Provost Mitzi Montoya hosted several listening sessions for the 2030 Strategy process. Each session was adapted to the location of Korea, organized in a similar way as the PLC and CAD sessions were hosted on the SLC campus. For the staff session, staff gathered for initial general Menti slides, then divided out into tables to discuss various topics, including communications and marketing, retention, etc. The staff session discussed the following topics:

• Advancing research: Compensation can be a key factor in successful research initiatives. A major obstacle is that government grants in Korea are in Korean, so non-Korean faculty are at a disadvantage when applying for grants. Faculty mentoring programs and partnerships with faculty from other Korean universities may be helpful in creating synergy.
• Retention, recruitment and well-being: Salary, housing, benefits and global experience are influential in attracting top-tier employees. Staff would like to have casual meals with candidates to get to know them better and would like the candidates to provide a sample lecture to students. The sense of community is key to retaining staff and faculty at UAC. Faculty and staff may leave the U because they have cultural barriers, are homesick, or they have a lack of promotion opportunities. A better onboarding process would help promote a sense of well-being.
• Community outreach and engagement: It would be helpful to have a program to attract students in Korean high schools. Language barriers and lack of manpower are challenges that hinder efforts to engage with the community. UAC should prioritize forging partnerships with the Korean government, providing services such as tutoring, for those who are in need. Industry partnerships would improve student job opportunities. An organized, central, integrated system would help with these aspirations.
• Communications and marketing: The global aspect of the UAC campus is a better way to impact the international market, capitalizing on the Asia campus as a gateway to the U.S. campus. Utah is not perceived as a global state in Korea. We need to address the U’s achievements more, clarifying that the U is a public institution, but using the religious characteristics of the state to highlight safety. It is difficult to travel between Salt Lake and major Asian countries, and there is a lack of faculty research at UAC. UAC should be involved in planning stages of messaging and branding. A more cohesive culture between the two campuses would be beneficial.
• Undergraduate student recruitment: There is a decline in the student population in Korea, and a decrease in the merit of getting a degree from a U.S. university. Adding more competitive programs and investing more in international recruitment would help this. Include industry partners in designing curriculum to create industry-ready graduates and enhance the university’s reputation.