{"id":1773,"date":"2020-08-17T08:42:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-17T15:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ltc\/?p=1773"},"modified":"2020-09-04T18:40:37","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T01:40:37","slug":"update-on-the-new-academic-directions-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/ltc\/2020\/08\/update-on-the-new-academic-directions-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"RECAST | Update on the New Academic Directions Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From:<\/strong><\/a> Geri, Laurance
Sent:<\/strong> Monday, August 17, 2020 8:42 AM
To:<\/strong> All Staff & Faculty DL
Subject:<\/strong> Update on the New Academic Directions initiative<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Evergreen Community,  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This certainly has been a\nbusy summer as we all adjust our approaches to working and living\nwith physical distance. We’ve been participating in dynamic\nand enriching summer institutes that remind us of the brilliance of\nour colleagues and the resilience of our community. Is it just us or does\ntime seem different in 2020?  Surely June was at least six months\nago.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a newly\nformed Leadership team (Amy, Larry, & JuliA), we have\nbeen busy stewarding the \u201cstart-up\u201d phase of the New Academic\nDirections initiative (aka Big Bets).  Over the last month the work\nof the initiative has focus on refining the\nconceptual designs for curriculum proposals with an\neye toward implementation planning.  We are excited by the\nprogress the various teams have been making and deeply appreciative for\nthe creativity and tenacity of the Evergreen community.  We also know many\nof you are eager for news of the project.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nmessage is one of many regular campus updates from\nthe project leadership team to keep our community apprised of\nprogress over the summer. As always, we invite you to connect directly\nwith us for additional information on the project.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who is doing this work…<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One persistent question\nwe’ve been fielding is Who is doing what?  We are working to make the\nanswer to this question more transparent by posting the membership of all the\ngroups and structure of the project at https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/bigbets\/<\/a>.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s happened…<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curriculum Proposals: Proposals for\nnew curriculum in the areas of Interdisciplinary Arts &Design,\nClimate Justice, Psychology, and Workforce Development have been completed\nand continue to be under review by the Feasibility Team.  Alumni\nfeedback for these proposals was gathered through several focus\ngroups and the teams used this feedback to refine their ideas.\n(Sidenote: Our alumni are amazingly talented by the way –\nattending those focus groups was inspiring and heart-opening!).    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work underway…<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last month, we\u2019ve\nadded many new people to the project to build out elements of the\nplan.  In particular we appreciate the contributions of the\nstaff who joined a variety of teams following their participation in summer\ninstitutes. We are buoyed by the engagement of staff and faculty in this\nwork \u2013 especially given the many demands we all have on our time.  If you\nare interested in joining any of these efforts, please reach out!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n