Strategy and Planning
Meharry Medical College will celebrate its sesquicentennial — 150th anniversary — in 2026. At the invitation of James E.K. Hildreth, Meharry’s president and CEO, more than 70 faculty, staff and students were engaged in developing a Sesquicentennial Strategic Plan to ensure a successful future for Meharry as a national leader in professional health workforce development; a provider of quality, compassionate health care for the communities it serves; and a source of relevant scientific and clinical research and health policy formulation and analysis.
Evolution & Transformation: Meharry 2026
Sesquicentennial Strategic Plan
President Hildreth challenged the Meharry community to create an aspirational vision for the institution in developing this plan. The vision is ambitious, building upon Meharry’s legacy of education, research, health care and community service. Achieving that vision over a 10-year period will ensure that its legacy will endure for generations to come.
The planning process began in August 2016 and included the following major elements:
- An external environment statement that anticipates the conditions under which Meharry will operate and identifies factors that influence decision making
- Re-envisioned mission and core values statements in a 2026 context
- A vision statement that describes Meharry in 2026
- An institutional strategic agenda and set of priorities to guide resource acquisition and allocation
- Multi-year academic and administrative unit plans for achieving the vision and goals
- A campus master plan to guide the physical development of the “village campus”
- A continuous planning process that will provide ongoing intelligence to maintain the plan as an active roadmap to the future
The Meharry community at large provided feedback through a combination of town hall meetings, focus groups and online review and comment.