At their January meeting, the board of trustees passed the strategic plan, a document outlining Calvin’s five year mission plan.

“The board of trustees commends and thanks the many who participated in the process and those who worked so hard to bring this plan to fruition,” said Scott Spoelhof, chairman of the board, in a press release. “The board has been a grateful participant in the process and is honored to offer its final approval.”

The plan outlines several major objectives and goals that will be met during the next five years and will be reviewed by faculty annually until 2019.

“It’s going to be a document with clear goals that we can see if we meet,” said Calvin’s president, Michael Le Roy. “We’re going to be measuring lots of things and we’re going to be publishing our measurements.”

The college’s strategic planning process began back in the fall of 2012. The document was drafted by the strategic planning team, which is commissioned by the planning and priorities committee, and passed through faculty senate almost unanimously at their Dec. 16 meeting after weeks of discussion and revision.

The board passed the plan as it was sent to them without any changes.

According to a press release, “the strategic plan provides the college with a strategy document that clarifies the college’s vision and sharpens its program offerings and operations in order to provide a solid platform for the college to do more ambitious and creative work.”

The strategic plan focuses on Calvin’s mission and is divided into the themes of support, strengthen and secure.

The new goals, as outlined by the document, will seek to support Calvin’s mission in the community and with external partnerships, strengthen Calvin’s mission in education and pursuit of diversity, and secure Calvin’s financial future.

The plan echoed many of the goals from the 2008 strategic plan with a further emphasis on securing Calvin’s financial future.

“This plan can’t forecast the future,” Le Roy said. “The strategy for Calvin College is to use the next five years to plan for the next 20. We want to remain anchored in what we do well, but be nimble.”

The full strategic plan can be viewed at http://www.calvin.edu/about/strategic-plan