 to carry our basic and applied social science research, UCSUR is a focal point for collaborative interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches to social science and policy issues. Academic goals are shaped by the convergence of faculty research interests, major social and economic issues facing American society, and external funding opportunities.

The Center's four programs in Urban and Regional Analysis, Gerontology, Generations Together, and the Office of Child Development are recognized nationally and internationally for their excellence. A new program in Environmental Policy Studies was initiated in 1992. The Center provides valuable survey research, modeling, and forecasting capabilities to faculty and graduate students in the conduct of their research.

GOAL: Implement the Environmental Policy Studies Program.

GOAL: Enhance the Office of Child Development Program.

UCSUR will continue to conduct and facilitate multi-disciplinary social science research on major public policy issues of regional and national significance, including: economic analysis and forecasting; social consequences of changes in employment and income distribution; aging and disability; work and retirement; studies of children, youth, and families; program evaluation; intergenerational program models; and the economic and legal contexts of environmental policy making.

GOAL: Continue to develop technical capabilities, including survey research and economic modeling.

Much of the faculty research carried out in the Center requires the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data. The Center maintains a strong research support capacity, including state-of-the-art survey research facilities, information processing, and grant administration capabilities that support faculty research. The Center provides research opportunities for graduate students as research assistants and for undergraduate students to work on survey research projects. UCSUR also assists local governments and community organizations with access to economic and demographic data.

University Center for International Studies

America's situation in a rapidly changing world makes international education a high priority in all universities in a highly competitive context. The primary mission of UCIS since 1968 has been to create and sustain international programs of scholarly excellence and to help establish the University as one of the premiere American institutions in international education, research, and service.

GOAL: Maintain the international centers of excellence.

GOAL: Expand and improve international education for all undergraduate students.

GOAL: Support the professional schools in establishing their own international programs and centers.

GOAL: Develop a University-wide policy on affiliations with institutions abroad.

GOAL: Establish the Global Collegium for curriculum and research development on global issues.

GOAL: Set up the UCIS International Cooperation Council.

GOAL: Strengthen the University's leadership role as the regional economy is impacted by international and global forces.

The UCIS plan supports the international efforts of the Faculty and College of Arts and Sciences, the University Honors College, and the professional schools. UCIS centers, which include the Center of East Asian Studies, the International Business Center, the Center for Latin American Studies, the Ridgway Center for International Security Studies, the Center for Russian and East European Studies, and the Center for West European Studies, require maintaining levels of faculty retention, replacement, and recruitment and support service.

The goals set forth will require University-wide cooperation to deploy and share resources in an effective manner. Fund raising for international programs, which is identified as a pervasive priority task, is one area in which the Center can provide assistance.

University Honors College

The University Honors College serves the special academic and co-curricular needs of exceptionally talented and highly motivated students on the Pittsburgh Campus. UHC encourages study in both breadth and depth in the curricular programs of able, highly motivated undergraduates. The College also emphasizes through programmatic opportunity a conception of educational quality that is measured by student attainment in both its relative ("be all you can be") and absolute ("be the best anyone can be") forms.

GOAL: Sustain approximately 40 total undergraduate courses per term.

Honors courses will retain required properties of academic challenge, demanding but manageable work loads, negligible prerequisites, in-depth (but not advanced or specialized) treatments of subject matter, and teaching from faculty who have expressed a special interest in meeting the academic needs of able and motivated undergraduates.

GOAL: Sustain special advising for able students.

Continue emphasis on the successful UHC preparation of students for prestigious national scholarship competitions. Recent success in producing Rhodes and Marshall Scholars has given the University comparative advantage as a school of quality for able students.

GOAL: Extend UHC degree programs.

UHC will expand beyond CAS, CGS, and Engineering, establishing programs in additional professional schools, such as Pharmacy and Social Work.

GOAL: Increase co-curricular programming through the Honors Center.

UHC will establish a literary magazine for poetry and fiction to complement the Pittsburgh Undergraduate Review, which publishes scholarly and analytic works by undergraduates.

GOAL: Expand development efforts.

The College will seek to establish endowments for curricular purposes, summer programming (including the Brackenridge Research Fellows and the Yellowstone Field Program), and possibly a named Honors College.

