The Cougar Chronicle

Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Brent Jones CSU interim president, Frank Pogue, outside of the Jones convocation center where he will address the university Sept. 16.

Fulfilling his reputation as a student-focused academic, CSU President Frank Pogue is mandating the formation of several campus review committees, all with an eye toward improving the university and creating a more student-oriented atmosphere. Moreover, the interim chief is doing something that may have been unthinkable under his predecessor - he is asking students to get involved.

All told, Pogue is organizing seven committees, according to sources familiar with the proceedings, to review every aspect of university operations and how they relate to his goal of making the entire institution a student-centered entity.

University provost, Sandra Westbrooks, chairs what the administration has dubbed the 21st Century Academic Planning Committee, a group that, according to a source, will examine how to better serve CSU students through improved course scheduling.

Interim CSU Foundation chief, Katey Assem, will chair the 21st Century Advancement, Development and Foundation Committee. Assem's committee, the source says, will largely concentrate on fundraising efforts.

Diane Conatser, the university's chief information officer, will head up the 21st Century Technology Planning Committee, a group that will map future technological advances on campus such as implementing university-wide wireless service and the development of CSU's new intranet system, the source says.

The 21st Century Facilities, Safety and Campus Beautification Committee is led by Art Stires, CSU's director of physical facilities. Stiers's group, the source says, is responsible for, among other things, replacement of damaged trees on campus.

Rosalyn Brown, who oversees student affairs, chairs the 21st Century Student Affairs and Student Success Committee. Brown's group is charged with creating a one-stop shop for student services on campus by the end of the year.

Dean Justmann, the school's budget director, heads the 21st Century Finance and Administration Analysis Council, a group charged with putting the school's fiscal house in order. And an athletic review team has been formed to examine sporting operations.

Pogue has also called for the organization of a 21st Century Enrollment and Retention Committee, a body that will incorporate talent from the registrar's, enrollment services and admissions offices to beef up the number of students enrolled at CSU and to keep those students until graduation after they arrive, according to the source.

Each committee - no matter how far removed the issues under its purview are from student affairs - is mandated to include at least one student, the source says. "That is because [Pogue] wants to know what do you do (as a department) to promote student success."

Pogue will formally announce the formation of the committees Sept. 16 at a campus assembly, according to a university spokesperson.

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