St Chad's Strategy 2017 - 2027

Our Strategy 2017-2027

Non vestra sed vos: Not what you have but who you are

2 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

Contents Foreword from the Principal

Page 4

Our vision

Page 6

Our mission

Page 8

Our values St Chad’s: communal and curious

Page 12

St Chad’s: just and responsible

Page 14

St Chad’s: holistic and beautiful

Page 16

St Chad’s: professional and sustainable

Page 18

www.stchads.ac.uk | 3

Foreword from the Principal

4 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

St Chad’s is one of the oldest and most popular colleges in one of the best universities in the UK. Each year, we welcome excellent students from a range of backgrounds from all over the world and together, we create a wonderfully stimulating community that proves transformative for so many. We are a College in good heart: our academic results are outstanding and our students make the most of all the extra curricular opportunities the University and College have to offer.

However, we live in fast-changing and uncertain times – nationally, globally, and in the world of Higher Education. As a College, we need to be responsive to the risks and opportunities we face, drawing on our rich heritage but looking forward as a thoroughly modern College. We are situated in the beautiful City of Durham in the North East of England – a region rich in tradition and potential. We are committed to contributing to its enrichment as well as to playing our part within Durham University’s own new ambitious Strategy.

As we work to ensure that St Chad’s continues to flourish for decades to come, one of our major tasks over this last year has been to develop a St Chad’s Strategy that will protect and sustain all that we love about this College whilst working to develop the quality, effectiveness, and beauty of our life together. Our students, staff, Governing Body, Alumni, friends, and supporters have all helped to shape our new St Chad’s College Strategy. We have worked hard together and the process has been inclusive, satisfying, and – importantly – fun. The Vision,Values, Mission, and Goals outlined here articulate the best of who we are, and who we aspire to be.

Dr Margaret Masson, Principal

www.stchads.ac.uk | 5

Our Vision To be a hospitable, supportive, challenging community of learning, respected for our distinctive contribution to Durham University, the North East region, and the wider world.

6 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

www.stchads.ac.uk | 7

8 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

Our Mission To work as a warm, reflective community which sustains an outstanding collegiate experience, promotes academic excellence and personal development, and encourages our members to make a positive social impact and work for the common good.

www.stchads.ac.uk | 9

Our Values As an independent college within Durham University, shaped by our Anglican heritage, and embedded in the North East region, we seek to live with integrity as a community serving people of all faiths and beliefs.

10 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

www.stchads.ac.uk | 11

St Chad’s: Communal and Curious 12 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

We welcome and value people from all backgrounds and perspectives, and promote a culture of respect, friendship, inclusion, and diversity. Our ethos supports the pursuit of academic excellence, the passion for ideas, the quest for truth, and a lifelong commitment to learning.

Our Goals • As a community of scholars, we will support individual members in their academic learning and intellectual engagement through providing study resources, tutorial and peer group support, and by encouraging a rich programme of extra-curricular events.

• We will encourage opportunities for multi-generational and interdisciplinary engagement within our community.

• We will offer outstanding student support. We will encourage healthy and responsible lifestyle choices and relationships, the development of resilience and good selfcare, and respect for each individual.

• We will support lifelong learning within our alumni and SCR communities

www.stchads.ac.uk | 13

St Chad’s: Just and Responsible 14 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

We reach out to marginalised people within local, national, and global communities, and work towards a fairer and more ethical society. We respect our planet, and minimise the harm we do to it by adopting environmentally sustainable practices.

Our Goals • We will promote social justice, diversity and inclusion through recruitment, scholarships, volunteering, outreach, research programmes, ethical employment, and engagement with our region.

• We will facilitate a proactive and discerning approach to career and life choices that takes seriously both personal fulfilment and social responsibility.

• We will act responsibly towards the environment, with care and concern for future generations.

• We will build and sustain strong and mutually beneficial relationships with key external stakeholders, including the University and local community.

www.stchads.ac.uk | 15

St Chad’s: Holistic and Beautiful 16 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

We live as a community which nurtures spiritual as well as intellectual growth, and we facilitate an appreciation of the personal and political significance of faith in our world today. We value the aesthetic quality of our community environment, recognise the creativity involved in all intellectual endeavour, and integrate sport, music, art, drama and literature into our life together.

Our Goals: • We will engage creatively with faith and spirituality. • We will improve the aesthetic quality of our college environment, adopting beauty, value, and functionality as criteria for all that we do. • We will promote and resource engagement with sport, music, art, drama, and literature.

www.stchads.ac.uk | 17

St Chad’s: Professional and Sustainable 18 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027

We live in a competitive, fast-changing world. We are committed to sustaining all that we love about our College but also to ensuring that we develop and flourish in the future.

Our Goals • We will exercise good governance and ensure we listen to our members and other stakeholders through the Governing Body and Common Rooms.

• We will be an excellent employer, ensuring we have the right mix of skills and insights, and committed to developing our staff.

• We will be good stewards of our financial resources, running a sustainable organization, generating additional income through commercial activities, and raising funds from alumni and other donors.

• We will build and sustain strong and mutually beneficial relationships with key external stakeholders, including the University and local community.

www.stchads.ac.uk | 19

20 | Our Strategy 2017 - 2027