The Colorado College Plan: Building on the Block

President Jill Tiefenthaler outlines how we will implement The Colorado College Plan: Building on the Block.

We decided to release our plan as a website rather than the more traditional paper volume because we wanted it to be dynamic; we expect it to evolve over the next 7-10 years as the world, higher education and CC change. We also don't want it to be a plan that just sits on the shelf. By adding this page on "executing the plan" we can provide the entire CC community with updates on our progress. It will also help us to be accountable for implementing the exciting ideas that the Year of Planning generated.

Implementation won't be easy! It calls for three categories of work: Administrative Execution, Action Teams, and Knowledge Development Teams.

Administrative Execution: Initiatives that have a clear path to implementation will be managed by selected members of the President's Cabinet and offices that have specific knowledge of the initiative. While funds will be needed for many of these initiatives, the administration is ready to go forward.

Action Teams: Teams consisting of faculty, staff and students will work collaboratively and creatively to develop substantive recommendations on the initiatives and the next steps in the implementation process.

Knowledge Development Teams: For a few initiatives, more information and expertise is needed. Teams consisting of faculty, staff and students along with selected highly specialized experts will work to develop recommendations on the next steps in the implementation process.

Below you will find the teams and charges for each of the initiatives under each recommendation. Please check back here in the coming months and years as we keep you up-to-date on how we are doing with implementation, and the difference that Building on the Block is making on campus.

Recommendation 1: Provide Additional Support to Realize the Potential of our Pioneering Block Plan

The Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching

Charge: The Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching will be a dynamic place, a centerpiece, where students, faculty, staff and alumni come together and where resources are available to discover and share best practices and support new ideas.

Rather than detailing the structure of the Center at this early point in its evolution, a steering group made up of 6-9 faculty and staff will begin the Center's work by setting in motion specific pilot projects to demonstrate how the Center will contribute to the mission of the College in the future.

The College will support these projects and ask that each one produce evidence of progress in one year. In time, such work will be supported by funds for the Center that result from a fundraising campaign. The evidence of success these pilot projects produce will greatly increase our success at that important stage.

Each project should advance one of the Center's new goals. Those goals are to:

• Support undergraduate research, thesis writing, and fellowship proposals, where faculty from across the disciplines will mentor thesis, fellowship and/or summer research students in creative ways.


• Develop the Office for Field Study to support faculty in all disciplines as they design and implement local and regional field trips.


• Create in-residence programs for artists, scholars, social entrepreneurs, journalists, postdocs, filmmakers and others, building on the block and extending our reach to fully engage our alumni and parents, as well as others, who are experts in their fields and interested in sharing their experiences with students. Projects in this area could work with the Alumni Office to help faculty identify and build connections with alumni resources.


• Study the Block Plan by delving deeper into its unique academic experience and sharing these findings internally and externally. To boost the pedagogical approach of the Block Plan, projects might feature visits from higher education scholars who want to study learning on the Block, a workshop on teaching summer and January courses for colleagues at other institutions, a workshop on best practices in teaching in the field, or preliminary steps toward a national conference on language immersion study or a journal on innovative pedagogical approaches,
  

To make progress on each goal, the steering group will call campus-wide for project proposals that address these goals. The team will develop criteria that uphold CC's priorities to increase focus on engaged teaching and learning, emphasize our distinctive place in the world, and extend our reach and well-deserved reputation; and use those criteria to evaluate the proposals. Each proposal should describe how the project will meet the criteria and include a list of the participants, a timeline and a budget.

Each project should report concrete progress to the action team in one year. The group will report on progress at the end of the 2013-14 academic year and again when the one-year reports are received from the participating faculty. At that time, we will evaluate progress overall and determine the next year's work.

When the Center is organized formally, it will include the offices of sustainability, community engagement, international, and academic technology as well as the Help Desk, the Crowne Center for Faculty Development and Colket Student Learning Center. The steering group is encouraged to consult with leaders in these areas as the projects move forward. Proposals that involve collaboration with these offices should be encouraged.

