Westphal For All: A Vision For Our Future

WESTPHAL FOR ALL: A VISION FOR OUR FUTURE STRATEGIC PLAN 2022-2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

01

A NOTE FROM DEAN JASON SCHUPBACH

02

A NOTE FROM WESTPHAL FACULTY CAUCUS

03

A NOTE FROM THE WESTPHAL STRATEGIC PLANNING TASK FORCE LEADERSHIP

04

PLANNING PROCESS

07

MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES

09

GOALS & STRATEGIES

19

IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

29

THE FUTURE

30

APPENDIX A: PLANNING PROCESS TIMELINE

31

APPENDIX B: STRATEGIC PLANNING TASK FORCE AND CONSULTANTS

32

APPENDIX C: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

A NOTE FROM DEAN JASON SCHUPACH

Pandemics change the world. Our society is disrupted in ways unexpected and necessary.

Higher education and the media, arts, and design fields must transform to address the challenges and injustices we face. The Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design will grasp this moment through our new plan. It sets forward a new vision for Westphal that will shape the future of our fields, expand the scope of our approach to education, elevate our research, scholarship, and creative work, and strategically position the college within the University and society.

Aligning with Drexel’s strategic plan, this plan will help us prepare our students to become innovators and leaders in the creative careers of the future. With the use of interactive and immersive learning technologies to enhance our learning experiences, we will create space for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary exploration of our curriculum, our student experiences, and our faculty research and creative endeavors. In addition, we will strengthen our connections to industry through new collaborations and partnerships. We will create a singular and unique Antoinette Westphal College identity that demonstrates the value we create for all our stakeholders, and we will effectively enhance and expand our physical and technological environments.

Central to this plan is the role of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism as a means to create an inclusive culture that will inform every decision we make. These principles will be embedded in all of our policies, procedures, and curricula.

Our plan reflects an inclusive process of co-creation, representing the voices of students, faculty, staff, alumni, University units, industry, and community. I want to thank all of the faculty and staff who worked tirelessly on the strategic planning task force, our consulting team at Davis Gay + Associates, and all the people who provided input throughout this process.

We are so excited to partner with all of you to (re)build the creative sector and careers for the 21st century. We will not look back, but forward. Now is the time to get to work.

Let’s go!

Jason Schupbach Dean, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design

01

A NOTE FROM WESTPHAL FACULTY CAUCUS

Shared governance between administration and faculty is only possible through empowered faculty governance, which is accomplished through an elected body of faculty that work toward achieving a collective voice. In the Westphal College, this body is the Westphal Faculty Caucus, which began informally in 2002 and then became a formalized body through the ratification of the “Westphal College Charter of Faculty Governance” and the “Bylaws of the Westphal Faculty Caucus” on January 1, 2019.

The Westphal Faculty Caucus envisions a community of stakeholders that works in a collaborative environment to build upon the College’s established academic success and rigor. The Caucus looks forward to working with partners at all levels to contribute towards the implementation of the strategies and goals of this Strategic Plan.

The Westphal Faculty Caucus recognizes the significance of this strategic plan and acknowledges the importance of its faculty governance role in moving the College forward in an inclusive and equitable way as we seek excellence over the next five years.

Westphal Caucus Executive Committee

02

A NOTE FROM THE WESTPHAL STRATEGIC PLANNING TASK FORCE LEADERSHIP

As leaders of the Westphal strategic planning task force, we are proud of what of what was an extremely transparent, participatory, and consultative process. Our 16-member task force comprised representatives from every department in the college as well as every administrative office. Faculty and staff were both represented and co-led the process, collaborating as a team over the course of a year.

Throughout the duration of the planning process, the task force worked with our consultants to deeply engage stakeholders within and beyond the Antoinette Westphal College. We held roundtables with Drexel, community, and industry partners as well as our students and alumni. We convened three All-College meetings focused on planningrelated activities and work on anti-racism. We solicited input from all departments and operating units, through two surveys and numerous feedback sessions including a series of strategy development workshops. We held three retreats as a task force to analyze data and put together the building blocks of the strategic plan. And that is only the tip of the iceberg of our stakeholder engagement effort.

An overriding commitment of the task force, which is evident in the plan, is our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and to Anti-Racism. These are themes that affect every aspect of the strategic plan and must inform all of our work going forward.

We want to specifically acknowledge the work of the Antionette Westphal College’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Anti-racism subgroup of the planning task force. They kept us focused and accountable to these urgent priorities.

