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First Thursdays @ 4:00

In an effort to engage the college community as we move forward with the implementation of our undergraduate strategic plan, Jay Bell will be hosting regular gatherings the first Thursday of every month. These will be informal opportunities to meet others from across the college and share ideas related to the Question of the Month. All faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other stakeholders are welcome to attend.

Upcoming First Thursday @ 4:00 dates and locations:

January 7, 2010 - at 4:00 pm in room 119 Classroom Office Building
February 4, 2010 - at 4:00 pm in the Cargill Building
March 4, 2010 - at 4:00 pm in 120 Coffey Hall

Previous First Thursday @ 4:00

April 2, 2009 - Cargill Building

Question of the Month:
- How do we build a comprehensive set of majors, minors and programs to reflect the diversity of disciplines within our college? Posed by the Structure of Majors, Minors and Programs Task Force.

May 2, 2009 - 120 Coffey Hall

Question of the Month:
- CFANS is positioned to fulfill a unique niche within the University for educating students. Currently, non-CFANS students only comprise about 35% of the enrollment in our college's courses. How can we increase this number? Posed by the Curriculum Guidelines Task Force.
Resources: What is the CFANS "niche"?....Looking ahead to a reinvigorated undergraduate experience. (.pdf)
Summary of responses from First Thursday participants (.pdf)

June 4, 2009 - 100 Skok Hall

Question(s) of the Month:
- In your own undergraduate collegiate experience, what gave you a sense of campus community?
- In your experience on the St. Paul campus, what has given you a sense of a St. Paul campus community?
- How would you recommend building our St. Paul campus community? Posed by the Campus Culture Transformation Task Force.
Summary of responses from First Thursday Participants (.pdf)

June 30, 2009 - 365 Haecker Hall

Question of the Month:
- How can we best increase capacity of faculty and staff in the areas of technology, multiculturalism, and community engagement? Posed by the Faculty & Staff Capacity Building Task Force.
Summary of responses from First Thursday Participants (.pdf)

August 6, 2009 - 365 Haecker Hall

Questions of the Month:
- How do we design a curriculum that will allow students to combine our traditional disciplines in ways that will provide them with a multidisciplinary focus and allow them to graduate in 4 years? (one example might be Food Science and Business)
- The words we use to describe our programs need to resonate with with faculty, students, and employers. How well do the current names do that? Posed by the Structure of Majors, Minors & Programs Task Force.
Summary of responses from First Thursday Participants (.pdf)

September 1, 2009 - at 4:00 pm, in 306 Borlaug

Question of the Month:
- Experiences with interdepartmental majors, minors, and educational programs for undergraduates: What worked and what didn't work? Why? Bring your past experiences from outside the University of Minnesota as well as among colleges at the University. Posed by the Interdisciplinary Challenges Task Force.

October 1, 2009 - at 4:00 pm in 119 Classroom Office Building

Question of the Month:
- How would you design the architecture for a collegiate-level undergraduate curriculum (courses and majors) that provides ample opportunity for cross-disciplinary studies and education in emerging areas while maintaining a disciplinary base?

November 5, 2009 - at 4:00 pm in the Cargill Building

Question of the Month:
- How can we ensure that undergraduate students understand the interdependency of agriculture, food, and natural resource systems? Posed by the Curriculum Revision Guidelines Task Force.
Summery of responses from First Thursday Participants (.pdf)