Unity College has been at the leading edge of change since its inception as an unlikely economic driver for Waldo County.
“At Unity College, we believe the threat to the planet, and the resulting changes in how we work and live, will affect all aspects of government, business and education,” Unity College President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury said. “We have a singular focus to shape our students for this inevitable change, including relevant, rewarding careers for our graduates. That’s the driving force behind the recent growth and transformation taking place at Unity College.”
Students, faculty, parents, and employers have overwhelmingly demonstrated support for the direction, evidenced in historic enrollment, new faculty from around the world, unprecedented infrastructure investment, and employers eager to hire Unity College graduates.
“Our current Strategic Plan is the driving force behind solidifying our core and strengthening the building blocks from which we will grow,” Khoury said. “We are nearing the tipping point in the current plan, finishing our infrastructure buildout on the residential campus, seeing our inaugural distance education graduate degree get off the ground, restructuring workflow to be more efficient and effective, and laying the groundwork for national, and even international, growth initiatives.”
The current Strategic Plan has served the college well as a guide to solidifying the building blocks of growth. The plan is more than 50% complete and progress against specific goals can be seen at http://president.unity.edu/vision/strategic-plan/strategic-plan-progress.
“We are in the process of re-inventing higher education for the 21st century. This current plan, which we are aggressively and single-mindedly pursuing, is preparing to put Unity College on the national map from a position of strength,” Khoury said. “From our students to our faculty to every single employee, we will have accomplished a tremendous goal and are working toward the infrastructure and skills to see us continue to move forward.”
The College is laser-focused on executing the current plan as the jumping-off point for dynamic growth. Khoury said he expects the current plan to reflect 75% completion in 2017.
With a growing list of alumni achievements, dedication from our faculty and staff, and inspiration sparked by leadership, in only the last few years Unity College has become highly ranked for value and overall excellence by U.S. News & World Report, for food sustainability and academics by Sierra Magazine, and as a Top 20 baccalaureate college by The Washington Monthly.
“In 2017, with the expected progress of the current plan and leveraging the work we have going on now to determine drivers of Unity College’s unique brand of higher education, we will be ready to begin to think about our next strategic plan,” Khoury said. “We look forward to the continued involvement and support of Unity College constituents.”
What will the school’s next 50 years look like? Stay tuned.