GOAL: Refine Chancellor's Scholar recruitment.

The recruiting collaboration with the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid will be sustained and refined to include a permanent, full-time liaison for recruiting talented high school students.

University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

UPJ, long established as a successful and productive unit of the University, is at a stage of development where an investment must be made to ensure continued success and further advancement. Anticipated return on an investment by Johnstown and the University of Pittsburgh system will be positive, building on the essential position of undergraduate education to the University's mission. The aspiration of achieving even greater distinction as a truly unique institution -- a selective, public, comprehensive small college -- is within reach.

GOAL: Convert engineering technology to engineering.

This conversion will allow UPJ to continue viable degree offerings in an academic area of excellent quality that is an essential part of the comprehensive enrollment profile. The change will occur in a feasible and efficient manner that displays budgetary restraint, as outlined in recommendations of a professional consultant and thorough reviews and analysis.

GOAL: Improve the climate for high quality instruction and scholarship.

Campus strategies will reduce the disproportionate dependency on overload teaching schedules, expand opportunities for faculty-student interaction and scholarly collaboration, and promote appropriate educational technology, thereby sustaining the commitment to excellence in undergraduate education. Cooperation with other campuses will also be pursued.

GOAL: Maintain and enhance academic quality.

UPJ will introduce an Honors Program, add a limited number of degree programs utilizing existing resources, and revise the curriculum as necessary to emphasize the liberal arts, writing, the freshman year experience, and cultural diversity. Scholarship assistance will increase substantially. Enrollment management efforts will provide direction and oversight for recruitment and retention to meet objectives related to quality, student diversity, and achieving the desired enrollment mix.

GOAL: Provide administrative strategies that support other planning strategies.

UPJ will implement service strategies that enhance the full range of on-campus, student-centered services, extend regional community services through continuing education and other avenues, reengineer the campus administrative structure, and extend cooperative efforts with other units of the University.

GOAL: Establish the means of reaching necessary financial stability.

Planning studies identify need for an additional $6.4 million over five years locally through enrollment distribution, auxiliary service expansions, fee increases, and expanded development efforts. These funds will help maintain academic quality and a beautiful campus with exceptional facilities and will make UPJ more competitive with benchmark peers.

University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

Having recently become a degree-granting University unit in 1988, the Greensburg Campus is still developing in terms of its programs, physical plant, and administrative support services. Over the planning period, UPG plans to expand and diversify its academic programs, strengthen programs of demonstrable quality, enhance the physical plants to meet programmatic and student needs, and provide an adequate administrative infrastructure to serve all campus constituencies.

GOAL: Enhance selected existing academic programs.

The programs in Management, Accounting, Psychology, English Writing, Administration of Justice, and Computer/Information Sciences are already strong both in terms of existing faculty and student demand. These programs can become truly exception with additional faculty resources to strengthen and diversify current levels of programming.

GOAL: Expand academic offerings.

New majors/concentrations in Communications, History, Anthropology, Health Services, Environmental Science, and American Studies will be examined, as well as certification programs in education and computer network administration.

GOAL: Serve as an outreach site.

UPG will work in cooperation with selected Pittsburgh Campus professional schools to serve as an outreach location for part-time graduate study.

GOAL: Continue to upgrade the physical plant.

Major projects, such as the completion of a new library/administration building, extensive renovations to Smith Hall, construction of a new dormitory, and the expansion of McKenna Hall (computer center) will proceed. Many plant projects are already fully funded while other have identified potential funding sources.

GOAL: Improve campus administrative operations.

Primary objectives include establishing appropriate staffing levels in areas such as admissions, computing, and maintenance and improving services in all aspects of campus operations.

University of Pittsburgh at Titusville

The Titusville Campus offers the first two years of baccalaureate education to students who wish to continue elsewhere and two-year associate degree programs in career-oriented areas. UPT also serves Northwest Pennsylvania by providing training, continuing education, cultural opportunities, and distance learning.

GOAL: Ensure a high quality undergraduate experience.

UPT will establish fiscally self-sufficient programs that are compatible with its mission, have a competitive advantage, meet a market need, and can be mostly implemented with current resources. Articulation agreements will be created within and outside the University system. UPT will use fewer part-time, adjunct faculty and improve academic support systems.

