Save the Date for: “Calling In the Call Out Culture with Loretta J. Ross”

Calling In the Call Out Culture with Dr. Loretta J. Ross

Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021, 6 p.m. MT
This is a virtual event. Register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Join activist and public intellectual, Dr. Loretta J. Ross in calling in the call out culture and in the fight against white supremacy. How can we dismantle hate if the methods we use replicate it? Dr. Ross asks us to contemplate how we can instead intentionally and collectively shift our culture in order to build a united movement for human rights. She notes that in our well-intentioned activism we often use our radical consciousness to harm each other, while we are together hurting and healing, instead of coming together to fight a common oppressor. In this talk, Dr. Ross will discuss how Calling Out/Calling In is not another false binary but rather a continuum of accountability.

Dr. Ross is associate professor of the study of women and gender at Smith College, where she teaches courses on white supremacy, human rights, and calling in the call out culture.

She was the national coordinator of the SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective (2005-2012) and co-created the theory of reproductive justice. Ross was the national co-director of the March for Women’s Lives (April 25, 2004) in Washington, D.C., the largest protest march in U.S. history at that time. She founded the National Center for Human Rights Education in Atlanta, Georgia, launched the Women of Color Program for the National Organization for Women, and was the national program director of the National Black Women’s Health Project. One of the first African American women to direct a rape crisis center, Ross was the third executive director of the D.C. Rape Crisis Center.

This event is open to all Colorado College students, alumni, faculty, and staff and community members from the Colorado Springs area and beyond.

This event is part of Dismantling Hate: An Educational Series Toward Understanding and Action. This series, for the academic year 2021-22, is a campus-wide initiative that provides programming for CC students, faculty, staff, and alumni and community members from the Colorado Springs area. The purpose and goal of this educational series is to support our communities in better understanding hate — the root and outcomes — and to motivate people to take action to dismantle hate. Each educational program in the series will feature a conversation with an activist, broadly defined, who will share their work and experiences dismantling hate against marginalized communities.

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Gratitude for our CC Community

Dear CC Community,

Most of the colorful leaves from our long and beautiful autumn have fallen, making the magnificent views of Pikes Peak, or Tava, as the Ute people call it, more visible over Cutler Hall. There are gifts in each season.

As I become accustomed to the rhythm of the block, I continue to be amazed by the capacity of our community to accomplish so much in so little time. An important part of that ebb and flow is the block break, which gives us time to reflect on what we’ve learned from our accomplishments, our failures, and our connections with others.

This is the season for gratitude, but I have felt it and witnessed it so much throughout my first few months at CC. I am grateful that we are living, working, teaching, and learning in person this year. The connection, energy, and support of this community are palpable. I am grateful for all who make that possible – our students, staff, faculty, families, alumni, and community – and all who support our efforts to do so as safely as we can.

As we embark on Fall Break, I hope we reflect on the gifts of learning, the people who brighten our days, and this place that brings us together. I wish everyone a wonderful and rejuvenating week.

Sincerely,

L. Song Richardson

President

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Fall Break COVID-19 Reminders: Testing + Boosters

Dear Students,

Thank you for your continued participation in public health protocols including testing and indoor masking. Your participation has supported our response to the recent spike in infections.

Implemented at the onset of the spike, additional screening testing detected existing infections and effectively prevented further spread. After peaking mid-last week at 77, the number of new weekly cases has rapidly declined, to 26 as of today. Most students who received positive test results have completed their isolation periods.

Even though we are taking care and adhering to protocols at CC, COVID-19 transmission rates are high in El Paso County and in much of the country. You can look up transmission levels at your destination here to inform your masking practices.

Common risks for exposure include indoor activities such as visiting friends and family, parties and other gatherings, eating in restaurants, and traveling.

