In 2019, the Sanford School of Public Policy convened to articulate strategic priorities. Together, our community flagged four areas for advancing the excellence of our school. Our priorities are:
- Enhance the impact and reputation of our research and expertise (Detailed Summary >>)
- Broaden and reimagine our professional offerings to equip students for the future of policy (Detailed Summary >>)
- Deepen our undergraduate experience to inspire students to lives of service and leadership (Detailed Summary >>)
- Expand our lifelong engagement with our alumni and increase our engagement with stakeholders connected to our research and students (Detailed Summary >>)
For each of these priorities, we identified action items. This website shares our progress as of January 2022.
We appreciate the efforts by our faculty, staff, alumni and students in helping us move our priorities along, and we are grateful to our friends and donors for their support of our vision.
Enhance the impact and reputation of our research and expertise.
Secure endowed faculty positions.
Find new sources for pilot/seed funding for research productivity.
Increase capacity for research distribution.
Build strength in key programmatic areas:
— Health Policy
— Cybersecurity and Technology Policy
Enhance research in International Development Policy.
Strengthen faculty mentoring programs.
Invest in policy connections and deep two-way engagement.
Facilitate research-thematic conversations, seminars.
Spur research at the intersection of policy and technology impact.
Broaden and reimagine our professional offerings to equip students for the future of policy.
Create opportunities and find support for a talented and diverse student population.
Launch curricular reform both within and across MPP/MIDP programs, to achieve synergies.
Rethink MPP architecture, including flexibility and more modular options along with group projects.
Experiment and expand hybrid and online executive/modular options and/or mid-career degree options.
Consider new graduate degrees and/or stronger concentrations.
Broaden new competences in data science, analytics and governance technologies, as well as ethics of technology.
Explore MPP skills certificate in systemic racism and structural inequality.
Deepen our undergraduate experience to inspire students to lives of service and leadership.
Tie undergraduate curriculum and events closer together for depth.
Expand the use of technologies to promote deeper learning.
Provide opportunities for reflection.
Create more immersive, hands-on research and engagement experiences.
Expand elective opportunities in our core areas.
Improve the integration of the internship experience into the major.
Build an undergraduate certificate program in systemic racism and structural inequality.
Expand our lifelong engagement with our alumni and stakeholders.
Engage more faculty in exchanges with alumni through events and programs/Increase faculty participation in alumni events.
Find new ways to connect alumni with current students and with other alumni for networking benefits.
Explore new channels for delivering campus-based programming to a broader audience beyond Durham.