Published: October 20, 2025
Every enterprise, every initiative, needs a guiding vision. One of my favorite Bible verses that speaks to this is Proverbs 29:18, which begins with these words: “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. Across the three decades of my career, I have often reflected on this verse, particularly at the beginning of important ventures. Today, as UL holds the first of two important town hall meetings about our next five-year strategic plan, it is on my mind.
“Vision” in this context holds a dual meaning. The first is theological, as Bible scholars interpret the word vision in Proverbs 29:19 to mean divine revelation, that is, a vision provided to human beings by God or a Prophet. The second relates to the practice of leadership and the notion that effective leadership begins with a vision, that is, a “big picture” or a “master plan” to guide things. For me, these two meanings blend together because I take profound inspiration from the great faiths of the world, all of which urge people to strive towards goodness individually while simultaneously striving together to build the good society. This, in my opinion, is the two-fold moral purpose of all leadership.
Perhaps no institution in society holds more promise or power in terms of realizing this two-fold moral purpose than the university. Universities mold individuals with higher education, enabling individuals to discover and refine their highest and best selves, discover their purpose within the larger social collective, and develop their gifts, talents, and skills so that they deliver goodness to the wider society in the form of a useful livelihood, leadership ability, and civic virtue. In so doing, universities help shape the good society by serving as reservoirs of thought leadership and by producing generation after generation of students and graduates who are equipped and motivated to contribute to effective national development and the spiritual and material prosperity of our communities and families. This is no small thing. Therefore, universities must operate from a vision; otherwise, as the verse specifies, the people will “perish.”
What does “perish” actually mean here? The original Hebrew word, which appears multiple times in the Bible, is translated in various ways. Sometimes it is interpreted as “cast off restraint,” that is, doing whatever you want. Other times it is translated to mean “run wild” or be “out of control,” that is, behaving as if there are no rules or rules don’t matter. It can also be translated to mean “ignoring” or “neglecting” instruction, that is, disregarding wise counsel or good guidance. All of these meanings suggest something similar: disorder leading to a bad state of affairs with the potential to end in destruction or death. Thankfully, there is something to prevent these negative outcomes, and that is “vision.”
For a university, that vision is the strategic plan. Without a strategic plan, a university flounders, lacking direction or coherence in its activities. Yet, such a strategic plan must be renewed periodically. In Liberia, the National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) requires accredited universities to have a five-year strategic plan. Normally, each new University President creates one. Now is UL’s moment to create a new one.
Today’s and tomorrow’s strategic planning town hall meetings at UL are an opportunity for all constituencies of the UL family – faculty, students, staff, administrators, and alumni – to dialogue together about UL’s next five-year strategic plan. Over the next few weeks, these “large-group discussions” will give way to smaller focus group discussions, as well as discussions with outside stakeholders, in an effort to hear from a wide array of voices and produce a plan in which everyone at UL can see their own aspirations reflected. The emerging strategic plan will build on previous strategic plans but will also chart a bold, new course for UL.
In my column of September 15th, “The Pain of Metamorphosis,” I wrote about what happens inside the cocoon, a/k/a the chrysalis, where a caterpillar becomes a butterfly – namely, the process of breaking down what is old, outdated, and even ugly to make way for what is new, fresh, and boldly beautiful. For universities, strategic planning is one of those things that happens inside the cocoon on the way to institutional metamorphosis and reemergence “even better.” I’m already excited about the “big reveal” that will come when UL’s new strategic plan emerges for public view, and we can all begin to work together for its realization!
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