University of Minnesota leaders presented a draft strategic roadmap to the Board of Regents that lays out five imperatives intended to guide actions across all five campuses.

Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Ryan Schmiesing, co‑chair of the steering committee, told regents the plan was developed from listening tours, more than 100 town halls and multiple systemwide surveys: “As our steering committee transitions from the role of developing the plan to now championing what we have moving forward, we want to share with you our process that engaged broadly across the campus.” He said the plan is asset‑based and intended to reflect the university’s research, land‑grant mission and community partnerships.

Schmiesing and co‑chair Charles Neece presented five imperatives the steering committee recommends the university prioritize: preparing students for engaged citizenship and careers; innovation in teaching and learning (including online strategy and AI considerations); service to Minnesota communities through knowledge exchange and strengthened employer partnerships; prioritizing research and discovery in areas such as sustainability, freshwater science, agricultural innovation and health; and securing the university’s future through workforce, operations and capital planning, including a focus on the St. Paul campus.

President Cunningham said the board will receive metrics and success measures for the plan after initial approval: “We will be bringing back to you metrics and measurements for each of the items for what success looks like and how we'll know if we're getting success or not and that would come to the board in December.”

Regents asked questions and offered comments. Regent Tad Johnson highlighted tribal relations and the university’s historical land‑grant context, noting that land taken from Minnesota tribes supported endowments at other universities. Several regents praised the roadmap’s statewide scope and emphasized the need for campus and unit‑level action plans that “ladder up” to the system plan.

The presentation did not include a board vote at this meeting. University leaders said the next steps include campus and college planning to implement the roadmap and that early action items and accountability metrics will be developed for board review.

Sources and context: presentation and Q&A during the strategic roadmap agenda item; the filesystem of materials provided to regents accompanied the presentation.