It’s important that we take extra care to reduce risk of COVID-19 spread as we prepare to spend time with friends, family, and others during Fall Break. Please take steps to protect yourself and others:

Follow CDC guidance for domestic and internat ional travel. Depending on your destination and vaccination status, this may entail testing. See testing resources below.
Protect family members who may be more at risk of severe illness, even if they are vaccinated:
- Test prior to leaving campus;
- Consider testing prior to attending holiday gatherings. At-home antigen tests (not to be confused with antibody tests) such as the BinaxNow, iHealth, BD Veritor, and others are now more widely available from pharmacies and Amazon.
- Get tested if you’re not feeling well.
Do NOT travel or interact with others if you’re experiencing COVID-19 symptoms such as cough, sore throat, fever, chills, headache, fatigue, loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea or diarrhea. Stay home and away from others.
Avoid large gatherings and mask up indoors.
Get your COVID-19 booster shot. Due to wide spread, Colorado and some other states now recommend that all people 18+ get a booster dose.

Symptomatic Testing

The Student Health Center will be open for normal hours through the end of Block 3 (8 a.m.-noon and 1-7:30 p.m.on Wednesday) with limited hours Nov. 18 and 19 (noon-5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday). Contact the SHC, (719) 389-6384, if you’re feeling sick. They will help you with testing for COVID-19 and a range of other illnesses, and treatment.
During Fall Break, beginning Saturday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 28, students should contact the Optum Medical Center Point Urgent Care, (719) 636-2999, if experiencing symptoms or feeling unwell.

In addition to COVID-19 testing, the provider will be able to test for a range of other illnesses, such as influenza, strep, etc., to help you recover as quickly as possible.

Students who receive positive test results during Fall Break must follow isolation protocols and should contact their Block 4 professor to discuss the need for support, adaptation, or assistance with the course.

Screening/Asymptomatic Testing
Asymptomatic testing is available prior to Fall Break at Boettcher Wednesday (8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m.). Starting on November 29, Screening/Asymptomatic testing will be administered by eMed. Please remember to follow the instructions in the email you received from noreply@navica.abbot to download the Navica app and connect your account to be ready to start testing with eMed after Fall Break.

Think you may have been exposed to the Coronavirus?

Wear a mask when around others;
If you’re asymptomatic, make an appointment for testing 5-7 days after the exposure, see guidance above;
If symptomatic, note the provider hours above and call to make an appointment;
Contact the COVID Response Coordinator, (719) 413-9588, who will follow up as soon as possible.

All students staying on campus during Fall Break will have access to campus dining options, virtual activities and to-go kits, small-scale on-campus programming, and other supports. Every day, students in isolation will get a check from a COVID coordinator, and daily meal/mail/prescription delivery continues over Fall Break. Students on campus will also have access to virtual and to-go activities from Campus Activities during the break.

You can view college COVID-19 vaccination rates, testing, and exposure data on the CC COVID-19 dashboard. Our COVID-19 risk mitigation information is available here.

Regardless of your plans, please take care of yourself, as well as those around you. Many resources are available to you over this extended break and the Office of Campus Activities has put together this Fall Break Digest with information, events, and activities planned for those on-campus.

We wish you a healthy and restful break.

Sincerely,

Andrea Bruder
Chief Public Health Advisor to the President

Mateo Muñoz
Chair, COVID-19 Policy and Implementation Committee

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Asymptomatic COVID-19 Screening Testing for Students Through eMed

Starting after Fall Break, our COVID-19 asymptomatic screening testing program will be administered by eMed, a telehealth provider.

The Student Health Center, located in the Yalich Student Services Center, will continue providing tests for symptomatic COVID-19 testing, follow-up testing to positive antigen tests, and testing after exposure.

All students will take a COVID test at the end of Fall Break. The data from this baseline testing will inform frequency of testing moving forward.

Later today, Nov. 16, all students will receive an email from noreply@navica.abbott (sent to your CC email account). Follow the instructions in the email to download the Navica app, create an account, and enter the Connect Code to connect your account to Colorado College. Once you have connected your account, you are ready to participate in testing. Create your account and connect to Colorado College by Monday, Nov. 22. If you haven’t received the email invitation, please check your junk email folder, and contact us at covid19@coloradocollege.edu as needed.

Prior to the beginning of Block 4, all students, except for those who have received a positive COVID-19 test result in the 90 days prior, will receive an email from covid19@coloradocollege.edu prompting them to pick up a BinaxNow test kit. BinaxNow test kits will be available at the Tutt Library circulation desk beginning
Monday, Nov. 29,at 8 a.m. You must bring and swipe your Gold Card to pick up a test kit. Students with exemptions who test twice weekly may pick up two test kits at a time each week.

