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Campus News
Campus has been buzzing with energy! During the first three weeks of August, we welcomed 80 student-athletes to campus. The energy increased across campus when our first-year undergraduate students moved into residence halls on August 22, and returning students moved in on August 24 and 25. Classes began on August 26.
On August 20 and 21, faculty and staff officially welcomed the beginning of the academic year with the annual CU Conference. Among the session topics were introductions of new faculty and staff, the President’s multi-phase plan for Clarke’s future, and how to incorporate and utilize our updated learning management system. I always look forward to and feel invigorated by the learning and the relationship-building that the CU Conference manifests each year. And I am grateful for all of the people who make these events possible and ensure that they run smoothly!
With the semester off to a strong start, we are already looking ahead to classroom projects, cheering on our fall athletics teams, and celebrating Homecoming. Be sure to check social media to follow along on all the fun!
Strategic Plan Update
At the CU Conference, Clarke’s Mission and Core Values Committee facilitated a session which introduced our Core Value of Freedom as the theme for the year. Campus events and course offerings throughout the year will offer the opportunity to delve more deeply into understanding and living the legacy of this Core Value, and we look forward to these interactions that support Goal 1 of our Strategic Plan: Live Our Mission and Values.
Goal 2 of our Strategic Plan is: Empower Student Success, and one of its objectives is to adapt and modernize facilities and technology platforms to meet student needs. Over the summer we launched a redesigned my.clarke.edu portal to make our intranet more user-friendly and responsive, and we launched our enhanced learning management system. In addition, physical space was reorganized to enhance student accessibility to resources. As a result, the Academic Support Center, located on the lower floor of the library space, now houses Academic Advising, Accessibility Services, Career Services, Learning Support, First-Year Studies, and the Writing Center. In addition, the offices of Student Accounts and Financial Aid have co-located in Haas Administration in an area now called Student Financial Services, increasing ease of student accessibility to these important resources.
I’m also pleased to share with you an update about the Blue Skies Think Tank—an endeavor that I introduced during April’s Town Hall meeting. This think tank works in tandem with our strategic plan and budget plan. We will first sustain the university through our strategic plan. As a result, we will incur modest financial surpluses. And then we can transition to making our blue skies plan a reality.
Since May, the think tank’s steering committee has been brainstorming to create a vision of who Clarke aspires to be, with no limits hampering that vision. Next, the group will evaluate who we are, so that our community can formulate a plan on how to move from who we are to who we desire to be. I greatly appreciate the work Mariann and Sr. Joan are doing to facilitate the work of this group. The Steering Committee members are:
- Kent Anderson, Professor of Philosophy
- Julie Cirks, Vice President of Enrollment Management
- Callie Clark, Dean of Student Engagement
- Carolyn Haupert, President of Board of Trustees
- Steve Kapelke, Vice President of Academic Affairs
- Catherine Dunn, BVM and President Emerita
- Mariann Kurtz-Weber, Chief Strategy Officer
- Joan Mueller, OSC, Chief Mission Officer
- Fletcher Lamkin, University President
- Ann Pelelo, Special Assistant & Professional Writer to the President
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