Strategic Planning

MBU 2025 is an updated strategic plan for Mary Baldwin University, building upon the achievements of the previous plan, Mary Baldwin 2020. The 2020 plan successfully transformed the university into a distinctive small university, including completing the Ever Ahead Campaign and expanding programs and enrollment. The new plan, MBU 2025, focuses on five strategic imperatives to guide the university’s development and adapt to the changing landscape of higher education.

  1. Residential – Shape and Retain
  2. Online & Graduate – Focus and Scale
  3. MDCHS – Innovate and Expand
  4. Alumni – Engage and Support
  5. Investment – Partner and Fund

The context of MBU 2025 includes a target enrollment of 2,500 students, aiming for financial sustainability while maintaining a student-centered approach. The university plans to transform its business model to ensure the overall financial ecosystem’s sustainability, with goals for financial margins, reserves, endowment growth, compensation plans, and infrastructure improvements. The plan also emphasizes elevating the university’s prestige and operational effectiveness and enhancing its portfolio of programs to meet the needs of diverse learners.

Operating principles guide the implementation of MBU 2025, emphasizing Mary Baldwin’s mission of empowering leaders to pursue purposeful lives in a changing world. The core commitments of the university focus on developing critical and creative thinkers, compassionate change-makers, champions of gender equity and cultural inclusivity, and citizens empowered to impact the world around them.