For the initial testing after Fall Break, students residing in Mathias, South, and Loomis Halls should pick up their test kit at their hall’s front desk beginning Monday, Nov. 29, during desk hours.

Students will self-administer the test, e.g., in their room, supervised by eMed through a telehealth session. Our email communication will include detailed instructions. Students, please do not open the test kit before being prompted to do so during the telehealth session to make sure your test is recorded and counts toward the testing requirement. Please watch this short video to learn more about how to start your telehealth session and administer the test. Detailed information and FAQs about eMed testing are available here and at the bottom of this message.

We will send a separate email regarding COVID-19 testing for faculty and staff soon.

Thank you for your participation in our testing program. Please reach out to us with any questions: covid19@coloradocollege.edu.

Sincerely,

Andrea Bruder
Chief Public Health Advisor to the President

Mateo Muñoz
Chair, COVID-19 Policy and Implementation Committee

eMed FAQs

What kind of test does CC use for screening testing?
The BinaxNow COVID-19 Ag Card is an antigen test. The sample is an anterior nasal swab. Antigen tests (not to be confused with antibody tests) detect COVID-19 infections very reliably during the infectious period, making them an excellent tool for screening testing. Their tendency not to pick up prior infections after recovery will help to reduce isolation needs. Because some false positive results are to be expected, all positive antigen test results are followed up by a molecular test at the Student Health Center located in the Yalich Student Services Center.

How is the test administered?
Students self-administer the test, supervised by a telehealth provider, eMed.

How will I receive my test results?
You will receive your test results via the Navica app as well as via email.

What happens if I receive a positive BinaxNow test result through eMed?
If you’ve received a positive test result, put on your mask (unless you are in your room by yourself with the door closed) and stay away from others. Our COVID-19 response  coordinator  will call you and discuss next steps. Students will need to schedule a follow-up test at the Student Health Center to confirm the test result. Do NOT go to the Student Health Center before speaking with a COVID-19 response team member. All positive test results will be followed up with a molecular test at the Student Health Center, located in the Yalich Student Services Center. Please stay near your phone.

If the follow-up test is positive, the COVID-19 Response Team  will help you with isolation housing needs, meal and mail delivery, prescriptions, and other needs.
Students should contact their professor to discuss their needs for support, adaptation, or assistance with class.
If the follow-up test is negative, you have no symptoms, and there’s been no known exposure, you will not need to isolate.

Will testing still be available at Boettcher?
No. However, the Student Health Center, located in the Yalich Student Services Center, will continue providing tests for symptomatic COVID-19 testing, testing after exposure, and follow-up testing to positive antigen tests.

What should I do if I have symptoms?
If you experience symptoms of COVID-19, please stay home. Students should contact the Student Health Center (719) 389-6384 to make an appointment with a provider who will help with testing and treatment needs. Provider appointments are available seven days a week (see schedule below). Students should also contact their professor to discuss their needs for support, adaptation, or assistance with class.

Student Health Center, Yalich Student Services Center:
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m.-noon and 1-7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Can I use these test results for travel, attending events, etc.?
Yes. Simply show your test result on the Navica app.

Who has access to the test results?
Each student has access to their own test results via the Navica app; eMed reports the test results to the county health department (required) and CC. At CC, the Testing Team, the Student Health Center, and the COVID-19 Response Team have access to the test results.

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Last Chance to Submit! President’s Leadership Awards — Nov. 19

There is still time to honor individuals or groups who have made a difference in your life and the lives of others at CC.

As part of our strategic initiative to foster workplace excellence, it’s important to recognize those who are making a difference.

Submit nominations for the President’s Leadership Awards to recognize colleagues who make an impact as strong leaders, innovative role models, and positive collaborators now through the end of Block 3. The deadline to submit nominations is November 19, 2021. Previous winners were nominated by faculty or staff colleagues.

Check out examples of winning nominations to help inspire you in drafting a stand-out submission. Tips include telling a detailed story about the person or group and how they demonstrated the qualities of the award namesake, the college’s leadership philosophy, and CC’s antiracism efforts.

