February

A look inside the President’s Cabinet

Why leadership needs your feedback; how salaries are determined; and when you’ll need to say goodbye to your phone – this and more in the Feb. 6 meeting recap.

By Dan Vaccaro

February 7, 2017

Couldn’t make it to the Feb. 6 President’s Cabinet meeting? The Early Bird has you covered.

Below are the highlights. Be sure to look for additional stories on related topics in the Early Bird this week and next.

An open Cabinet

President Jordan began the meeting by noting changes to the Cabinet. The changes are a direct result of the work of the Shared Governance Task Force and went into effect this semester. They included reducing the size of the group as well as opening the meetings to the MSU Denver community.

Jordan emphasized the importance of the Cabinet as a conduit between various constituent groups and University leadership.

ACE in the hole

Each year, the American Council on Education invites 30 higher education professionals from across the country to participate in its professional development program. The participants, who are looking to move into senior leadership roles, take on a variety of hands-on learning projects. This year, MSU Denver was the beneficiary of their live case study. 

The ACE group examined four of the challenges from the University’s Shared Governance Report: 1) the structure and role of the President’s Cabinet and vice president group; 2) the academic curricular review process and the process for promotion or tenure; 3) University culture; and 4) communications.

President Jordan, Provost Golich and Professor Zsuzsa Balogh, chair of the Faculty Senate curriculum committee, recently got a first look at the group’s recommendations.

Among the highlights were:

• How chairs play a crucial role in the communication process between leadership and faculty.
• The call for a more inclusive approach by all groups, which would mean including representatives from across the campus community in meetings.
• A recommendation that faculty being considered for promotion be evaluated only by people of an equivalent or higher rank.

All employees are encouraged to read the draft report and share their feedback with Zsuzsa Balogh by Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The ACE group will revise its report based on MSU Denver feedback and release its final recommendations in March.

And other updates

• HR Director Josh Mackey will present on CUPA (how salaries are determined) at the Feb. 16 Council of Administrator’s meeting.
• The deadline to nominate a colleague for the Distinguished Service Awards is Feb. 28.
• A new telephone system is coming soon to MSU Denver, which means more modern equipment and less telemarketing calls. ITS is leading the way on this project and plans to have all phones replaced by Dec. 1. More information will be available in the Early Bird in the coming weeks.
• The 2017 Campus Climate Survey will hit inboxes at the end of this month. Keep an eye out for it and make sure to take a few minutes to respond.
• A new advocacy program called MSU Denver Champions launched last week. Check out the video and sign up to advocate on behalf of your University.
• And in construction news: The AES Building is on schedule and set to open in August 2017, and new furniture arrived in the SSB last week, which will make the facility more welcoming for students.

The full minutes from the Feb. 6 meeting will be available online this Friday. The next gathering of President’s Cabinet will take place on Feb. 20 from 9-11:30 a.m. in SSB 400.