We’ve made a few tweaks to the blog, including adding a WordPress version via  u.osu.edu. You may continue reading our blog as email, or you can see each week’s posts, along with archived posts at knowledge dispensary blog. You may also leave comments at our blog’s new home. I welcome any and all input.

The strategic writing team met last Friday to review material. The recommendations that were made are currently being addressed. During the discussion, each of the Four Core Goals were discussed extensively. The Four Core Goals are:

• Teaching and Learning
• Research and Innovation
• Outreach and Engagement
• Resource Stewardship

Proposed Strategic Focus Areas under each of the Four Core Goals have been further evaluated. Dr. Kelley is making revisions based on the input from the Strategic Plan Writing Committee this week and a new draft version is expected to be available for viewing next week.

Until next week,

HENRY J. MANN,
PharmD, FCCP, FCCM, FASHP
Dean and Professor
College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University

I thought I would use this entry to review the whys of doing a strategic plan (beyond it being a requirement of the University).
In order to be successful at The College of Pharmacy, we must explicitly understand who we are, what we do, and where we want to go in order to become a stronger and more effective organization.
Our strategic plan serves as a map that charts how we will execute our chosen strategy. It will spell out our focus over the next several years and describe how we will accomplish our vision.
So why is this helpful?
• It will enable us to have stronger collaborations and better cohesion between and among departments and divisions
• It will force us to better prioritize our resources
• It will provide a clear direction as we move from plan to action
• Ultimately, it will help build our competitive advantage in attracting top students, quality faculty and plentiful resources
Because our strategic plan will focus the energy, resources and time of everyone here at the college, please know that each of you is integral to its success.

Until next week,

HENRY J. MANN,
PharmD, FCCP, FCCM, FASHP
Dean and Professor
College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University

Welcome to the inaugural post of the Knowledge Dispensary, a weekly blog about The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy strategic plan. This blog has been developed with the guidance of our Communications Director, Laura Wise-Blau. The purpose is to be sure we keep all members of our College informed and involved with the finalization and implementation of the strategic plan.
For those of you who are not intimately familiar with blogging (including me), don’t worry that this will be overly complicated. A blog is simply an electronic journal. I intend to use this blog to walk each of you through our strategic plan, its strategies and goals, our progress, and as we move forward, our implementation plans. Technology continues to ramp up its influence on our daily lives, including how we teach, conduct research and communicate. Distance learning is now commonplace, with its many opportunities as well as challenges. This blog is just another example of accepting that change in the College.
What hasn’t changed is our commitment to providing the highest level of research and teaching, attracting top faculty and staff, and enrolling students with the highest potential.
Through our strategic plan, we are answering the following:
•Who are we?
•Where do we want to go?
•How can we get there?
•How will we measure our success?
Associate Dean Katherine Kelley, Erin Delffs and Joanne Pearsol serve as our strategic plan leaders. To date, they have organized the structure of our plan. They have gathered data through internal and external SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analyses. They are also preparing a draft plan, which we will share late next month. This plan will serve as a foundation for more detailed action plans to be developed by our units.
I hope this blog will provide each of you with insight into our aspirations for this college. We have much to be proud of, and I look forward to working with you to move us even further ahead.

Until next week,

HENRY J. MANN,
PharmD, FCCP, FCCM, FASHP
Dean and Professor
College of Pharmacy
The Ohio State University