President Robert J. Jones and Provost Tricia Serio convened a strategic planning committee in autumn 2025 to develop the University of Washington’s strategic framework. This section outlines the committee’s charge, the key considerations that informed its work, the timeline followed during framework development and the broad engagement process used to shape the vision, pillars and objectives that became the foundation for the strategic plan.
President Jones and Provost Serio charged the strategic planning committee with developing a framework that met the urgency of this moment and:
- Advances the University of Washington’s mission as a major public research university committed to excellence in teaching, discovery, impact and public service
- Identifies bold goals along with enabling strategies and tactics that position the UW for success in a rapidly evolving higher education landscape
- Guides institutional decision-making, particularly in relation to resource allocation and strategic investment
- Informs related initiatives across the University
- Sustains strategic momentum through the conclusion of the 2029–30 academic year, with a focus on actionable steps over the next two years
The framework and subsequent plan will be reviewed and refreshed prior to the final year of UW’s current accreditation cycle (2028–29), or earlier if circumstances require.
Strategic planning does not occur in isolation — it is shaped by a variety of contextual considerations. The following key sources informed development of the University’s new strategic framework:
- Mission, vision and values: The University’s foundational mission, vision and values will be reflected throughout the strategic plan.
- Unit- and campus-level strategic plans: Most schools, colleges, campuses and administrative units have developed their own strategic plans with extensive input from faculty, staff, students and external stakeholders. During the 2024–25 academic year, these plans were reviewed and synthesized into a strategic framework that identified common crosscutting themes.
- Federal policy landscape: The evolving federal landscape significantly influences our current and future direction.
- Existing and emerging strategic initiatives: The strategic framework will articulate the UW’s future direction, building on initiatives already underway. These serve as implementation pathways and sources of inspiration:
- Finance, Planning & Budgeting’s Together We Thrive program, which outlines financial challenges and a collaborative approach to solutions, including the transition to an Incentive-Based Budgeting model.
- The Diversity Blueprint, now entering its final year and undergoing review.
- Strategic initiatives supported by the Strategic Initiatives Office, including Population Health, Civic Health, Youth Mental Health and Well-Being, Climate, and Artificial Intelligence.
- University Advancement’s early-stage preparations for the next comprehensive fundraising campaign.
- College, school and unit-level strategic plans, as available.
- A new tri-campus guide for incorporating community engagement into strategic planning.
- The Research Resilience and Transformation initiative, which is developing strategies to enhance the sustainability, competitiveness and impact of the UW’s research enterprise while mitigating emerging risks.
- Historical context: This framework will build on the momentum of previous strategic efforts.
The planning process for the framework followed a clear timeline:
- December 15, 2025: Submission of a preliminary draft of the framework to President Jones and Provost Serio for initial review and feedback.
- January 31, 2026: Submission of a revised second draft, incorporating feedback and additional input.
- March 18, 2026: Submission of a third draft, incorporating additional input.
- March and April 2026: Solicited feedback from internal and external stakeholders and partners.
- May 14, 2026: Presentation to the Board of Regents.
Planning committee
The strategic planning committee was composed of 62 faculty, staff and students, led by three co-chairs:
- François Baneyx, Vice Provost for Innovation
- Aarti Bhat, Faculty Senate Chair and Professor of Pediatrics
- Andreas Bohman, Vice President for Information Technology
Together, the co-chairs fostered an inclusive and collaborative process grounded in creativity, evidence-based decision-making and respect for diverse viewpoints.
The committee reflected a broad range of expertise, perspectives and roles from across the University. Members were selected for their ability to think strategically, engage across boundaries and help shape a bold, shared vision for the UW’s future.
Committee members were asked to lead a thoughtful, inclusive planning process by engaging in the following activities:
- Engage broadly with University communities through:
- Listening sessions on each campus in November 2025 and January 2026 to gather ideas, perspectives and feedback;
- Ongoing outreach within individual networks throughout the process;
- Targeted engagement with key communities in February and March 2026 to help vet a preliminary draft of the plan.
- Consider input submitted through a tri-campus survey in early autumn 2025.
- Assess emerging opportunities and challenges using institutional data, industry benchmarks and other key sources.
- Draft, refine and recommend a set of strategic goals and strategies.
- Capture the vision of the plan with an appropriate and compelling title.
- Offer regular updates on progress to University leadership and the broader community.
