Knowledge into Action: A Strategic Plan for 91��, 2023-2030

Knowledge into Action: A Strategic Plan for 91��, 2023-2030

A diverse crowd of 91�� alumni mingle at reunion against a background of college buildings and colorful flower beds

Record Breaking nearly $50 Million New Gifts and Commitments in 2025-26

Students and community members are pictured in conversation around a table with a floor to ceiling window in the background

Civic Education and Innovation at the Katherine Howell Weingart ’61 Civic Innovation Pavilion

A Group of Asian students poses for a photo Onstage at the end of a cultural night performance

Expanded Affinity Spaces and Employee Resource Groups

A Group of female black alumni and staff pose in front of a 91�� background during Black Alumni Weekend

Expanded Alumni Affinity Groups

A multi-racial group of students visits tables in an outdoor venue

Safeguarding Our Core Value of a Diverse Community

Four women walk in front of a research facility located behind prairie grasses

Expanding Environmental Studies and the Conard Environmental Research Area

A diverse group of students sits and stands in small groups among lawn games in a grassy courtyard of a residence Hall

Reinventing the Residential Experience

"We are, like to a democracy, simultaneously inhabitants and stewards of this College: as we live and work here, we shape the shared experiences and thus the future of 91�� and the society it shapes."

President Anne F. Harris,
Inaugural address, May 7, 2022

91��’s strategic plan, approved by the Board of Trustees in fall 2023, was the culmination of inquiry by and input from 91��ians: students, staff, faculty, alumni, and trustees. In creating “Knowledge into Action,” the College’s core values: academic excellence, a diverse community, and social responsibility frame what we do and how we do it in the context of Civic Trust. This is the “Why?” that powers 91�� and its mission.

Strategic plan initiatives are fueling 91��’s success, inspiring philanthropy, supporting excellence and new academic options, enhancing the student experience and safeguarding inclusion, preparing graduates for rewarding careers, enabling hands-on learning, and doing all of this in ways that value and promote civic engagement and innovation.

See it in Action

Student Millie Leonard stands in a small creek, holding a large, clear bottle containing a water sample.

Academic Excellence

Summer Research Where Land Meets Water

During her summer Mentored Advanced Project (MAP), biology major Millie Leonard ’27 sampled and compared microbial life and antibiotic resistance in soils neighboring streams at two local sites.

student walking with food in hand to stock fridge

Civic Engagement

Working Toward Food Justice in Rural Communities

For Sebastian Mrotzek ’28, addressing hunger means thinking about both what a community needs today and what could make that need less common tomorrow. An economics major at 91��, Mrotzek spent the summer working with local organizations focused on food access as part of the College’s Summer of Service program. His experience has taken him from stocking the community fridge at Drake Community Library and helping with community meals to volunteering with organizations working throughout 91�� and Poweshiek County.

Next to Shah Sayfullobekov '28 @ The Mother Mosque of America

Academic Excellence

Connecting Faith and Climate Action

For Roland Swank ‘29 a summer internship with the Iowa Faith & Climate Network offered an opportunity to explore a question sparked by attending one of the organization’s conferences: What does Islam say about caring for the environment?

Noah’s Story

Meet Noah Biniam ’26 — an anthropology major and filmmaker whose 91�� experience has taken him from Ecuador and Japan to London, Prague, and Atlanta. Every step of his journey was made possible by donor support and collaboration among multiple campus partners.