A planning document is only as robust as the process that brought it into being. We believe that the process we have undertaken over the last year will serve us well. It has strengthened the will and ambition of the faculty, staff, and administration to turn these goals and strategies into reality.

Andrew Zitcer, PhD, Co-Chair, Strategic Planning Task Force Katie Gross, Co-Chair, Strategic Planning Task Force Valerie Ifill, Chair, Anti-Racism Subgroup, Strategic Planning Task Force

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PLANNING PROCESS

WHAT MAKES WESTPHAL UNIQUE? We seek to make meaning in our world and transform it through the power of our creative, entrepreneurial, and scholarly pursuits. We have a diversity of disciplines spanning the entire spectrum of the media, performing and visual arts, and design fields. Our unique College empowers the next generation of creative professionals and leaders for the fast-growing $877 billion creative economy.

While we are already a thriving and successful college, as evidenced by top national and international rankings, we never stop striving to be at the forefront of our fields. The Antoinette Westphal College is poised to reach even greater successes with our broad array of complementary academic programs; faculty who are the leading innovators in media, arts, and design; a focus on cooperative and experiential learning; and our rigorous, applied approach to educating the next generation of creative industry leaders.

Our students, faculty and staff bring a diversity of backgrounds, skills, expertise, and passion for their work that is unmatched anywhere else. The Antionette Westphal College will actively lead innovation at Drexel University, integrating our creative solutions and design thinking capabilities with the University’s strategic plan, Drexel 2030: Designing the Future, and support the University through today’s social and global challenges and into the future.

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OUR PLANNING PROCESS

PLANNING THE FUTURE OF WESTPHAL COLLEGE Planning our future amid a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, and a struggle for racial justice, as well as seismic shifts in higher education, may seem inopportune, but it is precisely because of these realities that we must establish a bold and clear vision of how we want to emerge from these challenging times. The strategic planning process provided us with an opportunity to reflect on all we have learned from the recent upheaval and how we will respond to the challenges still ahead.

Our new strategic plan for the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design is the result of an inclusive process that will shape our future as we embark on the next five years.

Our mission, vision, and values lay the groundwork for our future, and our strategies will lead to fulfilling our goals.

In alignment with the Drexel 2030 Strategic Plan, Westphal’s strategic plan will ensure that our College leverages its strengths, addresses critical challenges affecting the future of our fields post-pandemic, and becomes a more inclusive, anti-racist college within the University.

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OUR PLANNING PROCESS

OUR STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

surveys, interviews, and historic data, we collaboratively developed our overarching goals and priorities.

From the pre-planning stage to the documentation of our final strategic plan, this process leveraged the knowledge, wisdom, and expertise of hundreds of people, all of whom are invested in Westphal’s future.

This plan would not possible without them, and the generosity of spirit they showed through a most difficult time period was truly amazing.

Our year-long strategic planning process was broadly inclusive and deliberative, reaching all Westphal stakeholders inside and outside of our College (see our full timeline in Appendix A). Our six-stage strategic planning framework gathered comprehensive feedback and data from all Westphal stakeholders, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, industry leaders, community members, and all key units within the University. Through information gathered in all-college meetings, focus groups,

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Our planning process was guided by a dedicated and insightful strategic planning task force (see task force members in Appendix B), appointed by our Faculty Caucus and their peers, comprising representatives from all Westphal departments and operating units to ensure that all voices would be heard. Guiding our planning process was the consulting firm of Davis Gay + Associates, a Philadelphia-based, women- and Black-owned consulting practice committed to engaging in robust conversations though an inquiry-based method-ology. This firm was selected through a competitive RFP process in which nine consulting firms were reviewed and vetted by the strategic planning task force leadership and the Westphal Dean’s Office. Davis Gay + Associates’ expertise in highereducation, arts and culture, and equity-based approaches ensured that our new plan reflects the values and priorities we clearly heard from our stakeholders.

The creation of our strategic plan marks the completion of the five stages of our strategic planning framework. With our new strategic plan in place, we can move towards putting our plan into action.

Note: See Appendix C for a glossary of terms used within the plan.

MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES

OUR MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES Our new mission, vision, and values are at the core of our strategic plan. These three elements are the foundation of a plan that will guide us into the next stage of our college’s future. The mission articulates our reason for being; our vision describes the future we seek; and our values define the beliefs we hold as a community. These three elements emerged through the comprehensive and iterative process described above, with extensive input and vigorous dialogue.

OUR MISSION The Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design’s mission is to unlock the creativity of critical thinkers, makers, and creators who connect ideas and solve real-world problems, transforming careers and lives.

