Mission

• Provides leadership in the discovery, development and dissemination of information through research, extension and teaching;
• Fosters student intellectual curiosity and creativity by providing a well-balanced educational experience resulting in employable professionals in Horticulture, Landscape Contracting and Landscape Architecture;
• Provides service, training and technology transfer to the general public; and
• Promotes continued growth and development of students, faculty and the professions of ornamental and food-crop horticulture and landscape architecture and contracting.

Vision

Core Values

Excellence and Merit – We seek excellence in all our endeavors, we are committed to continuous improvement, we believe in high expectations, and we are proud to recognize the achievements of our faculty, staff and students.

Integrity and Professional Honesty – We are committed to the principles of truth, honesty and impartiality and will be equitable, ethical, and professional. We are committed to presenting factual, unbiased scientific information at all times.

Diversity, Collegiality and Cooperation - We are committed to teamwork and a respect for collegiality and diversity of opinion, freedom of expression, creative thought and the value of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

Service – We are committed to providing professional service and technology transfer to our clients.

Intellectual Freedom – We believe in ethical and scholarly questioning in an environment that respects the rights of all to freely pursue knowledge and stimulate scientific curiosity and creative thought.

Stewardship of Resources – We are committed to the efficient and effective use of resources and we accept the responsibility of the public’s trust and accountable for our actions.

Goals, Critical Success Factors, Objectives, and Strategies

Goal 1. Academic Excellence - Create and uphold high standards of excellence in instruction, research, and extension.

Critical Success Factors:

• 10 refereed publications per year.
• 20 Extension or non-refereed/trade publications per year.
• 125 oral/poster presentations to clientele groups per year.
• 8 oral/poster presentations at state, regional and national professional meetings per year.
• 2,000 Consultations provided to clientele per year.
• 2,200 Clients trained in 100 extension programs per year.
• Award outstanding service award to a deserving staff member each year.
• 6 planned or designed public service projects per year.
• Enrollment of 12 graduate students in 5 years.
• All graduate students will publish their work.
• 90% of eligible students will be cleared for graduation when final deficiency lists are issued for each graduation date.
• 90% of graduating students in the Horticulture major (3 options) will achieve at least a 2.5 Grade Point Average (GPA) within the major (courses with a Horticulture prefix).
• 100% of graduates in the Horticulture and Landscape Contracting majors will achieve a 2.25 GPA or higher in courses listed in the Major Requirements column of our option sheets.
• 100% of graduates in Landscape Architecture will have earned a “C” or better in each course with a Landscape Architecture prefix.
• Maintain accreditation of Landscape Architecture and Landscape Contracting programs.

Objectives:

• Identify priority programs, considering available human, capital, and fiscal resources and input from clientele groups.
• University and extramural funding entities to provide adequate resources and facilities to faculty and staff so that new information can be generated and disseminated. This includes support for technicians and graduate students.
• Balance responsibilities so that time is available to create quality publications, presentations and programs, and to provide consultations.
• Continue staff service award program.
• Actively pursue public service projects.

• Maintain a core of qualified teaching faculty that can provide appropriate educational experiences for students within each major.
• Provide quality, empathetic academic advising, including correct guidance to students in meeting graduation requirements and timely submission of preliminary and final graduation checks. Practice intrusive advising as needed to help students avoid or overcome graduation deficiencies.
• Provide quality instruction so students can achieve at their maximum potential.
• Build requirements for Critical Success Factors 3 and 4 into option sheets so that they become enforceable requirements for graduation.
• Provide adequate resources and facilities to faculty and staff, and follow accreditation guidelines for Landscape Architecture and Landscape Contracting programs.

Goal 2. Student Development – Recruit, retain, and graduate students in a collegial environment that encourages excellence, prepares for careers, enriches personal growth, fosters discovery of knowledge, and promotes leadership.