Action Team

• Anne Hyde, Chair [Director of the Crown Faculty Center]


• Kris Stanec, Lecturer in Education


• Virginia Visconti, Interim Director of the Collaborative for Community Engagement


• Jared Richman, Assistant Professor of English


• Idris Goodwin, ACM Mellon/Post Doc - Theatre/Dance


• Inger Bull, Director of International Programs


• Diane Alters, Academic Communications Specialist


• Tomi-Ann Roberts, Professor of Psychology


• Chad Schonewill, Director of Education Technology Services

Library Renovation and Programming

Charge: As mentioned in the strategic plan, one of the ways the college will fulfill its mission to provide the finest liberal arts education is to realize the potential of our pioneering block plan. The new Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching will provide new resources to support this goal. The renovated library will provide the physical home for the new center and serve as the intellectual hub of the campus.

In order to prepare for the new space President Tiefenthaler is appointing an action team to work on the plans for the renovation of Tutt Library. The team, which will consult with the various programs within the current library as well as the new programs to be housed in the new Center as noted in the plan, will lay the ground work of envisioning the collaboration between the various programs and the flexible spaces needed to support both faculty and student work. The library renovation action team will: (1) work with the administration and Board of Trustees committee on architect selection; (2) work with the selected architects on identifying the programming of the renovated space; and (3) work with the administration and Board of Trustees committee on the building design.

The team is charged to build on the good work of the previous Tutt Library renovation committee, as well as the strategic plan. In particular, the team should take the following as given as they begin their work

• We will renovate the current Tutt Library.


• The renovation will extend Tutt Library toward Cascade.


• The 1980 south addition to the Tutt Library will be removed.


• The Center for Immersive Learning and Engaged Teaching will be a centerpiece of the renovated library.


• The budget will be $40-$45 million.

Team has three objectives to achieve by the end of 2013-14.

• Prepare an RFP and work with the administration and BOT on architect selection (completed by early 2014).


• Work with the consultants on programming needs and building design.

The action team will report on progress throughout the year, beginning in early December, then in mid-February and at the end of the 2013-14 academic year. At that time, progress will be evaluated and any additional work will be identified.

Action Team

• Sandi Wong, Chair


• Lori Driscoll, Associate Professor of Psychology


• Chris Coulter, Director of Facilities Services


• Michael Healy, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations


• Brian Young, Vice President for Information Technology/Chief Technology Officer


• Traci Freeman, Director of the Colket Learning Center


• Ivan Gaetz, Library Director


• Shane Heschel, Associate Professor of Biology


• Sanjaya Thakur, Assistant Professor of Classics


• John Simons, Professor of English


• Mike Siddoway, Associate Dean of the Faculty


• Alistaire Tallent, Associate Professor of French, Italian and Arabic


• Esther Redmount, Associate Professor of Economics and Business


• Elaina (Lainie) Formby (student) senior


• Eugene Tan (student) junior


• Garrett Bennisch (student) senior

Eliminate Program Fees

Administrative Execution

• Sandi Wong, Dean of the College/Dean of the Faculty


• Robert Moore, Vice President for Finance and Administration

Financial Aid Resources

Administrative Execution

• Sean Pieri, Vice President for Advancement


• Mark Hatch, Vice President of Enrollment


• Ken Ralph, Director of Athletics

Diverse and Inclusive Campus - Supporting our Students*

Charge: "Building on the Block," Colorado College's strategic plan, summarizes two key goals:

"As we embark on these new initiatives, we must remember that the success of the Block Plan depends on a talented and diverse student body and a dedicated, excellent faculty and staff. The CC academic endeavor for each student is greatly influenced by one's peers. The small classes, engaged classroom environment, field trips, athletic teams, co-curricular activities, residential life, and collaborative work that are part of our educational enterprise mean that peers are an integral part of each student's experience. This experience is richer for each student when surrounded by talented and curious students from different backgrounds, cultures, and places - and with different talents and gifts. To recruit the best and brightest students, especially those who would benefit most from a CC education, we will build additional resources for financial aid."

"To create a campus culture that is truly creative and innovative, we must attract and retain a diverse faculty, staff, and administration and foster an inclusive campus culture that truly values different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and opinions. An inclusive community provides the foundation for an excellent liberal education - a diverse faculty and staff is a critical component in generating creative ideas and providing the most effective mentoring. In fact, one main benefit of a residential liberal arts education is our capacity to model democratic community, helping students acquire the habits that will shape them long after they leave CC. At the same time, to attract top professional talent in today's competitive global economy, the college must be a welcoming place for people from all backgrounds."

The College's efforts to embrace diversity and inclusion as part of a strong liberal arts education are reflected in its commitment to diversifying its campus population and providing organizational support through many student services including the Office of Minority and International Students (OMIS), the Colket Center for Academic Excellence and the summer bridge programs. However, at this critical juncture, it is crucial to evaluate our current support. Therefore, President Tiefenthaler is appointing an action team consisting of students, staff and faculty to evaluate our current support and recommend changes to better support our students in the future

The team's objectives for 2013-14 include:

• Undertake an inventory of student support services at CC.


• Evaluate best practices at other liberal arts college for supporting students from diverse backgrounds (including and building on Professor Emily Chan's recommendations for OMIS)


• Make recommendations for changes and/or new programs (including and building on Professor Emily Chan's recommendations for OMIS).

The action team will report on progress throughout the year, beginning in early December, then in mid-February and with a final report at the end of the 2013-14 academic year.

Action Team

• Rochelle Mason, Chair [Associate Dean of Students]


• Manya Whitaker, Assistant Professor in Education


• Anna Jaquez-Herron, Associate Director of Admissions


• Jessie Dubreuil, Reading, Rhetoric & 1st Year Programs Specialist


• Habiba Vaghoo, Assistant Professor of Chemistry


• Re Evitt, Associate Dean of the College


• Roger Smith, Director of Minority and International Students


• Sarah Hautzinger, Associate Professor of Anthropology


• Greg Capell, Senior Associate Athletic Director


• Matthew Swartsfager (student) freshman


• Thamanna Vasan (student) senior


• Ashley Johnson (student) junior


• Yuchen Zhao (student) senior

*The charge for this action team incorporates aspects from recommendation 1 and recommendation 5.

Faculty Scholarship

Charge: As mentioned in the strategic plan, building a faculty of dedicated teachers who are also committed scholars engaged in their disciplines has been and will be critical to providing the finest liberal arts education to generations of CC students and fulfilling the college's mission.

President Tiefenthaler is appointing a faculty action team to oversee the implementation of the initiative in Recommendation 1 that reads:

To continue to attract, develop, and retain an engaged faculty who are equal to the challenge of teaching on the block, we must enhance resources and flexibility to support faculty scholarship and creativity across the disciplines and activities that make up the learning experience.

The first step in enhancing resources to support faculty scholarship will be to improve the support to faculty who seek and receive external funding. In 2013-14, the team will focus on developing ideas and options for new and enhanced support for faculty who seek and receive external funding. Beyond traditional disciplines that seek external funding, the team will develop ideas for expanding scholarship opportunities to the Humanities and Social Sciences. Building on those ideas, the team will identify funding and other resource options for the new support systems.

Team has three objectives to achieve in 2013-14.

• Inventory current support resources (financial, human, etc.) for faculty that seek and receive external funding. Evaluate each current resource for its effectiveness and alignment to the strategic plan and classify each resource as either something to enhance, maintain or reduce.


• Develop ideas for new forms of support for faculty that seek and receive external funding. The ideas brought forward, in order to illustrate success and progress on the initiative, should advance the support for all disciplines, promote collaboration, and provide increased flexibility for faculty who wish to seek external funding.


• By spring break, prepare a comprehensive budget for the proposals along with options for funding enhancements and new support as well as suggestions for streamlined, transparent and fair policies that will better support those receiving external funds.

Action Team

• Tess Powers, Chair


• Ralph Bertrand, Professor of Biology


• Helen Daly, Assistant Professor of Philosophy


• Lori Peck, Assistant Controller


• Joan Ericson, Professor of GREAL


• Paul Myrow, Professor of Geology


• Kristine Lang, Associate Professor of Physics


• Dana Wittmer, Assistant Professor of Political Science

Resources to Support Faculty Time for Scholarly Work

Charge: Teaching on the block requires strenuous, sustained effort and planning. Building a faculty of dedicated teachers who are also committed scholars engaged in their disciplines has been and will be critical to providing the finest liberal arts education to generations of CC students.

To continue to attract, develop, and retain an engaged faculty who are equal to the challenge of teaching on the block, we must enhance our resources and flexibility to support faculty scholarship and creativity across the disciplines and activities that make up the learning experience. During the Year of Planning, finding time for scholarly work was consistently identified by faculty as the greatest challenge to scholarly engagement. The President has asked the Faculty Executive Committee, led by Gail Murphy-Geiss, to develop ideas for how to create more time for scholarly work. As a first step, a faculty survey was conducted at the block 1 faculty meeting.

Action Team

• Gail Murphy-Geiss, Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair


• Faculty Executive Committee - Governance Committee

Recommendation 2: Build Nationally Recognized Summer and Half-Block Programs for a New Generation of Learners

Summer Programs

Administrative Execution

• Sandi Wong, Dean of the College/Dean of the Faculty


• Mark Hatch, Vice President for Enrollment


• Eric Popkin, Associate Dean of Global, Community and Summer Programs


• Ann Van Horn, Assistant Dean of Summer Session

Dynamic Half-Block Program

Administrative Execution

• Mike Edmonds, Vice President for Student Life/Dean of Students


• Eric Popkin, Associate Dean of Global, Community and Summer Programs


• Jane Linnenburger, consultant

Special "block breaks" for Alumni and Parents

Administrative Execution

• Sean Pieri, Vice President for Advancement


• Anita Pariseau, Director of Alumni Relations

Recommendation 3: Create an Innovation Institute

The Innovation Institute

Brainstorming workshop scheduled for October 19, 2013

Recommendation 4: Enhance our Distinctive Place of Learning - Our Campus - to Support our Engaged, Globally Connected Academic Community and Embody our Regional and Historical Identity

Campus Master Plan

Charge: As outlined in the strategic plan, CC's identity as a distinctive place of learning depends on developing a relationship between the campus physical environment and the functions of our institution. In order to enhance our campus, we must provide a sustainable landscape and built environment that is in harmony with our educational mission and embodies our regional and historical identity and fosters our collaborative approach to teaching aand learning.

President Tiefenthaler is appointing a knowledge development team to oversee the initiative to develop a campus master plan. With the assistance of outside expertise, the knowledge team will work with the campus community, administration and BOT to develop a plan for the college's physical spaces and built environment.

The team will begin its work by developing an RFP, interviewing and recommending an outside consultant. Together with the consultant, the team will work with the campus community, administration and BOT to develop a comprehensive plan.

To ensure coherence campus design as related to aesthetics, sustainability, and the educational mission; and help guide and shape each new project in the coming decades.

In keeping with our liberal arts aspirations, an aim for the master plan is the design and creation of aesthetically adventurous places and spaces that encourage formal and informal learning, traditional and technology-enhanced educational experiences, curricular and co-curricular activities, intercollegiate and intramural athletics, and spontaneous intellectual encounters, along with personal reflection.

The team has five objectives to achieve in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

• In the fall, develop RFP, interview and make recommendations to President for the outside consultant.


• In the winter, prepare a project plan for the completion of the campus master plan.


• At the end of 2013-14 academic year prepare a progress report.


• In the summer of 2014, submit preliminary, concept plan to President.


• In early fall 2014, submit the final proposed campus master plan to President.

Knowledge Development Team

• Robert Moore, Chair


• Ken Ralph, Director of Athletics


• Darrell Killian, Assistant Professor in Biology


• Tim Fuller, Professor of Political Science


• Ruth Kolarik, Professor of Art


• Don Davidson, Interim Director of Purchasing/Facilities Support Manager


• John Lauer, Senior Associate Dean of Student Life/Director of Residential Life


• Lisa Lister, Public Services/Collections Librarian


• Jan Edwards, Director of Disability Services


• George Eckhardt, Campus Planner


• David Wright (student) junior


• Allie Romo (student) senior


• Isaac Green (student) senior

Communication Plan

Charge: As outlined in the strategic plan, together with a master campus plan for the physical spaces and built environment, the college -
Will develop a master communications plan to present the college to our constituencies and to the world.

President Tiefenthaler is appointing a knowledge development team to oversee the initiative to develop a master communications plan. With the assistance of outside expertise, the knowledge team will develop a plan for the college's official communications. The plan will offer a clear, unified message to the campus community, alumni and visitors. Our new communication efforts will reflect the nuances of our distinctive curricula and programs and our special place, signifying who we are as an academic community.

With the assistance of outside expertise, the knowledge team will develop a plan for the college's communications ranging from the continued development of our brand to the signage we use to identify our physical resources. All of which should portray a powerful, integrated message. The team will begin its work by developing an RFP, interviewing and recommending an outside consultant. Together with the consultant, the team will develop a comprehensive plan for the college's communications.

Team has five objectives to achieve in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

• In the fall, develop RFP, interview and make recommendations for the outside consultant.


• In the winter, prepare a project plan for the completion of the communications plan.


• At the end of 2013-14 academic year prepare a progress report.


• In the summer of 2014, submit preliminary, concept plan.


• Early fall 2014, submit the final proposed master communications plan.

Knowledge Development Team

• Jane Turnis, co-Chair


• Ken Ralph, co-Chair


• Ashleigh Willis, Assistant Director of Admissions


• Cesar Cervantes, Assistant Dean of Students


• Ryan Banagale, Assistant Professor of Music


• Anita Pariseau, Director of Alumni Relations


• Dylan Nelson, Assistant Professor of Film and New Media


• Steve Hayward, Associate Professor of English


• Anne Braatas, alumna


• Jorge Rivera (student), President of Cutler Publications


• Ellie Nesbit (student) senior


• Jacob Walden, (student) sophomore

Environmental Stewardship and Innovation

Charge: As outlined in the strategic plan,
Our campus should promote the liberal arts, embody the engaged and immersive teaching environment of the Block Plan, and explore the themes so important to this region - healthy living, sustainability, the value of water, and spirit of adventure. Today's students are rightly concerned about issues that affect the health and well being of communities around the world and the limited resources of this planet. The entire campus should be a living laboratory and exhibit space for critical themes and aspirations, as well as an invitation for collaboration, a sanctuary for reflection, and most of all, a place of excitement.

CC's identity as a distinctive place of learning depends on developing a relationship between the campus physical environment and the functions of our institution. In order to enhance our campus, we must provide a sustainable landscape and built environment that is in harmony with our educational mission and embodies our regional identity. In the coming decade, we will ensure that the college is recognized as a model of environmental stewardship and innovation by advancing both the study and the practice of sustainability.To achieve this recognition, we will "talk the talk and walk the walk" as we continue to reduce our environmental impact, integrating sustainability across the breadth of our curriculum more deeply and cultivating the ethic of sustainability in all aspects of campus programming. Looking forward, we have an opportunity to advance practice at the national level on a full range of issues related to sustainability - energy, materials, food, wellness, aesthetics - all the while drawing on the new power of the Innovation Institute to turn ideas into action.

President Tiefenthaler is appointing a knowledge development team to begin this work. In 2013-2014, the team will work with a Board of Trustees Strategic Planning Team to better define and recommend the college's goals for being a model of environmental stewardship and innovation.

The team will begin its work by first engaging with the campus community around the questions "what does sustainability mean for Colorado College?" and "how will the college talk the talk and walk the walk?" The team will be guided by four principles.

• Continue the reduction of our environmental impact (energy as well as food, materials, etc).


• Integrate sustainability across the breadth of our curriculum more deeply


• Cultivate the ethic of sustainability in all aspects of campus programming.


• Look outward. Meaningfully connect and engage with local and regional sustainability efforts. Think of CC being a national model for college campus engagement with the community.

In keeping with our aspirations, and our responsibility as a liberal arts college in the Rocky Mountain West, our aim is to lay the foundation for the college to advance the practice and study of environmental stewardship and innovation at the regional and national level.

The team has four objectives to achieve in 2013-14.

• In the fall, engage the college community on the question: "What does sustainability mean for Colorado College?"


