Minutes - Town Hall, Sept 11, 2017
Intro by Jeff Cox
- Intro on teaching and reaching visioning
- Laying out of fall work
- Role of Committee and Report
Q. Welcome the transparency and openness. What are the constraints (of the AF process)?
A. The Provost says he wants to have this conversation without constraints. We don鈥檛 see this as a zero sum game. For example, we can increase our research enterprise footprint by diversifying the portfolio. It won鈥檛 necessarily lead to a doubling of the 精品SM在线影片 budget, but it doesn鈥檛 mean there isn鈥檛 some ability to increase. This is not about nuts and bolts questions. It鈥檚 about our practices (for teaching and discovery). How do our practices change to meet the future? How do we want to do our work?
Q. What does the 鈥渙ur鈥 in 鈥渉ow we do our work鈥? It depends on the level upon which you operate.
Comment: We seem to be rushing the 1st (and most important) part of this visioning process. At the time when we should be most deliberative, the timeline is very short.
Comment: Key themes and characteristics: Who are we? What makes us special (as a campus)? What are our core values (for Be Boulder)?
Additional comments: What is this university for? What are our core activities?
Comment: Applaud that the AF process brings staff to the table.
Q. Why only 1 student on the Committee? Recommend at least 3.
A. Student(s) likely to be representatives from student governing bodies, though the Provost will ultimately decide. They are clearly the future of what we do. Not just UG and Grads, also Post Docs and instructors.
Comment: Growth is a challenge. New buildings = who takes care of the new square footage. There needs to be work to connect the dots between decisions that scientists or administrators made with regard to space and instrumentation needs directly impacts ICR. We need to move to a culture that supports and advocates a shared collaborative environment.
Aside, a participant had mentioned he sees the university under great strain. When asked what that looked like, he identified 4 areas:
- Nationally fluctuating budget models for higher education
- Public will: see new 2017 Pew Study
- Make up and demographics of students (and our ability to support them)
- New models of just about everything in higher education (e.g., education, research, etc.)
To find out more about how to get involved, visit the Academic Futures website at