Strategic Thinking Task Force (WOW)

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Strengths

Forced me to rethink (for the first time) some things I take for granted. It did expand my horizons.

Michael Dolence presentation. Final session professionalism.

Opportunity to interact with colleagues from across campus.

Dr. Proenza's overview, Dolence presentation, Knight facility

Bringing a comprehensive group of campus leaders/representatives together to discuss issues of this magnitude which impact the future of the University of Akron. Michael Dolence's presentation was good- I wish he had more time. Meals and refreshment breaks were very good. Good facility!

Diversity of participants. Freedom to speak.

Wonderful opportunity to share ideas- meet colleagues who previously had only been names- elimination of rank, titles, etc. which often pose barriers- open give and take- developed camaraderie.

Speaker (Dolence) was very knowledgeable and energizing. Excellent vision from

Dr. Proenza. Inclusive of a good cross-section of the university.

Involvement, energy, content

Created a forum to explore diverse perspectives. Opportunity to hear voices of individuals who would not routinely come together.

The fact that it was an inclusive process and that it had taken place. Good communications device and community building exercise.

Good first day introduction. I liked Mr. Dolence's presentation but it didn't give much direction to the second day process.

Focus on thinking significantly differently. Major presentation from professional outside the University. Strong leadership from President supporting/insisting change. Inclusive nature of group. The energy created at the prospect of doing things differently.

Very bright, open-minded people. Everyone participated, no one person dominated conversation. There was also an honest attempt to access the situations. Great ideas and pertinent situations were pointed out, and an atmosphere for open contributions.

A wealth of information being made available, both about UA and the world of education. Excellent motivational efforts on participants, beyond a certain amount of motherhood and apple pie.

Brought in a very stimulating speaker to launch the topic of strategic thinking. Very good. Very appropriate.

The invitation to put everything on the table. Excellent location. Good keynoters.

Getting to know colleagues, share ideas, build sense of community. Dolence was thought-provoking, though full of himself and somewhat contemptuous of academics.

The sheer joy of doing it! It brings people together in many ways. Sharing of ideas, concerns, hopes, dreams, learning the perspectives of others. Made me feel part of a team.

Good opportunity to interact and openly and honestly address concerns of faculty/staff and students.

Good to get into different environment (away from office/campus distractions). Food-great breaks and lunch. Good mix of people participating (number and location)

Hearing from Dr. Proenza. Michael Dolence's presentation. Opportunity to wrestle tough questions with people from across campus. Opportunity to meet people from different departments.

Open dialogues. Diversity.

Michael Dolence presentation- The ideas were provocative of further thought.

The large number of people invited and the many areas of the University they represent. The guest speaker, Michael Dolence, was great! Nice food and facilities.

Participants (virtually all) seemed inspired and energized, and ready to spread the inspirational message from Michael Dolence.

Diverse groups. Request to focus on large issues, etc.

Dr. Proenza's perspective. Future scenario given by Dolence. Food. Interaction with leaders of the U of A.

Ideas that have been generated. Knowledge of the participants. The facility (location) The size and diversity of the group.

Michael Dolence. The whole event. The opportunity to participate in these discussions with people from all over campus. The energy.

Michael Dolence as a leader to guide our thinking. Excellent speaker, good ideas. Chance to interact and discuss ideas with colleagues. Good facilities and food.

Many different ideas. Dolence's presentation starts us on the right path.

Share ideas

Interactions of department chairs and faculty and the brainstorming that took place.

The process itself. I have been involved in a group like this before. The opportunity to communicate with so many peers was invaluable.

Sense of direction, movement and enthusiasm for the future. Great outside speakers, Prough is an excellent facilitator. Inspiration and motivation from Proenza.

Dolence was an excellent speaker. He introduced concepts that made an impact on the audience. Thought provoking! Broad theories! Second day went much more quickly due to the mental stimulation of group work. Faculty and Staff!

Excellent speakers that know their areas very well (1st day). Good "roundtable" interchanges of ideas to formulate improvement (2nd day)

George Prough- good job! President Proenza. Michael Dolence- #1 strength. He gave us food for thought, challenged us to change and created a sense of urgency.

The fact that we have taken two days to start this process.

Excellent speaker and breakout group.

Mix of participants. Exchange of ideas. Learning everyone's personal agenda.

Good to get together with others across campus.

Interactions with university personnel from other departments, differing approaches to problems, different perceptions of the same issues. New solutions to problems. A good "wake-up" call for everyone. Left feeling that we were going to "do something" rather than just philosophize.

Breadth and inclusiveness of the group. Continuing nature of the discussion.

