WAVERLY -- First came Commission Wartburg. The seven-year strategic planning process represented the most comprehensive effort to date for the college.

Commission Wartburg helped birth a $90.3 million fundraising campaign for facilities and special projects, endowments and the annual fund. The commission also produced 266 recommendations for change and improvement. To date, 97 percent have been implemented, college officials state.

At a Friday gala, Wartburg officials, regents and guests celebrated the culmination of the commission. Board of Regents Chairman Fred Hagemann also announced the school's next venture -- Commission on Mission: Wartburg College's Commitment to Living Out its Mission.

The new strategic planning process will look at the meaning of four key concepts embodied in the college's mission.

Leadership. Service. Faith. Learning.

Commission on Mission will consider how these four concepts impact the college community and are evidenced in the lives of Wartburg graduates, said the college's President Jack R. Ohle in a prepared statement.

"The heart and soul of an institute is in its mission," Ohle said.

The commission process allows the college to be intentional in its strategic planning, he added.

"Wartburg has a tradition of academic excellence and institutional strength and is faithfully committed to continual improvement," Ohle said in a prepared statement.

On Friday, Hagemann named Mike McCoy, retired vice president and chief financial officer of Hormel Foods, as chairman of Commission on Mission.

The college will fund Commission on Mission with gifts specifically designated for the planning process by charitable organizations.

The process

With the continuous cycle of new students coming and veteran Knights graduating, institutes of higher learning continually have opportunities to self-renew, Wartburg officials say.

Commission on Mission is a chance for the college to "take some time to examine who are we and how do we move forward," said Lake Lambert III, a co-director of the initiative.

Like Commission Wartburg, the new initiative will use a constituent-based planning model. Ohle developed and implemented the model at institutions he served prior to being named president of Wartburg College.

Commission Wartburg, launched in 1999, called on 235 alumni and friends to develop recommendations for the advancement of the college.

"The involvement and support of our alumni and friends was absolutely critical to the success of the commission," Hagemann stated in a press release.

An important part of Commission on Mission, Ohle said, is making a tie between academics and the real world.

Commission on Mission will lead with national summit meetings involving alumni and friends throughout the United States. The college also will create four task forces, one for each missional concept.

Task forces will be co-chaired by a member of the Wartburg Board of Regents and a faculty member. The task forces will include 12 additional members: six faculty members, three alumni, two staff members and one student.

Each task force will receive and review comments from the summit meetings and plan a symposium related to its assigned missional concept. All task forces will prepare material for publication and make recommendations to the Board of Regents.

From the recommendations, the Board of Regents will determine appropriate actions and make referrals. Hagemann, in a prepared statement, said the process will affirm Wartburg's mission and insure its impact for future generations.

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.

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Wartburg College on Friday announced its next strategic planning process. Commission on Mission will start discussions with alumni and friends, faculty and community members, students, and staff, about the meaning of four key concepts embodied in the college's mission: leadership, service, faith and learning.

On Friday, Wartburg Board of Regents Chairman Fred Hagemann named Mike McCoy, retired vice president and chief financial officer of Hormel Foods, as chair of Commission on Mission. Co-directors of the initiative will be Lake Lambert III, associate professor of religion, Board of Regents Chair in Ethics and director of the Center for Community Engagement, and Janeen Stewart, assistant to Wartburg college president.

Co-chairs for the commission task forces include:

Leadership -- Mark Baldwin, president and CEO of Iowa Laser Technology in Cedar Falls, and Dr. Fredric Waldstein, professor of political science, Burling Chair in Leadership and director of the Institute for Leadership Education.

Service -- Liz Mathis, vice president for community relations at Horizons in Cedar Rapids, and Dr. Roy Ventullo, professor of biology, Burk-Will Chair in Biology and director of undergraduate research.

Faith -- The Rev. Dr. Steven Ullestad, bishop of the Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Dr. Kathryn Kleinhans, professor of religion and chair of the religion and philosophy department.

Learning -- Rachel Riensche, attorney for Minnesota Public Radio, and Dr. Fred Ribich, professor of psychology and director of institutional research and assessment.