Strategic Plan

Closing Our Five-Year Strategic Plan and Launching Foundation First

March 26, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

As we bring our five-year strategic plan, Lindenwood 2026: Adapt, Build, Engage, to a close, I want to recognize what this campus community has accomplished together.

When we launched this plan in July 2021, we did so in the midst of extraordinary disruption in higher education. The landscape was being reshaped by enrollment decline, rising skepticism about the value of college, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Even in that environment, Lindenwood chose to move forward with a bold strategy centered on becoming “The Next Great Learner-Centric University.”

This strategy delivered meaningful results. Measured across the Lindenwood Education System, outcomes exceeded the targets: reaching over 20,000 students, 155 new partnerships, 65% top-of-mind brand awareness, and $280.8 million in system revenue by Fall 2025. These are system-level achievements, and Lindenwood University’s contributions in brand development, academic quality, partnership growth, and the broader effort to build a lifelong-learning ecosystem were central to that success.

This progress came through years of disciplined work: adapting to changing learner needs, building what was missing, and engaging hearts through a stronger student and community experience. The strategic plan helped position Lindenwood to become more durable, diversified, and resilient in a difficult era in higher education.

Just as important, this was a collaborative effort. A Strategic Task Force of 12 senior leaders, board members, and faculty helped lead the effort. 167 stakeholders participated in the development of the plan, and a four-part design-thinking process involving 31 leaders generated 245 transformative ideas, which were refined through validation work that involved additional campus leaders and employees.

The success of this plan belongs to the campus. Faculty, staff, administrators, and leaders translated strategy into execution. Together, you helped Lindenwood strengthen our brand, grow our reach, expand our partnerships, and build the capabilities that will make us a stronger contributor to LES. That system-level strength is one reason Lindenwood is better positioned for the future than many institutions facing the same higher education headwinds.

Closing one strategic chapter means being honest about the next challenge. Our next season is about making sure Lindenwood University has the operational strength and infrastructure to support sustainable growth as part of LES.

That’s why our next institutional focus is Foundation First, a 24-month effort centered on 11 foundational initiatives designed to stabilize operations, build infrastructure, and enable growth. We are intentionally pausing the development of a new long-range strategic plan until Foundation First is complete, because the strongest plans are built on stable ground.

As we move into this next phase, our commitment remains the same: students first. The work ahead will require collaboration and focus, just as the last five years did. But because of what this campus has already accomplished, we begin this next chapter from a position of strength.

Thank you for the work you have done to finish this strategic plan. Now we turn our attention to the next important task: strengthening our foundation so Lindenwood can thrive and lead in the years ahead.

Sincerely,

John R. Porter, Ed.D.
President, Lindenwood University

• Download the Strategic Plan

Each October, we will release an updated version of the Strategic Plan that includes the milestones and results achieved during the previous fiscal year.

A Turning Point

As the University writes its next chapter, we find ourselves at a turning point. Change is everywhere. The job market is changing. Demographics are changing. Student needs and expectations are changing. With a new president and new vision, the University is ready to address these challenges and make bold moves to redefine itself as The Next Great Learner-Centric University.

Learn more about our strategic context

Operate – Innovate

Our planning was oriented around the “Dual Operating System,” developed by Harvard University business professor and author, Dr. J.P. Kotter. Kotter’s model recognized the tendency of mature hierarchical organizations (like universities) to prioritize and resource operational improvements over transformational initiatives. To overcome this challenge, the dual operating system creates a guiding coalition of leaders to empower teams of networked volunteers with the time and resources they need to transform the organization. Using this “operate-innovate” approach enables the University to pursue operational goals (operate) while simultaneously pursuing transformative goals (innovate).

Learn more about our strategic approach

Accelerating Our Strategy

Design thinking workshops kickstarted our planning process resulting in 245 transformative ideas. These ideas were narrowed through a formalized pitch process, iterated upon, and shared throughout the University for input. This resulted in 12 transformative initiatives, which were externally validated through several third-party firms. Six of these initiatives entered the strategic plan. We simultaneously developed several key operational initiatives that would help the university meet the needs and expectations of 21^st century learners. Together, these “operate-innovate” initiatives form the Lindenwood 2026 strategic plan.

