This article discusses the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a deliberative public issues forum held at North Carolina State University in early 2008. The forum itself was a part of a larger university strategic planning process. In spite of tight time constraints, the planning team made a decision to tailor the forum according to principles of deliberative democracy. As a result, the focus was as much on the importance of informed public participation in the university decision-making process as it was on generating tangible action plan outcomes.