First, I want to wholeheartedly concur with the thoughts just articulated by President Hoffman.  We are serious about innovation and change.  And, we are serious about becoming a national leader in operating a successful athletic program within an academically excellent major university.

This has been a difficult and painful time for all of us, both inside and outside the University, but we have learned much from the experience.

As Chancellor I intend to take what we have learned, and make the changes needed, and lead this campus forward as the great institution it is.

I intend to provide the necessary leadership for ensuring the Athletic Department operates with the highest integrity, fiscal responsibility, and support for the campus’s academic mission.

And I take responsibility for implementing our Action Plan and for holding accountable those individuals who have administrative oversight of the department’s activities.  We will build accountability into every step as we put the plan into action.

I want to state up front that we are adopting a large majority of the recommendations of the Boulder Faculty Assembly and the Independent Investigative Commission.  These actions are consistent with Dr. John DiBiaggio’s recommendations, as well.  Some of these initiatives we can implement immediately.  Others require more study and planning before implementation – but we are ready to get started.

Let me emphasize that all the actions included in our plan are aimed at achieving a clear set of goals.  We intend to ensure accountability at every level of the athletic program. We will maintain a campus and athletics climate that is supportive of women.  We will act with integrity and behave ethically.  We will rebuild public confidence in the athletic department and the campus through our actions.  We will effectively integrate the athletic department into academic and campus life.  And we will assure continued fiscal responsibility throughout our intercollegiate athletics program.

We are taking numerous actions that are spelled out in the Preliminary Action Plan, but let me highlight some of those that are most significant:

• The reporting structure will be changed to reduce the autonomy with which the Athletic Department has been able to operate and to integrate it with the other academic departments.  The Athletics Director no longer will report directly to the Chancellor, but to the Provost, our chief academic officer -- to whom the deans and other academic officials report. The Provost reports to me.
• For the first time, we will create an Academic Policy Board on Athletics, with strong faculty representation, to advise us on academic and other issues in athletics.
• The Provost will develop and oversee athletic department policies guiding academic decisions, such as admissions, financial aid, eligibility, progress toward graduation and academic support – with the advice and counsel of the Academic Policy Board.
• The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs will take on new oversight duties for helping to integrate the department into the life of the campus, working on-site within the department.
• The Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs also will oversee the development and adjudication of athletics team disciplinary rules, to ensure fair and equal treatment and consistency with campus discipline practices.
• For the next 5 years, we will conduct annual performance and financial evaluations of the athletics department to aid in accountability and to help us assess our progress in meeting our goals.
• The Vice Chancellor for Administration will review and approve athletic contracts and sponsorships that now are approved by the Athletics Director.
• The department’s compliance officer will take on new duties related to monitoring athletics compliance with campus policies and practices.
• The campus’s Director of Human Resources will monitor and report on the department’s employment practices to assure alignment with campus policies.
• The Athletics Director will serve on the campus’s major advisory board, the Chancellor’s Executive Committee, in order to bring the department further into the life of the campus.

These changes -- and others in the Action Plan -- come on top of other major initiatives already announced.

In March, we announced the nation’s most stringent recruiting guidelines. We believe they will help us attract student athletes who are capable of excelling in both sports and academics and who are of the character we desire.

We also created two task forces to address issues related to violence against women.  One will recommend ways of raising awareness and improving educational programming on sexual assault.  The other will develop new protocols for responding to acts of sexual assault, including reviewing our reporting and adjudication practices. 

I am committed to providing the necessary resources to address these issues.  Violence against women has no place on our campus – or in our society. 

In April, we announced plans to strengthen our alcohol intervention program, including much stricter disciplinary actions.  Under our new “Two Strikes” program, parents will be notified after the first infraction and students will be suspended after the second. The program also includes a mandatory alcohol awareness course for first-year students. 

In addition, we have begun in-depth discussions about the connection between academic rigor and behavioral issues.  We are looking at ways of making sure that all students accepted to CU-Boulder come to us prepared to succeed academically.  We also intend to enhance academic expectations and responsibilities for students once they enroll.  We want to expand our faculty-student interaction through more small-group learning experiences.  And we will examine class scheduling to make sure we have consistent schedules throughout the week.

These are just some of the most important actions outlined in the preliminary Action Plan, copies of which are available here today and will be posted on our web site.

The message we are sending should be clear:  WE ARE TAKING ACTION – and WE WILL BE ACCOUNTABLE.  My administrative team and I – with the active support of President Hoffman – are deeply committed to restoring public confidence in the campus and its Athletics Department by making landmark changes in the way we operate.

I strongly believe we have a unique opportunity to set a new standard for the role of intercollegiate athletics in a major university environment – and personally look forward to the challenge.

Let me close by expressing my appreciation to the Boulder Faculty Assembly, Dr. John DiBiaggio, the Independent Investigative Commission, Amy Robertson, and others who shared their wisdom, their concern, and their support for making real change happen here at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Now, I’d like to turn the microphone back to President Hoffman to address a number of other issues.

See President Hoffman's response.