As we begin the new academic year, I want to update you on Project 2024 and share with you our plans for Year Two. In Year One, we dedicated time to figuring out “what we hope to do.” In Year Two, we are focusing on “how we do it.”

Last year we also discussed challenges facing higher education now and in the near future. This year we’ll study their effects on CC and identify possible responses.

This is where you can find a summary of Year One and all updates and upcoming engagement opportunities.

We had a busy summer, with Year Two campus engagement beginning in June. Staff attended 13 sessions to delve deeper into aspects of the three areas for action outlined in the Year One Report:

Also, in June, the college’s Board of Trustees discussed two aspects of the overarching “connection” theme: connecting students’ CC education to their post-graduate lives and finding ways the college can reinforce its connections to the city, region, country, and world.

Our summer engagement concluded in late August with Faculty Forum on Aug. 23 and Fall Conference on Aug. 25. The entire forum was devoted to the “learning in and beyond the classroom” area for action. Fall Conference discussion sessions touched on learning in/out of the classroom, resources, our people, structures, and observing limits. In all, nearly 300 members of the CC community participated in Project 2024 discussions this summer. Thank you for engaging in this process!

Summer engagement marked the start of the first phase of our plan for Year Two. There will be four phases in 2022-23:

The idea-generating phase began in June and will conclude by the end of September. Students are invited to participate in this phase by responding to a survey available now through the end of Block 1. Students, please check your email for information on how to participate.

Later this month, the Project 2024 Steering Committee will finalize the plan for phase two of Year Two, “identifying options” and will provide details on how members of the campus community may participate.

The Project 2024 work is guided by who we are and what we do and by our shared values.

We are a place of learning committed to supporting our students.

We provide a liberal arts education in a residential setting that builds community and promotes learning beyond the classroom using the Block Plan, which features small classes and an intensive one-course-at-a-time structure.

We value the health and well-being of the campus community, our work on antiracism, ensuring equity and access, protecting the environment, and providing clear, transparent, and effective communication.

Please check our website for ongoing updates and opportunities. I look forward to sharing more to come in Blocks 2 and 3.

Sincerely,