Our Strategic Plan

In 2023-2024, the College of Social Sciences, faculty, staff, students, and alumni engaged in a strategic planning process to develop a vision, mission, and strategic priorities to guide our work.

• Identity Statement
• Three Priorities
• Strategic Planning Committee

Vision

The College of Social Sciences supports students and faculty to be change leaders through critical inquiry, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community engagement to build a prosperous, just, and sustainable future.

Strategic Priorities

Be Visible

We dedicate attention and resources to critical social problems and their solutions by articulating our contribution and spotlighting our programs. 

• Examples of Strategic Plan Initiatives
  • Publicize the relaunch of CoSS with new strategic priorities and action plans.
    
    Host regular college-wide, public-facing events that celebrate our accomplishments and facilitate connections between students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community, including showcases of research and accomplishments to educate students and engage alumni and community. 
    
    Raise the visibility of departments and establish the CoSS brand by enhancing connections with alumni and community, industry, and government partners.
    
    Establish timely and transparent communication from CoSS leadership and within departments.
    
    Communicate CoSS impact by promoting accomplishments and opportunities internally to CoSS and SJSU, and to alumni, and community, industry, and government partners.
    
    Establish recruitment strategies for SJSU and non-SJSU students.

Be Interdisciplinary

We collaborate across diverse disciplines, discourses, and contexts of learning in the social sciences by facilitating inclusive opportunities for collective action and impact and working to instill a sense of community spirit and belonging in our students, staff, and faculty. 

• Examples of Strategic Plan Initiatives
  • Increase curricular and research collaborations across disciplines and departments: support and promote interdisciplinary and integrative learning, establish interest groups to discuss research opportunities, and develop and support opportunities for students to collaborate across departments.
    
    Create centralized CoSS spaces for teaching, learning, and community gathering.
    
    Establish and support faculty and alumni mentors across departments.

Be Engaged

We partner with the community, government, and private sector to realize the impact of our work through strong alumni connections, meaningful community relationships, and government and industry partnerships.

• Examples of Strategic Plan Initiatives
  • Continue to facilitate and support community-engaged research and curricular opportunities that create positive relationships in social sciences fields and areas of impact.
    
    Reconnect with alumni to establish supportive and engaging networks within and across CoSS’s diverse departments for mutually beneficial relationships.
    
    Strengthen existing and establish new partnerships with community, industry, and government organizations to realize the benefit of social science research to the Silicon Valley community.

Strategic Plan Committee

• Rahel Adebabay, Student, Global Studies
• Travis D. Boyce, Department Chair, African American Studies
• Jennifer Brennan, Alumni, Psychology
• Benoit Delaveau, Senior Lecturer, Environmental Studies
• Erika Carillo, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
• Alberto Garcia, Assistant Professor, History
• Oona Hatton, Associate Professor, Communication Studies
• Yasmin Holt, Staff, Sociology and Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
• Sarah Kam, Staff, Dean’s Office
• Paul Knepper, Department Chair, Justice Studies (Chair of Committee)
• Kelly Snider, Lecturer, Urban and Regional Planning