GOAL: Serve as a gateway to health-related professions.

UPT will establish associate degrees in Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Assistant, and identify other new programs meeting the appropriate criteria. The Campus will utilize distance learning to deliver educational services and serve as primary facilitator for outreach efforts in its service region.

GOAL: Increase enrollment to 500 full-time equivalents.

High school students will be selectively targeted, with emphasis placed on nontraditional and part-time students. The number of direct applicants who live on campus for two years will also increase. More off-campus extension courses will also be provided.

GOAL: Expand services of the George J. Barco Center for Continuing Education.

The range of non-credit workshops for organizations and the public will expand. UPT will create innovative certificate programs and workshops with credit and non-credit options and increase cooperative efforts with community higher education councils to provide classes throughout its service region.

GOAL: Enhance administrative support functions.

UPT will restructure the public relations area, establish grants acquisition and institutional research functions, enhance financial aid and student recruitment, increase retention through improved quality of campus life, and ensure adequate computer/communications support and the most efficient physical plant.

GOAL: Upgrade and maintain campus facilities.

Capital initiatives include developing a computing plan and securing resources to maintain and upgrade equipment, air conditioning the library and Student Union, upgrading classrooms to modern standards, completing necessary tasks associated with the new science building, and providing for adequate information technology and ongoing renovations of all facilities.

University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

In the tradition of similar institutions in North Carolina, Minnesota, and Maryland, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is positioned to become Pennsylvania's public liberal arts college, where students may attend an affordable, high quality, liberal arts college. This mission strategy will serve Commonwealth residents while enhancing the ability of the Campus to serve a large and rural area, shift competition away from state universities to private liberal arts colleges (for which it has a price advantage), and adds a unique dimension to the University's mission, reputation, and prestige.

GOAL: Strengthen the vitality and quality of liberal education.

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will build on its existing academic core to:

GOAL: Increase cost effectiveness while investing in quality.

Conservative assumptions project a 40% enrollment increase between FY 1995 and 2000. Revenues will increase by $5.3 million and cost effectiveness will improve over 60% (measured by direct revenues against direct expenditures).

GOAL: Enhance the University system.

Bradford will fill a unique niche in the University system, providing prospective students an alternative not presently available within the Commonwealth--that of receiving a liberal education in the public (i.e. affordable) tradition.

University Library System

Research libraries are in the midst of one of the most challenging periods in their long history. The volume of print-based publishing is increasing dramatically as more scholars create manuscripts disseminating the results of their research. Faculty and student pressure to acquire as much published information as possible is great. Price increases preclude libraries from maintaining comprehensive collections. Electronic publishing offers the promise of a new model for storage and dissemination of scholarly information, yet such systems are in their infancy. However, the movement toward coordinated, national, digital libraries is strong and positive.

GOAL: Develop a comprehensive plan involving other service units.

The comprehensive strategic plan will incorporate the goals and objectives of the University Library System with those of units such as Computing and Information Services, the University Center for Instructional Resources, the Book Center, and the University Press.

GOAL: Recruit and retain a diverse staff.

ULS will evaluate staffing needs and enhance cultural diversity of faculty and staff with the professional and technical skills needed for the 21st century.

GOAL: Strengthen library resources.

ULS will strengthen the University's library resources and information services in support of its instruction, research, and service missions.

GOAL: Implement state-of-the-art access systems.

The Libraries will ensure effective access to the world's recorded knowledge by implementing high quality systems to improve bibliographic access to published literature and also extend access to information sources in electronic formats.

GOAL: Provide training in information search and retrieval.

ULS will ensure that the University community is effectively trained in seeking and retrieving information.

GOAL: Make effective use of space resources.

The information programs, services, and functions of the University will be supported through the efficient and effective use of space. Planning will continue for the renovation of the Masonic Temple and the Hillman Library Addition. ULS will also pursue funding and development of the second phase of the UPARC Storage Facility, as well as evaluate the future of departmental libraries.

GOAL: Provide high quality service.

The components of the University Library System will be managed to provide the highest quality service to the University community.