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Law School

Intro by Jeff Cox

• Intro on teaching and research visioning
• Laying out of fall work
• Role of Committee and Report

Q. Does it really make sense to consider the AF process without defining the problems we are trying to solve from a state, national, or global view?  Should we organize around problem solving?  When you have several people from several disciplines looking at the problem, it helps keep the efforts focused.

A. This process is not focusing on picking one particular challenge to solve.  The purpose of this process is to engage the entire campus in open and honest conversations and reach a consensus as a campus on where to focus our efforts.  If the campus determines that a problem-solving model is needed, then we will consider it.

Q. Is everything on the table, for example, tenure?

A. The Provost is willing to listen to anything that the campus wants to raise, even something as large as tenure.  That being said, the units have control over the criteria for excellence in promotion and tenure and over their annual merit process.  Changes can happen quicker at the unit-level than the campus-level.  Still, there are many conversations in AF meetings about what should be included in “teaching excellence” or as service.

Q. The university is continually reacting to corporate and other outside influences and pressures.  It would be nice to have a defense against these types of influences. 

A. While recognizing the changing attitudes towards higher education, the university wants to move from a defensive mechanism to one where we continue to garner respect as a university.  We want to protect what is important in a way that also looks forward.

Q. Interdisciplinary work is great.  It was promoted in the CU 2030 plan, but nothing happened. We are skeptical that this will lead to operational changes. 

A. The first phase of AF is to get the input from the campus.   In the next phase, we will likely create projects for the campus, such as “Interdisciplinary Teaching”.  That phase will be about practices, including identifying and fixing barriers.  It will include both academic and non-academic implementation teams. The intent is for the AF process to help keep the vision in front of the campus so that progress continues.

Comment: We need to remember the importance of recognizing that we are a public institution and think about what this means at the state, national, and international levels.

Comment: The Law School has become “elite” because of the cost of tuition.  Scholarships tend to be awarded on merit rather than need.  We need recognize the importance of providing access and keep tuition costs down.

Q. How does AF relate to the Strategic Imperatives?

A. The Strategic Imperatives were set by the Chancellor for us to take into account as we do our daily business.  They provide the high-level guidance.  Any strategic plan exercise needs to align with those imperatives. AF is the mid-level “what do we want to do” effort to meet those imperatives.