LEADING IN A COMPLEX
LEADING IN A COMPLEX WORLD When arriving here in 2014, I was immediately struck by the long and storied history of faculty, staff, students and incredible alumni—stories known by far too few. Steve Jobs once said that it’s only in looking back that we can “connect the dots.” For Texas Woman’s, looking back revealed a wonderful legacy but also a challenge to take that legacy even further into the future. To lay the groundwork for that challenge, a university-wide team collaborated to create a strategic plan based on our raison d’être, “Educate a woman, empower the world.” That plan has sharpened our focus on preparing students for the world they will enter; bolstered academic, research and athletic activities; and nearly doubled the physical footprint of our university—bringing our student life and academic support services to a level that is becoming the envy of our peers. Meanwhile, our faculty and students continue to pioneer new approaches to meeting the needs of our everexpanding state—from cutting-edge preparation for those in nursing and the health sciences, to cultivating entrepreneurs and educators, and advancing strong programs in the arts and sciences. And we do these things well—The Economist ranked us 45th in the country and Dallas Business Journal ranked us #1 in the region for our graduates’ earnings vs. the cost to attend. Plans often go on shelves with little noticeable outcome. I could not be more proud that our strategic plan, Learn to Thrive—and all those who have had a hand in creating it and bringing it to life—will result in the creation of many more noteworthy “dots.” Dots, that when connected in the future, will make Texas Woman’s University a prominent and important centerpiece in the lives of our students, our faculty and staff and the entire state of Texas. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. ... You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well-worn path; and that will make all the difference.” —Steve Jobs Carine M. Feyten, Ph.D. Chancellor and President
