Dear members of the UCCS community,

As we close out June and (hopefully) take some well-deserved vacation time, I want to share a few campus updates. We will return to our Town Hall format in the fall semester.
 

Spring Commencement

I want to open our updates with a celebratory note. This May, we held the largest-ever in-person Commencement ceremonies in UCCS history! We celebrated the graduation of the first cohorts of Bachelor and Master of Social Work graduates, and honored members of the Classes of 2020, 2021 and 2022. Congratulations to all of our graduates — and to each member of the UCCS community who helped them cross the finish line. We all play a part in our students’ success.
 

Welcome, Provost Marchand-Martella!

Tomorrow, on July 1, Provost Nancy Marchand-Martella will begin her tenure at UCCS. We are thrilled to welcome her to the university community. Nancy comes to us from Purdue University, and throughout her 30-year career, she has prioritized student success, innovation, strategic planning, online education and the advancement of a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. These are priorities that align perfectly with UCCS’ strategic goals.

I hope you will all take the opportunity to give a warm Mountain Lion welcome to Nancy.
 

Welcome, Dean Pichon!

We are also thrilled to welcome Henrietta Williams Pichon, who has been named the new Dean of the College of Education. Henrietta comes to UCCS from New Mexico State University, where she most recently served as Interim Dean in the College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation. She also has a strong focus on student success. 

I hope you will give a warm Mountain Lion welcome to Henrietta when her tenure begins tomorrow, on July 1.
 

Three New Departments within the School of Public Affairs

I am excited to join Dean George Reed and Interim Provost Kelli Klebe in announcing that the Board of Regents approved three new departments within the UCCS School of Public Affairs. The Criminal Justice, Public Administration and Social Work programs will all become individual academic departments. The change will take place gradually over an 18-month period, with full implementation by fall 2023. 

This is a great step forward for the School of Public Affairs, which has seen a 221 percent enrollment increase since 2011. The criminal justice program has been one of the fastest-growing degree programs on campus, and is now the third-largest undergraduate program at UCCS. I look forward to seeing the growth of these departments far into the future. 
 

Leadership Search Updates 

In addition to growth in campus departments, we are also growing the campus leadership team. We currently have two vice chancellor-level searches, an associate vice chancellor and an assistant vice chancellor-level search ongoing.

The first search ongoing is our Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management, a new position at UCCS. We aim to bring finalist candidates to campus as soon as this August. We also anticipate hosting candidates for the Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance position in September.

We aim to bring candidates for the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Human Resources position in November. And we have also begun the search for UCCS’ next Associate Vice Chancellor of Planning and Facilities.  

It’s sure to be a busy semester as we meet potential new leaders for the university. I hope you will make time to get to know the candidates when they visit.
 

Regent Meeting Outcomes  

Last Friday, the CU Board of Regents approved the fiscal year 2022–23 budget. For the entire CU system, the budget totals $5.52 billion dollars, a 3.2 percent increase over CU’s budget for the current year.

For UCCS, the total budget is $312 million. Of our total budget, $43.5 million comes from direct state funding. This is 13.9 percent of our total budget.

The budget reflects a slight decrease in enrollment from last year: -1.8 percent. For the upcoming academic year, resident enrollment is projected to be -2.3 percent. Non-resident enrollment is projected to be up +1.3 percent.

Our total education and general budget — which takes out Auxiliary and restricted funds — totals $171.5 million. Of that budget, 51.7 percent comes from resident tuition. 18.1 percent come from non-resident tuition. Undergraduate resident tuition increased by only 2 percent. 

You may read more about the total CU budget on CU Connections. 
 

Performance Evaluation Cycles 

The performance evaluation cycle for 12-month faculty and university staff will conclude on June 30, 2022. You may find the evaluation forms on the Department of Human Resources website. The Annual Performance Rating Form must be submitted to hrhelp@uccs.edu by September 1, 2022. 

In future years, the review cycle for faculty and university staff will follow the same schedule, running from July 1–June 30. Classified staff are currently in an extended review cycle running from April 2022–July 2023. In July 2023, they will shift to the new cycle. 

The State of Colorado has approved a 3 percent across-the-board compensation increase for classified staff, which will go into effect July 2022. The Board of Regents approved a 3 percent merit pool for faculty and university staff, contingent on a successful fall 2022 campus enrollment outcome. Upon successful campus enrollment, and in keeping with last April’s budget cycle change, eligible faculty and university staff can expect to see compensation increases go into effect in January 2023.  
 

Equal Pay Act Update

I also have an update on our progress to continue implementing provisions related to the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.

The Equal Pay Act requires that all CU jobs must be posted with a salary range listed. As you saw this month, the CU System has successfully worked with our Department of Human Resources to create an internal promotion portal. The portal will be used to share all in-line promotions: higher-level jobs within the employee’s same area. The promotion portal will allow for greater transparency across campus as well as compliance with the Equal Pay Act. 

The Department of Human Resources is also working to conduct regression analyses on all faculty positions based on the factors outlined by the Equal Pay Act, including education level, experience, performance and the salaries of similar positions. These analyses are forthcoming for staff positions.

We will have further updates throughout the summer, especially regarding our new budget model, which will be implemented in FY22-23. Please keep an eye out for more information. 
 

Thank You, Shared Governance!

And finally, as we move into the new fiscal year, I want to give my sincere thanks to our outgoing shared governance leaders. Thank you to David Moon, Faculty Assembly President; Sarah Long, Staff Association President; and Emily Gregory, Student Government Association President, for their service and leadership!

I’d also like to extend a warm welcome to Minette Church, incoming Faculty Assembly President; Missy Sernatinger, incoming Staff Association President; and Michael "Axel" Brown, incoming Student Government Association President. I look forward to working with these new campus leaders over the upcoming year to make our campus an even better place to live, learn and work. 

I hope you all enjoy your summer. Take care of yourselves and each other, and I look forward to seeing you across campus! 

Respectfully,

Venkat Reddy
UCCS Chancellor