Priddy leaders welcoming new students at NSO on August 18, 2025. Photo by Jamie Cotten / Colorado College

While we have already welcomed a number of new students to campus, including fall athletes and Bridge Scholars, we are looking forward to greeting the entirety of the Class of 2030, as well as incoming transfer students, on the first day of New Student Orientation, Monday, Aug. 17! Many students will begin arriving in Colorado Springs early and may choose to stop by various campus offices to take care of outstanding business—we thank you for helping welcome these new CC community members when you see them on campus.

We encourage staff members who will be on campus on Monday, August 17 to be aware of increased traffic in the C1 (Tutt Library) lot and the Colorado College Parking Garage, as these will be used as unloading zones for residence halls and visitor parking. 

The Welcome Back Lunch (Fall Conference 2026) is coming up on Thursday, Aug. 20 from noon-2 p.m. on Tava Quad. Please register today and make plans to begin the new academic year with colleagues from across the College.

This year, Fall and Spring Conference have swapped formats to make it possible for more faculty members to participate in conference sessions. Faculty and staff can look forward to a full conference program in January, while the August gathering will offer an opportunity to share lunch, hear remarks from President Manya Whitaker and Professor & AEC Chair Steve Hayward, and reconnect at the start of the academic year.

This event is hosted by the Academic Events Committee (AEC) and the Office of the President.

Whether you’re new to Cascade or looking to sharpen your web skills, the Office of Communications & Marketing offers training throughout the academic year to help you create clearer, more accessible, and easier-to-maintain CC webpages. Opportunities include drop-in web author Open Office Hours, quick 15-minute Tiny Tuesday Zoom sessions on practical topics, and Cascade onboarding for new and returning web authors.

This fall’s topics range from creating better URLs and using accordions effectively to updating documents and images without creating duplicate files. Visit the Web Author Training Schedule for upcoming dates, session details, and Zoom registration links.

Photo provided by Athletics.

The Colorado College Tigers kick of the 2026 Women’s Soccer season this afternoon when they welcome the Creighton Bluejays to Stewart Field. The program embarks on its 49th season under fifth year head coach Keri Sanchez.

The Tigers had a mixed bag of results in 2025 for the Tigers, as CC finished just shy of the .500 mark for the season at 5-6-7. The team’s seven draws were the most in program history, topping the previous most of five which the Tigers had reached twice (2022, 2012). The Tigers nearly had three of a kind through the non-conference schedule as they sat at 3-3-2 through the first month of the season, before embarking on what would be a 2-3-5 record in Mountain West action. Goalkeeping was a sticking point for the Tigers with Regan Wallace ’27 between the sticks for the entire fall season. The Tigers posted six clean sheets over the campaign, bringing Wallace’s career total to 13 which ranks in a tie for tenth most in Tiger history, even with Kristin Masunaga (1999-2002). The Tigers two leading scorers are both back for 2026, with Kendall Memoly ’27 (6g, 1a, 13pts) set for her senior season, as Finley Schoenbeck ’27 (4g, 3a, 11pts) reprises her role on the wing for the Tigers this season. Tyler Rose ’27 and Lily Smith ’28 were the remaining Tigers from last fall that recorded perfect attendance in the 18 matches played by CC. Smith, the Tigers starting centerback, and Rose, a go to forward in the middle, both started every match and recorded over 1,000 minutes a piece last season.

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Photo provided by the FAC.

How does a biologist read a photograph? What does a painting mean to a historian? What does a sociologist find in a print that an economist might interpret differently?

This gallery is a site of that kind of looking. Each fall, Colorado College’s First-Year Program (FYP) immerses incoming students in a rigorous introduction to liberal arts learning through two foundational seminars: CC100: Critical Inquiry and CC120: First-Year Writing. These courses encourage students to consider how different disciplinary methods shape their perception and understanding of things. The FAC Museum joins the conversation, offering a site where different disciplines can come together.

