President’s Message: Our Strategic Plan, Approved and Ready for What Comes Next

Dear Bellevue College community, 

Yesterday, the Bellevue College Board of Trustees approved our new Strategic Plan. This is an important milestone. It belongs to everyone who helped create it and to everyone who will now work to make it real for our students, employees, and community. 

In creating this plan, we listened to people across Bellevue College and beyond. Faculty and staff, students, local leaders, school districts, state legislators, and tribal partners all had a voice in shaping it. The process took time and required persistence, but it was deeply inclusive and grounded in honest conversation. It is stronger for it. 

I want to thank the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and the Cabinet for their steady leadership throughout this effort. They remained committed to an open, collaborative process even when external challenges made that difficult. Their integrity and focus helped us stay aligned with our mission and see this work through. 

This plan builds on the strengths we demonstrate every day. It recognizes what already works at Bellevue College and channels that strength with intention. Our standing as an Achieving the Dream Leader College and a Top 200 Aspen Prize institution reflects that foundation. This is not a departure. It is a focusing. 

Strategic planning matters because it keeps us focused on the long game. It keeps us anchored by our mission, aligned with our vision, and committed to the kind of college we want to become. This plan gives us shared direction and the clarity to make decisions that serve students and the community. 

Now new work begins. Each division will connect its daily work to the goals in the plan. This is the opportunity for every employee to see themselves in Bellevue College’s future and to help bring these commitments to life. Real transformation happens when what we do each day aligns with what we aspire to achieve. 

This plan belongs to all of us, and its success will come from all of us. We are ready for what comes next. 

Bellevue College Strategic Plan [BC login required]

A strategic plan website is currently in development and we will share that link when that work is completed.

With appreciation, 
 

David May 
on behalf of the Bellevue College Cabinet