Strategic plan update from President Mason

LeTourneau University has inherited a unique educational calling—a calling informed by our university identity as ‘The Christian Polytechnic University.’ This identity is a product of our distinct mission that articulates who we are and what we are called to do as an organization:

We are a one-of-a-kind institution of higher learning (The) because of our abiding commitment to the Gospel story (Christian) in offering a technology-centric (Polytechnic) education, where all academic disciplines & community practices align for the common good.

As we celebrate 75 years as an institution and embark on the next three, our priorities center upon this unifying identity & purpose. It guides our path, aligns our work, and presses us forward. With a solidified vision for who we are called to be, the future is clear. It is our obligation to flourish, to expand the ways & means through which God can use our campus community to impact His Kingdom.

The Strategic Plan of LeTourneau University expresses a vision developed in partnership with our faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, and friends. It reflects our institutional values. Four mission critical objectives emerged as our focus as we established our three-year goals—essential steps required to bring our collective calling to life. These four MCOs are an enduring charge, a collective compass that supersedes one planning cycle and articulates our abiding aspirations & commitments. While our tactics will vary and our goals will evolve, our future strategic developments & initiatives will adhere to these foundational themes.

We are confident in God’s proven, unwavering faithfulness and come together to own the next chapter in our institutional saga. LeTourneau University will be a community recognized for:

LeTourneau University will lean into its uniqueness as the destination for Christian polytechnic education, with an ever-deepening commitment to academic excellence & ingenuity. We commit to offering academic programs that fulfill our educational promises and advance our institutional identity. This requires continual reinvestment in an academic enterprise that offers students dynamic educational experiences—both commensurate with a changing world of technology & innovation and reflective of the identity & experiences of ‘The Christian Polytechnic University.’

Central goals include reimagining our general education curriculum to robustly reflect our identity through a thoughtful mix of technical & applied courses in the liberal arts & sciences, as well as a “Polytechnic Core.” We will also strategically invest in existing academic programs with the highest potential for enrollment growth. Learn more about MCO 1.

LeTourneau University will be an organization known for financial strength, growth & stewardship, where thoughtful business strategies benefit students and set the institution up for future success. We will prioritize strategies that foster financial sustainability and independence to negotiate external threats to Christian higher education. Areas of focus will include initiatives to grow financial health in the areas of academic programs, auxiliary enterprises, and capital management & fundraising.

Central goals include establishing the largest comprehensive campaign in university history and strengthening the university’s financial position with annual net income gains. Campaign priorities will be informed by our strategic plan goals, as well as capital & facility needs, program needs, faculty support, & endowed scholarship needs. Learn more about MCO 2.

LeTourneau University will be a multi-cultural community that values the diversity of God’s creation while answering Christ’s call for unity. Embodying hospitality toward diverse communities we seek to serve, we will prepare people, not just professionals, to love God and neighbor. Our students will know the theology of diversity and develop cultural competence. The entirety of our campus community will reflect the diversity of our region and experience a strengthening familial relationship with our Longview neighbors.

Central goals include increasing ethnic diversity & representation of women within the university community. Guides in development will include a university-adopted theological statement on diversity, grounded in scripture, and a biblically-centered cultural diversity & cultural competence audit. Learn more about MCO 3. 

LeTourneau University will be known for its efforts to address the health & wellness needs of students, faculty, & staff—a community where members band together to create a campus environment conducive to developing healthy people for a rapidly advancing technological world. It is well-accepted that young adults increasingly face significant mental health challenges; challenges that we will the resource and meet. We also aspire to be a workplace that pays close attention to organizational morale, health, and wellness, becoming a top workplace within the East Texas community and exemplifying the practices and behaviors that make it a career destination.

Central goals include expanding resources to support & treat student mental health through campus education, awareness, engagement, and provision of services. Simultaneously, we will advance positive employee engagement with workplace improvements and faculty & staff development efforts. Learn more about MCO 4.