President John Lahey proposed a five-year, $100 million long-term strategic plan for Quinnipiac University on Jan. 31.

Speaking to professors and administrators in Alumni Hall, Lahey shared his vision of Quinnipiac’s future.

In what could turn into a contentious move, Lahey said the university chose not to negotiate a new contract with the faculty union this year. In the meantime, Quinnipiac will ask the National Labor Relations Board to determine whether the full-time, non-law school faculty are employees under the federal labor law with the right to be represented by a union. The faculty is currently represented by the Quinnipiac Faculty Federation, which is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers.

However, the university president focused most of his speech on more positive aspects.

“Quinnipiac University has made extraordinary gains with respect to the quality of our academic programs and our academic reputation,” Lahey said.

The president pointed to the more than 12,000 applications received for just 1,300 spots in the freshman class.

Looking to the future, Lahey said the five sectors of the university – the schools of Communications, Health Sciences, Business and Law, and the College of Liberal Arts – have all been working toward “achieving even greater academic program excellence and excellence with the faculty.”

Lahey’s plans for the future involves a proposed $60 million Health Professions building on the Sherman Avenue campus, the construction of a new $15 million liberal arts building on the Mount Carmel campus, and renovations totaling $5 million to the Echlin and Lender buildings to satisfy the needs for the schools of communication and business. Twenty-five new full-time faculty members will be added and financial support for faculty research will be increased. Lahey also plans to commence the pursuit of national voluntary accreditations for the School of Communications and the Division of Education within the College of Liberal Arts.

“The leadership of the faculty and the unified support of the faculty and administration for these plans will be essential in convincing the Faculty and the Board of Trustees of the merits of this $100 million investment in the pursuit of academic excellence,” Lahey said.

“Strengthening all of our academic programs, enhancing our academic reputation, and retaining and recruiting the finest faculty are the best ways to ensure that the education our students receive is truly first-rate and that the value of their degrees and the diplomas of all our alumni will be competitive with, if not superior to, the very best universities in America,” Lahey said.