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Eastern Illinois University

Strategic Planning

EIU'S Strategic plan: PLAN 2028

Welcome to Strategic Planning at EIU! We want to make EIU’s next cycle of Strategic Planning as inclusive and meaningful as possible for all University stakeholders — students, faculty, staff, and community partners alike.

Plan 2028 Tracking

On June 23, 2023 the Board of Trustees endorsed EIU’s new strategic plan, Plan 2028, at its most recent meeting. As you will see, Plan 2028 aligns with the IBHE’s “A Thriving Illinois” framework and advances EIU’s mission, the region, and state by focusing on four interconnected themes:

Achieve

Achieve: Achieve Success for All Learners

ACHIEVE priorities align and invest in policies, practices, and resources that ensure every learner at EIU thrives. The ACHIEVE activities comprise a broad collection of strategic investments and student success supports. For Eastern Illinois University, ACHIEVE focuses on retention, learning outcomes, creating and maintaining active learning environments, adequate financial assistance, degree completion, career preparedness, and student wellness. ACHIEVE priorities leverage EIU’s commitment to student success using a holistic array of academic and other organizational supports.

Engage

Engage: Engage the Community, Region, State, & World

ENGAGE priorities are intended to build bridges between and amongst its internal and external stakeholders to expand and enhance the everyday worlds of EIU’s students, faculty, staff, alumni, and communities at all scales. ENGAGE seeks to build collaborative opportunities for inclusive economic development, regional prosperity, and personal growth. ENGAGE deepens EIU’s connection and commitment to the region, State, and world.

 

Create

Create: Create a 21st Century Campus & Culture

CREATE priorities evidence a sustained commitment to all employees and students by cultivating belonging and creating a culture of care for all. CREATE accelerates efforts to innovate, invigorate, and reaffirm EIU’s unique institutional identity. Echoing the IBHE’s strategic plan, Plan 2028 advances EIU’s shared values of diversity, equity, and inclusion for all students, employees, and community members. CREATE activities focus on investing in employee and learner wellness, knowledge creation, creativity, and belonging.

Resource

Resource: Encourage Innovation, Diversify Revenue, & Grow Enrollments

RESROURCE priorities focus on overall institutional sustainability, staffing, and enhanced business practices. The theme of RESOURCE will ensure that EIU’s budgeting process, operations, and enrollment management efforts focus on sustained financial stability and invests in the strategic priorities of Plan 2028. This priority also ensures compliance with federal and State regulations, as well as financial benchmarks established by Eastern's regional accreditation body, the Higher Learning Commission.

 

Implementation

EIU is driven by its mission and vision, placing deliberate emphasis on fostering student success, bolstering the economy of the State of Illinois, and serving regional, state, and national stakeholders. Plan 2028, aligned with the Illinois Board of Higher Education's strategic plan, "A Thriving Illinois," is an extension and complement to it. The IBHE plan specifically focuses on harnessing the potential of higher education to promote equity, sustainability, and inclusive economic growth.

Plan 2028 at EIU revolves around four interconnected themes: Achieve, Engage, Create, and Resource. This comprehensive approach encompasses 14 strategic initiatives identified by the campus community, supported by 35 target activities that will be evaluated annually using designated performance metrics or key performance indicators. Each theme of Plan 2028 will be overseen by dedicated "Champions" and responsible lead offices or divisions.

To ensure continuous progress, Theme Champions and members of the implementation teams for each theme will convene at least once a year. During these meetings, they will assess overall performance, review and revise goals, and present a summary of the strategic plan's progress in a public town hall. The valuable feedback obtained from these annual updates will provide Plan 2028 with the necessary flexibility to be revised and updated as required to remain effective and relevant.

The Taskforce

Dr. Nichole A. Mulvey
Education & Training Conference Presentations Publications Funding & Grants Frequently Taught Courses Research & Creative Interests Professional Affiliations Update your profile

Dr. Nichole A. Mulvey

Associate Professor, Graduate Coordinator Office: 2310 - Human Services
Phone: 217-581-7448
Email: namulvey@eiu.edu

Education & Training

Ph.D., Curriculum & Instruction, Indiana State University, 2014
M. A., Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2003
B. S., Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001

Conference Presentations

Mulvey, N. (2021, February). Unpacking social communication. Invited two-hour seminar for the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Prerecorded fall 2020.

