Dear CC Community,
We are excited to share with you the next stage of Project 2024. We look forward to harnessing your creativity, ingenuity, and courage as we ask ourselves, “How can we do what we do better?”
The process:
The Cabinet, FEC, Staff Council co-chairs, and the CCSGA president shared their ideas for the process. Faculty also spoke to the question at the Block 1 faculty meeting. They generally advised that:
- People are busy; don’t take too much of their time.
- Do what you can to encourage frank, forward-looking conversation.
- Keep the meetings small.
- Select participants randomly rather than by division or department/program.
- Follow up on the initial meeting.
Based on this input, here is how the conversations will be organized.
The conversations:
1. Meetings of students, faculty, and staff to discuss the question: “How can we do what we do better?” These conversations focus on possibilities rather than problems.
2. A Project 2024 committee, appointed by President Richardson from lists created in consultation with the CCSGA, Staff Council, and FEC, leads the conversations and identifies major themes.
Timetable:
Generating ideas: Blocks 4-7
Students meet in their residential hall groups with RAs facilitating and summarizing the discussions. A random selection of off-campus students receive invitations from President Richardson to join groups led by student members of the committee.
Staff divide into randomly selected groups of 25, as do the faculty.
These groups meet twice — the first time for 90 minutes and the second time for 60 minutes.
The first meeting initiates their discussion of the “what ifs.” Two staff members from the committee lead meetings of the staff; two faculty members lead the meetings of faculty. Attendees agree on a summary of their initial thoughts.
The follow-up meeting develops, refines, and summarizes the major themes identified in the first meeting. Two committee members from outside the category (a student and a staff member for faculty groups) facilitate. The coordinator (Susan Ashley) will attend this round of meetings.
The CCSGA, FEC, Staff Council, Cabinet, and other established groups will also address the question.
We will work on ways of drawing trustees, alumni, and parents into the process.
Synthesizing conversations: Blocks 7-8
Committee members exchange information on what they’re hearing beginning in Block 4 and report on the larger themes by Block 8.
It may happen that themes emerge early in the campus-wide conversations. In that case, the committee will report those to the community and redirect subsequent conversations to ways of transforming possibilities into actions.
Expect to receive an invitation to the first meeting over the next several weeks from Kelli Drury in the President’s Office.
Thank you again for participating in this important conversation. We look forward to what will be revealed!
All our best,