Learn more about our strategic approach

Redesigning the University

Adapt, Build, and Engage are the three pillars of our strategy that capture how we will redesign the university around learner needs and expectations and grow to 12,000 students by Fall 2026.

Adapt

We will adapt our people, processes, and programs to meet the needs and expectations of a new generation of learners.

Build

We will build speed to match the demands of the market, skills to meet “in-and-out” learner needs, and affordability to address the “crisis of cost.”

Engage

We will reach new learners in our market, attract them by demonstrating our difference, and retain them by loving our Lions.

From Good to Great

Each strategic pillar has three goals that define what we need to do to achieve our vision to become “The Next Great Learner-Centric University.”

Adapt

We will adapt our people, processes, and programs to meet the needs and expectations of a new generation of learners.

1. Develop first-in-class processes that increase program efficiency and effectiveness resulting in greater value for our learners.
2. Strategically adapt our educational offerings to meet the changing needs and expectations of today’s learners and prepare them to be job ready.
3. Create a culture of high performance, inclusion, and teamwork.

Build

We will build speed to match the demands of the market, skills to meet “in-and-out learner needs,” and affordability to address the “crisis of cost.”

1. Build a seamless enrollment system that matches the speed of the market.
2. Build a learner-centric education system that disrupts the region and delivers Real Experience and Real Success for our students.
3. Build differential pricing models to increase the value, affordability, and competitiveness of our on-ground, online and blended programs.

Engage

We will reach new learners in our market, attract them by demonstrating our difference, and retain them by loving our Lions.

1. Develop an engaging brand platform that captures the minds and hearts of a new generation of learners.
2. Create an NCAA Division 1 collegiate experience that surpasses anything in the St. Louis market.
3. Develop an irresistible, home-away-from-home student experience that attracts and retains residential students.

Seven strategic initiatives will help advance our Real Experience, Real Success mission and enable us to become The Next Great Learner-Centric University in the Midwest.

The Academic Core initiative will strategically adapt our traditional offerings to meet the changing needs and expectations of today’s learners and prepare them to be job ready. Six transformative initiatives support the Academic Core. These initiatives were developed using Results Accelerators. Below is a brief description of each initiative’s vision for transformation.

• Diversify the Pride – Lindenwood will be the most innovative learning community in the Midwest by diversifying its faculty, staff, leadership and board of trustees to create a learning environment where transformative ideas are shared, deliberated, and enacted.
• Lindenwood Global – Lindenwood will create an online division that provides an intuitive, well-branded, online educational experience that adapts to students’ individual learning styles and achieves their personal, academic, and professional outcomes.
• Micro-credential Infrastructure – Lindenwood will deliver rapid, on-demand skills development at scale through a state-of-the-art micro-credential infrastructure to meet the growing “in-and-out” learner needs.
• Destination Lindenwood – Lindenwood will transform the university and the City of St. Charles into the go-to destination for cultural, civic, and athletic events that attract student interest, community and corporate support, and love and appreciation for our Lions.
• Brand Vision – Lindenwood will develop an emotionally engaging brand and storytelling framework that differentiates the university from its competitors and saturates the 100-mile radius around the St. Charles campus resulting in a significant increase in awareness and mindshare.

Updates will be posted to this webpage and shared with the campus community through email communication and town hall meetings.

• Annie Alameda, Faculty Council Chair (former) and Professor, College of Science, Technology and Health
• Mark Arant, Provost (former)
• Deb Ayres, Senior Vice President, Human Resources
• Orrie Covert, Vice President, Advancement and Community Engagement (former)
• Molly Hudgins, Dean, Plaster College of Business and Entrepreneurship (former)
• Jo Anna Pollock, Board of Trustees
• David Rosenwasser, Professor, Plaster College of Business and Entrepreneurship (former)
• Rob Westervelt, Vice President, Strategy and Innovation
• Terry Whittum, Senior Vice President, Enrollment Management and Student Engagement (former)

Lindenwood welcomes all suggestions and ideas regarding the strategic plan. Please contact Rob Westervelt, Vice President, Strategy and Innovation.