Hearing from Our Community: Strategic Planning Listening Sessions
“These conversations are intentionally focused on the big picture — what a best Capital could look like in the future, and how we can collectively shape that vision.”
In the fall of 2025, as part of Capital University’s strategic planning process, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee hosted a series of listening sessions across campus. These sessions were designed to complement the university-wide planning survey and gather direct input from faculty and staff about the future direction of the institution.
The purpose was straightforward: to hear big ideas. Participants were invited to think not about immediate departmental needs, but about what Capital could look like five years from now — as the University moves into the 2030s and approaches its bicentennial. Sessions were held both in person and virtually to ensure broad participation across Capital’s Bexley campus, Law School, and Trinity Lutheran Seminary communities.
What We Heard
Across the sessions, several themes emerged consistently. Participants expressed enthusiasm for Capital’s distinctive identity as a Lutheran-affiliated, liberal arts-anchored institution with deep roots in Bexley and growing connections across Columbus. They voiced aspirations around student success, strengthened community partnerships, clearer career pathways, and a campus environment that reflects the University’s ambitions.
Participants also raised the importance of aligning institutional ambition with available resources — a theme that carried through into the formal planning framework. The voices gathered in these sessions directly informed the five pillars and 25 goals that now constitute Capital Rising.
From Conversation to Plan
The listening sessions were one of several community engagement mechanisms used during the development of Capital Rising. Alongside the university-wide survey and the work of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, they ensured that the plan reflects not just institutional leadership, but the aspirations of the people who make up the CapFam. The resulting strategic plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees in spring 2026.