E-Insight

February 2005

University News

Draft Performance Contract Available for Review and Comment

Colorado State University’s institutional negotiating team, in consultation with the leadership of the Faculty Council, has completed a final draft performance contract for the CSU System Schools. The draft is now available for review and comment at http://www.state.co.us/cche/performance/final/csu.pdf. The CSU System Board of Governors will discuss the draft performance contract at its February meeting and likely will vote on the draft in March.

The need for a performance contract came about as a result of the passage last year of SB 04-189, known as the College Opportunity Fund. Provisions in the bill require that performance contracts should be used to provide for greater flexibility and a more focused accountability for institutions of higher education to students and the people of Colorado.

The bill requires each governing board of a state institution of higher education to negotiate a performance contract with the Department of Higher Education that specifies the performance goals the institution shall achieve during the period that it operates under the performance contract.

In a letter to faculty and staff, President Larry Penley stated that in negotiating the contract, the team focused on three primary objectives: to ensure that the CSU System would have the right to increase tuition beyond mandatory costs where needed to improve quality; to ensure that the CSU System and its faculties drive core curriculum; and to ensure that the goals of the contract are reasonable, appropriate and achievable.

Two New Members Appointed to the Colorado State University Board of Governors

Governor Bill Owens has appointed Douglas L. Jones of Denver and Ed J. Haselden of Castle Rock to the Colorado State University Board of Governors. Both appointees still must be confirmed by the state Senate.

"We are very pleased with these appointments," said Colorado State University President Larry Edward Penley. "Douglas Jones and Ed Haselden will bring outstanding business experience and acumen to their work with the Board, which is invaluable as we work to ensure the immediate and long-term success of Colorado State University and Colorado higher education as a whole. They not only have a love for Colorado State and an appreciation for its mission, they also share an acute understanding of the complex issues facing higher education in Colorado today."

Jones serves on a number of boards, including the Western Stock Show Association, Colorado Tourism Office, Rose Community Foundation, Denver Council of Boy Scouts of America and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He is immediate past chair of the Denver Botanic Gardens Board of Trustees and a past chair of both the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement. Jones is president and owner of The JONES Realty Group.

Haselden serves on several community boards, including Mile High United Way, Boy Scouts of America Mile High Council, Associated General Contractors of America, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Rocky Mountain Chapter of Young Presidents' Organization and Douglas County Catholic Schools Corporation. He additionally serves on the U.S. Bank Board of Advisors and the executive committee of the Denver Metro Economic Development Corporation. Haselden is President and CEO of Haselden Construction, LLC.

College of Natural Sciences Selects Two Associate Deans

Two longtime science professors have joined the College of Natural Sciences’ administrative team as Associate Deans. Don Mykles, Professor of Biology, and Jim Sites, Professor of Physics, each are serving one-third of their time as Associate Deans in the College of Natural Sciences. Dr. Mykles oversees graduate education in the college, while Dr. Sites oversees research. They replaced Dr. Peter Dorhout, who has been named Interim Dean of the Graduate School at Colorado State.

Dr. Mykles joined Colorado State in 1985 as a Biology Professor and served one year as Interim Chair of the Department of Biology and Assistant Chair of the department. In his new role, Dr. Mykles hopes to improve stipends for graduate teaching and research assistants and coordinate graduate student recruitment and graduate programs in the college. In addition, he wants to foster greater participation of undergraduate students in research.

Dr. Sites joined Colorado State in 1971 as a Physics Professor and spent a decade as Chair of the Department of Physics. He also served one year as Interim Associate Dean in the College of Natural Sciences. Dr. Sites' goals include facilitating the processes involving submitting research proposals and making it easier for faculty members to work together. He also is exploring ways to better use and renovate research space on campus.

Two Colorado State Professors Honored as National Academies Education Fellows

Two Colorado State University professors were among 39 educators from around the nation to receive the honorable National Academies title of Education Fellow in the Life Sciences for their outstanding work completed at an institute aimed at fostering innovative approaches to teaching undergraduate biology.

Colorado State recipients include Dr. Ingrid C. Burke, University Distinguished Teaching Scholar who specializes in forest and rangeland studies, and Dr. Joseph von Fischer, Assistant Professor of Biology with a joint appointment as a research scientist at Colorado State's Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. Dr. Fischer focuses on the interactions of plants and microbes in relation to the ways in which they affect how ecosystems work.

Burke and von Fischer attended the 2004 National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology where they were bestowed with the honor. Teams from 20 research universities assembled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a week of presentations, discussions and intensive group work focused on enhancing undergraduate education.