The Arcadia UKnighted campuswide kickoff meeting on Sept. 20 welcomed 150 members of the Arcadia community to discuss strategic goals and challenges with President Ajay Nair and the Shared Governance and Transparency, Aspirational, and Budget Task Force committees. Throughout the fall semester, the committees researched institutional models of transparency, addressed budgetary questions, and brainstormed ways to make the most of Arcadia’s liberal arts roots, location, and commitment to inclusivity.

“We’re operating as a multiversity, not a university,” said President Nair, who presented a three-year plan to develop a self-sustaining campus model. “We’re not going to be all things to all people—that’s not our mission. My commitment to you is to develop our priorities and invest in Arcadia’s future.”

In December, a follow-up workshop focused on social innovation, financial literacy, University-wide shared governance, and the Vision Statement. Faculty Senate hosted a UKnighted meeting on Jan. 15 to identify high-impact initiatives and projects, including Arcadia’s next strategic plan, which will advance Arcadia’s socially innovative and inclusive community.

In February, the Aspirational Committee presented to the Board of Trustees on its nine-month community efforts to reach the current draft of the University Vision Statement and Core Values Statement. Later that month, the Committee invited University community members to serve on the Social Innovation Task Force to explore innovation as part of the University’s strategic direction.

The Open Expression Task Force hosted its first UKnighted event with Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath, author of Free Speech on Campus and professor of Education, Political Science, and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, on Feb. 22. Dr. Ben-Porath offered a framework for re-thinking controversies inside and outside the classroom, encouraging participants to examine free-speech case studies. The Task Force is developing principles for the University community regarding freedom of expression in terms of intellectual inquiry, community, and dissent and protest.

The next UKnighted event will be held on Tuesday, April 2.