Strategic Action Plan

RWU is positioned to become a national model for transforming higher education.

Now is the time for RWU to articulate its vision to ensure our students are prepared to succeed in a rapidly changing world. With our unique mix of liberal arts and professional programs, top-notch faculty and staff, the state’s only law school, and hubs of innovation in Providence and Bristol, Rhode Island, we are poised to align our efforts and provide what the world needs from a modern, comprehensive university. We will continually seek new partners, adapt our strategies, and make a difference with the communities and organizations we serve. It is what we are called to do, and is the type of engaged learning and leadership we expect of every RWU student throughout their educational and professional journey.

Five strategic priorities have emerged from our Strategic Action Plan that provide a guiding framework for the years ahead for our collective, divisional, and individual initiatives across the university. We will seek ongoing opportunities to engage with the RWU community, our community and industry partners and continually refine our efforts, seek new solutions and use integration of institutional efforts and academic planning as an ongoing and iterative culture of planning.

image of library and clock tower on RWU's Bristol campus

Our Strategic Priorities

These five areas provide the framework for guiding our work in the years ahead.

Academic Excellence

Engaged Learning

Student Success

A Thriving Community

Sustainable Futures

image of student reading on grass in front of Roger statue on RWU's Bristol campus

The Equity Imperative

In order to realize our Vision and Values, we need to build a future that ensures equity and inclusion for all of our community members. For the past several years, hundreds of members of the Roger Williams University community have engaged in a deep exploration of what makes RWU a distinctive, resilient and enduring institution that is committed to diversity, respect for all races, ethnicities, genders, identities and abilities, and access to an affordable education. The shared vision that has emerged unifies our campuses in Bristol and Providence and eight schools of study, guides us in designing new solutions to the problems that matter most to society and allows RWU to be responsive to the world around us.

Our Vision & Values
split image of RWU's Bristol campus and Providence campus

Inclusive Planning

Successful institutional planning is larger than any one person, department, or initiative. RWU's integrated planning approach has been designed to instill a shared set of institutional values and initiatives across our community. Being an agile university means committing to a process that is responsive to changing needs and instituting a data-informed decision-making and assessment process.