Health professional schools are complex environments. Academic leaders of interprofessional education and practice (IPEP) have the unique challenge of navigating these intricacies on the individual and collective level to create a common vision that supports the sustainable implementation and assessment of quality interprofessional education (IPE). In order to move beyond a common approach to IPE that has been described as a “series of isolated events” that insufficiently address the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) core competencies in their entirety, a strategic planning process can help institutions design and develop robust IPE experiences with intentionality.This article describes the steps taken in a formal strategic planning process to create and sustain a pan-university IPEP office to strengthen IPE and collaboration among emerging health professionals/schools-departments at a public flagship university in the southeastern U.S. Additionally, Kotter's model for institutional change highlights strategies to gain buy-in, and lessons learned. This paper provides a guide to help grow, sustain, and invest in formal IPEP programs for other academic institutions.