Cultivating a sense of belonging within our campus community

Last week, while walking by myself across a relatively quiet campus, I had a realization that I am still captivated by the breathtaking physical beauty that is unique to CU Boulder. – the large sweeping trees of Norlin quad, the pathways that wind between buildings lined with beautiful tiny flowers, the archways and doorways that lead to welcoming and inviting learning spaces – all with the backdrop of the Flatirons and Rocky Mountains in the distance. The campus offers energy and beauty to all that enter.

This is the environment that is poised to warmly welcome back our returning undergraduate and graduate students, the first-year class of 2025, and our incredible faculty and staff. These past 18 months have been both heroic and heartbreaking, upending longstanding norms in unprecedented ways. Grappling with these changes (albeit learning from them) means maintaining a focus on what we, as an IT organization, contribute and offer.

OIT is committed to providing a fluid and adaptable academic and student experience while enabling research through a robust research computing portfolio. At our core, we deliver IT infrastructure and enterprise IT services that enable academic and business continuity, allowing the campus to deliver on its promise to our students. The work we do every day is one piece of a larger, more complex puzzle, contributing to the overall success of the campus. It is through our core values that we will help achieve the campus mission:

• Trust, as a foundation for how we engage with one another and with campus partners, along with
• Avid curiosity in how to better support the campus and our stakeholders while
• Fostering empowerment and authentic engagement amongst ourselves and
• Celebrating inclusivity that promotes a sense of belonging while acknowledging that each person is unique and valued.

Recently, it is the sense of belonging that has filled my thoughts as I think of colleagues, students and alumni. Belonging is often measured personally, an array of signals that add up to an individual feeling valued and connected not only to what is happening today but equally to investing in the future in a meaningful way. Over the course of this academic year, I am committed to cultivating a sense of belonging within our IT community as we tackle what is in front of us. I believe in the talent, creativity, and dedication that I witness on a daily basis that culminates in problem-solving and delivering IT solutions and services that our students and staff have come to depend on with trust and confidence.

Thank you for all that you do to make this university flourish.