Strategic Framework

In spring 2025, the Board of Directors of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest unanimously approved the strategic framework, Together We Go Further: ACM’s Commitment to Excellence Through Collaboration. The plan charts a bold course for the consortium’s work through 2030.

The framework reflects ACM’s renewed commitment to high-quality programming, innovative professional development, and responsive support for member colleges as they navigate the changing landscape of higher education.

Three Objectives Guide the Way

The framework’s three core objectives—Leadership, Alignment, and Collective Impact—emerged through extensive stakeholder engagement during a yearlong listening tour.

Feedback gathered from stakeholder conversations was key to shaping ACM’s pledge to provide meaningful, expert-led programming directed toward ACM faculty and staff, including an increased number of offerings for campus staff. ACM will continue to pursue philanthropic support to provide cost-effective programs in ways that reach as many of our colleagues as possible.

An Ideal Balance of Focus and Agility

“There is no question that higher education is at a major inflection point,” said Lisa Jasinski, president of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. “However, challenges often present opportunities. The values spelled out in this new strategic framework will position our member colleges to navigate uncertainty and emerge stronger together.”

Suzanne R. Rivera, the president of Macalester College and chair of the ACM Board of Directors, praised the priorities outlined in Together We Go Further. She said ACM’s renewed focus on a collaborative, member-centered approach will be invaluable over the next five years and beyond.

“ACM’s new strategic framework charts a path to our collective future as leaders in liberal education for the public good,” Rivera added. “I’m inspired by the goals we have established and energized by the enthusiasm with which the Board has committed itself to a shared sense of purpose.”

President Jasinski emphasized that the framework is designed to be adaptive and will enable ACM to evolve alongside its member colleges and anticipate future needs.