The 62 faculty, staff and students who composed the strategic planning committee were:
- Avanti Adhia, Assistant Professor, Nursing
- Nidhi Agrawal, Professor, Foster School
- François Baneyx, Vice Provost for Innovation and Director of CoMotion
- Danny Barrow, Vice Provost, Enrollment Management
- Anirban Basu, Professor, Pharmacy
- Aarti Bhat, Chair, Faculty Senate, and Professor, Pediatrics
- Andreas Bohman, Vice President and CIO for UW-IT
- Ryan Calo, Professor, Law
- Donald Chi, Professor, Dentistry
- Alexander Chiu, Executive Vice Dean, Medicine
- Sally Clark, Vice President for Campus Community Safety
- Gregg Colburn, Associate Professor, Built Environments
- Andrew Connolly, Professor, Arts & Sciences
- Sara Curran, Professor and Associate Vice Provost, Arts & Sciences
- Tim Dellit, CEO of UW Medicine, Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Paul G. Ramsey Endowed Dean
- Anind Dey, Dean, Information School
- Nicole Dierks, Associate Vice President for Branding & Marketing
- Ahmad Ezzeddine, Vice Provost, Global Affairs
- Amanda Figueroa, Associate Vice Chancellor for Social Mobility, UW Tacoma
- Bianca Frogner, Professor and Interim Chair, Medicine
- Deborah Fuller, Professor, Medicine
- Mary Gresch, Senior Vice President for University Advancement
- Dan Grossman, Professor, Engineering
- Rickey Hall, Vice President for Minority Affairs & Diversity, University Diversity Officer
- Andy Harris, Executive Vice Chancellor, UW Tacoma
- Andrea Hill, Chair, UW Tacoma Faculty Assembly, and Associate Teaching Professor
- Heather Hill, Professor, Evans School
- Cinnamon Hillyard, Associate Vice Chancellor, Student Success, UW Bothell
- Heather Horn, Vice President, Human Resources
- Eddie Kasner, Assistant Teaching Professor, Public Health
- Melissa Knox, Teaching Professor, Arts & Sciences
- Sara Kover, Professor and Chair, Arts & Sciences
- Sharon Laing, Associate Professor, UW Tacoma
- Tyler Lange, Secretary of the Board of Regents
- Shan Liu, Associate Professor, Engineering
- Laura Lowes, Professor, Engineering
- Tyson Marsh, Chair, UW Bothell General Faculty Organization, and Associate Professor
- Brian Martensen, Executive Vice Chancellor, UW Bothell
- Jack Martin, Vice President for Marketing & Communications
- Keva Miller, Dean, School of Social Work and Criminal Justice, UW Tacoma
- Michelle Montgomery, Professor, UW Tacoma
- Megan Moore, Associate Professor, Social Work
- Simon Neame, Dean, UW Libraries
- India Ornelas, Professor, Public Health
- Dan Ratner, Professor of Bioengineering and Associate Dean, College of Engineering
- Adan Rodriguez, President, ASUW Bothell
- Paul Rucker, Vice President for Alumni & Stakeholder Engagement
- Jodi Sandfort, Dean, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance
- Brinda Sarathy, Dean, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, UW Bothell
- Maya Smith, Associate Dean and Professor, Arts & Sciences
- Gabriel Solis, Divisional Dean for Arts, Arts & Sciences
- Emma Spiro, Associate Professor, Information School
- Abigail Swann, Professor, Arts & Sciences / Environment
- Ed Taylor, Dean and Vice Provost, Undergraduate Academic Affairs
- Hilaire Thompson, Executive Dean, School of Nursing
- Mia Tuan, Dean, College of Education
- Wadiya Udell, Professor, UW Bothell
- Jürgen Unützer, Professor and Chair, Medicine
- Sonal Virk, Vice President, ASUW Seattle
- Rae Watkins, President, ASUW Tacoma
- Ryan Wicklund, President, GPSS
- Joy Williamson-Lott, Dean, Graduate School
Read summaries for each of the committee’s meetings via the following links.
Community input
Development of the strategic framework included input from faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders across the UW community. Surveys, listening sessions and other feedback opportunities informed the committee’s discussions and helped identify key priorities, challenges and areas of opportunity. The summaries below provide an overview of the engagement activities and the key themes that emerged throughout the process.
On September 19, 2025, the University of Washington distributed a short Qualtrics survey via email to all employees across its three campuses to support the launch of the strategic planning process. The invitation was co-signed by President Robert J. Jones and Provost Tricia Serio. The survey included five open-ended questions designed to gather faculty and staff feedback on the direction of institutional strategic planning.
Participants authenticated their UW community membership by signing in with a UW NetID; however, responses were anonymized using one-way hash encryption. The survey remained open from September 19 through September 29, 2025, and yielded 1,003 qualified responses.
Key Findings
Inductive qualitative data analysis revealed the following emergent themes for each of the five questions:
- What are our existing competitive advantages that we should prioritize and protect?
- Excellence in Research and Academic Programs
- Regional and Strategic Embeddedness
- Commitment to Equity, Access, and Inclusion
- People, Culture, and Organizational Strengths
- Reputation, Trust, and Social Responsibility
- What are the emerging areas in which, with focus and modest investment, we could increase our impact?
- Leverage Existing Strengths
- Improve the UW’s Value Proposition
- Belonging and Inclusion at the UW
- Operational Efficiencies and Synergies
- What should we stop doing now or transform to increase our effectiveness as a foundation for the future?
- Operational Efficiencies and Synergies
- Equity and Inclusion
- Resource Generation and Distribution
- Core Institutional Mission
- What are our greatest opportunities to promote the success and well-being of our students?
- Target Resources for Specific Student Support Services
- Attract, Support and Protect Diverse Students
- Invest in High-Impact Student Opportunities
- Support Faculty and Staff Who Support Students
- What other questions should we ask?
- How can the University reduce costs?
- How can the University attract, retain, and support faculty and staff?
- What barriers to innovation and collaboration exist, and how can we remove them?
- How can the University financially insulate itself from changes in state and federal funding?
Overall, responses reflected a neutral to slightly positive emotional tone. Negative sentiment was most pronounced in answers to the question regarding increasing institutional effectiveness.
Next Steps
These findings informed the strategic planning committee’s work in drafting a vision statement, overarching priorities and key objectives for the University’s strategic plan.
A total of 52 students and employees attended the November 12, 2025, listening session at UW Bothell’s North Creek Events Center.
A total of 71 students and employees attended the November 17, 2025, listening session in the Zillow Commons on Seattle’s campus.
A total of 40 students and employees attended the November 20, 2025, listening session in UW Tacoma’s Jane Russell Commons.
A total of 75 students and employees attended the December 1, 2025, listening session via Zoom and in person in the Hans Rosling Center for Population Health on the Seattle campus.
A total of 66 students and employees from the health science schools attended the January 6, 2026, listening session via Zoom and in person in the South Campus Center on the Seattle campus.