In September 2002, President Martha Ellis met with the Planning Committee
and charged it with the task of initiating the development of a new
vision statement for the college. Dr. Ellis asked that the finished
statement reflect the values that the college wishes to honor and provide
a clear indication of the directions in which the college wishes to
move during the following four to five years.
The committee began the process of developing a vision statement by
reviewing similar statements implemented by other colleges and by soliciting
input from faculty, staff, and students. The first call for suggestions
produced about 170 responses. The committee sorted the suggestions
that it received into eight categories and, over the course of several
meetings, reduced these to a preamble and thirteen “Principles.” The
draft statement was forwarded to the president.
The statement drafted by the Planning Committee was presented to the
President’s Council at its November 11 meeting. It was amended
and a new draft was approved at the November 25 meeting. Copies of
this draft were then emailed to all Lee College faculty and staff members
with the request that they forward their suggestions, corrections,
and/or additions to the president. This mailing produced several suggestions
that helped clarify the document while reducing the number of principles
from thirteen to twelve.
The statement was reviewed again at a leadership retreat led by President
Ellis in June 2003. Following the retreat, the Planning Committee met
again and reviewed the suggestions made at the retreat. This resulted
in further changes to the statement.
The revised statement was approved by the Board of Regents at its
meeting of August 21, 2003. The statement was approved with the understanding
that it will remain in effect through the 2008-09 academic year unless
unforeseen circumstances – e.g. changes in the state funding
available to community colleges, natural disasters, extraordinary opportunities,
etc – require that it be re-examined.