Nominate a deserving colleague or team of individuals, based on the following criteria:

Brian Young Community Service Award: This awardee demonstrates a continued pattern of voluntary service to the college and exceeding their job duties, as demonstrated by former Vice President for Information Technology Brian Young. The awardee must have been employed by the college for five years or more. Submit a nomination.
Victor Nelson-Cisneros Diversity and Inclusion Award: This awardee exemplifies the qualities of former Associate Dean of the College Victor Nelson-Cisneros in supporting diversity and inclusion on campus. Submit a nomination.
Glenn Brooks Innovation and Courage Award: This awardee displays the courage and innovative qualities of former Dean of the College/Dean of the Faculty Glenn Brooks, who was one of the founders of the Block Plan. Submit a nomination.
Jane Cauvel Cultivating Collaboration and Community-building Award: This awardee cultivates collaboration on campus and is a community-builder, as exemplified by Jane Cauvel, professor of philosophy emerita, and the college’s first ombudsperson. Submit a nomination.

Winners each year will receive: $2,500 cash prize, a feature on the President’s Leadership Awards website, and a leadership trophy to display for a full year. Winners will be announced in Block 5. The individuals who submit winning nominations will also be recognized.

Thank you for helping to recognize CC’s exceptional leaders, and to honor the individuals who strive to make our college great.

For questions about the awards program or the nomination process, please contact Lyrae Williams.

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Fall Break is Coming: Submit Timesheets Early

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Fall Break is fast approaching. The Payroll Office will be closed during the break, and will be processing payroll early to ensure employees get paid on November 30, 2021.

This means timesheets for the November 7-21 pay period are due early.

Submit timesheets no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, estimating your hours to be worked through November 21, 2021. If there are any changes from your estimated hours, please notify the Payroll Office when you return from Fall Break.

Supervisors, please make sure timesheets are approved no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 18, 2021.

Contact payroll with any questions at payroll@coloradocollege.edu” style=”font-weight: normal;font-weight: normal;color: #7a6646;text-decoration: underline;color: #7a6646;text-decoration: underline”>payroll@coloradocollege.edu or x6420.

Since the office is experiencing a high volume of email and voice messages, you can expect a response to your message within 24 hours of receipt.

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Doing What We Do Better: Climate Survey

Dear Staff and Faculty,

As Susan Ashley and I shared earlier this month, we are thinking about the ways we can gather valuable input from you to inform Project 2024 so we can do what we do at CC even better. An employee climate and engagement survey is an essential part of this process.

After consulting with the Staff Council chairs and the FEC, we decided to run the survey during Block 4. From Dec. 1-22, you’ll have the opportunity to share your thoughts, ideas, and feedback on what you like most about CC, what you think we could improve, and how we call on our strengths – as individuals and as an institution – to achieve our goals.

Why now? While many of you were here when the college completed climate surveys in 2013 and 2015, we have many new employees in every division in the college. This is a transitional moment at CC, with new leadership and the evolving nature of the pandemic providing us with new opportunities to do things differently. As a society, we are grappling with fundamental questions about racism and structural inequities. Some are questioning the liberal arts. I want to hear from you and understand how you feel about our campus climate and how you’re affected by these pivotal issues.

With your partnership, I hope to nurture a culture of transparency and empower us, as members of our CC community, to have powerful conversations about our priorities, our challenges, and what we need, in order to do what we do better.

Keep an eye out for additional messaging ahead of the survey’s opening date and follow-up messages throughout the month of December from our survey partner, ModernThink.

I sincerely thank you for your participation in this anonymous survey.

L. Song Richardson

President

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Fall Break Details and COVID Information Session

Dear Campus Community,

As we near the end of Block 3 and the start of Fall Break, we want to thank you for the continued adherence to our risk mitigation protocols and participation in our COVID-19 testing program. Your actions have enabled us to experience an in-person Fall Semester. Thank you for staying diligent.

We have brought together campus leaders to share details about where we are with positivity rates, testing, vaccinations, quarantine protocols, attending class, travel and student gathering policies, and accessing health services on campus, along with on-campus supports during Fall Break. The two of us, along with Rochelle Dickey, dean of students/vice president for student life, and Heather Horton, senior director of student health and well-being, share a wealth of information in the info session video at the end of this message.

