A Bright Future for SUA

St. Ursula Academy is heading into Year One of a new 3-5 year Long Range Strategic Plan.

A New Strategic Plan is Lighting the Way

Elizabeth Kehling ‘13

A supplement to the St. Ursula Academy Summer 2013 magazine

Frank Donaldson, President of Institute of School and Parish Development (ISPD)

A Bright Future for SUA St. Ursula Academy is heading into Year One of a new 3-5 year Long Range Strategic Plan.

We saw an opportunity to explore our strengths so we can continue to excel and

identify opportunities where we can grow and improve.

Every member of the faculty and staff of St. Ursula along with more than 60 sup-

porters, friends, board members, past parents and experts spent all of last school

year working on the initial phase of plan.

Four meetings to identify the strengths and areas for growth in nine (9) planning

areas which include: Academics, Administration/Finance, Advancement/Marketing,

Athletics, Buildings and Grounds, Faculty

and Staff, Spiritual Life, Student Life,

and Technology.

Those meetings culminated in a 2-day

Convocation attended by 250 people. In

addition to the faculty and staff, board

members, community leaders, and

subject experts volunteered to be part

of the two-day convocation to discuss

the top strengths and challenges in each

group. Among the participants were leaders from several area grade schools,

high schools, and colleges including The University of Cincinnati, Xavier University,

Northern Kentucky University and the University of Dayton.

Also participating were several corporate leaders and professionals with expertise

in one or more of the nine planning areas. The large attendance and support by

the community leaders was quite impressive and humbling for the leadership of

St. Ursula. Even the consultant from the Institute of School and Parish Develop-

ment, Frank Donaldson, commented that the number of attendees from outside

of the faculty and staff and the number of them who participated both days was

a record high in more than 25 years of hosting these events.

In addition to talking in groups, Convocation participants heard about the history

and current details about the school from SUA President Lelia Keefe Kramer ’77

and Principal Craig Maliborski. Religion teacher Lisa Baute Caito ’00

also spoke and organized a group of student speakers who talked about what

St. Ursula means to them. Featured student speakers were Elise Hurwitz ’14, a senior, and Elizabeth Kehling ’13 (shown) who is continuing her education

this year at Miami University.

Of the challenges that surfaced through the process, the convocation participants

voted and the Core Strategic Planning Team reviewed the top vote-getters,

resulting in the top ten challenges that will be tackled over the next 3-5 years.

St. Ursula Academy LRSP Top Ten Challenges 2013

1) How do we devise a plan for academic excellence rooted in Ursuline core values relevant to 21st century learning: critical thinking, creativity?

Co-chairs Mary Ann Meyer and Dr. Jane Knudsen

2) How can we keep tuition and fees affordable and attractive for all families? Co-chairs Jodi Clever

and Mary Kay Pastura Hauser ‘68

3) How can we continue to attract, support, assess, reward and retain the best faculty, staff and coaches that fulfill and serve our Catholic Ursuline mission? Co-chairs Fr. Bill Verbryke, S.J.

and Kathy Backherms ‘73l

4) How can we substantially increase our endowment in five years to positively impact, among other things, financial aid for St. Ursula Academy students? Co-chairs Liz Johnson and Liz Niehaus

5) How can we encourage our students to be involved and engaged in activities at St. Ursula Academy and at the same time maintain a bal-ance and strong sense of organization, priority and direction? Co-chairs Sarah Catlin and Jen Helmers

6) How can we create state of the art facilities for

the needs we’ve identified, while optimizing space

utilization of existing facilities:

• Theater

• Library

• Art-Design Center

• Administrative Offices

• Community areas to meet programming needs

7) How can we encourage our young women to be

active servant leaders and prophets in the church

and in the world?

8) How can we continue to provide a safe and

secure campus; given the open campus- in an

ever-changing urban environment?

9) How can we cultivate an appreciation for cultural and ethnic diversity with

all members of our faith community here at St. Ursula Academy?

10) How can we meet the needs of College Preparatory students with

varying abilities?

SUA President Lelia Keefe Kramer ‘77

A New Strategic Plan is Lighting the Way

NEXT STEPS

The challenges are prioritized and the top five, as shown in

bold, are identified and approved by the Board of Trustees.

Now, teams of SUA faculty and staff, board members and

SUA community members are beginning to identify viable

solutions to the challenges. We are so grateful to the

many Convocation and Planning Team participants who

volunteered to work on finding and implementing the

solutions to our challenges.

“We are very energized and excited by the ideas that are

coming out of this process,” said St. Ursula President Lelia

Keefe Kramer ’77. “We know even more great things will be

happening at St. Ursula as the result of this process.”

We will continue to keep the St. Ursula Academy

community up to date via our website and this magazine

on the progress of our Long Range Strategic Planning process.