Provost Communication, Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Hello and happy Wednesday. I hope you all are wrapping up your work for the Fall 2023 semester and are looking forward to the winter break that is nearly upon us. After this message, I will take a hiatus from my twice-weekly provost communications until the first green day of the Spring 2024 semester which begins on January 10, 2024.

Academic Affairs Welcome Back & Global Café - Friday, January 12, 2024, from 9 am-11 am

Please join me and your Academic Affairs colleagues for our Spring 2024 Welcome Back on Friday, January 12, 2024. The Welcome Back will take place from 9:00 am-11:00 am in the Great Hall and will be focused on seeking engagement and input from the campus community on the Academic Master Plan’s low degree-conferring academic programs action planning and timelines. A light breakfast will be served. As a reminder, this event will take the place of

professional development day this spring.

The Chancellor's Office has charged all CSU campuses with taking a deeper dive into low degree-conferring academic programs, identifying metrics and evaluation criteria in which to inform the next steps. The goal of the thinking session on this topic will be to establish some agreements that can guide program planning so that it is transparent, respectful, and responsive. The session will be organized as a Global Café where small groups will use questions to guide input and stimulate discussion. Our goal is to recognize what has been done in the past, consider the current state and context, and propose ideas for action. Your input is vital and desired, so we look forward to seeing you.

The Schedule is as follows: 

• 9:00 - 9:30 am: Breakfast with colleagues
• 9:30 - 10:00 am: Provost’s Welcome Back address
• 10:00 - 10:45 am: World Café
• 10:45 - 11:00 am: Closing

I know many competing priorities require your attention but I hope you will be able to join us. The plan will also be to repeat this exercise as schedules permit in spaces like (but not limited to) the Integrated Curriculum Committee (ICC), Senate, Senate Executive Committee (SenEx), University Resources and Planning Committee (URPC), and Council of Chairs meetings. Thank you in advance for your engagement.

ERFSA Shout Out and Save the Date

Thanks to the Emeritus & Retired Faculty & Staff Association (ERFSA) Executive Committee members Marshelle Thobaben, Ken Fulgham, Jeff Borgeld, Susan Dobie, James Floss, Lou Ann Weiland, and Frank Whitlatch, for their dedication to ensuring ERFSA remains a viable university organization. ERFSA continues to have fabulous Luncheon meetings and they will resume this Spring 2024 semester. The meeting days have switched to Thursdays and will continue at Baywood Golf and Country Club.

Save the date for the first Luncheon Program of Spring 2024 scheduled on Thursday, February 15, 2024, by Aldaron Laird, Retired Sea Level Rise Planner entitled "Sea Level Rise and the Humboldt Bay Region.”  https://arcata1.com/aldaron-laird-sea-level-rise-consequences-mind-boggling-mru/, https://www.madriverunion.com/articles/understanding-climate-change-means-seeing-the-world-with-new-eyes/. The introduction will be provided by Lou Ann Wieand, ERFSA Treasurer.

And finally, thanks to each of you for all that you have contributed to a successful Fall 2023 semester. I am proud of our campus community and grateful to be a member of such a hardworking and caring university campus. I hope you enjoy the time off over winter break and can engage in activities that rejuvenate you, make your heart happy, and fulfill you. I plan to run, surf, snowboard, spend time with loved ones and the pups, read, and sleep. What’s better than that?

Take good care,

Jenn Capps

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Jenn Capps, PhD 

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs 

Cal Poly Humboldt