Winthrop President Dan Mahony gave his State of the University speech today in the Byrnes auditorium on campus where he outlined the strategic plan for the campus through 2025.
The plan that has been decided on has 5 strategic objectives and uses metrics to determine where the school is every year on achieving those strategies up to 2025. Winthrop is looking to increase its student body from 6000 currently to 7500, double its endowments and increase its faculty/student diversity by 2025.
Mahony was adamant that the University plans to be completely transparent with the new strategic plan by posting it online for the public to see and reviewing the plan each year to determine if the school has accomplished what it set out to do for the year.
- In the strategic plan Winthrop is looking to expand its student enrollment by 1500, come 2025. Along with the increased enrollment Winthrop is looking to increase the diversity of its student body from 39 percent to 45 percent by 2025.
- The University is looking to embrace a culture of innovation and with an emphasis on global and community engagement.
- Mahony also plans to increase the diversity and salaries of the Winthrop faculty and administrators. The diversity baseline is cited at 14 percent and the goal is 20 percent for 2025. Right now 32 percent of Winthrop’s professors have salaries at or above the national average and the goal is 55 percent in 10 years
- Multiple times in the address Mahony emphasized needing to adapt to the surrounding culture, which includes changes in technology. The school plans to have 62 classrooms with upgraded technology and 20 online/hybrid programs, both which will cost around 22 million dollars.
- Winthrop is looking to double its endowments to help meet the needs of all students. The endowments, currently, at 45 million per year, cut the cost for the average student to a little over half the state rate.
Mahony and Winthrop are not only looking to be great, but to be a model for other universities nationwide. “We’re good, but we have to do better,” said Mahony. “We cannot reach these goals without working together. If you are in this room today, you have a role to play.”