OUR VISION The Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design’s vision is to shape the future of interdisciplinary creative practices, equitable partnerships, and inclusive engagement to enrich our campus, our communities, and our world.

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MISSION, VISION, & VALUES

OUR VALUES CREATIVITY: We believe art, design, storytelling, critical thinking, and enterprise are fundamental to our work and to our society. We prize intellectual curiosity, self-expression, and innovation. We prize academic rigor and experiential learning.

COMMUNITY: We create diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist communities where our internal and external stakeholders can show up as their full selves and thrive. We value respect and integrity in all of our interactions, encouraging every individual to use their voice toward creative problem solving and positive change.

COLLABORATION: We celebrate individual ideas and collective strength across disciplines and sectors. We believe in equitable access to resources, tools, and spaces. We actively and intentionally engage in partnerships with our neighbors locally and our industry colleagues globally.

COURAGE: We make space for experimentation, risk taking, learning from failure, and working at the edges of media, arts, and design.

COMMUNICATION: We value responsible and transparent management and communications, technological advancement, and lifelong learning.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

IDENTIFIED AREAS OF FOCUS After extensive review and analysis of all feedback and data from our stakeholders, seven areas of focus emerged that shape the goals of our strategic plan. In analyzing this feedback and data, we clearly heard and recognize that diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism must be deliberatively embedded into our goals and strategies.

In identifying our areas of focus, we celebrated that the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design is a dynamic community that seeks to elevate our disciplines by discovering new knowledge and originating creative works.

Through our involvement in the forefront of our disciplines, we are uniquely situated to transform our students through education that enables them to succeed in their careers.

We seek to solidify our reputation as one of the premier colleges for creative disciplines in the country. We will educate students to become sought-after graduates who bring intellectual curiosity and unparalleled excellence to their professions; we will motivate our faculty to be world-class creators, scholars, and researchers; and we will provide exciting opportunities for our staff to advance in their careers.

In order to achieve our ambitions, we will engage in robust communications and promotion to tell the Westphal story to expanded audiences. We will also value continued communication with our students throughout their careers.

Finally, we will encourage transparent shared governance between administration and faculty and seek inclusive strategies for achieving excellence.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

AREAS OF FOCUS

CURRICULAR INFRASTRUCTURE & INNOVATION

STUDENT EXPERIENCE

RESEARCH, SCHOLARSHIP & CREATIVE ACTIVITY

FACULTY EXPERIENCE

IDENTITY & COMMUNICATIONS

STAFF EXPERIENCE

FACILITIES & OPERATIONS

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

OUR GOALS Our goals broadly and ambitiously define the major impact we seek to have in each of our seven areas of focus.

These goals represent ambitious, bold statements that will guide our future work as a college.

FROM GOALS TO STRATEGIES For each of our goals, stakeholders from within and outside Westphal shared specific ways that each goal could be achieved. Hundreds of ideas were collected and compiled. Our strategies were determined by grouping these ideas into their common elements. Faculty and staff then prioritized these strategies to identify the order in which they would appear in this plan and to inform the future implementation processes of the plan.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “Students must be better connected with the local community to learn how to design and create for people outside of our individual areas of study.”

- Westphal Student

STRATEGIES: • Build on and leverage Westphal’s exceptional strengths to transform our students into even more successful creative professionals.

• Redesign the first-year undergraduate experience to emphasize inclusivity and interdisciplinarity.

• Optimize and strengthen the Co-op experience and approach to provide high-quality, career-enhancing opportunities for all Westphal students.

• Deepen students’ sense of belonging by strengthening their connections to their programs, other disciplines within the College, and the broader Westphal community.

• Recruit and retain more students of color and other minoritized students, bringing a diversity of perspectives and lived experiences to Westphal.

• Foster excellence outside the classroom through student engagement opportunities within their disciplines that are external to the University on local, regional, national, and international levels.

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•

•

• •

•

•

Develop more transdisciplinary and crossdepartmental student engagement opportunities within the University that broaden students’ exposure to other disciplines.

Improve and expand the graduate student experience to increase flexibility and exposure to interdisciplinary, cross-University learning.

Increase financial support for students through dedicated Westphal funding sources.

Create more opportunities for students to engage with the West Philadelphia community and the Greater Philadelphia region.

Increase and formalize connections between our students and alumni, expanding their professional networks and strengthening Westphal’s alumni network.

