Carnegie Mellon University

Updating CMU’s Strategic Plan

Beginning in 2023-24, Carnegie Mellon has undertaken a process to assess and revise the university’s strategic plan.

Under the guidance of the Strategic Plan Update Steering Committee appointed by President Jahanian and Provost Garrett, this data-informed process aims to build on our accomplishments from Strategic Plan 2025 and fine-tune our strategic direction in light of a fast-moving higher education landscape. Based on this early feedback as well as peer benchmarking, the following six themes have emerged as areas of focus for our strategic plan update.

  • Affordability & Access: Ensuring a CMU education remains accessible to top talent from all backgrounds, including low- and middle-income families
  • AI & Emerging Technologies: Maximizing our leadership in technology in every sense — through our research, creative inquiry and policy impact, and by training the talent that will shape the digital revolution
  • Brand & Storytelling: Further differentiating and elevating our unique brand and telling the CMU story of our impact in a more powerful way
  • Organizational Agility & Effectiveness: Ensuring our complex organization is positioned for success, nimble in how we prioritize our resources and savvy in how we optimize their use
  • Research & Innovation: Expanding investments and partnerships in research, energizing our culture of bold entrepreneurship and big bets, and continuing to grow our start-up and enterprise creation
  • Student Experiences & Outcomes: Continuing to invest in a high-quality, hands-on and supportive student experience while maintaining the excellence that makes our students highly sought-after

We are keenly interested in broad stakeholder input, and we welcome our community’s feedback as we engage in this important process.

We plan to present our findings to the community in Fall 2024, following discussions with our Board of Trustees.

Tricia O'Reilly, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, co-chair
Becky Culyba, Vice Provost for Operations and Strategic Initiatives, co-chair
Amy Burkert, Vice Provost for Education
Gina Casalegno, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Sayeed Choudhury, Associate Dean for Digital Infrastructure, University Libraries
Mary Jo Dively, Vice President and General Counsel
Rhonda Fischer, Chief Operating Officer, Tepper School of Business
Theresa Meyer, Vice President for Research
Cindy Crimmins, Associate Vice President, Advancement Resources and Engagement Programs
Robert Ramirez, Head of the School of Drama, College of Fine Arts
Bill Sanders, Dean, College of Engineering
Henry Zheng, Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Planning