Dear members of the Marist community,

One of the great strengths of our strategic plan, Marist 100, is the broadly inclusive, collaborative, and transparent process through which it was developed. The plan also expressed an intent to approach the operationalization and assessment of Marist 100 in much the same way. As we begin to translate our vision into action, the ongoing and active participation of our campus community will help to ensure that Marist 100 remains a living document that guides and informs decision-making at every level of the organization, and not a plan on a shelf.

To facilitate this work, I invited Professor of Information Systems Carolyn Matheus and VP for Strategic Initiatives and Planning/Chief of Staff Emily Saland to co-chair an inaugural campus-wide Implementation Committee, and I’m pleased to report that they have accepted my invitation to serve. This committee, made up of faculty, students, and staff, will help to ensure that over the life of the plan we:

• monitor the alignment and seamless integration of the strategic plan across all academic and operational areas;
• foster a culture of engagement with and shared ownership of the plan;
• design systems of accountability to monitor progress toward goals;
• communicate about the plan, enhancing transparency about implementation through the dissemination of frequent progress reports; and
• develop structures and supports to allow for agility, should the plan need modification, based on changing internal or external environments.

The Marist 100 Implementation Committee convened for its inaugural meeting on September 19 and is already hard at work considering the methods by which we will measure and share incremental progress toward institutional goals, contextualizing that progress with both trend and peer/aspirant benchmarking data. I very much look forward to their efforts to hold all of us accountable to execute the ambitious aims articulated in Marist 100, which I am confident will propel Marist to the next level.

My deep thanks and appreciation to the following members of the campus community, for their willingness to serve:

Carolyn Matheus ’02/’02M (co-chair), Professor of Information Systems
Emily Saland (co-chair), VP for Strategic Initiatives and Planning/Chief of Staff
Edward Antonio, VP for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Haseeb Arroon ’14/’17M/’19M, Director of Institutional Research, Data, and Planning
Geoffrey Brackett, Executive Vice President, Operations and Community Engagement
Mike Byerley, AVP for Development
Sarah Colomello, Sr. Director of Institutional Reputation and Internal Communications
Joe Cuccia ’13/’14M, AVP of Budget and Financial Analysis
Sally Dwyer-McNulty, Professor of History
Dana Gathers, Assistant Professor of Education
Joe Giacalone ’03/’08M, Executive Director of Enrollment Services
Maryellen Guardino ’07/’08M/’12M, Director, Office of Accommodations & Accessibility
Heather Hallenbeck, Executive in Residence; Director of Experiential Learning; Senior Professional Lecturer
Kevin Henry ’05, Senior Professional Lecturer of Athletic Training and Assistant Dean, School of Science
Malcolm Jones, Director of Bands/Professional Lecturer of Music
John Peters, Associate Provost for International Engagement & Senior Int'l Officer
Sheridan Speight ’25, President, Student Government Association

Sincerely,
Kevin