UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At its Nov. 7 meeting, the Penn State Board of Trustees voted to approve the Penn State Strategic Plan. Developed through a collaborative process that began in 2023, the plan transforms President Neeli Bendapudi’s priorities into a shared vision to advance Penn State’s mission and amplify its impact across the commonwealth and beyond.
Bendapudi expressed gratitude to the faculty, staff and students whose perspectives shaped the plan through a community review in 2024.
“This plan represents the framework for our collective future. This is an important milestone, and I’m grateful to everyone who contributed to this effort,” Bendapudi said. “Together, our community of dedicated faculty and staff will deliver a future-ready education that prepares our students to thrive in a rapidly changing world. In our pursuit of excellence, we will continue to focus on turning these five goals into tangible outcomes for our students, workforce and communities we call home.”
Five strategic goals will guide this work: enhancing student success; growing interdisciplinary research excellence; increasing land-grant impact; fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging; and transforming health care through academic and clinical synergy.
“With the board’s endorsement of this plan, our community will embrace bold ideas and drive innovation across our academic enterprise,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, executive vice president and provost. “These goals are a reflection of the vision I share with President Bendapudi and I’m looking forward to these goals creating meaningful opportunities for our students, communities and nation.”
The health-related goal and objectives, which have been following a distinct trajectory, have also been shared with the board and approved, with its measures currently under development.
With the institutional plan moving forward, units are continuing to draft and finalize their accompanying unit-level plans. This process is underway, with submissions due by Jan. 30, 2026. Once finalized, phase four of strategic planning will begin to implement both institutional and unit-level strategies.
Community members are encouraged to explore the institutional goals at strategicplan.psu.edu and reach out with questions to StrategicPlan@psu.edu.