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Strategic Plan (2022 to 2025)

The Lazaridis School of Business and Economics is a key faculty within Wilfrid Laurier University.

Seated primarily at Laurier’s Waterloo campus, the Lazaridis School has educated top quality students for almost 60 years with its uniquely career-focused undergraduate and graduate programs.

Today, the Lazaridis School is equipped with a blend of established undergraduate programing and a growing number of graduate programs, a highly motivated research-active faculty and accreditation from Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

It stands poised to make an even greater impact on its students, its academic and professional communities, and on the technology corridor in which it sits.

Mission

We strive to be leaders in our communities and help shape the future. We generate, disseminate, and implement knowledge about business and economics for the betterment of the world in which we live. We use our impactful research and experiential approach to education to meet the dynamic needs of our local, national, and international stakeholders.

Vision

Our vision is to rank among Canada's best through our pursuit of excellence in experiential education, impactful research, and community engagement.

Values

We value the following, and these values drive our work: 

  • Diversity of research, pedagogies and opinions. 
  • Intellectual integrity. 
  • Environmental and social responsibility. 
  • Inclusive and respectful community.

Student research posters in Lazaridis Hall atrium.

Pillar 1: Promote Research and Scholarship

We will champion our faculty's research and scholarship and provide a comprehensive and integrated support structure to further their endeavours.

Objectives

  • Advance a culture of research, scholarship and publication through a purposeful infrastructure, including targeted incentives, integrated support, and data systems.
  • Celebrate and mobilize research, scholarship and innovation through public facing communication and promotion targeting local, national, and international audiences.
  • Collaborate with local, national, and international stakeholders and scholars on research and scholarship.

Professor presenting a PowerPoint presentation.

Pillar 2: Champion Teaching and Learning to Advance Student Development and Professional Goals

We will identify and meet the learning needs of our students and enable them to advance their academic and career goals.

Objectives

  • Ensure graduates are empowered to advance their career aspirations with depth of knowledge, ethical principles, and skills including teamwork, integrative and critical thinking, and multi-format communication skills, along with an inclusive community focus.
  • Strengthen the instructional and student support capacity of Lazaridis School faculty and staff to maintain the highest quality of learner and instructional experiences as the school responds to changing student demands and enrolment shifts.
  • Advance student development and support through the use of data-driven learner success strategies.
  • Expand access to experiential learning opportunities.

Students doing groupwork.

Pillar 3: Integrate an Adaptive and Progressive Curriculum

We will strengthen our brand of education through curricula and programs that are content-rich, practice-focused and designed to meet a diversity of learning needs in our domestic and international students.

Objectives

  • Respond to student (current and prospective) and employer demand by strategically and continuously evaluating and strengthening our portfolio of programs and degree offerings, including developing new pathways, specializations, certificates, and micro-credentials for students, alumni, and industry leaders.
  • Engage in strategic data-driven targeted recruiting of graduate students.
  • Promote inclusive, socially responsive, and community-based impact across all programs with EDI, Indigenous, SDG elements.
  • Explore and support alternative formats for our professional graduate programs including remote, hybrid and multi-campus that will attract motivated and engaged students.

Pillar 4: Harness and Integrate the Strengths of Alumni and External Partnerships

We will leverage the knowledge of our alumni, our business and economic partners, and government and community leaders to build enriching collaborations that raise Lazaridis School profile and builds on the School’s leadership in research, scholarship, career-ready programs, and community impact.

Objectives

  • Engage with domestic and international alumni to inform our educational and professional development strategies.
  • Collaborate with business, economic, government and community leaders in pursuit of mutually beneficial educational goals.