I have been affiliated with universities for more than twenty years now, long enough to have a healthy skepticism about official pronouncements of strategic plans. But I find this one interesting.
According to the presenter, Jón Atli Benediktsson, who is Pro-Rector of Academic Affairs and who headed the committee for both strategic plans, the University continued to implement its goals from the previous strategic plan, and provide reports to the Alþing, despite the fact that the strategic plan ceased to be funded after the financial crisis in 2008. The university met most of its goals, many of which had to do with improving their status as a research institution, particularly with more outside funding for research, more faculty publications, and more graduate students.
The plan was produced by a committee of representatives of each of the schools, as well as students and administration (two from each, one male and one female, as gender equity procedures would require).
One of the most interesting things to me was the fourth section of the new strategic plan, which is entitled (at least in the English version) "Social Responsibility". Universities in the U.S. have strategic plans, but they are usually not developed by a representative committee, and the ones I have seen generally don't include a section on social responsibility. Here is part of the statement of purpose in this section:
"The University of Iceland is Iceland's premier educational institution and has far-reaching duties to domestic society, nature, culture and language. The University discharges its social and global responsibilities primarily through dynamic research and teaching."
This section includes goals regarding greater inclusion of immigrants in Icelandic society and education, and environmental responsibility--things that you might expect to see under "social responsibility". And this language sounds like boilerplate, except when you know that part of the reason that this section exists is because there has been criticism of the University for a perceived lack of a critical perspective on the activities that led up to the financial crisis. In other words, critics argue, scholars at the University, particularly those who study business, banking, and commerce, should have been raising concerns about the practices of the Icelandic banks. Further, since the failure is also seen as a failure of government, the University also sees an important role for those who study ways to strengthen "the Icelandic administrative and justice system".
One result of the financial crisis has been that Icelanders are reassessing many aspects of their society. And trust in many institutions, unsurprisingly, has fallen precipitously. The most recent Gallup poll, published in February, showed that 76% of Icelanders said they trusted the University, up from 67% last fall. (The Coast Guard is the most trusted institution, at 89% approval). Trust in parliament, at 40% in February of 2008 (before the crisis) is now 12%. And trust in the banks, unsurprisingly, is at 6%.
One key part, then, of social responsibility in the University's plan is the goal of incorporating ethics into all areas of study at the University. Here is the goal: "All schools and faculties shall set goals and define ways to intertwine ethics and professional studies, strengthen ethical judgment, and develop critical thinking." It will be interesting to see how the University pursues this goal.
No comments:
Post a Comment