Early Bird

When will we be back on campus?

Roadrunners Safe Return Committee to facilitate coordinated and collaborative effort to bring community back to campus.

By Dan Vaccaro

May 19, 2020

With last week’s announcement that Metropolitan State University of Denver will adopt a mixed approach to classes for the fall semester, the University begins the day-to-day work of operationalizing that decision.

To that end, President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., tasked Chief Operating Officer Larry Sampler to put together a representative Universitywide committee to ensure that planning for a return to campus is coordinated, collaborative and well-communicated.

“There are a lot of moving parts to this process,” Sampler said. “If we’re going to meet our high standards and put students in a position to succeed for the fall semester, we need to make sure we’re all on the same page.”   

The Roadrunners Safe Return Committee held a kickoff meeting Monday to begin that essential work. The group has four primary charges:

1. To provide the MSU Denver community with points of contact in their respective areas so that all Roadrunners can plug in to the process as needed. (Wednesday)

2. To provide clear direction to/from other campus working groups/subcommittees on what information, deliverables and decisions are needed, and by when, for students, faculty and staff to return to campus. (June 1)

3. To track all deliverables identified by the committee to completion. (Ongoing)

4. To summarize pertinent information for the University’s Senior Leadership Team so it can make informed, inclusive and timely decisions. (Ongoing)      

The RSR Committee is led by Leone Dick, chief of staff to the COO/vice president for Administration, with support from Andrew Traver, professor of practice in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, and Mark Wilson, emergency-preparedness manager. Ryan Moody, student employee within the VP for Administration office, will also provide administrative support. 

The 25-member team will represent a wide and inclusive swath of the University community across the following areas: Auraria Campus; Infrastructure; Strategy, Marketing and Communications; Academics; Student Support; and Administration. The team list will be finalized this week and shared in the Early Bird on Thursday so Roadrunners know who will serve as the point of contact for their constituent group.

Team leads in each area will meet three times per week to provide updates on deliverables, communicate changes and troubleshoot roadblocks.