As Linfield navigates budget challenges, university president Mark Blegen strives to remain focused on the students and the university’s future. In the fall, Blegen took part in over 30 listening sessions with members of the Linfield community to get feedback on how to approach the future. On Feb. 24, students were emailed about the new strategic framework for the school’s future. An overview is available on Linfield Central.
Blegen’s framework focuses on three horizons: the immediate, short term (12-24 months) and long term (three to five years). The immediate horizon is to finish the Balanced Budget Initiative (BBI).
For the latter two horizons, Blegen’s focal point is on three pillars: people, programs and places. He said he is committed to being student-focused in all decisions. Programs are where tougher decisions may need to be made however.
“Which programs can we invest in,” Blegen said. “What new programs do we need? And the challenging part is, what programs do we need to sunset?”
For Blegen places means looking at what can be done to better utilize both campuses. In Portland, Blegen is looking into ways to expand the campus from being exclusive to nursing. Better using places also includes trying to drive revenue using all of Linfield’s land. At the staff town hall last week, Blegen noted that he is exploring ways to generate revenue from the empty land on the south end of campus, behind the library.
Blegen doesn’t have a concrete plan for the framework, but plans to build specifics from the grassroots up. The current draft of his strategic plans framework is available on Central.
“I don’t want to stand on high and say here’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Blegen said. “So the vice presidents are going to their division, saying, how is this division going to plug into that plan? I really want goals and initiatives that come from everywhere on campus, not just from me.”
Blegen touched on changes to the enrollment team while talking about plans for growth. Recently, former vice president of enrollment Gerardo Ochoa announced on his LinkedIn that he would be leaving Linfield.
“Linfield has had declining enrollment for about a decade,” Blegen said. “We stabilized this year, which is great. So as we have these conversations about cuts and growth, I decided to make a strategic change in enrollment… That’s not throwing shade on anybody that’s been in the past. I think we can tell the Linfield story better and drive enrollment.”
Some students have expressed concerns about what this change could mean to Latine students and those in the first gen program. Blegen committed to supporting those students in the future.
Blegen also hopes that future investment will increase enrollment and allow for the potential reverse of changes made during the Reorganization, Elimination and Merger (REM) process. His goal is to offer programs only as minors rather than cut them completely. If there is renewed interest and enrollment, that program could become a major again.
The strategic framework does admit that Linfield faces some challenges. Higher education as a whole is facing funding difficulties. There is also a looming demographic cliff of high school graduates, meaning there are less potential students. Specific to Linfield, Blegen admitted that many staff and faculty are undercompensated and experience burnout. The framework also mentions trust issues. It cites an erosion of trust, slow decision making and communication struggles as some of the reasons for these issues.
Trust was a major factor during the REM process this year and last.
“I think that trust was so damaged last spring by that town hall that I don’t know if it can be truly recovered,” said senior business major Taylor Falconer.
Blegen made clear that he welcomes any and all feedback and discussion from students. The strategic framework cites transparency, communication and a culture of respect and accountability as signature initiatives. Moves like these are also what Falconer suggested as a way for the school to rebuild trust with the student body.
The framework’s implementation will be done in a way that allows for flexibility in case decisions don’t work out. Blegen is planning on creating metrics to evaluate the plans as needed, but also celebrate the wins when they happen.
Students can see the entirety of the strategic framework on Central under the president’s office page. Those with questions or feedback can also email Blegen directly at [email protected] or [email protected].