Current COVID Stats
Since Monday, the Student Health Center has performed 1,477 COVID-19 tests, with lower positivity as the week progressed. Screening testing continues on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All students who haven’t yet tested should schedule their test here. Our COVID-19 dashboard has been updated with the latest data for the CC community.

Fall Break COVID-19 Protocols

Please continue to participate in testing; it is critical in helping to keep our community safe and in protecting others.
Those students who do not cooperate with contact tracers or who do not adhere to travel protocols after receiving a positive test result will be referred to the Community Standards & Conduct process.
Students who receive positive test results this week may need to adjust their Fall Break travel plans as they will have to isolate for 10 days and may not travel, per the local health department’s requirements.

o The health department allows travel by personal vehicle if students travel home to isolate. The destination should not be farther away than what would require one tank of gas, limiting interaction and transmission.

o Students who travel home must continue and complete isolation there.

o Family members at the destination should be made aware of the risk of transmission.

Students who received a positive COVID test and who disregard isolation rules and travel by plane or public transportation can be put on a “No Board” list.
Every day, students in isolation will get a check from a COVID coordinator and daily meal/mail/prescription delivery continues over Fall Break. Students on campus will also have access to virtual and to-go activities from Campus Activities during the break.
Students who have not participated in testing since Nov. 1 will be contacted directly; if you have not been tested please sign up for a testing time as soon as possible. Testing times are available this Sat. and Sun., Nov. 13-14, noon-2 p.m.
The COVID Response Team will work with students on the process for exiting isolation over the break.
If you have received a positive COVID-19 test result and need to alter your travel plans and isolate on campus, the COVID Response Team will alert the Residential Experience Team. You’ll hear from your COVID coordinator and your RLC with more information.
All students are required to take a COVID-19 test after Fall Break. As announced previously, screening testing will be administered by eMed, a telehealth provider. We will send out more information soon.
Students who receive positive test results during Fall Break will follow our isolation protocols and should contact their Block 4 professor to discuss options.

Resources and Support
CC is a residential college and does not “shut down” during Fall Break. In a typical year, several hundred students stay on campus during the break.

Students staying on campus will have access to campus dining options, virtual activities and to-go kits, small-scale on-campus programming, and other supports. View the detailed Fall Break Digest from Campus Activities.

The Student Health Center will be open for normal hours through the end of Block 3, Wed., Nov. 17, (11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; 8 a.m.-noon and 1-7:30 p.m. Monday- Wednesday), with limited hours Nov. 18 and 19 (noon-5 p.m.). Contact the SHC, (719) 389-6384, if you’re feeling sick. They will determine care and necessary testing.
Symptomatic Testing

o Beginning Saturday, Nov. 20, through Sunday, Nov. 28, students should contact the Optum Medical Center Point Urgent Care, (719) 636-2999, if they are experiencing symptoms or feeling unwell.

Asymptomatic Testing

o Asymptomatic testing is available prior to Fall Break at Boettcher Monday-Wednesday, Nov. 15-17 (8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m.).

Feeling stressed or overwhelmed? The Wellness Resource Center provides many online resources to help manage anxiety and stress. The Counseling Center counselor-on-call and after-hours access to a mental health provider remain available during Fall Break.

Reduce the Risk
Remember, you can still carry the virus while not experiencing symptoms and take the infection home or elsewhere. This is why it is critical to isolate if you receive a positive test result. El Paso County and other parts of the country are experiencing high transmission. We are likely to encounter the virus when out and about, and we encourage everyone to continue wearing masks while indoors, wherever you are.

We encourage ALL members of the CC community to travel responsibly.

Please follow CDC guidance for domestic and internat ional travel during COVID. Depending on your destination and vaccination status, this may entail testing. Testing is available prior to Fall Break at Boettcher.
Test prior to departure to protect family members who may be more at risk of severe illness.
Do NOT travel or interact with others if you’re feeling unwell.
Get tested if you’re sick.
Avoid large gatherings and mask up indoors.
Get your COVID-19 booster shot.

We are grateful for our CC community and appreciate your support as we continue to navigate this pandemic together.

