Vision 2010 - Colorado College

From mapping to action: Vision 2010

Original Mappers Report – Road Mapping at Colorado College: An Updated Mission Statement and a Roadmap for the Future

Projects sparked by Vision 2010 include the State of the Rockies Project, the Partnership for Civic Engagement, the Public Interest Fellowship Program, Western Skies, Cornerstone Arts Initiative and the Long Range Development Plan. Find out how to support these and other worthwhile programs at the college.

Please share comments or questions with the advancement office.

"I challenge you to find ways to make Colorado College – already a very good enterprise – even better between now and 2010." – Dick Celeste, president of Colorado College

Vision 2010 Progress Report

The essence of Vision 2010, the result of a comprehensive examination by the entire college community of Colorado College’s mission and goals, is our first core value: to honor the life of the mind.  The initiatives in Vision 2010 build on our existing strengths in an effort to translate our values into reality: do we indeed provide the best liberal arts education in the country? Not yet. To fulfill this mission we must increasingly match our performance to our promise, moving toward a new level of intellectual rigor, a more diverse and respectful community, and a 21st-century campus.

Rigorous Intellectual Experience

Our central challenge is to raise and sustain expectations of student performance and increase interactions between students and faculty, simultaneously taking a hard look at how we deliver a liberal arts education.  This entails examining what we expect students to learn, how we use the Block Plan, how students integrate their in-class and out-of-class experiences, among other elements.

Key Accomplishments 2003-present:

• 18 new tenure-track faculty positions
• More rigorous standards for promotion and tenure
• Revised curriculum
• Fewer short term faculty
• Community-based learning and civic engagement
• Revised all-college requirements (diverse cultures & critiques, the West in time, and scientific investigation of the natural world)
• Increased faculty research funding

Diverse Respectful Community

If we want even smarter and more diverse students, we must increase merit and need-based financial aid and other recruitment tools in order to compete.  We need to attract significantly more international students.  Once we get them here, we must better support and mentor students to keep them. If we want a more diverse faculty and staff, we must recruit proactively and intentionally – and then retain them through compensation, recognition, sense of shared purpose, and community.

Key Accomplishments 2003-present:

• Increased selectivity of student body
• Larger and more diverse applicant pool for students
• Improved student retention and graduation rate
• Campus climate surveys
• Support program for First Generation students

Next-Generation Campus

We envision a safe and sustainable campus with major new and renovated facilities, coherent aesthetic elements and community engagement.  Buildings such as the Cornerstone Arts Center and a new Library will support interdisciplinary work, community on campus, and student recruitment.  Creative use of classroom space and technology will enhance Block Plan teaching and learning. And outreach to the adjacent neighborhood will promote community and intergenerational engagement.

Key Accomplishments 2003-present:

• Cornerstone Arts Center completed
• Palmer Hall and Packard Hall renovated
• Library and Health/Wellness Center planning underway
• Renovation of historic mansions (Lennox/Glass multicultural house, Jackson house)
• Addition of InterFaith house, Synergy house, Civic Engagement house, Living--Learning community
• LEED sustainable architecture certification for Tutt Science Center
• Composting, recycling, and xeriscaping
• Reduced water use, energy use, and waste through aCClimate14 initiative

MAJOR CHALLENGES

• Diversifying the student body and faculty
• Significantly increasing endowment for financial aid
• Strengthening tenure-track faculty and enriching the Block Plan experience
• Funding new buildings

Funding the Vision

For the most up-to-date campaign progress, please check the Achieving Our Vision site.