Dietrich College Previews Five-Year Strategic Plan
Leaders at Carnegie Mellon's Dietrich College held a town hall on October 23 to gather community input on a five-year strategic plan.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Business Strategy
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Dietrich College leadership held a one-hour town hall on October 23 to discuss its five-year strategic plan with faculty, staff, alumni, and students. The steering committee introduced its working groups and asked attendees to submit feedback by email, through the website, or other channels.
Why it matters
The plan will guide decisions about programs, hiring, investments, and partnerships at the college, which is part of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Leaders said the process is meant to reflect the university's mission and Strategic Framework.
The five-year strategic plan is being developed by a steering committee of faculty, staff, alumni, and students, with the town hall lasting one hour. The specific strategic priorities, which will shape the plan, remain undetermined and are expected to be identified over the coming months.
The players
Dietrich College
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, which hosted the town hall and is developing the plan.
Carnegie Mellon University
The Pittsburgh private research university whose mission and Strategic Framework the Dietrich plan is designed to reflect.
Cassidy Sugimoto
Dean of Dietrich College who led the town hall discussion on the strategic plan.
The details
Dean Cassidy Sugimoto and Committee Co-Chairs Andreea Ritivoi and Rebecca Nugent led the October 23 discussion, which was followed by an autumn celebration on Baker Hall's patio. Nugent said collaboration and a distinctively Dietrich identity are the main goals, and leadership pledged to explain any suggestion that is not carried out.
Timeline
October 23, 2026: Dietrich College holds town hall on its five-year strategic plan.
Coming months: Dietrich leadership expects to identify strategic priorities.
Strategy Alignment
Dietrich's five-year plan is explicitly tied to Carnegie Mellon's Strategic Framework, placing the college's priorities within the university's broader institutional direction. The steering committee's effort to set priorities for programs, hiring, and partnerships follows that framework rather than setting an independent course.
Students, faculty, and alumni who want to shape the plan can send feedback by email, through the Dietrich website, or through other channels named by Sugimoto. The priorities that emerge will affect which programs, hires, investments, and partnerships the college pursues.
The takeaway
Community members who want influence over Dietrich's direction can engage now, since the steering committee is still developing its working groups and priorities. Leaders have committed to explaining any suggestion that is not adopted.
What happens next
Dietrich leadership plans to identify its strategic priorities over the coming months, though no specific date has been set.
Further reading
Explore more on Business Strategy for related coverage of organizational planning in Pittsburgh.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Tartan.
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