Dear Students,

Welcome to the 2018-2019 academic year at Colorado College! I hope that you had a rejuvenating summer and had time for both adventures and relaxation. My family and I spent some time in Breckenridge, enjoying daily hikes in the beautiful mountains.

It's been a busy summer here on campus!

Several of you were here for Blocks A and B, while others were doing research with faculty. Over the summer, 45 rising junior and senior high school students joined our community for the 5th annual Pre-College Program, a 2.5-week mini block that gives high school students a taste of CC.

You'll notice lots of repairs, renovations, and updates across campus, including a full interior renovation in Cutler Hall. This renovation involved mechanical and technological upgrades that make the building more energy-efficient, as well as an elevator installation to improve accessibility.

The city has removed a lane of car traffic on each side of Cascade Avenue, making room for a bike lane and ensuring a decrease in the speed of traffic to keep our cyclists and pedestrians safe. This safety improvement required CC to remove two crosswalks and fill in the median. I realize that these changes require modifications in our routines, but I ask you all to use the designated crosswalks for your protection.

This year we are partnering with PikeRide, a city-wide bike share program that allows CC students to use bikes for free. We have two bike stations on campus, one at the Fine Arts Center and one outside of Tutt Library. Look for more information on how to register for your free annual membership with PikeRide, or contact Ian Johnson, director of sustainability (ijohnson@coloradocollege.edu).

Over the summer we also continued the Quad Innovation Partnership, a collaborative effort between CC, Pikes Peak Community College, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and the Air Force Academy. This program provides students with paid opportunities for collaboration, leadership and professional development by serving the needs of local businesses and organizations. Applications for this semester close on September 5, so if you are interested visit www.QuadCOS.org to learn more.

I hope that you are as excited as I am to embark on a new academic year!

We welcome 531 new first-year students to Colorado College - the Class of 2022, as well as 36 transfer students. These individuals were selected from a record-breaking applicant pool, and have so much to offer our community. Thanks to the student leaders (RAs, NSO, Priddy Trip, and FYE) who welcomed them so warmly.

You'll be seeing many new faces among faculty and staff, too. The diversity of interests and experiences that these new members bring to our community inspire me. We welcome eight new tenure-track professors, two Riley scholars, and 12 visiting faculty members as well as Alan Townsend, our new provost. As provost, Alan is the college's chief academic officer. He will lead many important initiatives, helping us to realize our mission to provide students with an excellent liberal arts education. Student feedback is critical to this goal, and I encourage you to connect with Alan!

While we have much to celebrate, we also have much more work to do. The pain and damage resulting from last year's anonymous anti-black, racist, transphobic email was an important reminder that we must acknowledge the daily racism that exists right here on campus.

We can't address racism if we don't talk about it. We can't be an equitable and inclusive community if we aren't honest that we are not there yet and must commit to an active and ongoing process of engagement. Tomorrow, I will send a message to the campus community outlining the inclusion, anti-bias and anti-racism work we have done over the summer and will do in the coming year.

I welcome your feedback, thoughts, and questions as we move forward. You can connect with me in many ways -- attend my open office hours the second Monday of every block from 4:00-5:00 pm in Worner, engage with student representatives on CCSGA, President's Council and our Student Trustee Eyner Roman-Lopez, or send me an email directly at president@coloradocollege.edu.

I am thrilled to have everyone together on campus, and am looking forward to a wonderful year!

Warm Regards,

Jill