Strategic Planning

"Imagine a Saint Mary's
that we don't yet know."

Brother Louis DeThomasis, FSC, Ph.D.

June 2001

Saint Mary’s University has been regularly challenged over the past twenty years to imagine its future. In the words of Brother Louis DeThomasis, FSC, the 11th president of Saint Mary’s University: “Until we strategize to do the things that we must do to become what we want to be, we will not have all those things we desire. We must proceed in our strategic planning to plan for actions that will sustain us in creating Saint Mary’s University anew.” (DeThomasis, “How Do We Get There From Here?”, August 2001). Imagining a Saint Mary’s that we don’t yet know has been an on-going challenge throughout Brother Louis DeThomasis’ twenty-one year tenure as president.

This web-page includes strategic planning documents from 1986 to the present; Saint Mary’s completed its most recent strategic planning process in 2003. All of the plans share common characteristics– they are dynamic, inductive and open-ended. The plans set a context for implementation of initiatives that are not specifically identified in the plans themselves. This approach to strategic planning permits the university to remain flexible and imaginative in its response to environmental challenges and opportunities. Operational plans for initiatives that support the strategic plan are created by the President’s Cabinet and are located in the Operational Planning and Implementation page of this web-site. This page also includes documents pertaining to the university’s most recent planning and evaluation processes.

Saint Mary's Strategic Plans: 1988 - Present

Teaching Minds, Touching Hearts: From Traditions and Values to Aspirations (2002)(pdf format)