Lincoln University has a proud history dating back to 1854. Even more important than that history, though, is our legacy. It's a legacy of scholarship, service, and excellence, defined by our commitment to providing an exceptional education to our students.
That legacy is also defined by our distinguished graduates, including the distinguished Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and the great poet and playwright Langston Hughes. Artists, politicians, doctors, entrepreneurs, and thousands more have lived and learned on our campus, and taken our legacy of excellence with them as they set out upon graduation and made an impact on the world.
Safeguarding that legacy and ensuring it carries on for a new generation of students is absolutely vital. And that means we need to do more than look to the past. We can't just rest on our accomplishments. We need to build on them and help Lincoln evolve while staying true to its founding principles, so it can empower today's and tomorrow's students to be their very best, just as we empowered generations of students in the past.
To keep that legacy alive, we need to look ahead. That's why we've built a strategic plan for the University that will help us to meet our goals and keep Lincoln thriving.
Discover more about that plan below. If you want to be part of our legacy and our future, the first step is to apply and become a student here.
It is with great pleasure that we share Lincoln University’s new strategic plan: “Reimagining the Legacy: Learn. Liberate. Lead.” The plan is the result of a broadly inclusive, evidence-based process that was designed to honor the past while looking forward to the future. At its core is a focus on student success through reinvestment in our roots as a liberal arts institution. The plan acknowledges that the liberal arts’ use of curricular and co-curricular opportunities as the vehicles for honing essential skills like critical thinking, speaking, writing and problem-solving remains the best approach for preparing graduates to thrive. This is especially the case given the unprecedented market shifts so characteristic of this global, 21st-century knowledge-based economy.
The plan has two broad aims. First, it endeavors to operationalize Lincoln University’s distinctive place as a world-class liberal arts institution. This will include maximizing our approach to the liberal arts by reviewing, revising, and investing in curricular and co-curricular opportunities and by grounding this education in the historical context of our University. The second aim is to garner the resources needed to achieve our educational goals. The plan highlights objectives related to investments in students, faculty and staff, as well as the diversification of revenue sources.
This plan is structured to lead you through six key areas: the University’s history, the mission & vision, strategic themes, the planning process, the planning context, and strategic opportunities.
It is exciting to embark on this strategic journey with a high level of support and commitment from faculty, students, staff, alumni, and community partners. Together, we will fortify Lincoln University’s distinctive niche in the world of liberal arts institutions and will garner the resources needed to achieve our educational goals. As we move into the next chapter in our distinguished University history, I look forward to using this plan as a compass focused toward student success as we all Learn. Liberate. and Lead!
Explore Lincoln's strategic plan and vision for the future.
Go deeper or share the Lincoln vision with others using this downloadable PDF.