Constituent Building to Form a New University and Promote Regional Economic Development
Lieutenant General (LTG) Bob Johnson and the Central Texas University Task Force (CTUTF) were at a crossroads in their sixteen year long struggle to gain approval for a new public university in the Central Texas area. The Task Force had been formed as a result of the need for options beyond community college for the growing population of a seven county area in Central Texas, heavily underserved for public higher education. A broad coalition of stakeholders including business people, representatives of chambers of commerce, local governments, school districts, community colleges and Fort Hood had come together with the mission to promote educational opportunities as a vehicle for economic development in the region. This decision case describes the formation of the CTUTF regional coalition, its persistence despite significant barriers along the way and their most recent impasse at the State legislative level. It challenges students to put themselves in the Task Force leaders’ role to determine how to motivate and mobilize the Task Force and its stakeholders in a renewed effort to attain their goal.
After studying the associated text chapter, assigned readings, and completing this case students should be able to:
- Identify key stakeholder groups and draw a stakeholder map. (Bloom’s categories of Comprehension and Application)
- Evaluate stakeholder contributions and their categorization according to an accepted stakeholder management framework. (Bloom’s categories of Application and Analysis)
- Analyze stakeholder management solutions to promote improved stakeholder engagement. (Bloom’s categories of Application and Analysis)
- Design solutions to keeping a network of stakeholders focused on a difficult task. (Bloom’s category of Synthesis)