As many of you may have heard, last week faculty council approved a new five-year strategic plan for our college. This exciting milestone marks our progress on implementing The Way Forward. Our success there has enabled us to move from that change initiative focus back to a strategic planning framework. Our new plan will guide us to 2022.

We will be rolling out the high-level plan document next week. With the inclusive and consultative process followed to develop this plan, many of you will already have a good sense of our direction and priorities. I believe that you will see in this plan our shared aspirations for our college. Additionally, we developed the plan to mesh effectively with the university’s approach on its own vision, mission and values, and it will align with the university’s current strategic planning process underway this year.

While there is much work before us, we truly are on our way!

I will give you, here, an initial glimpse into the College of Medicine’s 2017 Strategic Plan.

In it, we have identified our vision, mission, values and principles, as well as seven strategic priority areas. The plan speaks to our important leadership role in the health of the people of Saskatchewan, as well as the world. It speaks to how we will conduct ourselves as a socially accountable organization engaged in our communities. We determined that those same values and principles that our university holds dear are our values and principles.

We identified seven strategic priorities. They emphasize that research, education, social accountability and community engagement, Indigenous health, and being a province-wide college integrated and aligned with our health system and strengthened by an empowered and engaged faculty, are critical in achieving our mission.

Further work will be done to fill in more detail in the plan’s priorities in the weeks to come, but we have strongly defined what we will focus on across key areas for our college for the next five years.

Finally, this was a team effort. To our students, faculty and staff, and key stakeholders and partners, I extend my sincere thanks for your engagement and valuable participation in this plan’s development. We started this work together last August and kept the process and our tight timeline on track with your support.

I look forward to further developing and carrying out our new plan alongside all of you. Watch for the plan through further communication next week.

As always, I welcome your feedback.