INTRODUCTION

Whether it$$s a transformative classroom experience, a scientific discovery, or an insight

gleaned from a data set, the importance of any breakthrough is ultimately measured by its

translation into high$-$impact policy and practice: from the student leader turned nonprofit

director who reinvents how we confront poverty, to tax incentives that reduce carbon

emissions, to the creation of a citizen review board that rebuilds trust in local law

enforcement.

At the Paul H$.$ O$$Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, we excel at both

generating new knowledge through basic research and translating that knowledge into

societal action. We enable this far beyond our school walls by educating the next

generation of leaders in research, policymaking, and management. The efforts of our

faculty, staff, students, and alumni strengthen democracy and improve the health of our

environment. Through their work, we make a powerful impact for the greater good.

Our school is a rich confluence of eminent scientists and scholars in fields ranging from

criminal justice to environmental informatics, from rural land policy to arts and nonprofit

management. O$$Neill$$s prestigious national and international reputation is the result of an

unparalleled breadth of academic programs and scholarship amplified by our unwavering

commitment to crossing disciplinary and sector boundaries. By working at the crossroads

of science, human behavior, and leadership, we open new avenues for more trustworthy,

equitable, and sustainable outcomes.

O$$Neill$$s distinctive culture and structure uniquely position us to focus on the

fundamental question of stewardship: how individuals, institutions, and

organizations of every kind can better fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to them

and lead in creating social change. Embracing stewardship$$individual and collective

responsibility for the world around us$$offers a vital starting point for social and

environmental sustainability.

We are fortunate in our many sources of inspiration

The O$$Neill name on our school is much more than a tribute to individual generosity. We

are fortunate that Paul O$$Neill was a business and civic leader who stood for integrity,

human dignity, transparent governance, and solutions grounded in science and data. His

insistence on no$-$excuses excellence and a $$people first$$ culture sets a standard for the

entire O$$Neill School community.

We also benefit from the model of our trailblazing Nobelist Elinor Ostrom, whose

scholarship challenged $$the tragedy of the commons$$ and affirmed that people around the

world organize and collaborate for the common good. The empathetic and analytically

rigorous frameworks that she used to overturn conventional wisdom continually inform

our own explorations of stewardship and help us understand complex challenges facing

society and propose solutions.

$5$

Our students provide a wellspring of energy and fresh perspectives. With more than $25$

academic programs$$many ranked among the best in the nation and world$$we attract the

next generation of values$-$driven leaders with a remarkably collaborative ethos. They see

our programs as promising the best and most diverse possibilities for meaningful,

purposeful lives, and they hold us to that promise.

This strategic plan is a roadmap for how we$$ll build on our strengths and move

forward over the next five years.

O$$Neill is already widely recognized and respected for translating groundbreaking ideas

and evidence into policies, practices, laws, and leadership approaches that transform

human progress. But we are confident we will do better because our core strengths are

what the challenges ahead demand:

Our capacity to work at scale. We are the largest school of public administration

and public policy in the United States. None of our peers match our expansive

community of scientists, scholars, and practitioners.

Our collaborative culture. Energized by the School$$s distinctive $$departmentless$$

structure, faculty and students have the freedom to pursue ideas and work with

inspiring colleagues across multiple disciplines. Staff similarly cross office

boundaries to deliver wrap$-$around services that meet complex faculty and student

needs. And as one school on two campuses in very different settings, we have a

portfolio of complementary and potentially collaborative programs that make us

greater than the sum of our parts.

Our deep experience bridging the public, private, and nonprofit sectors$.$ Our

translational power is rooted in understanding and teaching how to lead very

different players and sectors toward shared goals. Every successful leader$$

whether a public servant, CEO, or nonprofit director$$must know how to craft

robust coalitions and partnerships.

We are clear$-$eyed and hopeful in equal measure. We see genuine momentum building

throughout the public, private, and non$-$profit sectors to reimagine stewardship as a means

to a common vision