Bringing the campus community together for discussion. Need to do more often. Facilities and food were very good.

President Proenza's remarks and guidance. Michael Dolence's presentation. Involvement of a large number of leaders. Friendly, committed group leaders and facilitators.

Michael Dolence was very good- informative and entertaining. Maybe too many slides and could have been an hour less.

Opportunity for all areas to come together and look at positives of UA and areas needing improvement. Excellent handout material. UA President leading us into the future.

Good start to generate interest, establish direction, etc. ÊFirst time we've included staff with faculty in any type of planning process. It's great to work together!

Inclusiveness of audience. Dolence presentation.

Polymers, bio-medical engineering, outreach, distance learning, intellectual property, arts, diverse programming, access, collaborative programs

Very diverse group. Excellent speaker- Dolence. Energizing. Nice facility.

Wide spectrum of campus involvement. Michael Dolence- excellent ideas, can show how to actually make changes. George Prough- great moderator- high energy. Luis Proenza- vision is evident and exciting. Offcampus- nice, great food! Fun!

Brainstorming, identifying what needs to be done. Allowing student opinions and a broad range of university officials.

Tremendous opportunity to collectively address and identify organizational issues/agendas while crafting UA's vision and strategic motivators- the "process" is important, but establishing the "environment" for change is absolutely essential to everything that follows.

Coming together of people who don't normally interact with each other.

Speakers presented new ideas and challenges to innovative thinking

Good to get this number of people together in one place. . . especially to share perspectives.

Organized very nicely, an efficient show

The involvement/interaction of a large segment of the campus; the resulting communication across segments. Stress on the overview in general sessions it is exciting to contemplate/discuss change as positive and to see this university operate as a "whole".

Diversity of participants; Good consultant!; Presidential support and insistence on change- refreshing.

Focus group topics were excellent.

Openness and willingness of the participants to discuss and share ideas. A good crossection of the university represented.

Presentation by Dolence. Changes of President. Coordination and insights of GeorgePrough. Workgroups.

Bringing people together.

The program set the stage for needed change. It provided an opportunity for campus leaders from different disciplines to mix, exchange ideas. Indicated some of the future challenges to our university.

Dolence was a great speaker and presented a new outlook for many of us. The structure of the retreat encouraged feelings of excitement and empowerment.

O.K.

Great job gathering all leaders- excellent networking.

Excellent forum and discussion.

Always good to bring various parts of university together to focus.

Michael Dolence idea generation. Framework of strategic thinking versus planning.

Open discussion of ideas is very energizing. Outstanding presentation by Dolence. Outstanding leadership and envisioning by President. Good pace.

Interactive. Motivational Speaker. A diverse group together/ cross-section of the university.

Different presenters, group participation, meeting people from other schools which serendipitously led to some new initiatives.

Energizing speaker- M. Dolence - idea stretching. Encouragement of thought expansion. Structured format/facilitators. Opportunities for diverse input. Location and great refreshments.

Mike Dolence was a great introduction to the changing landscape in higher ed. The cross-discipline discussion was important. The facility was effective.

Michael Dolence. Group discussions.

Strong leadership from the President.

Good to get University community together. Lots of "food for thought".

A great program.

I thought the program was good- we need to do this at least one day every year. The whole faculty should hear Michael Dolence.

Participants were very involved and committed to making the most of the time (day 1 groups). Felt like a focused "retreat". The President's passion and leadership and involvement.

Good interaction. Idea generation- this type of thing provides great energy to those who attend.

Excellent speaker- Michael Dolence. Groups very good (take next step). Excellent team building.

Format. Speaker- Dolence, especially. Inclusion (You created an environment in which 175 people from different areas across campus discusses big-picture ideas from new perspectives. Bravo! Lots of honest observation.

Kept on schedule, great food and drinks. Keynote speaker dynamic.

It gave us a chance to dwell on the positive things happening at the University of Akron. Excellent talks by Kenneth Dickey and Michael Dolence.

Diversity of faculty commentary on issues presented in discussion groups. Food was excellent.

Wide participation. Openness. Feeling of safety.

The interaction and dialogue between members of our campus community.

Discussion groups on 2nd day. Lunch. Long term planning focus. Opportunity to express views to a broad variety of people on campus.

Meeting, and exchanging news with , family, and staff you never knew before. The level of useful, shared experiences was quite eye-opening and the size of my group (4) was manageable enough for easy discussion. Energizing main speaker (Dolence) set a vigorous tore. Apparent freedom to speak one's mind.

Michael Dolence - very motivational, very informative, helped with a positive mind set for work to be accomplished.

Strengths | Weaknesses | Suggestions for Improvement