Empower students to be engaged graduates and lifelong learners, easily mastering new concepts and technological advancements throughout their careers.

GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “Having clear rubrics on teaching, research, service and creative work would allow a greater balance for all faculty members. We must provide our faculty with the time and resources to accomplish all that is asked of them.”

- Westphal Faculty

STRATEGIES: • Address full-time faculty workload issues, acknowledging needs by faculty type, rank, career stage, and administraative role to support faculty success.

• Recruit, retain, and recognize more faculty of color and from other minoritized groups, exposing our Westphal community to a wider set of perspectives, interests, and experiences.

• Support and value our adjunct faculty, creating a stronger sense of inclusion and respect, and providing opportunities for increased involvement in the life of Westphal.

• Provide faculty the resources and opportunities to share their teaching successes and enhance their own teaching.

• Create more formalized faculty mentoring and support systems for newer faculty to learn from experienced faculty.

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• • • •

•

Provide full-time faculty with the resources needed to achieve promotion to a higher rank.

Support all faculty in their pursuit of research, scholarship, and creative work.

Provide expanded resources for online and hybrid curriculum delivery.

Validate, support, and clarify full-time faculty service roles within the Department, the College, and the University, as well as faculty governance roles.

Recognize, celebrate, and reward faculty accomplishments and successes.

GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “Hiring an Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is critical, and I am pleased to see how quickly and efficiently the College began addressing that goal. There is still much work to be done, and we must give all stakeholders the space and time to do this work.”

- Westphal Staff

STRATEGIES: • Address workload issues and responsibilities so that staff can optimize their productivity and efficiency.

• Develop a more inclusive and equitable work culture to ensure that staff feel they can be their authentic selves at Westphal.

• Recruit, retain, and recognize more staff of color and from other minoritized groups, exposing the Westphal community to a wider set of perspectives, interests, and experiences.

• Provide clear pathways to achievement and recognition through established trajectories for career advancement.

• Create and document consistent and transparent policies, procedures, and processes that provide staff with a unified, clear understanding of their roles and their accountability to others.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “There is opportunity within Westphal to build cross-disciplinary studies through nimbler curriculum, shared projects, and an overall integrated approach. By sharing ideas, we can enhance the creative, design and enterprise experience for all students, faculty and staff, within Westphal and throughout the University.”

- Westphal Faculty

STRATEGIES: • Create opportunities and systems for curricular innovation by providing students access to the latest advances and skills in their fields while balancing workplace needs and educational goals.

• Provide faculty with ongoing and discipline-specific training to ensure DEI and anti-racism practices are integrated throughout the curriculum.

• Optimize and expand graduate programs to increase enrollment to realistic targets and appeal to a broader range of students.

• Assess the current curricular processes within the College and University to identify opportunities for improvement, ensuring more equitable and agile curricula for the changing needs of our disciplines.

• Develop and expand cutting-edge hybrid and online curriculum to best support flexible options for students and the broader community of lifelong learners.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “There is so much amazing research taking place at Westphal College, despite the very difficult balance between teaching load, service and creative requirements. We must do better at giving faculty time to conduct research while also improving how we share this side of the Westphal story.”

- Westphal Faculty

STRATEGIES: • Build on and scale existing success in research by creating and incentivizing new opportunities to support transdisciplinary research, scholarship, and creative work (RSC), positioning Westphal as a hub for transdisciplinary work within the University and across industries.

• Develop and implement clear guidelines and policies that help faculty efficiently pursue their RSC and engage more students in their work.

• Provide additional time and resources for faculty to increase their RSC output, maximizing the impact of their work and increasing Westphal’s visibility.

• Create opportunities and programs to regularly showcase Westphal’s RSC, encouraging collaboration, ensuring shared knowledge, and promoting our faculty throughout the College, the University, and beyond.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “We are one College with many diverse parts, and sharing the Westphal College story accurately requires a strategic, multi-faceted communications and marketing approach.”

- Westphal Faculty

STRATEGIES: • Create a clear and cohesive identity and value proposition for Westphal so that all stakeholders understand and can communicate Westphal’s strengths externally.

• Create a strategic external communications plan linked to our redefined identity and value proposition that broadly clarifies our strengths and needs.

• Improve alumni communications and engagement to strengthen connections to Westphal.

• Develop new internal communications processes and systems to provide consistent and accurate information among faculty, staff, and students.

• Deepen relationships with West Philadelphia community organizations and residents to develop mutually beneficial knowledge and resource sharing.

• Amplify the recognition of Westphal’s diverse achievements within our College, between Colleges, and in the University’s communications outlets.

