Strategic Plan

The Virginia Tech College of Engineering strategic plan spans the next several years and outlines an intentional vision for growth, priorities, and engagement.

A group of engineering students stands in from of Goodwin Hall for a group photo.

Process

In alignment with the university’s new strategic plan, The Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries, the college’s strategic plan was developed in 2019 in collaboration with faculty, staff, students, and alumni across the college, and informed by partners and employers.

Dean Julie Ross brought together a strategic planning committee representing leadership from the college who were responsible for executing multiple phases of the strategic planning process. Together, they performed an in-depth analysis of the current state of the college that included strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Throughout the process, the college’s strategic planning committee engaged with the college community of faculty, staff, students, advisory boards, alumni, and friends, and asked for input. In all, 7,000 unique comments from 550 members of the college community were collected.

With that foundation, a mission, vision, core values, strategic priorities, and goals were shaped. To guide the plan's implementation, tactics, metrics, milestones, and targets were also developed. For each priority and goal, a set of tactics defines action and shapes decisions. Metrics for success, with milestones and defined targets, also factor into the implementation process.

Implementation

In the fall of 2019, the college began aligning the work of departments and units around the highest priority goals, which purposefully link planning to budgeting. This approach ensures the highest priorities are resourced appropriately. The strategic plan also guides our fundraising efforts in the capital campaign, hiring priorities, and how the college builds partnerships.

In the summer of 2022, the college's strategic plan underwent a comprehensive refresh to reflect recent progress toward our priorities and goals and alignment with evolving university initiatives.

The college's strategic plan implementation process is guided by David Knight, an associate professor in the Department of Engineering Education and special assistant to the dean for strategic plan implementation.