FIT embarked on its first strategic planning effort in 1998, a multi-year process in which a number of issues critical to the college’s future were identified. It was one of the first initiatives undertaken by President Joyce F. Brown when she assumed the presidency of the college. Significant outcomes of the process included adoption of a new mission statement  and the development of the 2000-2004 Five-Year Investment Plan that integrated financial and operational initiatives with institutional vision. It involved the work of a 15-member strategic-planning committee comprised of faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as numerous task forces.

The $21.3-million plan was adopted to launch major initiatives that reshaped institutional directions and priorities, while also providing basic, critically needed improvements throughout the college. This initial plan yielded numerous tangible outcomes, including institutional investment in faculty and curriculum development initiatives, enhancement of academic and administrative technology support, and improvement and expansion of campus facilities.

A successful planning effort, however, never really ends. Like the institution it serves, a strategic plan must evolve and grow. By mid-2002, it was determined that the time had come to revisit, update, re-prioritize, and expand on the plan and the initiatives it spurred. President Brown announced FIT’s intention to update the strategic plan, indicating the need for a rigorous re-evaluation of goals and priorities, and for the development of a formal planning structure to ensure an inclusive, college-wide dialogue. This internal assessment was echoed by the Middle States evaluation team in their final report on the college during the ten-year re-accreditation process that concluded in 2002.

The needs addressed in the original strategic plan were fundamental, well documented, and articulated by the college community. President Brown recognized, however, that a new plan requires a subtler, more detailed evaluation of the college’s needs in order to focus on a longer-range view of FIT. 2020: FIT at 75, Bringing the Future into Focus will not only set institutional priorities for the next five years, it will also provide an overarching vision for what FIT will be fifteen years from now. This strategic-planning process will be infused with community involvement, and will inspire a dynamic, college-wide conversation to write the story of FIT’s future.

Click here for FIT's mission statement.

Click here for 2000-2004 Five-Year Investment Plan.