At the 2024 State of the Campus address Chancellor Sobanet, along with leaders from across campus, reviewed where UCCS has been –– celebrating milestones and success –– and shared their vision for what the future holds for the university.
In 2023, internal and external stakeholder groups highlighted an important theme that is woven through the culture and mission of UCCS: The Power of Possibility.
“We have created curriculum and an environment here at UCCS that cultivates a mindset of possibility –– empowering students to change the trajectory of their lives and ultimately allowing them the freedom to walk confidently down whatever path leads to their dreams,” said Sobanet.
Sobanet began her address by acknowledging the quickly changing landscape of higher education, stating that UCCS can choose to be left behind, to change with it, or still further to get ahead of the evolving terrain. Sobanet described the university’s development as a climb to the summit of a mountain: Just as there are twists and turns along a trail and setbacks due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, the journey toward the UCCS of the future will also have its challenges.
Three of these challenges were highlighted in Sobanet’s opening remarks: taking UCCS into the future, university finances, and a culture of a growth mindset.
“In the long term, we must capture the creative, innovative sparks of energy on this campus and connect it to the needs of our community and our students so that we create sustained growth for this university,” said Sobanet.
Collaborative discussion, learning, level setting and sense making will take place in the fall of 2024 to begin making the changes campus wishes to see: changes to university business practices; how offices interact with students, staff and faculty; redesigns of teaching modalities to meet student’s needs now and in the future; and setting campus priorities to further invest in what makes UCCS special and unique.
“I invite you to join me on this journey –– to reach the summit of the mountain –– and create the UCCS of the Future, together,” said Sobanet.
PAST
While thinking of the past year, one word came to the Chancellor’s mind: Resilience.
Despite the losses of too many members of the mountain lion family as well as the tragic events of Feb. 16, 2024, the campus remained resolute in its mission. Faculty and students continued their academic pursuits; researchers brought in millions of dollars in funding; students completed internships, service projects, athletics and artistic pursuits; and more than 2,500 students received their degrees.
“What impresses me more than anything else is the resilience of our campus community and your commitment to our mission that you all maintained throughout these events,” said Sobanet.
The Chancellor then turned to concerns raised by the campus community in 2023 and how work has begun to address them: Enrollment and revenue, leadership changes and recruitment efforts.
Enrollment was essentially flat over the past year, breaking the five-year trend of decreasing enrollment. New freshmen counts are down by approximately 100 students, but the Transfer student population increase balanced this decrease, increasing by more than 10% from fall 2023. And the graduate student population continued to grow for the 4th year in a row. This flat enrolment was projected in the year’s budget. With that goal met there are no expected additional budget cuts this fiscal year.
UCCS has recently experienced shifts in campus leadership, including an ongoing search for the university's next Provost. The position of Vice Chancellor of Inclusive Culture & Belonging and the Chancellor’s Chief of Staff position are being restructured to create a new integrated role titled Vice Chancellor of Inclusive Strategy and Chief of Staff. This restructure is designed to support the university’s effort to create systemic change and elevate its work in Inclusion and Belonging while creating a more efficient administration. And the new Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Division was created. This new division will focus on recruitment and student retention, impacting the budget.
The Chancellor invited the first two campus leaders to speak, beginning with Dr. Chip Benight, Executive Director of the Lyda Hill Institute of Human Resilience. Through a pre-recorded video, Benight spoke to the work of the Lyda Hill Institute to research human resilience and train the community, nation, and world on resilience. “Resilience is a concept that a lot of people think is a trait,” said Benight. “It’s not a trait. It’s earned.”
Student Government Association president, Carson Hodges, shared his perspective of the condition of students on campus. Increases in student engagement in clubs and activities across campus illustrates a student body that is engaged and committed to their academic journey. He also spoke to his experience of the culture at UCCS:
“Over this past year, I saw such an outpouring of support and connection and care for our students, faculty and staff. And that was amazing. I expected it, but I didn’t expect it to be as beautiful as it was. And let me tell you, it was beautiful,” said Hodges. “I just hope that we can all continue this resilience and these connections that we make.”
PRESENT
With too many to name, Sobanet shared a few milestones and success from the past year.
UCCS is now facilitating the Leadership Pikes Peak program. This community leadership program has been part of the Colorado Springs community for over 50 years and is now part of the College of Education.
Colorado Springs School District 11 is bringing the Colorado Springs School of Technology to UCCS, creating a pipeline of high school students through concurrent enrollment. Next year, high school students will study in the Kevin O’Neil Cybersecurity Center to begin preparing for careers in cyber, aerospace, IT and defense.
And the Weidner Apartment Homes and Norwood Development Group together donated $2 million to support the new Property Management and Real Estate Program through the College of Business. Classes will be held at our downtown location.
