More than 100 members of the Oklahoma State University System gathered Monday morning at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center to celebrate the launch of a new five-year strategic plan designed to enhance the student experience, expand the impact of research and discovery and strengthen OSU’s service to Oklahoma.

The launch of the new strategic plan, “Answering the Call: A Strategic Vision for The State’s University,” kicked off Land-grant Week, introducing an eight-goal framework that will guide decision-making, investments and priorities across the OSU System.

Developed with input from across the university, the plan was shaped by a 22-member coordinating committee and eight working groups consisting of more than 120 students, faculty, staff and administrators.

President Jim Hess said the new plan builds on the progress made through OSU’s previous We Are Land-grant strategic plan while establishing a new direction for the next five years.

“Sometimes because of our humility, we don’t like to brag,” Dr. Hess said. “We don’t like to tell people how great we really are. But part of our responsibility is to elevate the institution.

“OSU is entering a different era, and I truly believe it will be the most important five years of our history, of our entire history, because of how the world has changed around us and continues to change."

Putting the student experience first

At the plan’s center is a renewed focus on the student experience, including how OSU supports students from their first day on campus through graduation and into their careers.

The plan calls for every student to have access to a career-readiness counselor and an alumni mentor within their discipline. It also emphasizes academic access, financial aid, leadership development and support for students’ mental and physical well-being.

Hess said the goal is to create an experience that prepares students not only to earn a degree, but to enter their professions with relationships, guidance and a clear path forward.

Expanding access is also central to that effort as OSU currently serves 37,411 students across the system. Expanded online programs will help the university reach students who are unable to relocate to a physical campus, while continued growth in Tulsa will create additional opportunities for students to begin and complete their education closer to home.

Turning discovery into public impact

The new strategy also challenges OSU to push the boundaries of discovery while ensuring that research ultimately benefits the people, communities and industries the university serves.

As both a Carnegie R1 research university and a land-grant institution, OSU is focused on expanding research capacity through industry partnerships, commercialization and investments in faculty, staff and research infrastructure.

The objective is to ensure discoveries made in university laboratories, institutes and research stations translate into practical solutions beyond campus.

That philosophy extends directly into OSU’s statewide land-grant mission.

With a presence in all 77 Oklahoma counties, OSU Extension has long connected university expertise with communities across the state. The new plan calls for expanding that model across the OSU System, creating more connections between Oklahomans and expertise in agriculture, veterinary medicine, engineering, health, business, technology, workforce development and community leadership.

Hess said OSU’s experts have an opportunity to solve practical problems for people and businesses across the state, describing Extension and statewide engagement as a defining part of what makes a land-grant university different.

Growing as one OSU System

Growth is another major component of the strategy, but university leaders emphasized that expansion must be accompanied by greater coordination and accountability across the system.

Each OSU department, college, unit and campus will develop its own initiatives aligned with the eight overarching goals, allowing individual areas to respond to their unique missions while working toward common institutional priorities.

The plan also calls for greater integration of services, stronger connections among campuses and responsible use of university resources.

Hess acknowledged the financial challenges facing higher education and said OSU must increasingly look internally for opportunities to improve efficiency, integrate services and maintain fiscal accountability while continuing to grow and serve more people.

Preparing for a rapidly changing future

OSU’s strategy also places new emphasis on emerging technologies and digital transformation.

Artificial intelligence and other technologies are rapidly changing higher education, research and the industries OSU graduates will enter. The plan calls for OSU to embrace those tools while grounding their use in human-centered principles, trusted data and responsible governance.

Hess said AI can potentially help OSU improve services, recruitment, retention and other university operations, but emphasized that its use must remain ethical and centered on people.

At the same time, university leaders said OSU’s future success will depend on continued investment in the faculty and staff who carry out its mission.

The plan calls for competitive compensation, clearer career pathways and expanded professional and leadership development intended to help OSU recruit and retain talented employees.

Telling the OSU story

The plan’s final goal focuses outward, calling for a more coordinated effort to strengthen OSU’s national and global reputation.

Hess said OSU has significant accomplishments to share across academics, research, athletics and public service, but the university’s culture of humility can sometimes make it reluctant to tell those stories.

Strengthening OSU’s reputation, he said, can help attract students, faculty, partners and opportunities while increasing awareness of the university’s impact.

Ultimately, the strategic plan is intended to provide a common framework for thousands of individual decisions made across the OSU System over the next five years.

For Hess, its success will depend on the people who put those goals into action.

He closed the launch by emphasizing the relationships that define the Cowboy family and the role faculty and staff will play in helping OSU serve more students, expand its research impact and fulfill its land-grant mission across Oklahoma and beyond.

The event concluded with the introduction of the Living the Cowboy Code Award, a new recognition honoring faculty and staff members who go above and beyond in demonstrating OSU’s values through their work and service.