The purpose of Whitworth's strategic plan for 2005-2010 is to articulate an overall direction for the institution, to provide a set of moorings for determining how best to use resources, and to provide a compelling vision for students, faculty, staff, alums, trustees, and donors. It is not meant to provide a complete blueprint for all that will go on over the next five years. Rather, it is hoped that the plan will be used as a tool to strengthen the institution. Good plans help administrators sort through the thicket of options when deciding how to allocate resources and, at their best, inspire all of us to work for the common good. Good plans help faculty and staff see the big picture of where the institution is headed, so that we might all better understand how our work helps accomplish the mission. Good plans help shape the story of the institution so that recruiters are better able to help prospective students make informed decisions about where to attend. Good plans help inspire donors to believe that their dreams for making the world a better place might be fulfilled in supporting the mission and work of Whitworth College.

The measurement of a good plan is in our ability to say more confidently that the mission is being fulfilled in particular or strategic ways; in the most basic sense, this plan will be measured by the institution's ability to attract and retain strong students, to accomplish our educational goals for those students, to recruit and retain talented faculty and staff, and to attract increasing numbers of donors to support Whitworth College.

Organization of the plan
This plan begins with an attempt to articulate in a number of ways what Whitworth aspires to be and how it will appear in the year 2010. Using a vision statement, a word picture, a set of objectives, and measurable benchmarks, the next five years are summarized, and an exciting image of Whitworth in 2010 comes into view.

The second part of the plan comprises ten key-result areas that provide the specific ways in which this plan will be implemented over the next five years. These areas include academics and student life, business operations, fund-raising, communications, and diversity. Each area is organized around goals, action steps and benchmarks. Also included are institution-wide statements related to religious identity and growth management -- strategic decisions that help inform the plan.

The third section of the plan is devoted to context and analysis. The careful reader will want to examine the ways in which this plan fits into a larger trajectory of the college over the past twenty years; s/he will also want to look at the summary discussions of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

The fourth section of the plan addresses three strategic issues in greater detail: religious identity, growth management, and the potential name change from Whitworth College to Whitworth University.

The plan concludes with an appendix that presents several tables providing various data from enrollment to financial giving that helped inform the plan.