Blueprint Teams propose improvements

The faculty Blueprint Teams formed by University President Troy Paino have started meeting with Paino to discuss their submitted reports and finalize the contents in preparation for a February University-wide announcement.

The teams submitted their reports Dec. 11 after more than two months of research. This research included deliberation about the work of six action teams comprised of faculty and Student Senate members last summer. Paino says he planned for the Blueprint Teams to put together a plan that will combine recommendations from the action teams into coordinated plans of action, according to an October letter to faculty written by Paino.

Paino says he and Susan Thomas, vice president for Academic Affairs, reviewed the submitted proposals during winter break. Paino says after break, he and Thomas started meeting with the Blueprint Teams to ask questions and clarify parts of the proposals. He says he plans to report the work of the Blueprint Teams at a University-wide meeting Feb. 10, with a formal announcement of the upcoming meeting expected this week.

“I need to formulate my thoughts on how to present it, because the goal all along has been to create a kind of blueprint for the future of Truman, but to do it in a way where people can understand it. I don’t want it to be a two-hour presentation where I’m… getting into all the details — I want to be able to describe it in a way where people understand the major points coming out of the Blueprint Teams and then what the next steps are to make that future a reality.”

– Troy Paino, University President

Paino says some ideas from the Blueprint Teams could be implemented right away, while others might need a group to think about ways to pilot innovative ideas. He says some ideas also might need to go through Faculty Senate, such as how the University might reform the Liberal Studies Program. Paino says he plans to identify a few projects that can be implemented immediately to discuss during his February announcement.

Read more on President Paino’s ideas to integrate technology into a student’s educational experience on Issuu.