Critical Success Factors:

• 90% job placement or acceptance into a graduate program within 1 year of graduation for our undergraduate alumni seeking employment.
• 90% job placement or acceptance into a graduate program within 1 year of graduation for our graduate alumni seeking employment.
• Increase scholarship awards by $1,000 annually.
• 100% of our undergraduates in the Horticulture and Landscape Contracting majors will have real-world, on-the-job experience before graduation.
• Departmental classrooms, laboratories, research stations, botanical garden, greenhouses, computer laboratories, and studios will be state-of-the-art facilities if appropriate equipment, technical and financial support are provided.
• 10 students attending extension programs per year.
• 3 students participating in independent study projects per year.
• 10 guest lectures by industry professionals per year.
• Faculty will coordinate the submission of 3 student projects to national design/planning/construction competitions each year.

Objectives:

• Faculty will annually review option sheets to ensure that curricula meet the needs of our students who are pursuing quality industry or academic positions.
• Strengthen business background for students not oriented to further academic pursuits through creation of 1 or more faculty positions in horticultural business management, development of additional courses in horticultural business and personnel management, and creation of a formal academic minor in Agribusiness.
• Encourage students to use College, and OSU Career Services.
• Encourage students to become involved in club activities that can provide hands-on experiences and opportunities to develop leadership skills.
• Continue to work with donors and OSU Foundation to build scholarships.
• Recognize faculty efforts to secure scholarships.

• Mandatory internship in Horticulture and Landscape Contracting majors.
• Increase use of electronic and web-based teaching tools.
• Provide appropriate equipment, technical and financial support so that we have state-of-the-art facilities. Continue a long-term policy of many faculty chipping in to purchase an item of equipment that can then be shared. Build discretionary funding so that facilities can be improved and equipment can be upgraded or replaced on a regular basis. Allow station sales funds to remain with the station that generated them, so they can be reinvested in on-site capital maintenance and improvements.
• Publicize extension programs where student participation can be facilitated, and where possible, integrate participation into campus-based academic programming.
• Reduce or waive registration fees for students where possible.
• Create and promote independent study opportunities for students.
• Classroom teachers should collaborate with extension colleagues to identify industry professionals who could enrich classes and who are willing to provide guest lectures. Provide funding for honoraria to encourage industry professionals to participate.
• Work with Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (Division) and the University to address critical Teaching Greenhouse needs.

Goal 3. Economic Development – Enhance the quality of life by contributing to the human, economic, and cultural development of Oklahomans.

Critical Success Factors:

• 75 Extension and outreach programs per year.
• 50 Extension and education publications per year.
• 25 Multi-media programs per year.
• 250 Business enterprises assisted each year.
• Oklahoma Gardening will be a top-10 ranked Oklahoma Educational Television Authority program each year.
• Secure additional Oklahoma Botanical Garden and Arboretum Affiliate Gardens.
• Departmental faculty will collectively participate in 12 Research teams annually.
• Departmental faculty will collectively participate in 2 Projects in water related research annually.
• Departmental faculty will collectively participate in 5 Projects in physiology annually.
• Departmental faculty will collectively participate in 8 Projects in crop production annually.
• Departmental faculty will collectively participate in 3 Projects in food processing and value-added products annually.

Objectives:

• Provide adequate resources and facilities to faculty and staff so that new information can be generated and disseminated.
• Balance responsibilities so that time is available to create quality publications, presentations and programs, and to provide consultations.
• Create and disseminate multi-format educational materials.
• Maintain and strengthen liaisons with trade associations and the Oklahoma Association of Extension Agricultural Educators.
• Active Ambassador Program to assist with Oklahoma Gardening and the OSU Botanical Garden in Stillwater.
• Secure additional corporate sponsorships to support quality programming for Oklahoma Gardening.
• Support statewide Oklahoma Botanical Garden and Arboretum system.

• Continue to promote teamwork through formal and informal collaborative arrangements and sharing of equipment and facilities as appropriate.
• Seek to strengthen competitive position in targeted areas through partnerships with other states and regions, including subcontracts on competitive grants.

