Minutes - Department of Spanish and Portuguese Meeting, Sept 26, 2017
Meeting with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese
Intro to A&S Strategic Planning Process by David Brown
- History of A&S process
- Work of committee to date—draft vision statement
- Schedule for committee’s work
Intro by Jeff Cox
- Intro on teaching and reaching visioning
- Laying out of fall work
- Role of Committee and Report
Q: Will issues of faculty governance, from the department to the campus, be entertained?
- All ideas and comments are welcome. When the AF Committee believes an issue has traction with the campus, it will organize themed discussions to explore it.
Comment: Too many resources have gone to the administration (particularly non-academic administration) and not to the faculty. (reiterated later by another contributor)
Q: Who’s involved in this process?
- The entire campus—students, staff, and faculty—been invited to join in the AF process, and we are trying to provide as many opportunities for people to be involved as we can. There will be a campus-wide faculty, staff, and student committee overseeing the process; and there will be listeners placed, we hope, in all units on campus.
Comment: The role of the humanities needs to be a central part of this discussion.
Comment: Many classrooms on campus need to be rehabilitated; some don’t even have proper HVAC.
Comment: Climate issues need to be addressed
Comment: We need to talk about the links between research and teaching.
Comment: The conversation should focus on how are work reflects the world that we want to create.
Comment: Spanish and Portuguese in particular is concerned about DACA students and heritage speakers. We need to address their needs.
Comment: We need to transform CU from an elitist institution for rich white students into a campus that is truly diverse and inclusive. (several people agreed)
Comment: We should transform the Center for Humanities and Arts into a Humanities Institute
Comment: The rights and contributions of instructors and senior instructors need to be respected.
[The department plans its own follow up meeting to this discussion]