Chancellor Peterson presents the Flagship 2030 Strategic Plan to the University of Colorado Board of Regents Nov. 28. (Photo/Casey A. Cass)

Flagship 2030, CU-Boulder's strategic plan that charts its course for the 21st century, was both praised and approved by the CU Board of Regents on Nov. 29.

The unanimous endorsement by the regents moves the plan from vision to reality. Behind the leadership of Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson, Flagship 2030: Serving Colorado, Engaged in the World, was a year in the making but is expected to transform the university for decades.

The road map of educational innovations for preparing the campus and its students for a rapidly changing global marketplace was designed by faculty, students, staff and alumni and praised by the regents and CU President Hank Brown.

"It's an exciting plan," said Regent Stephen Ludwig of Aurora."This is a great service to the institution and to the state."

"I am gratified by the vision, hard work and determination to arrive at a strategic plan as unique as CU's long history and one that so integrally involved the public as a working partner," said Brown.

The plan includes feedback from hundreds of stakeholders inside and outside CU-Boulder and incorporates the ideas of leaders from 16 communities across the state. Contributions can be viewed on the Resources page of the Flagship 2030 website.

Flagship 2030 is highlighted by eight core initiatives that keep the state's flagship competitive as one of nation's top 34 national comprehensive public universities and by 10 flagship initiatives that prepare the CU-Boulder and its students to serve society well into the 21st century.

"The balance of these two sets of initiatives is the hallmark of the plan," said Peterson. "Our core initiatives will keep us focused and accountable for years to come, while our flagship initiatives will force us to commit to innovation for decades to come in serving Colorado, the nation and the world."

The initiatives broaden the boundaries of education and include customized learning in an undergraduate academy, incorporating experiential learning into the required curriculum, creating alternative degree tracks, expanded partnerships with other research universities and labs, year-round learning within a three-semester calendar and a new center for global education.

The campus will begin implementing the plan next month with the formation of nine task forces charged with developing action plans for the 18 initiatives that are the foundation of Flagship 2030. They will be implemented as they are developed and financed. The task forces will be composed of wide-ranging university community members.

"The Flagship 2030 document is not an end but a beginning," said Peterson. "Our strategic plan is our pathway to the future and is at the center of who we are and all that we are to become."

Peterson stressed to the regents that the plan—and the work of the 54-member planning committee—"will not end up on a shelf or buried in cyberspace."

The plan was amended during the regents' meeting to include the suggestion of Regent Vice Chair Tom Lucero of Johnstown to include academic and experiential learning opportunities in the American principles of self-government and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship as part of a core initiative on learning for a diverse world. 

Peterson noted that questions and comments can be submitted on the Flagship 2030 website as the plan continues to evolve and develop.