Strategic Plan: 2019 and Beyond

The 2019 & Beyond Strategic Plan for the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare supports the school's vision, mission, and guiding principles and values.

The School of Social Welfare supports the KU mission by teaching students to practice social work with integrity and competence.

Our undergraduate and graduate programs educate and support qualified, compassionate social workers on campuses across the state and online. We are dedicated to supporting our students from the first day of class until graduation day, with specialized services including a writing consultant, student support coordinator, mental health counseling, retention coordinator, and emergency funding.

The School’s community-engaged research and service contribute millions of dollars in sponsored research funding to Kansas partners each year. KU Social Welfare research drives discoveries that transform lives, with active projects creating solutions to complex problems in areas including healthcare access, child welfare and mental health.

Summary of Progress: 2019 & Beyond Strategic Plan

In 2019, the KU School of Social Welfare introduced its 2019 & Beyond Strategic Plan, guiding the School's work across teaching, research and community engagement.

During the 2026-2027 academic year, the School will work to revise and update the plan, building on our progress and maintaining our mission of transforming lives and social contexts to promote justice in Kansas, the nation and the world.

A Message from the Dean

In 2019, the KU School of Social Welfare identified four priorities to guide our work: building an inclusive community, advancing innovative and quality education, strengthening research, and deepening community engagement. 

The plan grew out of years of listening to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners—and from our shared belief that a mission matters only when put into action.

The years that followed reminded us that strategic progress rarely follows a straight line. We navigated a global pandemic, evolving student needs, shifts in higher education, workforce shortages, significant constraints on public institutions, and a rapidly changing research and funding environment. 

At the same time, we redesigned curricula, expanded where and how students can earn social work degrees, strengthened student support, deepened community partnerships, launched new research and training initiatives, and moved into a new home in Green Hall.

We invite our community to explore the progress achieved under the 2019 strategic priorities:

• Priority 1: Build an Inclusive Community
• Priority 2: Advance Innovative and Quality Education
• Priority 3: Strengthen Research and Discovery
• Priority 4: Deepen Community Engagement

Looking back over the past several years, what stands out most is not any single program or metric. It is how our community repeatedly adapted while holding fast to its purpose. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, practicum and research partners, and friends of the School turned broad priorities into sustained, collective work. I am deeply grateful.

As we begin a new strategic planning process, we are not starting from a blank page. We start with a stronger foundation, a clearer understanding of our capacities and constraints, and important questions. 

The next plan will aim to build on what has worked, address what remains unresolved, and help us make deliberate choices about where the School can contribute most powerfully in the years ahead.

Michelle Mohr Carney, Ph.D., MSSA
Dean and Professor