Sincerely,

Andrea Bruder

Chief Public Health Advisor to the President

Mateo Muñoz

Chair, COVID-19 Policy and Implementation Committee

Managing COVID-19 Information Session Video

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Save the Date: Block 4 Virtual First Mondays

Mark your calendar for the final First Mondays event of the Fall Semester. Monday, Nov. 29 at 11:15 a.m., start Block 4 together, virtually, with our 1M speaker.

What is innovation, anyway? Director of Creativity & Innovation Dez Stone Menendez ’00, explores that question and what it means to expand innovation beyond the commercial sphere to the cultural, social, and personal. She will share the philosophy and guiding principles behind the Creativity & Innovation initiative at CC.

This virtual First Mondays event will take place via Zoom. Please register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The First Mondays Event Series is a campus-wide forum that aims to engage all members of the CC community, including students, staff, administrators, and faculty. The series creates opportunities for the whole community to gather, encouraging everyone to be part of the intellectual life of the college, and facilitating discourse among students, faculty, and staff, across courses, disciplines, and divisions. Classes are dismissed early on the first Monday of each block so that all may attend the First Mondays event.

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Creativity & Innovation Updates and Opportunities, Block 3, Week 3

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Updates & Opportunities
Block 3, Week 3

Block 4 First Monday Presentation
by
Director of Creativity & Innovation
Dez Stone Menendez ’00

Monday, November 29th, 2021
11:15 a.m.

View the event on the Campus Calendar here.

What is Innovation, Anyway?
Creativity & Innovation in Higher Education

In this talk, Dez Stone Menendez (’00), director of Creativity & Innovation, explores what it means to expand innovation beyond the commercial sphere to the cultural, social, and personal, and shares the philosophy and guiding principles behind the Creativity & Innovation initiative at CC. We are at a cultural moment in which challenges abound, socially, politically, economically. The world is more interdependent than ever before, and the challenges of the 21st century demand multilateral solutions that presently don’t exist. It is, therefore, critical that the current generation of college students is provided with robust opportunities to build the skills and attitudes they need to address these challenges. Although it is difficult to create a formula to prepare students for 21st century problems, there is a clear need for higher education to re-think how to help students access their own inner resources and develop the creative confidence to address areas that call out for new and radical solutions — to become changemakers in their own lives and in the world.

In keeping with CC’s history of challenging educational norms, Creativity & Innovation at CC takes a more radical approach to “innovation” than many of our peer institutions. Rather than building a stand-alone program on the edge of campus, we have taken a broader, more integrated approach by actively collaborating with faculty and co-curricular partners in all areas of the college to develop programs that help students learn to: navigate ambiguity, communicate across difference, build resilience, and move ideas into action. In this talk, Dez shares how Creativity & Innovation is working to amplify and support opportunities for students to develop the capacities that will prepare them to face the complex challenges – and unique opportunities — of our rapidly changing world.

Dez Stone Menendez (’00) started as the director of Creativity & Innovation at Colorado College in September 2016. She began working as a serial entrepreneur at age 22. The orienting principle of her work is to empower people to lead larger and more creative lives. Driven by a commitment to intuition and possibility, her experience is broad and varied: from building tiny homes and designing and manufacturing lifestyle products to incubating tech applications; there is no subject that Dez doesn’t find interesting. She founded the Possibility Room in 2009, which began as a startup incubator in Seattle focused on executing new businesses and expanding existing businesses. Dez believes that true innovation results from listening to your own unique knowing. She spends a lot of time thinking about how to cultivate containers that allow for this. She is more interested in questions than answers: What happens when we allow space for the unknown? What kind of freedom is available when we decide to be driven by values and intuition rather than convention? What is innovation, anyway?

Creativity & Innovation
Faculty & Staff Funding Opportunities

Creativity & Innovation offers two types of funding for faculty and staff: Creative Exploration Grants and Changemaker Collaboration Grants. Tenure-track faculty, adjunct faculty, lecturers, year-long visitors, and staff members are eligible to apply.

Our funding goals include:

Developing partnerships across divisions and disciplines that test and implement transformative practices in teaching, scholarship, outreach, and programming.
Integrating interdisciplinary thinking into classes and campus culture.
Moving theory into practice to engage faculty, staff, and/or students in applied problem-solving.
Exploring projects and activities that stimulate creativity and require risk-taking.
Developing and implementing anti-racist pedagogy and practices.

