During the summer of 1998, I called together of team of 30 faculty, staff, and students to update New Mexico Tech's 1995 Strategic Plan. This is the result of that process—our vision of what we would like to see New Mexico Tech become in the near future.

Some of this plan will seem very familiar—the vision statement is the same, and we added two institutional values to the existing three. Our goals, however, have changed sharply. In the previous plan, the goals (or institutional objectives) were topics. This time, our goals are calls to action—each begins with the words "New Mexico Tech will . . ." And because the goals are more specific, in many cases, the strategies and action plans are also more specific.

I also sensed a change in attitudes from members of the planning team. People seemed to be more willing—and able—to look at the "big picture," to examine how an item would affect not only themselves or their departments, but also other members of the Tech community. And more people proved to be open to the concept of change. Members of the previous team who had objected to any change in "business as usual" were willing to examine, and even adopt, new ideas and new processes.

Also new to this plan are the additions of oversight and metrics. Oversight is simply the naming of the administrator or administrative unit that is in charge of seeing that an individual strategy or action is carried through. Metrics are the measures that indicate if a strategy or action has been completed successfully. Metrics usually consist of time lines (A decision will be made by Fall 1999.) or measurable standards (Eighty percent of new freshmen will return for the next semester.)

The members of the planning team have labored long and hard on the plan, spending more than 1,200 hours in committee meetings over the past eight months. I appreciate their dedication and willingness to devote time and energy to the process.

The process was not without some conflict. In most cases, we were able to reach consensus. In others, some members of the team believe passionately that an action is worthwhile, and other members believe just as passionately that the same action is without merit. In these cases, the majority ruled.

Special thanks go to Tech alumnus Paul Shoemaker, who once again served as our facilitator and guide. Jim Corey's words from the last Strategic Plan are as appropriate today as they were then: