We’re at as exciting a moment as I’ve ever seen at the university. We have an impressive new incoming class, the most academically qualified and diverse that we have ever seen. We have 150 new faculty, bringing the campus to its largest number in my memory. We have four new deans: Jim Anaya, who comes to us from the University of Arizona, is our new Dean of the Law School; Kathy Schultz, who comes to us from Mills College in California, is our new Dean of Education; Akirah Bradley, who comes to us from the University of California Berkeley, is our new Dean of Students; and Ann Schmiesing, who is one of our own, is our Interim Dean of the Graduate School. I also have a new Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Mary Kraus.
To all our new and returning students, faculty and staff, I welcome you to our campus and wish you a great start to the academic year.
With these leadership changes, we’re embarking on a number of programmatic changes. We’ve created a new convocation and are developing exciting first-year programs. We’ve built into the graduate school a one-stop shop for developing master’s degrees. We currently are undertaking a review of our international efforts to improve services. We’re responding to our climate survey with our inclusive excellence initiative. We’re developing new methods of delivering our advising, as well as teaching, and learning support services.
My major goal for this year is to communicate better with campus. Last year I heard clearly that the campus wanted more, and more effective communication from my administration. I’m committed to create a regular cadence of monthly columns in ¶¶ÒõÂÃÐÐÉä Boulder Today to keep you informed. I’ll tell you my goals, but I’ll also feature articles by my staff on special topics, such as research innovation and persistence. I’ve also scheduled open forums in every college and with our student governments, so that our communication is not just one way. I intend to keep you informed of major campus events, but more importantly, I want to create an open dialogue so that we can work together hand in hand as we go through this exciting period of change.
I welcome your insights. I hope to see you at the open forums, and if you see me around campus, please stop me and tell me your thoughts, and feel free to email my office at vcaa@colorado.edu.
Again, welcome back to campus, and Go Buffs.Ìý
Russell Moore,
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