Goal 4. Diversity – Achieve diversity and create an environment of respect for individuals.

Critical Success Factors:

• Enrollment of 250 undergraduate students within 5 years, with 5% from underrepresented groups and/or foreign countries.
• Enrollment of 12 graduate students within 5 years, with a target of 50% from underrepresented groups and/or foreign countries.
• 6 students participating in study abroad per year.
• 1 faculty participating in international exchanges per year.
• Average of 150,000 viewers of Oklahoma Gardening per program.
• Provide educational programming to all 77 Oklahoma counties.
• Provide service to rural and urban clientele.
• Provide educational opportunities for all audiences.
• Inform 88 Native American Tribal Administrative Offices of extension education opportunities each year through mailings.

Objectives:

• Continue cooperation with recruiting efforts from College and OSU Career Services.
• Maintain a student body of diverse economic backgrounds by attracting and distributing scholarship funds based on performance and need.
• Maintain a student presence in regional and national events such as Southern Region and national meetings of the American Society for Horticultural Science; Associated Landscape Contractors of America Student Career Days; and Landscape Architecture Bash annual student meeting.
• Maintain sufficient curricular flexibility to meet diverse student needs and interests, while adhering to accreditation requirements.
• Continue articulation efforts with junior colleges, particularly those having Horticulture programs.
• Increase the number of graduate assistantships through a combination of better funding from endowments and success in competitive grants. Set a goal of reestablishing at least 1 hard-funded half-time assistantship for each faculty member with a research appointment.
• Provide graduate student office space and ensure student access to modern, powerful computing software and equipment.
• Insure that underrepresented groups are included in student, staff and faculty recruiting efforts.

• Continue contacts and opportunities begun with Horticulture in the European Community and the United States.
• Continue exchange programs with Peru and Japan, and seek new opportunities.
• Provide incentives such as travel scholarships to encourage students and faulty to participate in study abroad opportunities.

• Provide adequate resources and facilities to faculty and staff so that new information can be generated and disseminated.
• Balance responsibilities so that time is available to create quality publications, presentations and programs, and to provide consultations.
• Work with Oklahoma Educational Television Authority and OSU Agricultural Communications Services to publicize Oklahoma Gardening.
• Develop donor relations, promote and develop Oklahoma Botanical Garden and Arboretum, and implement the master plan for the OSU Botanical Garden in Stillwater.
• Increase emphasis on electronic delivery of educational programming.
• Inform ethnically diverse audiences of educational opportunities through new marketing initiatives.

Goal 5. Human Resources – Recruit, retain, and develop an outstanding faculty and staff within a collegial atmosphere that recognizes and rewards diverse contributions.

Critical Success Factors:

• Maintain at least 2 faculty in each program area to support teaching, research and extension needs.
• Increase faculty in high priority programs, i.e. turf, horticultural business, landscape contracting, landscape architecture, and food processing.
• At least 1 technical support person for every position with a 60% research appointment or more.
• Develop critical staffing and needs plan for each departmental research/extension/teaching facility. Petition University anddivision for support of these plans.
• Recognize excellence and cooperation.
• Each faculty member should attend at least 1 professional meeting per year, contingent upon availability of funds and approval of out-of-state travel.
• At least 1 faculty member on sabbatical leave in the next 5 years.
• 90% of staff members will participate in continuing education/training each year.

Objectives:

• Decide on priority programs, considering available human, capital, and fiscal resources and input from clientele groups.
• Strategically target staffing requests to refill critical needs and to emphasize priority areas of growth.
• Provide meaningful start-up funds to attract high quality faculty members to departmental positions.
• Departmental anddivisional leadership must continue to advocate critical needs to higher administration.
• Seek extramural funding for technical support.
• Strengthen research programs in fundamental science by investing in critical instrumentation and equipment.
• Reward excellence with merit-based salary increases.

