As the fall semester comes to a close and winter break approaches, it’s a good time to reflect on our academic accomplishments so far this year, as well as on the spirit and values that fuel these successes.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Russell Moore
To shape the leaders of tomorrow, one of our strategic imperatives, we’re working in a focused way to improve the experience of our students. We want their success at CU Boulder to carry forward into their lives beyond campus and into communities in Colorado and around the nation and the world.
With that goal in mind, our Foundations of Excellence initiative is examining every aspect of the first-year student experience, from academics to housing and financial aid, and a half-dozen other touch points that form the critical first year for our students. The initiative’s nine committees are each looking at a different aspect of that first year and will, when reviewed by a steering committee, produce a final report of recommendations that will be delivered to me by April 1.
Staying true to our second strategic imperative of being the nation’s leading innovation university, we’re excited at the visions and ideas the Academic Futures initiative has generated. We’ve had a semester of vibrant, vision-driven sessions in town halls, themed discussions, departmental meetings and faculty forums.
To date, we’ve received more than 50 white papers with ideas to transform interdisciplinary teaching, research and creative work and re-ground our institution in time-tested values while re-invigorating it with new structures, forms and processes. You can still submit a white paper through Jan. 16 to add to this exciting mix of ideas that will be submitted to the Academic Futures Committee. The committee will be prioritizing and socializing the ideas with the campus in the spring semester, driving toward a report submitted to the campus for review in September, and then to me and Senior Vice Chancellor and CFO Kelly Fox in October.
Consistent with another one of our strategic imperatives—positively impacting humanity—I’m particularly gratified we’re going about this work with a commitment to a core set of values rooted in our Colorado Creed: honor, integrity and accountability.
I am working with the Provost’s Faculty Communications Committee and with the Boulder Faculty Assembly (BFA) to instill a renewed spirit of openness and transparency in how we communicate with faculty, share vital information and work together productively.
You will soon hear from Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement Bob Boswell on the progress we’re making in our Diversity Plan, which will help our campus create a new environment for diversity and inclusion—one built on best practices in inclusive pedagogy, in building a diverse workforce at CU Boulder and in creating a more supportive climate for diverse communities and individuals on campus.
I am proud to be part of a leadership team that is facing our challenges, constantly trying new approaches to solving problems, acknowledging missteps, while building partnerships and understanding. I am also honored to work with a faculty that embraces innovation, thrives on teamwork and dedicates itself to students first and foremost, as well as with a staff distinguished by its creativity and dedication.
As the break approaches, I wish you all peace, joy and time spent with family and friends.
Russell Moore,
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
