ACM announces new strategic framework to guide its work through 2030

The new framework emphasizes collaboration and support for member colleges’ important missions

A new, multiyear strategic framework from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) features a refreshed commitment to delivering high-quality programming for ACM faculty and staff, an emphasis on innovative professional development opportunities, and a pledge to serve as a valuable resource for member colleges as they navigate emerging challenges in higher education. Announced by ACM President Lisa Jasinski, Together We Go Further: ACM’s Commitment to Excellence Through Collaboration builds upon the nonprofit’s previous work and establishes guiding principles for the organization through 2030.

“The founders of our consortium recognized in the late 1950s that we are stronger and more effective when we team up to tackle common challenges and work toward shared goals, a reality that is even more true today,” Jasinski said. “This strategic framework reflects our enduring promise to equip our campuses for success in the ever-changing landscape of liberal arts education.”

Together We Go Further emerged from a listening tour President Jasinski conducted over the past year. In visiting all 14 ACM colleges and visiting with more than a dozen consortial groups, she met with well over 100 faculty, staff, and campus leaders to discuss successes, opportunities, and ongoing needs. Feedback gathered from these 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.

When seen in the context of U.S. adults’ declining confidence in higher education, the three primary objectives spelled out in the 2025-2030 strategic framework are especially vital:

• ACM is committed to developing and empowering new leaders in liberal arts education, including through its prestigious ACM Academic Leadership Fellows Program and other new initiatives to cultivate new leaders in our classrooms and administrative offices. According to the American Council on Education, more than half the nation’s college or university presidents are approaching retirement, and institutions are seeing increasingly rapid turnover in campus leaders.
• ACM will craft programming that advances member campuses’ shared priorities around the lifelong value of a college degree. This responsive approach will focus on ACM colleges’ essential work producing career-ready graduates, reversing national enrollment declines, and deepening a sense of belonging for faculty, staff, and students.
• By fostering expanded collaborations between member institutions, ACM will demonstrate the power of the liberal arts to benefit the greater good. Our collaborations have already resulted in impressive community-based learning initiatives that create memorable experiences for students, faculty, and staff while driving tangible, positive change in the cities and towns ACM campuses call home.

“There is no question that higher education is at a major inflection point,” Jasinski said. “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 new strategic framework allows ACM to remain flexible, so it can continuously meet the moment in higher education. She invites all ACM stakeholders to read more about Together We Go Further: ACM’s Commitment to Excellence Through Collaboration.