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GOALS & STRATEGIES

STAKEHOLDER VOICES: “We must increase our focus on information technology, not only the hardware and software, but also IT staff, maintenance, physical spaces, and most important, student access regardless of socio-economic status.”

- Westphal Staff

STRATEGIES: • Equip faculty, staff, and students with the technology and technology support needed to succeed in their roles.

• Improve existing spaces to be accessible, flexible, safe, and well-maintained, giving all Westphal stakeholders the tools they need to succeed and building a sense of shared community.

• Acquire and develop dedicated educational, collaboration, and presentation facilities to support growth and innovation in faculty and student creative work, increase the spatial unification of our College, enhance collaboration, and create a common sense of purpose.

• Incorporate new, cutting-edge technology into our making and technology spaces, providing novel creative and educational opportunities.

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

CROSS-CUTTING IMPERATIVES To achieve our goals and strategies, our cross-cutting imperatives will support how we implement our plan.

These imperatives define specific approaches that will be applied as our plan moves forward.

IMPERATIVES TO SUPPORT OUR PLAN: Embed diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism (DEI/AR) into all our processes, policies, programs, and curricula.

Develop a more inclusive culture for our students, faculty, and staff using a DEI/AR lens to make decisions.

Provide more opportunities, resources, and systems to facilitate improved collaboration among our students, faculty, and departments.

Streamline and standardize our administrative processes and policies to allow for equitable treatment and decision making.

Collect and leverage more quantitative and qualitative data to inform and improve decision making across the College.

Create new sources of revenue that provide opportunities for faculty and staff to explore, innovate, and support the goals of our strategic plan.

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

IMPLEMENTATION: PUTTING OUR PLAN INTO ACTION To successfully implement our plan, we will create an implementation process that is as inclusive and comprehensive as our planning process. We must leverage our individual and collective expertise and create the time, space, and support necessary to empower everyone to play a leadership role in implementing our strategies.

IMPLEMENTATION: LEVERAGING EXISTING STRUCTURES The College has many existing structures that will be mobilized to implement our plan. These structures will provide leadership and guidance in implementing specific strategies related to areas of expertise and responsibility.

FACULTY CAUCUS Our college’s shared governance model clearly outlines roles for achieving change in the college. The Faculty Caucus and its standing committees will play an important role in leading the implementation of strategies that relate to curricula, scholastic standards, and faculty affairs.

For example, Caucus and its standing committees would determine the implementation process for and guide the implementation of the following strategies, among others: • Redesign the first-year undergraduate experience to emphasize inclusivity and interdisciplinarity.

• Address faculty workload issues, acknowledging needs by faculty type, rank, career stage, and administrative role to support their success.

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

•

Assess the current curricular processes within the College and University to identify opportunities for improvement, ensuring more equitable and agile curricula for the changing needs of our disciplines.

ACADEMIC COUNCIL Our Academic Council comprises the senior faculty and staff leadership within the college. Their role in our plan’s implementation will be to actively participate in and lead the implementation of specific strategies that require coordination among all Westphal departments.

For example, Academic Council would determine the implementation process for and guide the implementation of the following strategies, among others: • Create more formalized faculty mentoring and support systems for newer faculty to learn from experienced faculty.

• Improve existing spaces to be accessible, flexible, safe, and well-maintained, giving all Westphal stakeholders the tools they need to succeed and building a sense of shared community.

• Foster excellence outside the classroom through student engagement opportunities within their disciplines that are external to the University on local, regional, national, and international levels.

• Develop more transdisciplinary and crossdepartmental student engagement opportunities within the University that broaden students’ exposure to other disciplines.

STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL Our Staff Advisory Council, comprised of professional staff who advise the college on ways to improve how our staff support and manage our operations, will implement strategies that seek to improve our efficiency, effectiveness, and operations. For example, the Staff Advisory Council would determine the implementation

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

process for and guide the implementation of the following strategies, among others: • Develop new internal communications processes and systems to provide consistent and accurate information to faculty, staff, and students.

• Provide clear pathways to achievement and recognition through established trajectories for career advancement.

• Create and document consistent and transparent policies, procedures, and processes that provide staff with a unified, clear understanding of their roles and their accountability to others.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) COUNCIL The anti-racism the subgroup of the planning taskforce identified important next steps for the college to continue its DEI and anti-racism work. (see call out box). The DEI Council will partner with the Dean’s Office and Caucus to achieve these steps. For example, the DEI Council would determine the implementation process for and guide the implementation of the following strategies, among others: • Recruit and retain more students of color and other minoritized students, bringing a diversity of perspectives and lived experiences to Westphal.