Mulvey, N. (2021, February). Progress monitoring social communication abilities in school-age children. Invited one-hour seminar for the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention. Prerecorded fall 2020.

Mulvey, N. (2020, November). 11038: Influence of language skills on teacher perceptions of social development in preschool children. Proposal accepted at the Annual Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, San Diego, CA (Convention canceled).

Mulvey, N. (2020, October) Improving oral language for academic success. Invited session for Practical Solutions: Elementary Assessment, Treatment and Collaboration. Pre-recorded session and real-time webchat for American Speech-Language-Hearing Association online conference.

Mulvey, N. (2020, February). ASD: Assessment and intervention in the EI context. Seminar presented at the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Rosemont, IL.

Mulvey, N.A., & Killian, D. (2019, July). Using Language Sample Analysis to Identify Pragmatic Language and Social Skill Deficits. Poster presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Connect Convention, Chicago, IL.

Mulvey, N.A. (2018, November). Exploring Language Development and Teacher Perceptions of Social Behavior in Preschool Children. E-poster presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Boston, MA.

Mulvey, N. A. (2017, November). The big picture: Using all early literacy skill indicators to identify RtI Needs. Seminar presented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention, Los Angeles, CA.

Mulvey, N. A. (2017, February). Using all early literacy skill indicators to identify RtI Needs. Seminar presented to the annual convention of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Rosemont, IL.

Mulvey, N. A. (2016, February). Explicit story grammar instruction and narrative skills in preschoolers. Seminar presented to the annual convention of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Rosemont, IL.

Mulvey, N. A. (2015, November). Making interprofessional practice work in the school setting.  Invited Speaker by SIG 16; Seminar presented to the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Denver, CO.

Mulvey, N. A., & Fahy, J. (2015, November). Developing instruction for interprofessional practice: A retrospective analysis. Seminar presented to the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Denver, CO.

Mulvey, N. A. (2015, November). Parental support in improving early literacy skills. Workshop presented to parents for Jasper County Community Unit #1, Newton, IL.

Mulvey, N. A. (2015, February).  Intervention intensity: How much, how often? Seminar presented to the annual convention of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Rosemont, IL.

Mulvey, N. A. (2014, July). Using Shared Storybook Reading and Narrative Vocabulary to Increase Reading Comprehension in Young Children.  Poster session presented at American Speech-Language-Hearing School’s Conference, Pittsburgh, PA.

Mulvey, N. A. (2013, February). Narrative instruction to enhance reading comprehension in PreK-2.  Presentation to regular and special education teachers at Jasper County Community Unit #1, Newton, IL.

Publications

Mulvey, N., Jenkins, L. (2020). Language skills as predictors of social skills and behaviors in preschool children. Contemporary School Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-020-00281-1

Jenkins, L. N., Mulvey, N. A., Flores, M. T. (2017) Social and language skills related to bullying roles in early childhood: A review of the literature.  Education and Treatment of Children, 40(3), 401-417.

Mulvey, N. (2016). Interprofessional practice in the schools: Adopting the medical model? In A. Johnson (Ed.), Interprofessional education and interprofessional practice in communication sciences and disorders: An introduction and case-based examples of implementation in education and health care settings (pp. 56–67). Rockville, MD: American Speech Language Hearing Association.

Funding & Grants

Early Research Support Grant Award, College of Sciences, EIU (2)
Faculty Research Mentor Grant, URSCA, EIU
SEED Grant, COS, EIU

Frequently Taught Courses

CDS 5230 Early Childhood Language Disorders

CDS 5250 School-Age Language Disorders

CDS 5800 Grand Rounds in CDS

CDS 4600 Senior Seminar in Communication Disorders and Sciences

CDS 5400 Special Topic: Interprofessional Education in Speech-Language Pathology

CDS 5400 Special Topic: Working with Families in Early Intervention

 

Research & Creative Interests

Preschool & Early Elementary Language
Literacy
Early Intervention
School-Based Issues
Development of Curriculum and Instruction

Professional Affiliations

ASHA, SIG 1 Language Learning and Education, SIG 16 School-based Issues
ISHA, Early Intervention Committee

If you have questions about EIU’s Strategic Planning process, or wish to learn more, please email Josh Reinhart, Public Information Coordinator, at jdreinhart@eiu.edu.