• In the winter, propose goals for the college to work toward in reducing its environmental footprint and achieving other marks of being a campus known for "environmental stewardship and innovation."


• In the spring, discuss ideas for how to integrate sustainability across the curriculum more deeply and broadly.


• At the end of 2013-14 academic year, prepare a final report of recommendations.

Knowledge Development Team

• Mike Siddoway, Chair


• Howard Drossman, Professor of Environmental Science


• Marion Hourdequin, Associate Professor of Philosophy


• Laura Padilla, Assistant Professor or English


• Barbara Whitten, Professor of Physics and Pre-Engineering Advisor


• Ian Johnson, Sustainability Manager


• Mark Ferguson, Campus Energy Manager


• Leslie Weddell, College News Director


• Beth Gentry, Bon Appetit General Manager


• Tom Allen, Sodexho Supervisor


• Samantha Albert (student), junior


• Christopher Edmonds (student), senior


• Jedediah Doane (student), senior

Online Community

Administrative Action

Brian Young, Vice President for Information Technology/Chief Technology Officer

Recommendation 5: Focus on workplace excellence to foster an organization that is as innovative and dynamic as the CC academic experience

Faculty and Staff Diversity

Charge: As the strategic plan indicates, fulfilling our mission to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country requires a campus culture that supports a first-rate staff and faculty in connecting to that mission and developing enthusiasm for life-long learning, flexibility, open-mindedness, and other 21st century skills our students are acquiring. A culture that builds an inclusive community, helps each person develop as a professional, and sustains workplace excellence will advance our goals while also making CC one of the best places in the nation to work.

President Tiefenthaler has appointed a team to oversee the implementation of Recommendation 5. Representing the FEC (Gail Murphy-Geiss), the Staff Council (Bethany Grubbs) and Cabinet (Robert Moore)-the College's three overarching internal leadership groups- and the Institutional Effectiveness Committee (Dave Armstrong). This leadership team will oversee the work performed by an action team devoted specifically to the achievement of attracting and retaining a diverse employed community. The action team will include membership from the MCC, WCC and Human Resources, and will be co-chaired by the Dean of College/Dean of the Faculty and the Director or Human Resources. This group is to take concrete steps to achieve the following:

Create a campus culture that is truly creative and innovative by attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and administration and fostering an inclusive campus culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and opinions.

The team's objectives for 2013-14 include:

• Adopt innovative strategies for hiring and retention that will aid in attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and administration and fostering an inclusive campus culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and opinions.
  


• Adopt a formal program for onboarding/orientation at the college and department level that will support the goal of attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and administration and fostering an inclusive campus culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and opinions.


• The group will provide progress reports at the end of January 2014 and again before the end of the 2014-13 academic year.

Action Team

• Sandi Wong, co-Chair


• Barbara Wilson, co-Chair


• Phoebe Lostroh, Associate Professor of Biology


• Ibrahima Wade, Associate Professor of French, Italian and Arabic


• Christina Leza, Assistant Professor of Anthropology


• Celina Swedlund, Athletic Insurance Coordinator


• Nancy Fox, Staff Assistant for the Hulbert Center


• Kristin Love, Major Gift Officer


• Yolanda Lyons, Director of Internal Audit


• Jonathan Lee, Professor of Philosophy


• Paul Schilli, Talent Acquisition Manager

Workplace Excellence

Charge: As the strategic plan explains, fulfilling our mission to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country requires a campus culture that supports a first-rate staff in connecting to that mission and developing enthusiasm for life-long learning, flexibility, open-mindedness, and other 21st century skills our students are acquiring. A culture that builds an inclusive community, helps each person develop as a professional, and sustains workplace excellence will advance our goals while also making CC one of the best places in the nation to work.

President Tiefenthaler is appointing an action team to oversee the implementation of Recommendation 5. Representing the FEC, the Staff Council and Cabinet-the College's three overarching internal leadership groups- and the Institutional Effectiveness Committee, the team will take concrete steps to achieve the following:

Create a campus culture that is truly creative and innovative by attracting and retaining a diverse faculty, staff, and administration and fostering an inclusive campus culture that values different backgrounds, experiences, ideas, and opinions. Steps include:

• Adopt innovative strategies for hiring and retention. One example is the new talent acquisition manager.


