When President Langell was named the new president of NEOMED, he knew what he wanted to do first: Listen.
The Langell Listening Tour took him out in the community (something that was still possible in fall 2019) and brought him face to face with small groups of students, faculty and staff on campus. Dr. Langell engaged participants in conversations to learn what they honestly thought about NEOMED: its strengths, its weaknesses, what it should be aiming for and how it might get there.
Repeatedly, he heard that our mission and direction were not clear.
In January 2020, Dr. Langell began meeting with University leaders to assess the Strategic Plan that had been under development before he arrived. Widening the scope, he also asked leaders outside the University community – more than 50 of them – their thoughts, many related to strategic planning. Tomorrow’s People, a consulting company that provides leadership training, guided this process.
The next step was to develop a series of seven surveys, each on a topic related to strategic planning. These surveys were sent one at a time, to make it easy for everyone to participate, and members of the University community responded with thoughtful answers and suggestions.
From this deep and broad questioning period, Dr. Langell and his Executive Management Team, including Chief of Staff Michelle Mulhern; faculty and staff throughout the University; and many external partners throughout Northeast Ohio determined that there was consensus: The University was ready for a new Strategic Plan that was more inclusive and more actionable. The strategic planning pillars provide the support for the University’s mission, vision and values and articulate the strategic focus, while the Academic and Administrative Support Systems, which provide the resources and tools needed to deliver on the Strategic Plan, will serve as the foundation and are critical to achieving all of the initiatives within the plan.
With hours of work and input from many University leaders, the 2020-2025 Strategic Plan emerged and was approved at the Board of Trustees meeting held Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Following are a few excerpts from the plan. You can read the entire NEOMED Strategic Plan on the NEOMED website.
Mission
NEOMED harnesses diversity, innovation and collaboration to create transformative leaders and improve health through education, discovery and service.
Vision
To be the model of excellence in innovative education and impactful research to create transformational health care leaders of tomorrow.
Core Values
NEOMED incorporates the following values in all that we do:
Leadership, Excellence, Advocacy, Diversity, Equity, Respect
Inside the Strategic Plan
Looking deeper into the plan, here’s one of the guiding principles described in the Education section:
“NEOMED strives to deliver an Exceptional Student Experience that prepares students to be leaders in their field through curiosity, self-reflection, intrinsic motivation and collaborative education.”
And here’s an excerpt from the Discovery section:
“NEOMED’s culture of discovery will lead to breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and healing of health conditions, while advancing new models of care. NEOMED will foster an entrepreneurial environment to encourage the commercialization of high-impact research breakthroughs that advance health and health care.”