With the semester well underway,听progress听is being made on听the various projects set forth in the Academic Futures听report. Academic Futures听continues to be committed听to developing听pathways for ongoing听campus involvement as these efforts undergo further definition and development on route to being implemented.
Creating a student-centered campus
The provost听and senior vice chancellor听selected this section of the report as an initial focus for听CU Boulder鈥檚听efforts.听The Academic Futures report听highlighted听several听important areas of work to support our students, many of which were already underway as part of other strategic efforts.
Under the auspices of听Foundations of Excellence, Vice Provost Mary Kraus has convened working groups that focus on听re-imagining and improving the听undergraduate first-year experience听and on听creating听coordinated approaches to student advising. In addition,听within听the next month, Senior Vice Provost Katherine Eggert will be听rolling out a path for the development of a new听Center for Teaching and Learning,听as well as forming a task force that will focus on a unified common learning experience for undergraduates.听
In other news
Financial Futures gains momentum as projects for generating resources begin to take shape
Financial Futures, responsible for discovering and uncovering ways to support Academic Futures and other key strategic initiatives, is now in the solution design phase.
IDEA Plan to be unveiled this spring
This spring, CU Boulder will see its first-ever comprehensive diversity, inclusion and equity plan delivered to the campus.
鈥楧eep dive鈥� insights set course for coming Strategic Facilities Visioning work
The Strategic Facilities Visioning project team has completed its initial deep dive phase, gaining valuable insights and setting the stage for the scenario planning discussions to come.
Interdisciplinary teaching, research and creative works
Interim Dean Jim White, College of Arts and Sciences, is leading a campus conversation this spring on听how the campus can facilitate and incentivize interdisciplinary work, perhaps the most transformative of all of the Academic Futures initiatives.听
The Academic Futures Interdisciplinarity听Working Group is charged with defining more precisely what CU Boulder should be doing to support, incentivize and facilitate interdisciplinary听teaching,听research, scholarship and creative work, empowering听teams of scholars with strong disciplinary backgrounds听to mesh their approaches and solve core sets of looming and future听social, cultural, scientific and technological听problems. They will provide a framework to take up big questions, from climate change to the definition of a good life.听
Look for an update in the coming weeks on the听group鈥檚 membership and schedule of delivery of a report to the campus.
Online/distance/technology in education
Dean Robert McDonald, University Libraries, is forming听an听Academic Futures/Financial Futures Online Strategy Working Group that will integrate recommendations from the Academic Futures report and emergent work from the Financial Futures strategic initiative, seeking to define CU Boulder鈥檚 vision of what online and distance education should look like. McDonald听is consulting听with听the Academic Futures Committee, the Council of Deans, the Boulder Faculty Assembly and chairs and directors听about members and听also is听soliciting听nominations via a form at the听Academic Futures website.听
Guided by the key idea of 鈥淭eaching听excellence independent of听modality,鈥� the working group will outline a guiding campus philosophy for this important effort. McDonald will oversee a smart convergence of听Academic听Futures with Financial Futures efforts to look at how CU Boulder develops and implements a coordinated and comprehensive approach to online and distance education, supporting both residential and nonresidential students.听The working group鈥檚 membership听and a timeline of delivery for its findings will be announced听in the coming weeks.
Integrating research impact and teaching excellence into faculty review, promotion
Dean Bobby Braun and the College of Engineering and Applied Science are undertaking a pilot project that looks at how faculty are evaluated in order to take into account research and creative impact (economic, societal, quality of life, etc.,) and to more accurately measure teaching excellence and innovation. Starting with the annual review process, CEAS will develop and test approaches that can then be shared with the rest of campus. This effort takes up several strands within the Academic Futures report.
Creating a global campus
Leadership-driven discussions on the elements of a coordinated global strategy for CU Boulder involving stakeholders that would include faculty, students, staff and alumni are ongoing, and initial projects and approaches听derived听from these discussions will be announced later in the spring semester.听
Embracing the 鈥榩ublic鈥� in public university
Over the spring听semester,听Academic Futures convener听Jeff Cox and听facilitator Emily CoBabe-Ammann will be crafting a campuswide program for faculty, staff and students that creates pathways for public engagement. The goal is to make real the Academic Futures report鈥檚 call that听CU Boulder听recommit to听its听status as a public research university.
The campus鈥檚 year-long conversation and the resulting report are bearing fruit.听Check for updates on town halls and engagement opportunities for Academic Futures each week in CU Boulder Today;听and on the first Tuesday of each month,听visit CUBT for more extensive听initiative updates听that offer听more information on progress and alignment of the initiatives.听You can check on all the campus鈥檚 strategic initiatives here.听