• Adopt a formal program for onboarding.


• Consider and recommend other ways to ensure that CC hires and retains a highly talented, diverse staff and faculty. Create and charge a working group that includes WCC and MCC membership and representation from HR (chaired by the Dean of the College/Dean of the Faculty).

Create a top-notch professional development program that supports staff and faculty in adapting to the changing environment. Steps include:

• Develop a shared leadership philosophy and set of competencies. Create and charge a working group to make recommendations in a Block Project format.


• Create programs for staff and faculty to build those identified skills, using CC's growing supervisor training and wellness programs as a base.


• Develop new efforts to train staff members in specific skills designed to promote and enrich collaborative and cross-functional work.


• Develop new ways to increase informal interaction across departments all over the campus.

To strengthen our culture and improve workplace excellence, build strong internal communication, vibrant collaboration, and organizational transparency as strategic assets. Steps include:

• Establish a formal internal communication function.


• Encourage each department to create and use an internal communication plan.


• Promote face-to-face interaction among the staff.


• Establish cross-functional projects and block projects, two new categories of collaborative work designed to bring new levels of coherence and support to work across administrative divisions.


• Seek an innovative physical space to encourage shared work.


• Work together and with other leaders to establish clear policies, increase alignment and strengthen business practices in a number of critical areas. The aim is to ensure that our infrastructure is ready to support these new approaches, as well as implement the strategic plan. Included in this category of work is the launch of the Policy Website and the Who Decides? Project.

First steps might include determining the sequence in which the parts of Recommendation 5 should be implemented and a budget for the work. The team should also refer to the 2013 report of the Colorado College SCRUM team for guidance and ideas. Formed to extend the work of Institutional Effectiveness Committee, the SCRUM team recommended specific, implementable ways to strengthen the College as an organization.

The action team will report on progress at the end of January 2014, again at end of the 2013-14 academic year and again one year from the beginning of its work. At that time, progress will be evaluated and the next year's work set in motion.

Leadership Team

• Robert Moore, Chair


• Gail Murphy-Geiss [FEC], Associate Professor of Sociology


• Dave Armstrong [IEC], Director of Information Technology


• Bethany Grubbs, [Staff Council], Student Life Specialist

Leadership Philosophy

Charge: As the strategic plan explains, fulfilling our mission to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country requires a campus culture that supports a first-rate staff in connecting to that mission and developing enthusiasm for life-long learning, flexibility, open-mindedness, and other 21st century skills our students are acquiring. A culture that builds an inclusive community, helps each person develop as a professional, and sustains workplace excellence will advance our goals while also making CC one of the best places in the nation to work.

President Tiefenthaler has appointed a leadership team to oversee the implementation of Recommendation 5. Representing the FEC (Chair Gail Murphy-Geiss), the Staff Council (Co-Chair Bethany Grubbs) and Cabinet (Robert Moore, VP)-the College's three overarching internal leadership groups- and the Institutional Effectiveness Committee (Dave Armstrong). This leadership team will oversee the work performed by an action team that will operate using the new Block Project format (accomplishing a defined project in a block or two). As part of the initiative to -

Create a top-notch professional development program that supports staff and faculty in adapting to the changing environment

- the working group is tasked with drafting a shared leadership philosophy and set of competencies for recommendation to the Workplace Excellence Leadership Team. These recommendations will be used to develop the programming of our professional development program.

The Block Project, which will begin in Block 2 and be completed by the end of Block 4, will result in a draft of a:

• College Leadership Philosophy


• Set of core competencies that are align with the leadership philosophy and the college's mission and vision.

Action Team

• Bruce Coriell, Chair


• Naomi Trujillo, Advancement Design Manager


• Mark Hille, Associate Vice President for Development


• Heather Browne, Coordinator of Off-Campus Study


• Lisa Brommer, Associate Director of Human Resources


• Jane Hilberry, Professor of English


• Jim Parco, Associate Professor of Economics and Business


• Patricia Chan, Assistant Director of Outdoor Education & Orientation

Source: Coloradocollege