The Horizon Team finalized their report to the university and disbanded shortly thereafter.
The team was created in the fall of 2011 by President Phil Schubert to conduct research on the future of higher education. Dr. Mark Phillips, assistant professor of management, chaired the team, which consisted of five members pulled from a variety of departments on campus. Phillips said the team looked specifically at ACU and its future, including potential threats and opportunities, within the context of broad research on higher education.
“We looked at a bunch of different things that are going on, and identified things we thought were relevant for ACU,” Phillips said. “We spent a great deal of time around campus; we met with many, many people on campus to hear what they thought ACU was good at.”
Phillips said the Horizon Team did not limit its research to information it could gather from ACU.
“We also met with people from other universities,” Phillips said. “We also did a bunch of reading, both of books and articles, and spent an awful lot of time in discussion.”
The Horizon Team submitted its final report in February and it includes detailed information regarding its understanding of higher education and the future of ACU.
“That went to the president and the provost, and from there that’s been distributed out,” Phillips said. “It’s now available for the entire ACU community to look at.”
The Horizon Team was not created as a long-term project. Phillips said its research will be incorporated into the university’s strategic plan.
“ACU’s in the middle right now of a process of revising and rewriting its plan for the next five years and you’ll see lots of information from us that’s worked into the various pieces of that,” Phillips said.
Dr. Susan Lewis, associate professor of journalism and mass communication and member of the Horizon Team, said in some cases, conversations were difficult, but informing.
“The overwhelming message we heard was that the people who have chosen to work and enroll at ACU are firmly committed to the university’s mission,” said Lewis, interim vice provost. “Each group we visited spoke strongly about the importance of educating students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.”
For more information on the Horizon Team, visit blogs.acu.edu/horizon.
