New sports facilities and a student center, among other construction projects, will soon come to the front of campus discussion. President of the College Patrick E. White will announce the beginning of the strategic plan process in the upcoming weeks.
Part of this process will include collaborations between faculty, staff, administrators, and students. The formation of committees to explore issues concerning the plan will mark the beginning of the process.
“The role of students on those committees is yet to be determined,” White said.
The major question the strategic plan will answer, according to Dr. White, is “Who are the students we need to serve and have at Wabash?”
The informal discussions between students, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff that marked White’s inaugural celebration have marked out some issues for consideration in the new strategic plan, but the particular issues for the committees have yet to be determined. Another part of the project will include a master plan for the College’s physical plant.
The firm responsible for the Allen Athletics Center, Hastings & Chivetta, is “involved in masterminding our master plan,” White said.
Further masterminding of the plan will be largely influenced by Dr. White’s relationship with the student body.
“I am continually taken by how serious and earnest Wabash men are,” White said. “It provides a growth of extraordinary possibility.”
Dr. White credited the high expectations of Wabash men for their College and the people in the community with assisting the broader goals of the strategic plan. “Because we have those expectations, we can do an awful lot,” White said. “That’s why I have high hopes for the strategic plan.”
Last year’s blur of activity excited Dr. White, but he mentioned that he was excited to begin the “real work” of guiding the College. “The dream should begin with the plan,” White said.
One issue that has been noticed recently, especially with the increasing numbers of applications to the College, is enrollment. Dr. White has made it clear he and the Board of Trustees do not want the College to make any substantial increases in size. That, too, is an issue for the strategic plan. “Why do we want to be whatever size we want to be at,” White said.
Of course, it will be a process requiring serious thought and exploration of what Wabash means. “As soon as we start trying to define terms, we begin to create a plan,” White said. “How do we move from A to Z?” As part of the process, Dr. and Mrs. White have also immersed themselves in the Wabash and greater Crawfordsville communities. Mrs. White has joined the boards of Crawfordsville Main Street, the Montgomery County Community Foundation, and Christian Nursing Services.
Mrs. White has also traveled with Dr. White around the nation, talking to alumni and their spouses. “We’re grateful for the time that guys will sit and talk with us about what they’re all about,” Dr. White said.
Dr. White, too, noted the College’s relative security is at the same time a great asset and a great problem to be overcome. “One of the difficult things about Wabash is that we don’t have any clear and present danger,” White said.
Dr. White cited former presidents Frank Sparks, who brought the V-12 project to Wabash during World War II, and Frank Wettack, who presided over the most recent debate over coeducation. Still, White does not want to slacken the pace of the College. “The easiest thing to do would be to say, ‘Hey, let’s coast,’” White said. “Wabash has not become great by taking it easy.”