• Build support for professional travel into competitive grants.
• Increase administrative support for sabbatical leave.
• Continuing education / professional development is a part of the appraisal process for faculty and staff.
• Since a pesticide applicator’s license is essential for certain faculty and staff to perform their duties, ensure that funding is provided for training, testing, and licensing.
• Continue with faculty mentoring program.

Goal 6. Leverage Resources – Leverage and focus financial and physical resources and develop partnerships/collaborations to achieve strategically targeted national prominence.

Critical Success Factors:

• Submit 10 grant proposals per year.
• $5,000 in-kind donations per year.
• At least $20,000 raised from industry and private donors in unrestricted program support per year.
• Raise an additional $50,000 of combined endowed scholarship funds over the next 5 years for undergraduate and graduate student support.
• At least 1 course from other campuses offered at OSU-Stillwater through distance education per year.
• A combined total of at least 3 Landscape Architecture and/or Landscape Contracting majors complete the formal academic minor in Horticulture each year.
• Receive the (I) designator for Bilingual Horticultural Communications from OSU-Oklahoma City.
• Participate in at least 20 collaborative teams within or outside of the department per year.
• Maintain active articulation programs with at least 2 junior colleges.
• Establish or maintain at least 5 multi-state research or extension projects annually.
• Establish or maintain at least 5 multi-county research or extension projects annually.

Objectives:

• Administrators should build alliances with other programs, especially those in other states in the region.
• Pursue long-term relationships with industry and private donors in cooperation with the OSU Foundation.
• Focus efforts on raising program support dollars as well as scholarships.
• Continue to work with donors and OSU Foundation to build scholarships.
• Balance responsibilities so that time is available for fund raising, particularly the preparation of competitive grant proposals.
• Matching funds must be available when required for grants.
• Refill critical positions so that qualified cooperators are available.

• Encourage the offering of distance education courses at OSU-Stillwater and publicize their availability.
• Explore availability and desirability of Internet-based courses from other campuses.
• Teaching faculty will continue to provide guest lectures in their areas of expertise.
• Advisors and instructors promote the formal academic minor in Horticulture.
• Work with the instructor for Bilingual Horticultural Communications so that the course syllabus provides an opportunity to receive the (I) designator.

• Continue to promote teamwork through formal and informal collaborative arrangements and sharing of equipment and facilities as appropriate.
• Refill critical positions so that qualified cooperators are available.
• Administrators should build alliances with other programs, especially those in other states in the region.
• Continue articulation efforts with junior colleges, particularly those having Horticulture programs.
• Seek partnerships with other counties, states, and regions, including subcontracts on competitive grants. Support travel to professional meetings as a key component to this strategy.

Goal 7. Image/Pride/Recognition – Communicate an image that reflects achievement and pride.

Critical Success Factors:

• Host accreditation visit every 6 years for Landscape Architecture
• Host accreditation visit every 7 years for Landscape Contracting
• 10 Invited talks per year.
• 25% of faculty in leadership roles in regional, national, or international organizations per year.
• 10% of faculty and staff receive local, state, national or international recognition/awards per year.
• 1 Fellow of American Society for Horticultural Science in the next 5 years
• At least 1 student organization or judging/competition team achieves regional or national recognition each year.

Objectives:

• Funding must be available to host accreditation visits.
• The programs must be worthy of continuing accreditation. Adequate funding, staffing, and facilities must be provided.

• Balance responsibilities so that time is available for service to professional organizations.
• Build support for professional travel into competitive grants.
• Select at least 1 deserving faculty member to support as a Fellow of American Society for Horticultural Science. Begin to build necessary contacts and support at regional and national American Society for Horticultural Science meetings for this recognition and for other potential awards.
• Continue to support travel by student organizations or judging/competition teams to regional or national contests, in part through use of assessment funds. Recognize efforts of faculty and staff advisors as well as successes by student participants.
• Maintain an attractive and effective website to serve students, industry and the general public.
• Maintain field research stations in a presentable manner.