Dear Seminary Community,

I write today to update you on the status of our strategic planning project. Last fall, I shared with you information about the launch of this project, its goals and structure, the steering team of faculty, staff and trustees that are working together to guide the process, and our project partner, rpk GROUP. This information can be found on the strategic planning page of the Hartford Seminary website. I also shared that the process would leverage the experience and expertise of our seminary community in investigating key strategic areas through the creation of focus teams. I wanted to take a moment today to provide an update on this particular phase of the project.

In December we launched focus teams comprised of faculty, staff and trustees to explore six key strategic areas. These areas include:

1. Defining and Integrating Interfaith Education
2. Funding and Implementing New Research
3. Aligning Curriculum to Professional, Formational, and Financial Goals
4. Forging New Strategic Partnerships
5. Leveraging Hartford Seminary’s International Identity
6. Exploring Profile and Brand

These areas were identified as the result of extensive community feedback through more than 40 in-depth interviews and open sessions with the seminary community, as well as analysis of institutional and market data by rpk GROUP. At this stage, no decisions have been made regarding the strategic direction of the institution in these areas. Rather, the focus teams have been charged with providing the necessary data and analysis to guide the strategic decision-making to come.

In recent weeks, the focus teams began sharing their preliminary findings with the steering team. Based on these findings, the steering team will define the key strategic decisions facing the seminary, and work with the focus teams to develop strategic initiatives that are rooted in a shared vision for Hartford Seminary, responsive to the evolving market for graduate theological education, and grounded in a sustainable business model. It remains our goal to present a draft of the strategic plan at the March meeting of the Board of Trustees, and to be able to share the resulting final plan with the seminary community in April or May.

Thank you again for the many ways you have supported this strategic planning effort this year, and for all you do for the Hartford Seminary community. If you have any questions or want to provide additional input for the steering team, please use the dedicated email we have created for this project: planning@hartsem.edu.

With all best wishes,

Joel N. Lohr, Ph.D.

President