I&S Employee Newsletter - September 2021 | Infrastructure and Resilience

I&S Employee Newsletter - September 2021

VC's Corner

A year for the future

Dear Infrastructure and Sustainability team,

As I walked through our bustling campus with the start of classes, I couldn’t help but smile and be energized as the return of our students added new vibrancy that has been sorely missed over the past 18 months. Similarly, I'm grateful that I got the opportunity to see and talk to many of you at the Buffs Back Together event on Farrand Field, in the shop spaces and in various other parts of the campus over the last several weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with so many of you and want to again thank you for all you do for the university.

In many ways, our Infrastructure and Sustainability team has a chance to make a profound and lasting impact on the future of our campus over the coming academic year. We’ll begin implementation of our Energy Master Plan, which along with the upcoming update to our Climate Action Plan, will set ɫ��ֱ�� on a course toward carbon neutrality by 2050.

I am also excited about working with our new campus architect, d’Andre Willis -- about whom you can read more below -- as we begin the detailed work of implementing the capital investment plan outlined in the Campus Master Plan (CMP). The CMP will go to the Board of Regents for approval in the coming months. It ties together many building block efforts -- Strategic Facilities Visioning, our Transportation Master Plan and Housing Master Plan among them -- to map out land use on our campus for the next 30 years, with a particular focus on the projects that can make the most impact over the next 10. The work each of you does will support the implementation of this vital initiative to ensure future generations of students and researchers are set up for success through access to world-class facilities.

As we look to the future, we can’t forget about the challenges of managing COVID-19 now. We must all be diligent in continuing to turn back the virus that impacted our lives so drastically over the past 18 months. I’d like to remind everyone to complete your vaccination requirement -- either through submitting proof of vaccination or exemption information -- as soon as possible but no later than the campus deadline of Sept. 15. If you have not already done so, please visit the faculty and staff vaccination requirement webpage for instructions. Completing this one simple step will help enable all of the important work ahead this year.

With gratitude for all you do,

David Kang, vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability

News and Notes

Willis named campus architect

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Planning, Design and Construction Chris Ewing has named d’Andre Willis as the new campus architect and director of planning for ɫ��ֱ��. Read more about her appointment.

Free access to Global Sustainability Conference for all students, faculty and staff

ɫ��ֱ�� faculty, staff and students will have full access to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE’s) virtual Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education. The conference is the largest stage to exchange effective models, policies, research, collaborations and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and surrounding communities.

ɫ��ֱ��’s indoor pool first in the US to include phthalate-free liner

The Student Recreation Center has long been an environmentally friendly facility, having reached LEED Platinum certification in the past few years with a host of improvements. The addition of the phthalate-free liner aligns with CU Recreation Services’ efforts to be more green and sets a precedent for other competition pools around the country. Read more about the upgrade.

Recycling tip of the month

With school back into in-person mode, we are all noticing how our habits have been disrupted over the past year and a half. As we increase our on-campus presence, and once again strive to reach our campus Zero Waste goal, a habit worth reviving is that of properly sorting our recyclables, compost and waste.

Consider what about habits and Zero Waste. With 427 career victories, Coach Barry is the winningest coach in CU history, and she knows that establishing effective habits is the key to achieving change and success.

Facilities Management can assist you with good habit formation. We are pleased to offer a new outreach program that you and your colleagues will find engaging, fun and highly informative. For groups of 6-12, we’ll start with a brief presentation, followed by some mock recycling (where you are guaranteed to learn something you didn’t know before). Then we will take you on a tour of the on-campus recycling facility, do some Q&A and hand out some sweet sustainable CU-branded swag. What better way to spend an hour?

So, round up your campus colleagues, reach out to recycling@colorado.edu, and we will get you on the schedule.

Register now for the 2021-22 Infrastructure and Sustainability Mentor Program

Are you interested in growing your career or learning more about how the different departments within Infrastructure and Sustainability function? How about learning more about the different departments across the ɫ��ֱ�� campus? Our award-winning Infrastructure and Sustainability Mentorship Program (ISMP) is now accepting applications for our 2021-22 session. Applying is easy and if you don't have a partner in mind, we will work to find you a great teammate:

Application and participation is free
Your time commitment is two hours per month
Program runs September 2021 to June 2022

We are accepting applications from staff with all levels of experience. All you need is a desire to share your knowledge with (and learn from) others, and have been employed at the university for a minimum of one year. You may apply for the program with a mentor partner in mind, or we can partner you based on your desired learning outcomes (leadership, computer skills, networking, etc).

Application deadline is Sept. 10.

Return to Fall 2021 FAQs

Campus HR has put together some frequently asked questions for staff regarding CU’s mask requirement and COVID-19 protocols.

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