Rutgers University has enjoyed a long tradition of being a north star for other colleges and universities. With this honor comes great responsibility to forge ahead into new realms, using education as a tool to evolve within SHP and the professions we support. As long as we remain intellectually honest and willing to embrace rigorous research outcomes and pedagogy, we will continue to advance health and the healthcare workforce, addressing systemic problems, and promoting the well-being of individuals and communities.

We engaged in planning for the next phase of our school’s development with a sober view of the challenges and opportunities ahead of us. Churn is impacting every aspect of higher education, stemming from the changing health care needs of our communities combined with the rapidly advancing medical sciences and technology available to address them. Some of these changes offer great promise while others present as problems to be addressed. In either case, I believe there is opportunity for SHP to respond to these changes. Our highly reflective strategic planning process identified areas for investing our resources, which will ensure we maintain our place at the vanguard of higher education.

SHP developed an exhaustive, iterative, and inclusive planning process to create our 2025-2030 strategic plan, “Accelerating our Future 2025-2030.” The uniquely collaborative process allowed all our stakeholder’s voices to be heard through a variety of venues. Our Steering Team culled through the various data streams to identify the preeminent direction for the school for the next five years. The resulting plan is built upon four foundational Pillars of Excellence: Educational Access, Innovation and Excellence, Scholarship and Research, Community Engagement and Service, and Stewardship and Sustainability.

By establishing these larger themes and continuing to drill down to our priorities, goals, and objectives, I am proud to say that we have created a thoughtful, relevant, and living plan and vision for the future. It is with great gratitude I present this plan, as it is the culmination of the expertise and creativity of all our constituents.

Jeffrey DiGiovanni, Ph.D.

Dean, Rutgers School of Health Professions