University 10-year strategic plan, ‘Shaping What’s Next’ undergoing refresh
The planning process to refresh UNC Charlotte’s 10-year strategic plan, “Shaping What’s Next,” is set to begin. When the plan was approved in 2021, the intent was to refresh the plan at the five-year mark. Working together, Niner Nation has made tremendous progress, including being named an R1 research university much sooner than anticipated, and already meeting or surpassing four of the 10-year metric goals.
To guide the refresh process, Chancellor Sharon Gaber has appointed a Strategic Planning Committee to be co-chaired by faculty members Ahmed Helmy and Natasha Randle and composed of the following faculty, staff, students and administrators:
- Kevin Bailey, vice chancellor for student affairs
- Kim Bradley, chief of staff
- Madison Brown, political science and criminal justice undergraduate student; vice president, Student Government Association
- Harish Cherukuri, professor and chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, W.S. Lee College of Engineering
- Steve Coppola, associate provost, Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support
- José Gamez, dean, College of Arts + Architecture
- Tehia Starker Glass, professor of reading and elementary education; interim executive director of the Center for Advancing Faculty Success
- Ahmed Helmy, associate dean for research and professor of computer science, College of Computing and Informatics
- Bernadette Merkert-Donovan, dean, Klein College of Science
- Angelica Martins, assistant vice chancellor and research integrity officer, Division of Research
- Elizabeth Moll, senior budget analyst for non-general fund, Budget Office
- Natasha Randle, associate dean for undergraduate programs and clinical professor of management, Belk College of Business
- Debra Smith, associate professor and associate chair, Africana studies, College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences; faculty council president
- Jen Ames Stuart, associate vice chancellor and chief communications and marketing officer; clinical professor of marketing
- Andrew Truman, associate chair of research and professor of biological sciences, Klein College of Science
- Naz Tumpa, chemistry doctoral student; secretary of international student affairs, Graduate & Professional Student Government
- Michael Turner, associate professor of kinesiology, College of Health and Human Services; faculty athletics representative
- Jessica Waldman, graduate academic advisor; staff council chair
- Mark West, professor of English, College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences
The process will kick-off in late October 2025 and conclude in April 2026, when it will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval.
The Strategic Planning Committee will review and update objectives and actions, as needed, as well as update and/or establish new success metrics, as appropriate. The campus community will be given the opportunity to provide feedback throughout the planning process and review the draft before submission to the board for approval.