On Friday, Feb. 27, the Board of Trustees held an Open Meeting for students to attend. Members of different organizations showed up to the meeting with questions and concerns to voice to the Board.
Many students in attendance were eager to know about how Colorado College was taking action to become a more innovative and environmentally friendly school.
The first question addressed the new buildings that are coming to campus.
The Board of Trustees assured the students that the buildings would strive to reach the school’s carbon neutrality goals.
The aesthetics and functionality of the new building should help to lower the institution’s carbon footprint. After all, it was designed with Colorado College’s carbon neutrality goals in mind.
Another question raised concern about how our waste is dealt with within our community.
The majority of the waste recycled at Colorado College ends up in landfills, and the student speaker was eager to point out that just because the waste leaves campus does not mean that it is not connected to the college.
The trustees seemed keen on the idea at looking closely at CC’s waste, and they were excited to work closely with the student body regarding ways to reduce the adverse ecological impact.
Later on in the conversation, a student raised a question about how our college could continue to make innovative changes that make CC distinct from other institutions.
The Board of Trustees addressed the fact that through our building structures—specifically the renovation of Tutt Library—it is clear that CC is making advancements in the field of being more innovative and environmentally friendly. It is this hyperawareness sets CC apart from other institutions.
Lastly, a student questioned the degree to which students and trustees were allowed to converse—during this meeting, there was only an allotted 30 minutes to address issues across campus.
The Board of Trustees did mention that the fact that students have the opportunity to discuss issues is already a new and unique event, which most schools do not have.
Furthermore, our Board of Trustees hopes to expand campus-wide dialogue, opening it up more to the community. There has already been discussion about having bigger annual events that allow the Board of Trustees and the students to interact more.
Following the meeting, President Jill Tiefenthaler sent an email regarding the items that the Board had approved the day after the meeting with the Trustees.
The approved matters included an increase in tuition for the following school year, the election of new charter trustees and a new student trustee, adoption of the Campus Master Plan, and several other issues.
“The trustees are impressed with our progress,” Tiefenthaler said.
The Board will not be back until June, but CC can expect more transformations in the future.