Xavier University News September 2015 Xavier Receives Platinum Facilitation Impact Award Xavier University of Louisiana's strategic planning post-Hurricane Katrina has earned it a 2015 Platinum Facilitation Impact Award from the International Association of Facilitators (IAF). The award, the highest level accommodation given by IAF, is in recognition of the University's successful strategic initiative which sought the engagement of students, faculty, staff, administrators, and trustees in both its development and its implementation. "The Facilitation Impact Awards celebrate the power of collaboration, which is often the difference between success and failure," said Kimberly Bain, IAF Global Chair. "Group facilitation, group process methodologies, and high levels of stakeholder buy-in can yield measurable, impactful results!" This year the IAF evaluated 42 non-competitive nominations from businesses, governments, and not-for-profits from around the world. Only 20 earned awards (1 Platinum, 9 Gold, and 10 Silver), with Xavier being the only one to receive platinum recognition. "The devastation resulting from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 forced Xavier to shut down for four months to rebuild," said Dr. Ronald Durnford, XU Vice President for Planning, Institutional Research and Assessment. "After losing a large fraction of the student body and finding the initial new freshman class less than half the pre-Katrina class, we felt it was vital to the future of the University that we develop a strategic plan which established priority outcomes and included specific actions plans for achieving those goals." The result was its successful initiative, "Overcoming the Long Time Impact of Katrina through Strategic Planning and Implementation," which over time achieved the following results: * An increase in the graduation rates in the College of Pharmacy from 72% to 82% * An increase in the percentage of graduates going on to professional/graduate school or begin working in a profession related to their degree from 50% to 53% * The addition of two new academic programs * An increase of net resources of more than a quarter-million dollars * An increase in freshman applications SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.