An Update on Strategic Reinvestment Planning from Interim President Alan L. Smith

Editor's note: the following was sent to all USU employees on Monday, May 12, 2025.

Dear Colleagues,

It was a great joy to share in graduation celebrations from late April into the first days of May and a wonderful reminder of our very important work at Utah State University. Many thanks for your efforts in bringing more than 7,000 of our students to completion of their certificates and degrees. Their accomplishment will enrich their lives and those of their families and communities for many years to come. We should take pride in this and the associated contribution to the public good that it represents.

I write with an update on our planning associated with HB 265: Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment. Last Friday we submitted draft materials to the USHE Office of the Commissioner for Higher Education of our proposed disinvestments and reinvestments in our academic enterprise. I have written to you over recent months about this ongoing process, and you can find the previous communications and other information at our strategic reinvestment website. This morning, we added a narrative document and slide deck to the website that were submitted to the Commissioner’s Office. I apologize for not having these posted upon the Friday submission—we experienced technical glitches throughout the day, and I opted not to have staff working late into the evening as we entered the weekend.

The document and slides offer contextual information and further specifics on our proposed disinvestments and reinvestments. I briefly signaled general categories for reinvestment in a previous communication to you, and you will now find more fine-grained information. As you examine the materials, please consider the following:

• Our current plan represents a proposal that will require approval of various bodies, including the Utah Board of Higher Education and legislative committees over the next several months. Accordingly, the plan is subject to change and will evolve as we receive feedback and (dis)approvals.
• Implementation of disinvestments and reinvestments outlined in the plan will occur over three years. This plan should also be considered a living document. This means that as we begin to implement elements of the plan, our learnings and new opportunities or challenges could result in adjustments.
• Implementation plans and procedures—particularly as related to new academic programming—have many details that are to be determined. This is by design. It is important that our faculty experts be directly engaged in and lead much of this work. Please be patient in learning about next steps. Upon our plan being approved, our academic leadership can communicate about how to proceed.
• While certain programming is proposed to be discontinued, there is a two-year timeframe for teaching out affected students, and there is often related alternative programming available. Moreover, because discontinuations are tied to underenrolled areas, the number of affected students will be proportionally limited. The impact, frankly, will overwhelmingly be felt by our staff and faculty workforce. As there are specific questions or challenges here for students, department and college leaders will work to address them in a student-centered way.
• Disinvestments in this plan are anchored exclusively to the academic enterprise, which is the focus of HB 265. The additional budget cut from last year’s legislative session is being addressed across our full institution (academic and auxiliary enterprises) and is still being modeled and finalized. The information in this communication only addresses the HB 265 budget impacts.

Being that our strategic reinvestment planning is an ongoing process, please continue to offer your feedback. There is a button near the bottom of the strategic reinvestment website to submit your ideas, and you are also encouraged to engage your department heads and deans as you have something to share. I am grateful for your many thoughtful and helpful ideas and reactions to date.

I know that the summer months often serve as an opportunity to catch up on holdover projects and writing. I have a chapter and some empirical papers on my own to-do list. Recognizing that federal grant funding complications and our strategic reinvestment planning could make this a less typical summer for you, I nonetheless hope you find an opportunity to move your projects ahead, think and create, and recharge. Thank you for all that you do on behalf of our students and university community.

Sincerely,

Alan L. Smith

Interim President