Think like presents works from the FAC’s permanent collection—paintings, prints, photographs, and drawings spanning time and subjects—as shared objects of study for multiple FYP courses. We invite students and faculty from different fields to bring their distinct questions, methods, and expertise to the same works of art, revealing how meaning accumulates, shifts, and surprises depending on how you look, how you think.

This exhibit run August 17-December 18. For more information, please visit our website.

Nitra Olsen gives a ceramics demonstration at the FAC during a free Family Adventure Day May 30, 2026. Photo by Mark Reis / Colorado College

Keeping our policies clear, consistent, and up to date is an important part of supporting our employees. Cabinet recently approved updates to our Holiday and Campus Break Pay Policy.   

Key updates include: 

These changes promote fairness, simplify payroll administration, and recognize employees who provide essential services during holidays and campus break periods. 

The Staff Handbook has been renamed the Employee Handbook to better reflect that many situations apply to both staff and faculty. 

Additional updates include: 

Thank you for taking a few minutes to review these updates as we continue working to keep our policies clear, consistent, and employee-focused.

The HR team has been working behind the scenes to update our website and create a more user-friendly experience for employees. Our goal is to make it easier to find important information, access resources, and connect with the support you need. 

As part of this ongoing effort, we have refreshed content, improved navigation, and organized resources to better serve our campus community. 

We invite you to explore the updated HR website and see what’s new! This is an ongoing project, and we will continue making improvements to ensure HR resources are easy to find and useful for all employees. 

Looking ahead, the optional fall check-in conversation will be available Monday, Sept. 1-Wednesday, Sept. 30. With the next required conversation still several months away, this optional check-in offers an opportunity to revisit goals, discuss progress, and identify any support needs before the next required cycle. 

Important: Employees who received a rating of one or two in the last performance conversation are required to complete the fall check-in. 

The next required performance conversation will be available Monday, Dec. 7, 2026-Monday, Jan. 25, 2027. 

If you have questions, please reach out to us at hr@coloradocollege.edu.   

The Excel at CC program is seeking proposals for upcoming sessions. 

Do you have a skill, strategy, or insight that could help others do their work at CC? If so, we want to hear from you! 

Use this form to submit your proposal.  

For questions, contact Ali LaForce at alaforce2025@coloradocollege.edu.  

Your perspective helps showcase what makes CC a special place to work and gives prospective colleagues a meaningful glimpse into our community. Whether it’s what you appreciate about your team, growth opportunities, the sense of community on campus, or what makes CC a meaningful place to work, we’d love to hear about your experience. 

Fill out this form to share why you love working at CC! 

CC has launched a voluntary retirement incentive opportunity for eligible employees who are considering retirement. The program is designed to provide additional support and flexibility for those who are ready to begin the next chapter of their journey. 

Eligible employees are encouraged to review the program materials and apply during the designated application period (Friday, July 24-Tuesday, Sept. 8). Participation is entirely voluntary, and employees are welcome to explore the opportunity without obligation. 

To help employees make informed decisions, retirement planning resources will be available on campus Thursday, Aug. 27. Representatives will be available to answer questions and provide retirement-related guidance. Location and time details will be announced soon. 

The HR team is also available to assist throughout the process. If you have questions about the program or would like to discuss your options, please contact HR at hr@coloradocollege.edu, or schedule an in-person meeting with a member of our team. 

We recognize that retirement is an important personal decision, and are committed to providing information, resources, and support every step of the way. 

As we welcome students back to campus and begin a new academic year, we recognize that change is a natural part of both our personal and professional lives. New processes, shifting priorities, organizational changes, and evolving responsibilities can bring many emotions, from excitement and optimism to uncertainty or concern. These feelings are a normal part of navigating change. 

With our campus continuing to grow and adapt, Employee Relations is here to support you through. We are available to listen, answer questions, provide guidance, and connect you with helpful resources. 

In addition, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available as a confidential resource for employees seeking support with personal or work-related challenges. EAP offers services and tools to help employees navigate change, build resilience, and maintain their wellbeing. 

By approaching change with empathy, open communication, and support for one another, we can continue building a strong and connected campus community.

Visit the HR Updates page to check out past editions of People Connections, along with recent updates from HR.

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