Florida International University
 Reaching for the Top 
2nd Edition 
December 20, 1996
 
 
S  E  C  T  I  O   N    II
 

University Planning

This document focuses on where FIU is in 1996/97 and where it will be in 2001. To achieve the University's vision we must identify strengths and assess the opportunities and challenges facing it during the remainder of the 20th century, and take actions to address them.

    In the early 1970s the University's founders put forth their vision of the University in The Birth of a University and Plans for its Development. These plans built the foundation upon which the University is built. Systematic and organized planning gained momentum at FIU with President Modesto Maidique's initiatives as a new president in 1986, and was reinforced by the self-study for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) from 1988 to 1990. The self-study culminated with recommendations for on-going planning and evaluation, and the President's appointment of the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee. Each year the annual planning cycle has further refined the operational and long-range goals of the University's divisions. This planning built consensus and provided direction for the University community. The fruits of those efforts were consolidated in the August 1992 edition of Florida International University in the Year 2001: Challenges and Opportunities. Since that time, broad and intense discussions by groups throughout the University resulted in revisions of the University's mission, themes and directions. The development of the 250-page FIU in 2001 - Second Edition, which contains various scenarios, environmental trends, and benchmarks of role-model universities, benefitted greatly from these discussions and the comments received from numerous groups and individuals. The 100-page Florida International University on the Threshold of the 21st Century, issued October 28, 1994, summarized these analyses for broader distribution. Reaching For the Top, first issued in draft form for broad discussion in September of 1995, further summarizes FIU's image of its future with a focus on the University's vision and strategic themes, as well as obstacles that must be overcome as FIU reaches for the top.
 

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