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A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives

Finding aid prepared by Amy L. Jankowski.

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives

Creator
Indiana University. President. Strategic Directions Charter.

Collection No.
C60

Extent
6.4 cubic feet (7 boxes)

Language
Materials are in English

Abstract
The Strategic Directions Charter is an initiative enacted by Indiana University President Myles Brand in 1995 in response to acknowledged fundamental changes in the environment for higher education. The Charter’s goal is to enact institutional changes and plans which will sustain the University’s excellence, enabling it to emerge as a model for America’s New Public University. A steering committee and topical task forces were created to guide Strategic Directions Charter initiatives and review proposed projects for funding. The collection includes administrative documents as well as files from funded and un-funded proposals submitted for rounds one, two, and three (1996-1998) of the Strategic Directions Charter initiative.

Access Restrictions

Select files closed to researchers. All “Route Sheets for Strategic Directions Implementation Proposals” were removed from proposal files and are restricted to researchers due to the presence of social security numbers. Restricted files are housed at the end of the collection in Box 7. Route sheets also contain basic proposal information, including project directors and associates, general budgets, project needs, and signatures for approval. Inquire with archives staff about potential access to non-sensitive information in these documents.

Advance notice required for access to collection.

Administrative History

The Strategic Directions Charter is an initiative enacted in 1995 by Indiana University President Myles Brand in response to recognition that fundamental changes were underway in the greater environment of higher education. The charter is founded on the work of more than 250 members of the university community and friends of the university who began meeting in January 1995 as the Strategic Directions Steering Committee. Constituents—including faculty, staff, students, and alumni from every IU campus, chancellors, deans, program directors, members of the IU Board of Trustees, executives in business and industry, school educators, and administrators in state and local government—were organized into eight task forces, each in charge of completing a report recommending valuable changes for the university from a variety of perspectives.

Published in June 1995, the task force reports set recommendations for targeted change relevant to all Indiana University campuses. Goals included adapting to the widespread changes affecting the constructs of higher education at the time, as well as facilitating Indiana University’s emergence as a model for America’s New Public University. From these reports, the Strategic Directions Charter was drafted in the fall of 1995, and the final version was widely publicized in January 1996. Both the task force reports and the charter act as dynamic guides for action, which highlight areas for university improvement. In response to these documents, panels of university faculty members were encouraged to create project proposals and to solicit funding for new initiatives or improvements to current programs, particularly those which would help to push Indiana University towards its identified goals.

The university allocated $25 million in one-time monies for successful project proposals over the course of three rounds. The Office of Research and the University Graduate School (RUGS) set up review panels that received and commented on pre-proposals during each of the three rounds for funding. The first round of proposals, due March 1, 1996, emphasized innovations in the areas of teaching and learning and building stronger bridges between the university, K-12 schools, and community agencies. The second round, due September 1996, focused on the need to support research. The third round, due March 1997, stressed selective investments in excellence by campus chancellors rather than faculty members.

Arrangement

Collection is organized into three series: Administrative files; Proposals, Approved and Funded; and Proposals, Un-Funded.

Scope and Content Note

The Strategic Directions Charter records are organized into three series: Administrative files; Proposals, Approved and Funded; and Proposals, Un-Funded.

The first series, Administrative (1994-1998), contains documents related to the planning procedures, charter drafting, and activities of the Strategic Directions steering committee and task forces. Materials in this series include correspondence (largely printed emails), mailings, progress reports, charter drafts, published Strategic Directions Charter pamphlet monographs, documentation from a Strategic Directions related Shawnee Bluffs retreat, proposal rankings, and other documentation related to funding allocation decisions. Documents organized here are largely the products of review panels, steering committee meetings, and topical task forces. Items in this series are arranged alphabetically by subject. When multiple files exist for the same subject, these are further arranged alphabetically by sub-topic or chronologically when appropriate.

The second series, Proposals, Approved and Funded (1996-1998), contains project proposals submitted in response to the Strategic Directions Charter’s call, which went on to be approved and funded. Correspondence, documents reflecting the approval decision-making process, and other related materials are also included. Proposals are divided into three subseries: Round 1: 1996 (1996); Round 2: 1997 (1996-1997); and Round 3: 1998 (1997-1998). The date ranges for each subseries reflect creation dates for all materials, as well as the year in which accepted proposals were to take effect. Within each subseries, proposals are organized numerically by ID number. One cassette tape originally located in the folder entitled, “#1997-063 Harmonia: Public Radio Program Syndication; Kuzmych, Christina #3,” was removed and re-housed in Accession 4411, Box 10.

The third series, Proposals, Un-Funded (1996-1998), contains project proposals submitted in response to the Strategic Directions Charter’s call, which were not approved or funded. Correspondence, documents reflecting the approval decision-making process, and other related materials may also be included. Proposals are divided into three subseries: Round 1: 1996 (1996); Round 2: 1997 (1996-1997); and Round 3: 1998 (1997-1998). The date ranges for each subseries reflect creation dates for all materials, as well as the year in which accepted proposals were to take effect. Within each subseries, proposals are organized numerically by ID number.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Indiana University. President. Strategic Directions Charter --Archives.
  • Indiana University. President. Strategic Directions Charter --Records and correspondence.
  • Indiana University. President. Strategic Directions Charter --History --Sources.
  • Indiana University --Planning.
• • Topics
  • Universities and colleges --Indiana --Bloomington
  • Edcuation, Higher --Aims and objectives --Indiana

Separated Material

Sixty photographs were pulled from the folder entitled “Shawnee Bluffs Retreat, Mailings, General, 11 August 1995” and are housed with the Archives’ photograph collection. Photographs feature candid snapshots of retreat participants and include a number of duplicates. Inquire with photograph curator for access information.

One cassette tape originally located in the folder entitled, “#1997 063 Harmonia: Public Radio Program Syndication; Kuzmych, Christina #3,” labeled “Harmonia, WFIU Indiana University, Bloomington” removed and re-housed with Accession 4411, Box 10.

Administrative Information

Container List