• Recruit, retain, and recognize more faculty of color and from other minoritized groups, exposing our Westphal community to a wider set of perspectives, interests, and experiences.

• Provide faculty with ongoing and discipline-specific training and support to ensure DEI and anti-racism practices are integrated throughout the curriculum.

RESEARCH COUNCIL The Westphal Research Council provides support and leadership to all Westphal faculty engaged in their own research, scholarship, and creative work (RSC), as well as promoting collaborative, interdisciplinary research

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

within the University and with external partners, building a Westphal culture that embraces RSC. For example, the Research Council would determine the implementation process for and guide the implementation of the following strategies, among others: • Build on and scale existing success in research by creating and incentivizing new opportunities to support transdisciplinary Research, Scholarship, and Creative Work (RSC), positioning Westphal as a hub for transdisciplinary work within the University and across industries.

• Develop and implement clear guidelines and policies that help faculty efficiently pursue their RSC and engage more students in their work.

• Provide additional time and resources for faculty to increase their RSC output, maximizing the impact of their work and increasing Westphal’s visibility.

• Create opportunities and programs to regularly showcase Westphal’s RSC, encouraging collaboration, ensuring shared knowledge, and promoting our faculty throughout the College, the University, and beyond.

DEAN’S COUNCIL The members of the Westphal Dean’s Council serve as outside advisors to the Dean and act as advocates and ambassadors on behalf of the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. Members of the Dean’s Council, many of whom are Westphal or Drexel alumni, are senior leaders in a variety of creative industries. For example, the Dean’s Council would provide strategic input on the implementation process for the following strategies, among others: • Increase and formalize connections between our students and alumni, expanding their professional networks and strengthening Westphal’s alumni network.

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

• •

Improve alumni communications and engagement to strengthen connections to Westphal.

Increase financial support through dedicated Westphal funding sources.

STUDENT COUNCIL The members of the Student Council advise the Dean and Westphal leadership on how to create the best student experience, serve as liaisons to our student body, and ultimately, use their voice to shape the future of the college. For example, the Student Council would provide strategic input on the implementation process the following strategies, among others: • Deepen students’ sense of belonging and community by strengthening the connections between them and the broader work of Westphal.

• Create more opportunities for students to engage with the West Philadelphia community and the Greater Philadelphia region.

• Develop more transdisciplinary and crossdepartmental student engagement opportunities within the University that broaden students’ exposure to other disciplines.

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

IMPLEMENTATION: CREATING NEW STRUCTURES Implementing our plan will also require new ways of working together, with faculty, staff, and college leadership each taking ownership and responsibility for addressing specific goals and strategies. Faculty Caucus will partner with the Dean’s Office to help with the creation of these new structures.

DEAN’S FELLOWS This new initiative provides opportunities for faculty to enhance their careers through partnership with the Dean’s Office to address relevant topics that have emerged from our strategic planning process. Dean’s Fellows will be given the time and resources to lead the implementation of specific strategies aligned with their expertise.

We will also leverage recently formed ad-hoc working groups to create new teams of faculty and staff who are committed to addressing specific strategies from our plan. Some of these groups have begun identifying implementation tactics that could begin as soon as our implementation phase begins.

These existing and proposed groups include, among others: • Graduate Programs and Lifelong Learning • Facilities and Information Technology • Incentivizing interdisciplinary research and teaching • Mobilizing Creativity and Design at Drexel (see implementation tactics below) • Anti-Racism and DEI (see implementation tactics below)

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

CREATIVITY AND DESIGN AT DREXEL: SUGGESTED IMPLEMENTATION TACTICS An ad-hoc committee was formed as part of our planning process, focused on the role of creativity and design at Drexel and how Westphal would take a leadership role in its implementation. The committee developed a series of implementation approaches that could be pursued.

• Form a university-level Drexel 2030 implementation creativity and design subcommittee that encourages creativity and design collaboration and communication.

• Form a new Westphal committee to continue the Creativity and Design at Drexel Committee’s work in ways that align with our internal strategic planning processes.

• Convene multi-stakeholder groups in Westphal to build a creative culture that supports media, arts, and design for all in the College.

• Survey students about the creativity and design-related potential they see and want.

• Interview campus partners currently teaching innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship to discover our unique expertise and its value in collaborations.

• Interview potential non- creativity and design campus and external partners to learn their creativity and design needs.

