The 2025-2029 Strategic Plan Draft has been submitted to President Dr. Joe Paul of University of Southern Mississippi who drafted the current plan as it is seen now. This plan encompasses the goals of the University and was created by a large amount of faculty and staff at both the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park Campuses.
According to Dr. Eric Powell, one of the two co-chairs for the Steering Committee, “This is the first time in years that the school has implemented a strategic plan.” He said that he and Dr. Nina McClain and their teams have been working on the plan since October 2023. “It’s a comprehensive effort” was said when Dr. Powell was asked about how the plan was created. He said that the teams are composed of 6 sub committees, 6 chairs within those committees as well as a broad range of faculty and staff to come up with the goals and structure that are in the plan. The plan is currently open to commentary to aid in improvement.
Why is the plan so important? The 5 year strategic plan is a guiding force for the school as in the leading goals and objectives. “The plan covers the reason for the University’s existence and operations.” Goals involving enrollment, recruitment, retention rates, and student success are included in the plan as Southern Mississippi wants to grow in their numbers and overall future success. There’s goals with academic culture, faculty interactions with students, objectives on operation as well as improving or even adding to the courses provided with the school. The plan also includes the research and productivity, the President and Steering Committee aim to keep the Carnegie R1 research level.
The plan does not just discuss the student and professor aspect of the University but also includes the administration and how they aim to boost efficiency and performance as well as boosting their financial abilities. The Steering Committee also included how the University interacts with the community including Hattiesburg/Gulf Park as well as the state and beyond. The Committee included the Alumni and how USM interacts with them to the plan as well. The 2025-2029 plan is meant to be as thorough and thought through as possible without providing advice. The plan was made to establish University wide expectations for all to aim for and follow.
Dr. Eric Powell’s statement over the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan, “This process has been a very serious process with a lot of people involved. The President (Dr. Joe Paul) has set it up so that he can get advice from all across the University.” He emphasized that the plan is not formally published but is still in the draft form. If you are interested in looking at the plan in its current state or even putting in your own commentary, you can do so at this link.
The University of Southern Mississippi Strategic Planning Input (qualtrics.com)