CU Connections

Regents pursue seven strategic directions

Board members plan big-picture discussion during retreat that begins today

At its mid-winter retreat today and Friday, the University of Colorado Board of Regents will consider how to address the seven strategic directions it adopted in September.

The board also will look to define the roles and responsibilities of board members, improve the efficiency of its meetings, and develop a standard procedure for evaluating the president.

The retreat will be at President Bruce Benson’s ranch in Silverthorne.

The regents also will discuss ensuring a culture of ethics at the university where incidents such as the scandal at Penn State are fully communicated to the board and university leadership.

The regents identified the seven strategic directions as areas where they intend to focus their attention for the foreseeable future. They are:

• Plan for present and future financial challenges, with an emphasis on risks and rewards of potential solutions;
• Identify and address Colorado’s needs today and in the future, with an emphasis on the changing socioeconomic and social demographics in the state and changing workforce needs;
• Educate students and Colorado’s future workers with an emphasis on critical thinking, ethical conduct, diversity of thought, communication capabilities, leadership, civic engagement and public service;
• Engaging the board and individual board members in major policy decisions, projects and events at systemwide and campus levels
• Address campus-specific issues and encourage collaboration within CU and with external education and business partners;
• Address environmental constraints and identify and seize opportunities with special emphasis on the use of technology and organizational change to build a foundation of excellence;
• Engage in succession planning/contingency planning for senior university leadership.

The board assigned each area to a vice president on President Benson’s executive staff to take the lead on a particular issue. Regents also intend to make one strategic direction a focus at each board meeting throughout the year, understanding there will be overlap and times when more than one direction is discussed.