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Institution Administrators Wrap Up Talks of Strategic Plan; Look Toward Implementation

As the season winds down, Institution administrators are wrapping up the 150 Forward strategic plan weekly information and listening sessions.

The 150 Forward strategic plan is a series of four key objectives and cross-cutting imperatives to “position Chautauqua as a stronger, more sustainable institution,” according to Laura Currie, chair of the Strategic Planning Working Group. Currie, along with Institution President Michael E. Hill and board Chair Jim Pardo, led the eighth Strategic Plan Information Session on Thursday afternoon in the Hall of Christ.

“Strategic planning has morphed … into a new type, which is much more visionary, much more (big picture) and has the opportunity for periodic reassessment and tweaks, as you go along through the passage of time,” Pardo said.

The four key objectives hit at the Institution’s areas of opportunity: optimize the summer season; expand Chautauqua’s year-round convening authority; diversify revenue and drive a comprehensive; science-based solution to Chautauqua Lake’s declining health.

Underscoring these objectives are cross-cutting imperatives: strategic partnerships; mobilization of technology; talent and labor solutions and IDEA.

Shannon Rozner, chief of staff and vice president of strategic initiatives, and Parker Suddeth, a consultant hired by the Institution, have spearheaded the weekly IDEA  — inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility — Listening Sessions this season.

Per the input of Chautauquans, Rozner and Suddeth further defined IDEA at the meeting last Monday afternoon in the Hall of Christ: “Accessibility is being invited to the table; diversity is having a seat at the table; inclusion is having a voice; and equity is having your voice heard at the table,” Suddeth said.

At the listening session — where Rozner posed questions designed to facilitate discussion — Chautauquans honed in on elitism and suggested the Institution host a mentorship or orientation program for newcomers. 

Currently, Rozner is working with a strategic plan implementation group and the board of trustees to set metrics for 2024 — the Institution’s 150th birthday — and to define trustees and community members’ roles in enacting the plan. Additionally, Rozner said the Institution is actively planning to hire full-time IDEA personnel to build on the work from this season.

The next IDEA Listening Session will be at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 20 in the Hall of Christ; the next Strategic Plan Information Session will be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the Hall of Christ. The final Master Plan Information Session will be at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 21 in the Hall of Christ. Additionally, Chautauquans can voice concerns, leave comments or ask questions about the plan through the online forum at 150FWDFeedback.chq.org.

Tags : 150 Forward150 Forward Strategic PlanHall of ChristPresident Michael E. HillStrategic Plan Information Session
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The author Maggie Prosser

Maggie Prosser will be covering the dance programs, Institution administration, the board of trustees and the CPOA for her second summer at the Daily. Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, she is a rising junior studying journalism at Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College. Outside of her studies, she serves as the editor-in-chief of The New Political, an award-winning political publication at OU, and loves eating gluten-free bread.