June 30, 2020

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

My message to all of you today is one of gratitude for your tremendous commitment to Colorado State University, as evidenced by the incredible turnout we had at our virtual Budget Town Halls last Friday and yesterday.

Thank you to everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to join one more Zoom call to learn about our current budget situation and to ask thoughtful, insightful questions. As a reminder, you can watch either or both sessions here.

These sessions were so well-attended, and there were such dynamic questions raised, that I can promise you these will not be the last Budget Town Halls we will conduct. Indeed, the virtual format seems to have made it possible for more members of our community to join than an in-person event. That’s good news, because it means we can confidently move forward in scheduling COVID Recovery Town Halls for July. These will be open to our entire university community and will include the leadership of our Pandemic Preparedness Team as panelists. Please stay tuned for more information about these events.

Finally, I want to let all of you know that some members of our community engaged in a virtual protest in the Q&A of our Budget Town Hall today, focused on a call to defund the CSUPD. I reiterate now what I shared live this morning: I share your sense of urgency to truly rethink and recommit to what makes us all feel safe and valued in our communities. As you all know from reading my message to campus last Thursday, I will shortly be announcing the membership of a Presidential Task Force on Campus, Community and Personal Safety; this group will be charged with addressing these issues broadly, creatively, and swiftly.

Have a wonderful week, everyone.

Warmly,

Joyce