By 2030, Santa Clara University will accept more transfer students each year, grow its undergraduate student body by about 400, increase access to its degrees to more first-generation students, and have deeper ties to its Jesuit, Catholic values, said President Julie Sullivan as she unveiled a new strategic plan for Santa Clara at her annual State of the University address.
The plan is built on four priorities, as outlined by Sullivan: expanded reach on a global scale, solutions for the universal good, more opportunity for all talented students, and belonging for all Broncos. It was developed after a year of conversations with community leaders, alumni, and students and builds on the successful “SCU 2020,” the University’s last strategic plan launched by former President Michael Engh, S.J.
The goal, Sullivan said, is “to be a university that serves the world. The time is now to put a stake in the ground and do it intentionally.”
She quoted Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J., dean of the Jesuit School of Theology as she outlined the plan’s vision. “What a Jesuit university gives us is the power and audacity to imagine what a better version of ourselves and our world could be,” Orobator says.Closer ties with SCU’s theological graduate program, the Jesuit School of Theology, will deepen connections between what students learn on campus and the values that make the University special.
To expand access to first-generation, transfer, and low-income students, the plan calls not just for increasing scholarship support, but also for additional funded internship and study abroad opportunities.
“Not only do we want to make it financially feasible, we want to make sure all students thrive here and graduate here,” Sullivan said.
Read the full plan, which also includes increasing ties with Silicon Valley, and watch a video of the presentation here.
At her state of the University address, Sullivan also celebrated the end of a $1 billion fundraising campaign, the largest in the University’s history and one that places it among elite Catholic universities.
That money has increased scholarships, student housing, and research opportunities, as well as new and improved facilities. Read more about the impact of donated dollars here.