From Vision to Action: Strategic Planning for a Lasting Impact

March 20-21, 2025 | Boston, MA

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Bridge the gap between strategy and impact with tools that move your institution from vision to action.

Program Highlights

Strategic Design Skills: You’ll leave with a deep understanding of how to use design thinking to generate innovative and practical strategies that align with institutional goals.

Enhanced Collaboration: You will learn how to foster collaborative environments, ensuring that strategy creation and rollout involve diverse perspectives and generate stronger, more inclusive solutions.

Actionable Roadmaps: You will develop concrete action plans, complete with short-term wins and long-term milestones, to ensure that your strategies are implemented effectively and yield measurable results.

Adaptive Leadership: You’ll acquire the tools to lead teams through strategic changes with agility, building a culture that embraces innovation, overcomes obstacles, and sustains momentum.

Overview

Group of attendees doing an activity at an Academic Impressions conference

This two-day strategic planning conference is designed to equip higher education leaders with the skills and tools necessary to create actionable, sustainable strategies that align with institutional ambitions. Using design thinking and collaborative approaches, you will engage in interactive sessions to define clear, winning choices that drive long-term success. The conference will focus on moving from broad visions to practical steps, fostering a mindset of creativity and innovation while ensuring that strategic objectives are met.

You’ll learn how to create a dynamic strategy that encourages buy-in across teams and departments, enabling better execution and alignment with the institution’s long-term goals. Through case studies, workshops, and group discussions, attendees will gain insight into how to implement strategies that not only meet current needs but also anticipate future challenges and opportunities.

Session Descriptions

More details about the timing of the days can be found by clicking Learn More and Register, but session descriptions of the two days are below:  

Anticipating the Future: Future Timeline
The world of higher education has changed fundamentally over the last few years and will likely continue to transform in new and unexpected ways. In this interactive session we’ll explore the events, trends, and issues that will impact higher ed over the next decade, and we’ll explore practical strategies to build and practice an anticipatory mindset.  

Vision Crafting from Broad Concepts to Focused Priorities
By leveraging the anticipatory mindset, this session will guide you in turning broad, visionary concepts into focused, practical strategies that drive sustainable impact. The discussion will emphasize the critical role of engagement, understanding, and collaboration across teams, underscoring that effective strategies begin with the people who will bring them to life.

Case Study: Montana Tech
This session will examine the success of Montana Tech, presented by Les Cook, university chancellor since 2019. Les has steered the institution through significant growth and development as one of the nation’s premier STEM universities.

Designing for Buy-In: Engaging Stakeholders for Focused Priorities
Effective strategy hinges on more than just a great idea. It requires the active involvement of the right people and a compelling narrative to bring the strategy to life. In this session, you’ll explore how to design strategies that inspire buy-in and drive focused priorities through intentional stakeholder engagement.

Navigating Change: Leading Teams through Strategic Transitions
Robyn Betts—assistant vice president, strategy and innovation at Bentley University—will present a case study on revising the core curriculum. The initiative addressed evolving student needs, market demands, and institutional goals, all while navigating significant internal and external challenges. The reform process offers valuable insights into managing strategic transitions in higher education.

Turning Strategy into Action
Successful strategies thrive on a balance of visionary planning and seamless execution. This session will explore how to transform strategic ideas into actionable outcomes by making clear choices, engaging stakeholders early, and building systems that support long-term success. You’ll learn practical methods for bringing abstract concepts to life through tools such as sketches, prototypes, and roleplay. These approaches not only refine strategies but also foster alignment among stakeholders and build the confidence needed for effective implementation. 

Measuring Success and Building Metrics that Matter
How do we ensure our strategic plans lead to meaningful, measurable outcomes? In this session, higher education leaders will explore strategies for defining success, identifying the metrics that align with institutional priorities, and building a culture of accountability. Through interactive discussions and real-world examples, you’ll learn how to craft metrics that not only measure progress but also inspire action and reflect the evolving needs of students, faculty, and stakeholders.

Action Planning
This session will give you the opportunity to begin designing action plans to take back to your campus. In addition, this will provide the groundwork for you to create accountability plans.

Speakers

Stephen Whitehead
Head of Practice for Academic Innovation, Academic Impressions

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Who Should Attend

Senior Leaders: Presidents, Provosts, Vice Presidents, and Deans who are responsible for shaping and guiding institutional strategy, ensuring alignment with long-term goals, and driving organizational change.

Middle Management: Directors, department heads, and other academic and administrative leaders who are looking to translate broader institutional visions into practical strategies that can be executed at their level.

Strategic Planning Teams: Members of cross-functional planning groups who are involved in the development and implementation of strategic plans, ensuring that initiatives are collaborative and inclusive.

Change Agents: Individuals tasked with leading change initiatives, implementing strategic frameworks, and fostering innovation in their departments or divisions.

Aspiring Leaders: Emerging higher education professionals who wish to build their strategic thinking and leadership skills to prepare for future roles in organizational leadership.

What makes our events different?

Academic Impressions conferences provide the opportunity for quality conversations and relationship-building through both formal and informal networking opportunities in an intimate setting. Our in-depth and hands-on approach to learning provides you with actionable takeaways.

Learn More About the Academic Impressions Conference Experience ➞