In an effort to gain input on SUNY-ESF’s strategic planning process, a “Visioning Wall” will be put up by the end of the day Tuesday.

Poster boards will be installed along a wall in the Gateway Atrium that will prompt members of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry community to write their comments about the second draft of the visioning process. The wall will be up for the next few weeks. The visioning groups want to provide public forum for students, faculty and staff to talk about the future goals of the school, which led to the Visioning Wall.

“We will be seeking comments on these organizing questions as well as the ESF community’s views on areas for which we have existing strength or may choose to build strength,” said SUNY-ESF President Quentin Wheeler.

The team wanted to build the Visioning Wall where the most students would see it. The Gateway Atrium is home to the cafeteria, student meeting spaces and conferences rooms. Valerie Luzadis, a professor and co-chair of one the visioning groups, said the Gateway Atrium is an open space where the most students will have the opportunity to see the wall.

“What I really like about this set up is that having it displayed in a physical way, you can stand around it with a group and actually have a conversation around it, where it seems more likely to happen than if you are looking at a computer screen,” she said. “The interaction part is one of the most important aspects of this.”

The Visioning Group hopes to receive different ideas across a multitude of disciplines on several key issues moving forward in the strategic planning process. This includes changes to the mission and vision statement, and what kind of great science and society questions SUNY-ESF should be focusing on in the future.

Furthermore, the team is in the process of reviewing the undergraduate experience. Luzadis said the group wants to clarify what is different and special about SUNY-ESF. The team is looking into the future and wants to clearly define what the “quintessential ESF experience” will be. She said they hope that having opportunities to brainstorm as a community, such as the Visioning Wall, will bring together creative ideas for the future.

The physical wall will act as a supplement to the strategic planning website, where students are also able to make comments and suggestions. Throughout the strategic planning process, the Visioning Group has held many open forums where members of the SUNY-ESF community were invited to express their opinions on the future of the college.

“We’ve had open forums and opportunities for faculty, staff and students to react to questions and material posted on the strategic planning website… People can contribute in a way that they are most comfortable,” said Donald Leopold, a professor and one the co-chairs of the visioning groups.

Zane Lawyer, a junior forest health major at SUNY-ESF, said he is interested in seeing a soft-science, philosophical approach to the environmental issues present in the world. He said opportunities like the Visioning Wall allow him to express his opinion on these issues and the future of the school.

“Change is always good, especially in a college like this,” Lawyer said, “Communication is big, most of the protest things come from negligence, nobody brings it up, so it’s never changed, so when people do bring it up, (the administration is) like ‘ well you never told us about it.’ We didn’t know so many people disagree with this position.”

The Visioning Wall will conclude the first phase of the strategic planning process. The team will then take all of the information and move into the next phase, prioritization. In this stage, starting early in the spring semester, the Visioning Group plans to sift through the ideas gathered and figure out what they want to focus the school’s energy and resources on, Luzadis said.

Published on November 17, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Jacob: jagedets@syr.edu