The University of the Virgin Islands, a historically Black educational institution in the U.S. territory, has recently announce a new five-year strategic plan, “Greatness Through Innovation.” President David Hall hopes that this plan will help to distinguish the university in the higher education community, and therefore ensure its successful future.
One of the main areas that President Hall wants to improve is enrollment, with a goal of raising the student body from 2,000 to 3,000 students. The university hopes to achieve this by adopting a free tuition plan and expanding online studies. In addition to increasing enrollment, the university also plans to reconstruct various campus facilities that were damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria; build a medical school for the Virgin Islands; and create a comprehensive power generation and distribution system that will make the university independent from the Water and Power authority.
Unlike most strategic plans, “Greatness Through Innovation” encourages the administration, faculty, and staff to come up with their own ideas on how to improve the university. The school aims to raise $1 million to fund the best ideas from the campus community.
“Things are changing rapidly, and only those universities that can keep up with innovation will be able to survive. And we don’t want UVI to fade away,” President Hall said.
