Applied Strategic Planning Committee Holds Third Retreat

The Applied Strategic Planning (ASP) Committee met for its third retreat on Monday, March 22 to Wednesday, March 24. The retreat began Monday afternoon and continued through a working dinner that evening. That was followed by two full-day sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday that were facilitated by Dr. Bob Frazer of R. L. Frazer and Associates. R.L Frazer and Associates is the consulting firm that was hired by Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) to facilitate the ASP process.

Building on the first retreat in October, the second retreat in January, and on the work that has happened since then, the committee finalized vision and mission statements, core values, core competencies, and goals for GSDM. These documents were finalized from their draft form after each committee member consulted with their shadow teams after the January retreat. "The input from the shadow teams was invaluable in revising and finalizing these documents," said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. "I am very pleased that these building blocks of our strategic plan represent the contributions of virtually every member of GSDM."

The next step of the ASP process will be for Committee members to share the documents with their respective shadow teams and to discuss the process and vigorous discussions that took place at the March retreat. If you have not been contacted about joining a shadow team and would like to participate please contact Drs. Celeste Kong or John Guarente. The ASP Committee will work on developing objectives and integrated action plans for each of the goals and those items will be finalized prior to Retreat IV.

The architectural firm selected to work with GSDM on facility issues, SmithGroup, attended and participated in the ASP March retreat. SmithGroup will work with the ASP Committee and a smaller GSDM steering committee to analyze existing space and utilization, understand future direction and needs, and develop and present several facility solution options. SmithGroup is the oldest continuously practicing architecture firm in the United States with a national network of offices. The representatives from SmithGroup working on the GSDM project have spent their careers working in the Health Care, Science & Technology, and Learning sectors of architecture, engineering, and interiors planning. "I am very pleased with our choice of SmithGroup," said Dean Hutter. "I am confident that by coordinating the space planning process with the Applied Strategic Planning Process we will achieve the very best possible outcome for the future of our School."

SmithGroup will deliver a presentation to the Dean’s Advisory Board on April 27 and will also meet with the steering committee and community members. Details of that visit will be forthcoming. "Both my Co-Chair Dr. Guarente and I were delighted with the level of understanding of our School that SmithGroup already has achieved," said ASP Co-Chair Dr. Kong. "They have been researching GSDM, the Medical Campus, and Boston University and also reviewing all of the work that the ASP Committee has done since the Applied Strategic Planning process began last fall and we were very impressed with their proactive approach."

The fourth ASP Committee retreat will be held September 13 to 15.