Strategic Plan

University of Kansas School of Music

Strategic Plan

2023–2027

Approved: September 12, 2022

Revised: February 21, 2025

Vision Statement

We aspire to be an exceptional community of learners that elevates humanity through musical artistry, scholarship, teaching, and mentorship.

Mission Statement

The KU School of Music's mission is to provide students with an excellent and comprehensive musical education that equips them with the skills needed to effectively engage with their communities as educators, clinicians, performers, composers, scholars, leaders, and citizens. We strive to do so in an active environment that nurtures creative and personal growth and prioritizes our core values of community, excellence, sustainability, access, collaboration, and innovation.

Our Core Foundations

Our strategic plan is informed by five core foundations that guide our activities in order to foster a community of learners that is internationally engaged; actively engages with our community through performances, education, research, and clinical work; adheres to the standards and criteria that assure high-quality educational experiences for students and faculty; and unites a broad array of disciplinary perspectives within the study of music.

1. Interdisciplinary Excellence.
   Our identity is rooted in our history as a comprehensive school of music, which allows and encourages us to pursue excellence across the full breadth of musical arts and scholarship.
2. Internationalization. 
   We engage with the global musical community through institutional partnerships, individual collaborations, and other opportunities.
3. Community Engagement. 
   The very nature of our art and scholarship is rooted in active engagement with our community through performances, education, research, and clinical work.
4. NASM Accreditation. 
   We are a founding member of the National Association of Schools of Music, through which we are accredited. In addition, our Music Therapy program and degrees are also approved through the American Music Therapy Association.
5. Comprehensive School of Music. 
   We bring together outstanding students and faculty in music composition, education, history, performance, therapy, and theory. These diverse perspectives ensure that our students receive a rich and broad musical education, and encourages interdisciplinary collaborations.  

Our Core Values

1. Community. 
   The School of Music is a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff; of artists, scholars, teachers, and therapists. The very nature of music is rooted in the development of and engagement with the many other communities of which we are a part.
2. Excellence. 
   The School of Music is a community that seeks excellence together. We recognize and celebrate excellence in a broad range of artistic, scholarly, educational, and therapeutic endeavors.
3. Sustainability. 
   The School of Music seeks to be a sustainable organization that fosters the enduring health and well-being of our students, faculty, staff, and community and adapts to changes through our opportunities and experiences.
4. Access. 
   The School of Music seeks to make the study of music available to all who are interested.
5. Collaboration. 
   The School of Music recognizes that working in concert is a fundamental aspect of our art and scholarship, and we seek to encourage innovative collaborations among students, faculty, staff, and the community.
6. Innovation. 
   The School of Music draws on its rich traditions as it seeks to become a model site of musical studies in the twenty-first century. Students, faculty, and staff respond to the issues of our time with innovative research, creative work, pedagogy, and service to our school, our disciplines, and our society.

Student Success

These goals correlate to the following institutional objectives in Jayhawks Rising: 

• Increase Enrollment
• Assure Retention and Completion Through Student Engagement and Satisfaction
• Improve Placement & Reduce Debt
• Assure Quality of Academic Programs

Improve Access

1. Make our majors accessible to students whose primary instrument is not a traditional Western orchestral instrument.
2. Encourage greater engagement with the University’s RISE priorities.
3. Track student plans after graduation.
4. Track student debt load. 

Increase Collaboration

1. Increase our internationalization efforts.
2. Model excellence for our students through collaborations with guest artists and scholars.
3. Increase university-wide collaborations at the staff and faculty levels. 
4. Increase enrollment.
5. Collaborate with other institutions on internships, degree maps for transfer students, etc.
6. Improve our GTA and new faculty orientation offerings

Healthy and Vibrant Communities

These goals correlate to the following institutional objectives in Jayhawks Rising:

• Strengthen Service to Local and Global Communities
• Foster Belonging for the KU Community
• Support Personal Growth and Wellness
• Support and Strengthen Professional Growth
• Ensure Stewardship of the Institution

Develop Our Community

1. Place greater value on community-engaged scholarship.
2.  Better promote the School’s community engagement and internationalization efforts.
3.  Create a more community-oriented space in Murphy Hall.

Improve Our Sustainability

1. Increase our alumni and donor relations efforts.
2. Update our learning environments.
3. Improve our community’s health, wellness, and safety.
4. Redesign the course matrix. 

Research and Discovery

These goals correlate to the following institutional objectives in Jayhawks Rising:

• Grow KU Research
• Recruit, Retain, and Recognize Top Researchers
• Expand the Impact of KU Research in Kansas and Beyond
• Promote Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Promote Innovation

1. Expand the role of the Music Research Institute.
2. Expand the impact of School of Music research in Kansas and beyond.

Promote Research Excellence

1. Encourage student and faculty participation in undergraduate and graduate research programs.
2. Celebrate excellence in research and creative excellence.