Creative Exploration Grants: Support smaller projects that allow faculty and staff members to explore a topic, process, or collaboration.

Individuals or teams may apply for up to $2,000 to support a project’s direct costs.
Grants are intended to support exploratory projects that do not presently have funding sources.
Projects that stimulate creativity and model productive risk-taking are encouraged.

Changemaker Collaboration Grants: Support teams of up to six to meet, dream, and plan for larger-scale projects that have the potential for transformative effects for faculty, staff, and students at Colorado College. Teams may comprise of all faculty, all staff, or a mix of both.

Applicant teams must comprise of at least two faculty and/or staff members representing different departments/programs. Teams of three or more members may include more than one representative from a single department or program.
Projects must engage students, faculty, and/or staff in applied problem-solving either within or outside of a class context.

Application deadlines for Creative Exploration and Changemaker Faculty & Staff Collaboration Grants for academic year 2021-2022:

Block Application Deadline           Awards Announced    Earliest Project Start Date
   4 Nov. 29, 2021                        Dec. 10, 2021                        Jan. 3, 2022
   5 Jan. 24, 2022                        Feb. 4, 2022                          Feb. 21, 2022
   6 Feb. 21, 2022                        March 4, 2022                      March 28, 2022
   7 March 28, 2022                    April 8, 2022                         April 25, 2022
   8 April 25, 2022                       May 6, 2022                          May 23, 2022

Creativity & Innovation holds regular information sessions about funding opportunities. The next session will take place at 4 p.m. January 12th, during Block J.
Join here: https://coloradocollege.zoom.us/my/jessicahunterlarsen

For more information and application materials visit:
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/creativity-innovation/faculty-resources/grants-funding/index.html

Questions? Contact: Jessica Hunter, Associate Director of Creativity & Innovation
jhunter@coloradocollege.edu

Dynamic Half-Block

Innate Mindfulness: Exploring our Inner Ecology for Thriving on a Changing Planet

Instructor: Myra L. Jackson
Sponsored by Creativity & Innovation at CC
Email: mjackson@coloradocollege.edu
Dates: Jan. 11-21, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. MT each day. Hybrid format, in person when possible, virtual attendance available.
Registration is open.
To register: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/careercenter/our-programs/non-credit-half-block.html

Course description: We all hold basic – although often unconscious – assumptions about the very nature of reality, including our relationship with what is commonly called “nature” or “the environment.” As well, we have assimilated a variety of sensorial habits or filters that affect the way we perceive the world. These assumptions – along with sensorial and cognitive habits – may influence our ability to perceive the problems we face and also limit our imagination, making it more difficult to conceive of a path toward ecological sustainability and social well-being. As Albert Einstein noted, “the significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” We may need a new vision of reality, or even a new modality of consciousness – a more ecological worldview –to address our most urgent crises and to create a more just and sustainable human society. This experiential course is an introductory exploration into Mindfulness as innate within humans. Through it, students will discover the innate somatic sentient intelligence within every human that is the rudimentary basis of Mindfulness. In this workshop, exposure to one’s own sensorial doorways are utilized to open into the innate power within to explore the corresponding ecology within that connects every human to the ecosystems in which they live.

With Nature as a companion, students will learn strategies to skillfully work with thoughts, emotions, and sensations, while developing their capacity to enhance mind-body awareness of present-moment experience to enhance connections to self, community, and the Earth.

Learning Outcomes:

Gain insight into the current state of their innate mindfulness.
Appreciation for their body’s innate wisdom and inner resilience.
Learn ways to cultivate a practice that enables access to the benefits of concentrative focus that, once acquired, will provide enduring benefits for a lifetime.
Learn techniques to develop a healthy sense of self and safely explore emotions such as joy, kindness, equanimity, gratitude, and compassion for self and others while being with sadness, grief, loss, shame, pain, anger, and rage while recognizing their deep humanity.
Learn the power of applied mindful awareness in daily activities to improve communication with oneself, others, and Nature.
Experience the link between self-care, group-care and Earth-care.

14 East Cache La Poudre St.,
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

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