Budget
University Budget Advisory Committe Chair, Christina Jimenez, provided updates on the university budget. The goal of UBAC over the last year has been to create transparency around the budget, engagement with campus and to develop sustainable, ethical and fiscally responsible budget processes. In the spirit of transparency and engagement, UBAC held meetings open to the campus community, created a Teams channel to provide information and resources and held listening sessions hosted by Chancellor Sobanet and Kathy Kaoudis, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance.
Jimenez reiterated the challenges facing UCCS finances: the necessary reduction of $4 million to the budget and the use of $14-17 million in one-time funds for continuing activities.
The budget reduction was achieved through a new, collaborative process. Rather than the University administration informing units and colleges of their proportion of budget cuts, Deans and division leaders came to the table with cuts they could make without unduly harming the mission of their units. “It was remarkable that we achieved the $4 million cut in that collaborative, innovative way,” said Jimenez.
Through these cuts, the university was able to fund a 2% merit pool for faculty and staff earning less that 85k a year; fund budgeted compression increases for university faculty and staff; increase pay for lecturers, staff and student wages; and reduced one-time fund reliance to $10-11 million.
“With the leadership and collaboration of Chancellor Sobanet and VCAF Kaoudis, we worked diligently to transform our budget processes, practices and the culture around the budget at UCCS,” said Jimenez. “The chair of the faculty assembly committee on the budget, David Moon, recently described in his report that the change was virtually a revolution.”
Research
Dr. Lynn Vidler, Interim Provost, provided updates on University Research.
“Our thriving artists and researchers produce and disseminate new works and new knowledge and make a significant impact on our students, our local community, our state and beyond,” said Vidler.
Funding in sponsored awards increased by 19 percent and totaled $18.9 million, the highest end-of-year total in UCCS history.
Student engagement in research continues to set UCCS apart. The 2024 Undergraduate Research Academy cohort earned GPA’s 18 percent higher on average than other UCCS students, had a 120 percent higher graduation rate, and were four-times more likely to attend graduate school.
In a video shared with attendees, Gregory Plett, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said, “The goal of university research is not to solve the world’s problems. The goal of university research is to train students to solve the world’s problems. And that way we can multiply our effectiveness.”
Faculty and Staff
Staff Council President Deann Barrett shared resources designed to support UCCS’s dedicated staff, including a free four-week course on overcoming burnout, online lunch-and-learns every second Friday, a professional development book club and community building activities such as Staff Family Movie Night and online bingo.
“Staff are a piece of the UCCS of the future: connecting, engaging, supporting – and having fun!” Barrett said.
“Remember, here at UCCS we’re not just colleagues, we’re a community. And together we make our campus a vibrant and thriving place,” said Barrett.
Faculty Assembly President Joel Tonyan highlighted pedagogical innovations implemented over the last year to address the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education including new classroom technology, hybrid modalities and classes in AI and machine learning.
“Our faculty are meeting students where they are, not just on campus but also online,” he said. “This flexibility allows us to meet the education needs of both traditional students living on campus and those students who are balancing their studies with work and family responsibilities.”
FUTURE
“At the beginning of today’s address, I mentioned the analogy of climbing a mountain,” said Sobanet as she turned the State of the Campus address to the future vision of UCCS. “As we hone in on what is unique and special at UCCS, we will determine how we differentiate ourselves. Then, rooted in our 2030 strategic plan –– each year we will set specific priorities that help us achieve that vision of ourselves. We will be nimble and agile as we align our energy and resources to achieve our vision. That summit –– our vision –– is not far away because we are building it on our unique capabilities and elevating those as we move forward.”
Sobanet shared some examples of the work that is being done to move the university forward: The new Facilities Strategic Plan will be presented to the Board of Regents. The Enrollment Plan will be presented to the System President this fall. The first step in finding a partner to build a new hotel and conference center on our campus took place this September. And a new innovation lab will be announced during the 2024 fall semester.
The innovation lab will be a dynamic center focused on fostering creativity and driving innovation across the university. It will bring together students, faculty and staff, along with external community partners, to tackle real-world challenges in bold and transformative ways, with a strong emphasis on community diffusion and impact beyond campus.
“What I am most excited about are the innovations and creative approaches that are taking place in classrooms and our labs across this campus,” said Sobanet. “And this work will help prepare our students for the workforce of tomorrow.”
In closing, Sobanet spoke to the culture she wishes to see cultivated at UCCS:
“I hope that we create a culture of care, resilience and belonging not only for our students but for ourselves. We are here to be of service to one another. May we break down that fear that there is not enough and instead allow our creativity to be unleashed in service of one another and our university. I challenge us to shift our vocabulary from one of fear to one of strength, empowerment and creativity –– so that in each moment we our creating the culture that we want.”
“When I sum all of this up,” concluded Sobanet. “Three words come to mind –– resilience, creativity and innovation. I think that is what makes UCCS so very special and will serve us as we work together to enhance our here and now and to build the UCCS of the future.”