This fall I have to plan more carefully to walk from one end of the Ogden campus to the other because of construction projects at the core of campus.  The whirring of cranes and the rhythmic pulse of jack hammers are continual reminders that Weber State University is investing in its future. 

The projects to remodel the Shepherd Union Building and construct a new classroom building named Elizabeth Hall are the tangible results of years of planning.  Another reminder of Weber State’s focus on planning is the vision statement for the next 20-plus years titled Looking Forward:  Planning Strategically for Weber State University in 2030.

Faculty, staff, students and key constituents on the university planning council worked on the document throughout the 2006-07 academic year.  Their planning deliberations included census data on population growth as well as data on projected trends in education from the Utah State Board of Regents and local school districts. The planning council also surveyed WSU employees, students, alumni, trustees and national advisory council members to get their input on future direction for the university.  The survey data suggest near unanimous consensus on staying close to our roots as a teaching university. 

Looking Forward provides a vision of what Weber State University can become in the year 2030, when population demographics suggest there will be another 500,000 people living along the Wasatch Front, commuter rail will be a part of daily life and broadband Internet will be available everywhere. Increased globalization will make the world seem an even smaller place than it is now. 

In 2030, imagine 26,000 Weber State students with diverse needs, along with new and expanding academic programs and the integration of teaching, research and community partnerships to create an exceptional environment for learning and discovery.

How will we teach more than 7,000 new students?  Imagine new facilities at the core of the Ogden campus, on the hillside above it and on the Davis campus, all developed to support this bustling university.

Twenty years ago Internet technology didn’t exist.  What new technologies will exist 20 years from now?  We have no way to know, but we imagine state-of-the-art technologies emerging to drive a nearly limitless expansion of our WSU Online programs.

Weber State University currently has strong ties to the business community in Northern Utah.  Imagine the future economic and business benefits that may result from the addition of Weber State’s new role as the Northern Utah technical outreach center for the Utah Science, Technology and Research Initiative.

Faculty-student interaction has always been the hallmark of a Weber State University education.  What will that interaction look like in the educational environment of the future?  Imagine the gradual blurring of the distinctions between the university’s roles of supporting teaching and learning; fostering community partnerships; and facilitating faculty and undergraduate research to the point where those activities will be fully integrated.

How will Weber State University adapt to the complexities of the future -- with a little bit of imagination and a lot of planning and hard work. In the coming year the university planning council will begin setting short-term goals to turn the vision of 2030 into reality. 

I’m grateful for your support in helping us build a strong foundation at Weber State University.  I look forward to your continued involvement as we plan for the future.

Sincerely,

F. Ann Millner
President