In his annual Presidential Fall Address on Wednesday, Colorado State University President Tony Frank announced that a top priority for this year is to create an exceptional work environment for CSU’s adjunct faculty.
An exceptional cadre of adjunct faculty
“Like all universities, Colorado State is fortunate to have an exceptional cadre of adjunct faculty – highly qualified women and men who bring a wealth of insight and experience to our classrooms, and allow us to provide the courses and curriculum essential to meeting student demand. And they want what all of us want from our employers: some job security, decent pay and benefits, opportunities for advancement, and above all else, respect.”
The university already has made significant strides in supporting adjunct faculty in the last couple of years, such as supporting a legislative bill that allows the university to offer multi-year contracts to non-tenured teaching and research faculty, and creating a new committee on campus that represents non-tenure track faculty, Frank said, but more could be done.
“We have ambitious goals for our academic programs at Colorado State, and they cannot be achieved without the full engagement of our adjunct faculty. So in the coming year, I’d like to challenge Provost Miranda and our faculty to take our focus on adjuncts to the next level and continue to make improvements in these core areas,” he said.
New initiative underway to make CSU the best place for women to work and learn
As part of his speech to the campus community, Frank also announced the launch of the Ripple Effect, a bold, ambitious initiative to make CSU the best place for women to work and learn.
“Last year, we challenged ourselves to become the best university in the country for women,” he said. “Women have long played a leadership role at CSU, in student government, on the faculty and staff and in our administration, but we’ve often failed to fully acknowledge the unique challenges women face in the workplace.
“The most important element of any organization’s foundation is its people, and CSU is blessed with exceptional people,” said Frank.
President Frank arrives at the Oval for his 2013 Fall Address.
Additional highlights
Other highlights Frank acknowledged in his speech:
- The number of students involved in mentored research exceeded 5,000 – up about 63 percent in five years – and this hands-on attitude extends outside the classroom, with CSU logging about 385,000 hours of community service tackling everything from clean water around the world to homelessness and hunger right here at home.
- Top rankings for academic programs across all eight colleges, a Tyler prize recipient, aMarshall scholar, five new fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, along with many more accolades.
- With the launch of CSU’s partnership with INTO and the increase in international students on campus, CSU was ranked second in the country in terms ofinternational student satisfaction.
- CSU’s extended involvement and presence in innovative and unprecedented ways, including sponsorship of the 2013 USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
