About the Strategic Plan

Mission-Ready for the Future

Iowa State University comprises a community of students, faculty, and staff who constantly strive to understand our world, impart new knowledge, and solve the most pressing challenges facing humanity today. Our identity as a leading science and technology land-grant university requires us to think innovatively about strategic planning and develop a framework that focuses our future endeavors.

Dynamic and different, the Iowa State University Strategic Plan for 2022 to 2031 was designed specifically to move us forward to achieving what Iowa State truly plans to be in the future. It prepares the university for capturing continuous input, for proving our agility in taking advantage of new opportunities and for sharing our stories of innovation and progress. That’s why the plan takes a longer view — nine years — comprising three-year segments.

2022-2031 Strategic Plan

Strategic Initiatives Team

Headshot of Sophia Magill

Sophia Magill 
Senior Advisor to the President

Sophia Magill was named senior advisor to the president in the Office of the President in September 2022. Magill leads efforts to advance the goals outlined in the university’s 2022-2031 strategic plan, federal relations and other strategic initiatives. She leads the review of proposals and develops priority recommendations for the president and senior leaders to invest in the most promising and strategic projects — overseeing the overall performance management and integration of university-wide initiatives to deliver upon performance goals.

In her federal relations responsibilities, she advocates on behalf of Iowa State University’s federal priorities by promoting research, higher education and science activities in an effort to increase federal support and expand awareness of the university in Washington, D.C. Before joining the Office of the President in 2013, she served at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She has professional experience in government, higher education, and the non-profit sector, including the Office of Admissions at Iowa State University, the Iowa House of Representatives, Iowa’s Office of the Governor and the White House.

Magill earned her undergraduate degree in political science from Iowa State University, where she served as Student Government President, and her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Headshot of Kim McDonough

Kim McDonough 
Strategic Initiatives Project Specialist

Kim McDonough is the strategic initiatives project specialist, reporting to senior advisor to the president Sophia Magill. Since May 2023, McDonough has supported the implementation and ongoing process of the strategic initiatives as part of the 2022-31 strategic plan. She also provides data and metrics management and analysis to advance strategic priorities, including those selected through the annual proposal process, and builds and strengthens relationships with campus partners.

McDonough has worked at Iowa State for more than 18 years. She has served as director and then senior director of development for the College of Design (2018-23); director of alumni relations for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (2014-18); and an academic advisor and internship and program coordinator for the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication (2006-14). She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication, and a doctoral degree in education, all from Iowa State. 

Strategic Initiatives Advisory Committee

Committee Charge

The Strategic Initiatives Advisory Committee aims to bring together campus leaders to serve as a sounding board for the annual strategic plan proposal process, facilitate communication with the campus community, and provide feedback.

About the Strategic Initiatives Advisory Committee

President Wintersteen created the Strategic Initiatives Advisory Committee in February 2023. It comprises faculty, staff, and student members in key leadership positions at Iowa State University.