Campus Celebrates Progress on DU IMPACT 2025 Strategic Vision

On Wednesday, Oct. 31, DU faculty, staff and students gathered in the Sie Complex to celebrate and learn about the progress made in the last three years on DU IMPACT 2025, the University’s strategic plan. Members from several of the plan’s implementation clusters presented their work on different initiatives at poster stations set up around the room.

From efforts to make campus more dependent on solar energy to the implementation of a program to recognize faculty who go above and beyond for their students, event attendees learned about the programs and ideas from the plan that have come to fruition. For example, just last month, the Faculty Career Champions initiative honored JP Tremblay, associate teaching professor at the Daniels College of Business and Jessica Reinhardt, director of Clinical Experiences and clinical assistant professor of Child, Family, and, School Psychology at the Morgridge College of Education, based on nominations from their students. 

“There’s so much to tell, and so much to celebrate,” said Chancellor Rebecca Chopp. “When I think about the work on display here, I think of the four transformative directions guiding the plan: we are addressing our students in a holistic fashion and trying to get them all prepared for the 21st century. We have broken down barriers to collaboration, and we are building more and more connections across Denver.”

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Jeremy Haefner added similar sentiments. “A vision is just a vision, and what really matters is what you put towards that vision,” he said. “The people who are part of these teams—many of you in this room—are the doers.”

Haefner also announced a recently-approved ethnic studies minor within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Stemming from the Race, Inequality, and Social Change (RISC) working group, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) hosted a half-day retreat with 30 faculty, 10 staff and over 15 students to identify themes and interests with respect to a potential minor. Then ODI established two faculty working groups with the aim of creating an ethnic studies minor and a graduate ethnic studies cognate.