2027 Platinum Plan – A Strategic Vision for LCU’s 70th Anniversary

As a Christ-centered university, our identity is grounded in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, guided by the holy scriptures, and informed by the faithful traditions and practices of believers across the centuries. As a liberal arts university, LCU is shaped by the worlds of human expression, understanding, and experience, such as history, literature, art, music, language, rhetoric, mathematics, science, anthropology, psychology, and economics. These arts and sciences prepare students to engage in the fields of human productivity and cooperation like law, politics, business, finance, communication, marketing, and sales, as well as in the fields of human compassion and service like education, counseling, social work, medicine, nursing, therapy, and ministry.  

As we look to 2027 and pour ourselves into our mission of transforming the hearts, minds, and hands of students for lives of purpose and service, our vision is to be a leading Christian university, known for its academic excellence and its commitment to faith that seeks understanding, where wisdom is pursued, vocation is discerned, service is fostered. As we walk out this mission and step into this vision, we have 4 strategic goals, each addressing a key area for growth and continuous improvement. 

1. Enriching Academic Excellence and Innovation 

The academic life of LCU requires continual growth and strategic support for our faculty and students, as they engage in meaningful and productive opportunities for professional development, scholarly research, and innovative curricular and co-curricular experiences. Such growth and support will focus on enrichment and innovation, strengthening what we already do well and developing what we need. 

We will continue to develop and expand the reach of our high-impact programs, such as the Honors College and Undergraduate Research, and we will continue to support and strengthen our high-performing areas such as Education and Pre-Professional Health. Our approach to academic innovation will strictly adhere to our mission, be sensitive to needs in the market, and focus on opportunities to increase financial margin for the university. We will champion innovative concepts and initiatives with the perspective of potential return and benefit to LCU. 

2. Expanding Hospitality and Cultural Diversity 

At LCU, love for Christ compels us to actively seek the good of others: “we love because he first loved us.” His love also inspires us to “become all things to all people,” and we express this love through service and hospitality toward others. We celebrate and welcome cultural diversity first by acknowledging its origin—the fact that we are made in the image of God and that we all share the likeness of our Father and Creator. 

We are committed to expanding the cultural diversity of our community in order to more fully reflect God’s creative expression through individuals. Christ’s challenge to “love one another as I have loved you” is the standard of how we treat one another in our work to increase students’ sense of belonging. We will honor and increase the diversity of our students, faculty, and staff; we will expand opportunities for underserved communities; and we will develop areas of inquiry, knowledge, and exploration with global reach and implications. Our students will grow in appreciation for the multiculturalism inherent in God’s world and in Christ’s Kingdom, gaining cultural competence for serving and leading in both the local and global communities. 

3. Engaging Students for Success 

We are committed to connecting students with resources and relationships to help them succeed in the classroom and beyond, recognizing that each LCU student is God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” We will value each student’s journey toward knowing themselves and fulfilling their created purpose, bringing glory to God on earth by finishing the work He has given them to do (John 17:4). 

Mentoring relationships that challenge and support students are integral to transformation and the discovery of purpose and vocation. We will enrich existing mentoring, student engagement, and community building work done through academic advising, academic support, student life, and student professional development. Additionally, we will continue to promote high impact practices such as internships, service learning, common intellectual experiences, study abroad, and capstone courses, creating meaningful connections that help students persist and graduate. 

4. Equipping LCU for the Future  

Stewardship is essential, as the sustainability of the mission and the impact of the university rely upon our faithful development and oversight of LCU’s financial, physical, and human resources. To support our mission well into the future, we must diligently manage our current revenues, thoughtfully pursue enrollment increases, responsibly develop the university endowment, and continue to foster deep and meaningful relationships with alumni, donors, friends, and various stakeholders in the communities we serve. 

We will continue to improve LCU’s physical environment to ensure institutional resources are utilized effectively to support students, faculty, staff, and guests. We will evaluate existing processes, programs, and technologies necessary to sustain academic quality and student success, and we will explore innovative ways to leverage resources aimed at student recruitment and retention. With a firm commitment to growing the university, we will strive for efficient and effective resources management that maximizes support for students, academic programs, and the physical plant.