In March, President R. Gerald Turner announced the kickoff of Operational Excellence for the Second Century (OE2C). Today, we are pleased to update you on the project’s progress thus far.
What is the OE2C project?
OE2C stands for Operational Excellence for the Second Century. We are engaging in this process because a number of external factors are having an impact on higher education institutions throughout the nation, including SMU. The institutions that will thrive are the ones that take proactive steps now to invest more fully in their academic missions.
The OE2C project will help SMU to fulfill its Strategic Plan. The primary objectives are to 1) identify opportunities to redirect spending from non-academic to academic purposes, and 2) sustain a high-performance, financially strong organization for SMU’s long-term future.
Progress to date
The OE2C Steering Committee has been working closely with SMU program managers Bill Detwiler and Martin Sweidel and consultants from Bain & Company. During the past two months, they have examined SMU’s operations.
Specifically, the project team has:
- Reviewed internal data and external benchmarks to identify opportunities for cost savings or revenue growth;
- Interviewed more than 150 faculty, staff and students to gather their input on SMU operations and areas for improvement;
- Provided monthly updates to the Steering Committee for review and direction.
Next steps
The diagnostic phase of the OE2C project will continue for two to three months. During this time, the OE2C team will:
- Continue interviews within the SMU community to fully understand the opportunities identified by SMU faculty, staff and students;
- Begin discussing and assessing potential recommendations and implications for the SMU community;
- Meet with small groups across campus to solicit feedback on the project’s progress;
- Provide a complete set of recommendations to the Executive Committee, whose members are President R. Gerald Turner, Provost Paul Ludden, and vice presidents Chris Regis and Tom Barry.
The Executive Committee then will review all available opportunities for operational improvement and select those that will drive the greatest value to SMU for design and implementation.
We will continue to update you as we make further progress.