• Secure seed money for this work.

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

ANTI-RACISM AND DEI: SUGGESTED IMPLEMENTATION TACTICS The anti-racism subgroup of the planning task force, in conjunction with Westphal’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council identified a series of critical implementation approaches that would advance the strategic plan’s central theme of antiracism and DEI. • Recruit and hire an Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) to better support, expand, and improve the work necessary to accomplish the goals of our strategic plan.

• Empower and restructure the Westphal DEI Council to enhance DEI events and programming • Engage external experts on making our curriculum and courses diverse, equitable, and inclusive, as well as anti-racist, including curriculum development and in-classroom management.

• Collaborate with the Lindy Center to author creativity and design-based content to run parallel to the antiracism curriculum of the Civic 101 courses.

• Improve program and departmental hiring processes for faculty and staff to align with university-wide efforts on anti-racism.

• Establish affinity groups to create safe spaces for discussions on social justice and anti-racism.

• Implement and publicize an anonymous reporting structure or system for faculty, staff,

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IMPERATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION

•

and students to express concerns, document any type of discrimination and recommend improvements.

Increase the number of students participating in the Westphal BRIDGE program.

MEASURING SUCCESS AND HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE For each of our 46 strategies that have been prioritized for each of our seven goals, the first step we will take is to define what success looks like and identify the metrics that will determine that we’ve succeeded. This task will be undertaken by Academic Council, with assistance from Faculty Caucus, after the plan is published. A public dashboard will be made available to ensure accountability and regular monitoring of progress.

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THE FUTURE

OUR FUTURE TOGETHER While the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design is already prominent in the landscape of peer institutions, we are ready to propel our College to the next level. Westphal is ambitious in its work to design the future and to develop successful undergraduate and graduate students, both on campus and online.

Our track record of research, scholarship, and creative accomplishments, national and international rankings, and innovative achievements is a story we will continue to tell across multiple platforms.

With our new strategic plan in place, we can grow into an even stronger, more inclusive Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design.

This plan enables us to use the knowledge acquired during a life-changing time to imagine and realize what we know Westphal can become.

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APPENDIX A: PLANNING PROCESS TIMELINE

Our planning process was a year-long, inclusive process in which all Westphal stakeholders were provided with multiple opportunities to engage in the process and share their insights and feedback. Highlights of the planning process include:

JULY – AUGUST 2021 • Planning Task Force retreat #1: Compiling all stakeholder input and developing goals • Planning Task Force retreat #2: Refining goals and aligning strategies

JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2021 • Planning task force interviews with 14 Drexel units to assess and document Westphal’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities within the University.

SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER 2021 • All-College Meeting #3 to collect feedback about goals and strategies • All-College survey #2 to collect additional feedback

MARCH – APRIL 2021 • Westphal program directors, department heads, and operating units conduct detailed SWOT analyses of their respective areas • All-College Meeting #1 to collect additional feedback on Westphal SWOT analyses • All-College Anti-racism orientation session with Davis Gay + Associates • All-College survey #1 to gather additional faculty and staff feedback • Roundtable sessions with Westphal Student Council and Dean’s Council

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021 • Dean’s Council meeting #2 to collect feedback about mission, vision, values, goals, and strategies • Five strategy sessions with Westphal faculty and staff to fine-tune goals and strategies • Westphal Executive Council session to prioritize strategies • Planning Task Force retreat #3 to make final recommendations and priorities

MAY – JUNE 2021 • Eight outreach focus groups with students, alumni, industry, and West Philadelphia residents to collect feedback about Westphal’s current state and suggestions for the future • All-College Meeting #2 to share progress and gather feedback about mission, vision, and values • All-College survey #2 to collect additional faculty and staff feedback • Program Directors and Department Heads participate in anti-racism survey • Westphal-wide student survey on mission, vision, values, and goals: 292 student responses

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JANUARY 2022 • Final strategy prioritization by Academic Council, Program Directors, Staff Council, and Dean’s Council

