James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 75
Since assuming the presidency
of Columbus State University in June
2023, those who know Dr. Stuart
Rayfield say she is a dynamic force
for change and growth. The Alabama
native’s original tenure at Columbus
State began in 2006 as an assistant
professor, later holding the Frank D.
Brown Distinguished Chair in Servant Leadership. In 2015, she was
also named interim associate provost
for undergraduate education. A year
later, she became interim president of
the former Bainbridge State College,
where she co-led the college’s consolidation with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Then she stepped into
the role of interim president of Gordon
State College, leading the college’s
transition to new leadership.
In July 2018, Rayfield was named
the University System of Georgia’s
vice chancellor for leadership and
institutional development. In that role,
she led support for USG’s 26 public
colleges and universities as well as
the University System office in areas
that include management, leadership
transitions and training and orientation. That’s a lot of experience. And
it is already paying dividends at
Columbus State.
Strategic Vision & Planning
Rayfield has spearheaded the development of a
new five-year strategic
plan aimed at guiding
CSU’s growth and development from 2024 to 2029.
This comprehensive plan
focuses on addressing the evolving
needs of higher education and leveraging opportunities for institutional
advancement. At the same time, there
is emphasis on the importance of community input, appointing a 25-member
committee that includes students,
faculty, staff, and alumni to collaborate
on this initiative.
“I’m very excited about our new
strategic plan, which we will officially introduce to our faculty, staff and
community this fall. It underscores our
need to focus on student success and
prioritize making our students’ college
journey rewarding and productive,”
said Rayfield. “One way to accomplish
this is by ensuring we deliver the
degrees needed for an ever-changing
workforce. We must be nimble with
our processes and delivery methods
and provide the education our local
community says is needed to continue
advancing our workforce. To that end,
we are establishing a series of data
points so we can truly measure our
progress with this plan.”
Part of the plan includes making it
easy to be a student and an employee
at Columbus State. “That is not to say
that there won’t be challenges in the
classroom and our work but, overall,
we want to make it easy to show up
and engage,” she says. “Higher education has not always focused on the
student and employee experience in
that way. This will be a priority for us
going forward.”
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