Dear Colleagues,

The breathless pace of CAM is coming back! Many important events are taking place, and next week the mask mandate becomes optional.

1) As you may recall, we deferred our all-CAM Faculty and Staff Meeting from January to Tuesday,March 15th from 9-10:30 am, in the King Center Recital Hall. Chancellor Marks and the Office of International Affairs will be on hand for a lively presentation. I look forward to seeing all of you there. If faculty have a conflict, let your Chair know. If staff have a conflict, please notify your supervisors.

2) At the Denver Art Museum, on Tuesday, April 12 from 5-6:00 pm there will be a special program to honor Cecilia Wu, who has a permanent installation in the 5th Floor Asian Collection. We are inviting everyone to view her exhibit from 5-5:25, and then at 5:30 pm there will be a short program and we will hear from Dr. Wu and others about this work of hers, “Mandala.”

3) Here is the link to the announcement about COVID/Mask Protocols moving forward. Please keep in mind that masking policies are made at the institutional level and not at the college or departmental levels. I encourage thoughtfulness as we enter another transition together—awareness and empathy are invaluable tools when navigating complexity and change.

4) Jeff Merkel has been working everyday toward making connections, gathering information, and assuring that the position of Director of the Video Game Art & Design Program is shaped with faculty input (all three Chairs have had a chance to revise, and now it’s being passed among 3faculty members). Next step is for us to send it to the Provost’s Office for fiscal approval, and then HR, who will review the content of the job description. A few things:

•There has not been a suggestion of the gaming program to be a new department.
•It seems best described (for now) as a program.
•The Director will need a faculty home in an appropriate department on campus, where they can be tenured—or enter with tenure. The program will reside centrally—so that all three departments have equal access and can share in any successes.
•A key to success in this position will be CAM folks seeking out talent and making nominations, through their professional and personal networks and affiliations. I don’t know of anyone who has a connection with someone to take on this position—I am depending on the faculty to provide the sourcing in this search.
•A rough draft JD was sent to the Chairs and several faculty with cut and paste from other CAM positions, and some language and style based on other searches. The Chairs made changes and edits, now faculty are working on it—as they should. The final version will be faculty authored, with Academic Affairs (Central) and Human Resources (Central) having input and final approvals.

LK