A W crest banner on Bascom Hill is pictured among the colors of the fall leaves at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during autumn.

Strategic Plan

The Office of Finance and Administration’s strategic plan defines our values and priorities as partners in advancing UW–Madison’s teaching, research, and public service mission. Our strategic priorities build upon work that is currently underway and introduce new initiatives that support the university’s broader goals. They also identify where we must focus our time and resources to achieve those goals. This living document will continue to evolve as we respond to feedback and the changing needs of UW–Madison and our community.

We will partner in creating an inclusive and forward-thinking university that exceeds the expectations of UW–Madison’s students, faculty, and staff.

We envision a modern and resilient UW–Madison that exceeds the changing needs and expectations of our students, faculty, and staff. This strategic plan is a roadmap for how we get there.

View the Fiscal Year 2024 Year in Review

Vice Chancellor Cramer's 2024-25 Priorities

Retaining Employees

People are the essence of what makes UW–Madison great. We will continue our efforts to retain employees and offer opportunities for all individuals to develop their skills and grow their careers at UW–Madison.

Improving Employee Experience and Campus Climate

As part of our retention efforts, we remain committed to ensuring a supportive environment for all. Diversity is a source of strength at UW–Madison and beyond. We aspire to create a culture of inclusion and belonging by prioritizing employee well-being, engagement, and satisfaction.

Strengthening Administrative Service Delivery

We will continue to explore opportunities to improve customer satisfaction with administrative services, including the creation of service-level agreements. We are reviewing the 2024 Administrative Quality Satisfaction Survey results and identifying opportunities to increase customer satisfaction in units across campus.

Enhancing Learning and Working Through the Built Environment

Through strategic investments and modernization efforts, we seek to create spaces that inspire collaboration, creativity, excellence, and overall health. UW–Madison’s capital project requests for 2025-27 have been approved by the Board of Regents. The two major projects include the Humanities Relocations & Demolition, the construction of one or multiple residence halls within the campus boundary, and the Dejope and Chadbourne Residence Hall Dining Addition & Renovations.

Making Progress Toward Sustainability Goals

We are on track to reach our key sustainability goal of achieving STARS Gold by 2025 and will continue our work toward other key sustainability initiatives. All finance and administration employees have roles to play in helping the university meet these goals, including identifying ways to decrease the amount of waste generated by our daily activities.

Modernizing Administrative Transformation with the Transition to Workday

Workday brings together data about people, finances, and operations into one system to streamline administrative work and better protect our data. This is a critical project in modernizing HR and finance processes to better support our mission. Training for HR and finance professionals will begin in March 2025, and training for all other employees will follow.

Advancing the Mission Together

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has set some ambitious goals for the next 10 years or more, including:

  • Meeting students’ changing educational needs and meeting industry demand for specific skills;
  • Developing new strategies to enrich the University’s diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging initiatives;
  • Keeping more Wisconsin high school graduates in the state, attracting outstanding out-of-state students, and creating access and opportunity for our students with the highest financial need;
  • Growing the research enterprise from eighth to sixth in the national HERD rankings and expanding industry partnerships; and
  • Catalyzing economic development for the region and the state

This work also requires financial investment and flexibility.

UW-Madison has used revenue-generating strategies and financial stewardship to strengthen our financial position. We must continue to examine cash management, operational efficiency and cost, and real estate to unlock the financial resources needed to advance our mission and stay competitive with peer institutions.

Revenue Innovations