Strategic Planning
A vision for RISD’s future
When President Crystal Williams arrived at RISD in 2022 she introduced five interconnected priorities to set the stage for RISD’s next 150 years: to amplify talented artists and designers; evolve our thinking, teaching, and learning; cultivate our people and their capacities; engage with the diversity of the world’s people and traditions to expand possibilities; and connect by deepening our relationships with each other, key stakeholders, and the wider world.
These presidential priorities are guiding the implementation of the Presidential Initiatives and the strategic planning process, now underway.
Presidential Initiatives
In 2024, three core committees of faculty, staff, and students delivered recommendations to President Williams regarding Holistic Student Wellness, Preparedness for Life After RISD, and Financial Optimization. The recommendations reflect deep collaboration and represent the best of our collective thinking and action as we look toward RISD’s future. The implementation of the recommendations is connected to the strategic planning process.
View the recommendations in active implementation or under further review :
Related initiatives
Our strategic planning process will also encompass the priorities identified in these recent or concurrent RISD initiatives:
In accordance with the rules of RISD’s accrediting body, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), our 10-year self-study encompasses a rigorous, honest examination of how our institution operates per NECHE standards.
Through its most recent strategic plan, the RISD Museum will expand its storytelling exhibitions, enhance hands-on programs, and innovate with digital tools, in order to shape how it connects people to art, learning, and creativity.
Conducted in 2023, our campus-wide climate assessment examined the attitudes and behaviors of RISD’s campus community, as well as the guiding policies and procedures of the institution.