Letter from President Balderas
April, 2023
Dear Northern Community,
As we look towards the future of our institution, I am excited to announce the launch of a strategic planning process to chart a course for Northern through the next five years. As a college that serves amazing rural communities, with a student population that is 82% Hispanic and Native American, this process will provide an opportunity for us to think boldly and address visionary goals, as well as tactical needs.
The strategic planning process will be highly inclusive, built upon community wisdom, and allowing for broad participation and representation through committee work, survey participants and personal conversations. We will respect all ideas before long lasting commitments are made. And we are excited that we have this opportunity to celebrate our human power to acknowledge what is present and to envision what is possible.
We respectfully ask for your participation to work together to build a strong, visionary strategic plan. The first step on this journey involves gathering your input. We will be sending out a survey to students, faculty, staff, board members, community partners, and current and prospective donors to get your perspective on where we are today, our strengths, our opportunities, our challenges, and our future.
We will also be reaching out to several people for personal conversations in each of these key stakeholder groups. Based on the information gathered from the survey and conversations, our strategic planning committee will review and synthesize findings, and clarify our core purpose and mission, vision, core values and behaviors, and strategic issues. Once these have been confirmed, there will be opportunities for people who desire to help articulate the strategic goals and action items needed to implement the plan.
With the generous support of Los Alamos National Labs, Northern is pleased to partner with Dini Spheris, a national expert in strategic management, to provide outside perspective and expertise. They will work closely with a standing logistical team to facilitate the process, conduct interviews, offer summary findings, and provide recommendations to refine our strategies and goals. For more information on this initiative, you can visit: NNMC Strategic Plan 2028.
Strategic planning is a critical task for any organization, and we are committed to developing a plan that is comprehensive, realistic, and inclusive of all voices. We look forward to working with each of you over the coming months to establish a shared vision for the future of Northern.
Sincerely,
Hector Balderas, President