APPENDIX B: STRATEGIC PLANNING TASK FORCE AND CONSULTANTS

TASK FORCE MEMBERS: • Katie Gross (Co-chair), Recruitment & Retention • Valerie Ifill, Performing Arts (Chair, anti-racism subgroup) • Karin Kelly, Cinema & Television (Caucus Liaison) • Shannon Lacek, Arts & Entertainment Enterprise • Glen Muschio, Digital Media • Justin Fithian, Academic Advising • Nik Kozel, Institutional Advancement • William McNulty, Cinema & Television • Amanda Melczer, Performing Arts (Staff Advisory Council Liaison) • Jacquelyn Mendoza, Academic Advising • Justin Mignone, Information Technology • Terry Murphy, Academic Scheduling & Services (WOW Liaison) • Jervis Thompson, Digital Media (DEIC Liaison) • Neville Vakharia, Associate Dean of Research & Planning (ex-officio) • Josh Weiss, Art & Art History • Mark Willie, Design • Andrew Zitcer (Co-chair), Architecture, Design & Urbanism Additional support during the pre-planning phase: • Jeff Apruzzese, Arts & Entertainment Enterprise • Vivianna Bermudez, Communications • Chris Baeza, Design • Michael Wagner, Digital Media CONSULTANTS: DAVIS GAY + ASSOCIATES • Kelly Davis, Principal • Valerie Gay, Principal • Caralyn Spector, Principal and Westphal Lead

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APPENDIX C: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ANTI-RACISM: The active process of identifying and ending racism by changing our organizational systems, policies and structures to redistribute power and resources more equitably among all individuals, both at the personal and systemic levels (Drexel University, Anti-Racism Task Force, 2020).

ARTS: The expression of creativity and imagination within visual, aural, kinetic, or storytelling forms, incorporating truth, beauty, emotion, or cultural meaning that is intended to be appreciated individually or collectively, such as in drawing, painting, sculpture, dance, theater, and live musical performance (Westphal Faculty Caucus, 2022).

DESIGN: Design is broadly defined as a deliberate and strategic set of actions aimed at bridging the gap between what is and what’s possible, bringing increased value and meaning. It includes gathering, editing and synthesizing in an iterative fashion, paired with problem definition, strategic thinking, testing and problem solving (Westphal Ad-Hoc Creativity and Design Committee, 2021) CREATIVITY: Creativity is the ability to transcend traditional ways of thinking or acting, and to develop new and original ideas, methods or objects (Morr, 2019).

CROSS-DEPARTMENTAL: Refers to activities, processes, or educational offerings that involve more than one of Westphal’s seven distinct departments (Architecture, Design & Urbanism; Art & Art History; Arts & Entertainment Enterprise; Cinema & Television; Design; Digital Media; Performing Arts)

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DIVERSITY: We define diversity as the differences that make us uniquely who we are. This includes both individual (personality, values, attitudes, etc.) and other dimensions of difference including ideological, intellectual, economic, gender, gender identity, ability, sexual orientation, religious, age, racial, cultural, ethnic, visible and invisible disabilities, veteran status, nationality, and all the diversity of our students, faculty, professional staff, alumni, and other partners (Drexel University, Office of Equality and Diversity, 2020).

EQUITY: The process by which we aim to achieve fairness through reallocation of University resources and opportunities such that policies, structures, and their implementation work to eliminate historical, systemic disadvantage for the benefit of everyone. This requires providing varying levels of support both at the individual and systemic levels (Drexel University, Anti-Racism Task Force, 2020).

FORMATS AND MODALITIES: Format refers to the type of course being offered. This includes lectures, seminars, laboratories, studios, and other combinations and formats thereof. Modality refers to how a course is offered by the instructor. This includes on-campus, online, and hybrid modalities. It also includes synchronous and asynchronous modes of delivery.

INCLUSION: The active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in the curriculum, in the cocurriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect—in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways

APPENDIX C: GLOSSARY OF TERMS

individuals interact within systems and institutions (American Association of Colleges and Universities) INTERDISCIPLINARY: The analysis, synthesis, and harmonization of links between distinct disciplines into a coordinated and coherent whole (Choi & Pak, 2006). It is more than a simple addition of parts but the recognition that each discipline can affect the output of the other (Caldwell, 2015).

LIFELONG LEARNING: The process of constant learning and development that incorporates continuous professional development, in which all individuals need to engage in a time of rapid change (WCPT, 2009). A broad concept where education that is flexible, diverse and available at different times and places is pursued throughout life (Evaluate IT, 2004).

MEDIA: Visual, aural, and experiential human communication, encompassing fictional storytelling, factual accounts, and artistic expression, which is demonstrated within works of music, film & television, photography, animation, games, websites, and other manifestations of analog or digital artworks (Westphal Faculty Caucus, 2022).

TRANSDISCIPLINARY: When two or more discipline perspectives transcend each other to form a new holistic approach. The outcome will be completely different from what one would expect from the addition of the parts (Caldwell, 2015).

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