Update: Student Advisory Board

Participants

Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor

Thomas Walker, Co-Chair, Director, Inclusion & Equity Education, Campus Life & Inclusive Excellence 

Abdulrahman Osama Ayad, Ritchie School of Engineering & Computer Science

Kelly Bonk, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Amina Bouayad, Morgridge College of Education

Haley Clark, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Victoria Feliciano, Graduate School of Social Work  

Corey Fluke, Sturm College of Law

Erik Frederiksen, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences  

Marianne Hughes, Korbel School of International Studies  

Breigh Jones-Coplin, Graduate School of Professional Psychology

Victoria Martinez, Korbel School of International Studies

Alex Niederberger, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences  

Lauren Sanchez, Daniels College of Business

Shubham Sapkota, Joint PhD Program in Study of Religion

Atresha Singh, University College

Mia Sundstrom, Daniels College of Business

Anit Tyagi, Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

Matt Underwood, Daniels College of Business

Claire Brownell, Director of University Protocol, Office of the Chancellor

Student Advisory Board members Benjamin Schwartz and Joules Snopek were excused.    

Welcome and Introductions

Chancellor Jeremy Haefner welcomed the students to the first meeting, noting that the Student Advisory Board is a mechanism for students to directly share good ideas as well as concerns, particularly as DU gets ready to bring back students for the Fall 2020 quarter.  The Chancellor invited students to introduce themselves.  The Board then discussed and agreed upon suggested norms for engagement.  

The Chancellor noted that Dr. Walker will co-chair the Student Advisory Board and invited students to self-nominate for the other co-chair position.  Dr. Haefner remarked on the expectations of the student co-chair position, including development of agendas and facilitation of meeting discussion.  Dr. Walker remarked that the Student Advisory Board is comprised of representatives from all of the academic units; he invited Board members to share their own points of view along with the views of their academic peers.  

Campus Updates

Chancellor Haefner provided updates on the task forces related to COVID 19 planning, which includes work related to finances; fall logistics; the process related to class registration; digital and online work; academic programming; forward-looking strategic thinking; and healthcare.  The Chancellor noted that the core value that we want to preserve is the interaction between students and faculty.  He also reported that institutional financial aid has been increased.    

Discussion

The Board discussed the following topics:

• How DU will react if there is a COVID case on campus.
• Size restrictions for student organization gatherings.
• Student preference for virtual or F2F classes.
• Indicators that will facilitate it is safe to fully reopen as normal.
• Process for out-of-Colorado students returning to campus. 
• The Fall Quarter schedule and timing of the final exam period.  
• The usage of face coverings/masks and physical distancing protocols.  
• Communication campaign to students regarding face coverings/masks and physical distancing protocols.  
• Enforcement of face coverings/masks and physical distancing protocols. 
• Learning from our semester peers on effective strategies. 

Closing Remarks

The Chancellor thanked members of the Board for their robust and thoughtful ideas.  The Board will meet again in approximately four weeks.