Final Report: Fueling Our Future
- Read the report (PDF)
When we launched the Drive to Distinction strategic plan in 2019, we set bold, ambitious goals that, honestly, felt daunting at times.
Yet over the years, we steadily implemented each step of the plan, and we began to move the needle — even on the loftiest aspirations. That’s not to say we achieved everything we set out to do six years ago. Some goals proved more difficult to advance, and we discovered that certain metrics are largely beyond our control. Still, much of what we envisioned has come to fruition in meaningful ways.
The biggest lesson learned? We came this far because of the power of teamwork. No single division, center, person or program could have produced the results we achieved together. Our phenomenal growth was driven by coordination and collaboration — a theme I’ve often described using the metaphor of our six divisions as six cylinders, firing in sync like a fine-tuned engine to propel us forward.
We also learned that the process matters. Taking time to engage stakeholders, listen to the pressing issues in agriculture and natural resources, and carefully craft a step-by-step plan — complete with measurable goals and actionable activities — was not fast or easy, but worthwhile. Even during a global pandemic, we never steered away from our drive; rather, the plan kept us advancing to serve Missouri.
As we cross the “finish line” of Drive to Distinction, we’re cruising smoothly and steadily toward an exciting future. And, while this particular plan has concluded, we will build on the strong momentum of the past six years.
Enjoy celebrating the many achievements of Drive to Distinction in Fueling Our Future (PDF), and stay tuned for what’s next for your College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
Thank you — truly — to everyone who’s been part of this journey. We appreciate each and every one of you!
Christopher R. Daubert
Vice Chancellor & Dean
Progress Reports
Drive to Distinction: CAFNR Strategic Plan 2019-2025
Fast-changing environmental, economic, technological and sociological forces, including food needs, climate change, agriculture advancements and health demands for humans, animals and plants will transform our future. These changes will shape our research, student training and community connections. Missouri is fortunate to have strong agriculture, natural resource, financial and healthcare industries as allied partners to provide CAFNR, as part of Missouri’s land-grant university, an opportunity to affect the lives of every citizen by providing unbiased, relevant and accessible education, information and resources.
Strategic Priorities
As a college, we work in a coordinated way to meet these challenges. Our strategic plan is a roadmap for us to improve the health of our environment, food, economy and people. Imagining a healthy world is our unifying theme with six strategic priorities.
Strategic Priority 1: Ensuring Student Success
CAFNR educates students to be decision-makers who cultivate a healthy world. We recruit, retain and graduate students from diverse backgrounds while providing a supportive environment that promotes scholarship, leadership, service and personal growth. It is the dedicated CAFNR faculty and staff that create an inspirational, collaborative and productive teaching, mentoring and advising environment that instills the spirit of discovery, knowledge-sharing and application for all students.
- Increase access to undergraduate education programs.
- Cultivate undergraduate student success.
- Increase graduation rates for undergraduates and ensure successful placement of students in a career or in graduate/professional school within six months of graduation.
- Require a signature experience as a component of the undergraduate degree program (RISE: Research, International, Service learning, Experiential learning).
- Support graduate students for career preparedness and success.
Strategic Priority 2: Advancing Research and Innovation
CAFNR faculty, staff, and students advance agriculture, food and natural resource scholarship through discoveries that address major challenges and help cultivate a healthy world. We integrate research results and teaching with engagement and Extension programs to promote economic growth and life-long learning opportunities. CAFNR takes a leadership position in driving innovation and entrepreneurship while fostering and sustaining a vibrant, collaborative and supportive research environment.
- Create a culture of research and innovation excellence.
- Increase research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
- Cultivate multidisciplinary collaborations.
Strategic Priority 3: Empowering Missourians
Discoveries and innovations created by CAFNR and our collaborators provide the ability to attain a healthy Missouri together. It is at the nexus of science and community that our college aspires to empower every citizen, rural and urban, by offering Extension programming and engagement that advances economic prosperity, lifelong learning, and healthy living.
- Grow Missouri’s agricultural and natural resource economy by collaborating with stakeholders to create new, science-based business pipelines.
- Create lifelong learning opportunities that build Missouri’s agricultural economy and sustain its natural resources.
- Contribute to a healthier Missouri by sharing science and discoveries with our communities.
Strategic Priority 4: Showcasing Our Leadership
CAFNR strives to be a nationally and internationally recognized college for agriculture, food and natural resources by successfully cultivating compassionate leaders who drive education, research, engagement and policy. We advance relevant, innovative solutions and provide leadership on a local, regional and global basis across the landscapes of agriculture, food and natural resources to create a healthy world.
- Enhance visibility while gaining recognition as a national leader in agriculture, food and natural resources.
- Build greater awareness of and participation in CAFNR’s Programs of Distinction and Grand Ideas while communicating the impact of these initiatives.
- Develop future leaders for agriculture, food systems and natural resources.
Strategic Priority 5: Cultivating Community
CAFNR creates and nurtures healthy communities and a culture of acceptance and belonging by providing a welcoming, open-minded and vibrant environment with pathways to success for all.
- Promote a culture of acceptance and belonging.
Strategic Priority 6: Championing Global Citizenship and Engagement
CAFNR will be a global land-grant college with a physical and virtual presence strategically positioned around the world. Through learning, discovery and engagement, students, faculty and staff will address grand challenges that affect our interconnected world. Missouri-based solutions will contribute to healthy plants, animals and humans, and healthy communities, economies and ecosystems to change the world for the better.
- Empower CAFNR to engage globally.
- Spearhead collaborative education and training programs with communities around the world.
- Engage with partners around the world on global issues and challenges.
CAFNR Programs of Distinction
CAFNR has numerous existing research, teaching and Extension programs that are nationally and internationally recognized. To highlight the recognized strengths of these existing or future programs, CAFNR has established criteria for Programs of Distinction. This select collection of programs exemplifies CAFNR’s drive to distinction.
CAFNR’s Programs of Distinction, together with our academic programs, define our current impact on Missouri’s agriculture and natural resource economies
#CAFNRMOmentum
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