CID Annual Report 2020 - Flipbook - Page 3
Greetings from
the College of
Innovation + Design
LETTER
FROM
THE
COLLEGE
Greetings from the College of Innovation
+ Design! Today, the state of higher
education is defined by rapidly changing
dynamics coinciding with a global health
crisis. For the past decade, public higher
education has operated amidst pressures
including declining taxpayer funding,
enrollment challenges, and an increasing
public narrative that is questioning the
value of going to college. Since 2016, 93
colleges and universities in the United
States have closed, merged, or been
1
acquired , often due to lack of resources
and lower enrollments than needed.
To add to these variables, we find
ourselves in the midst of a global crisis
brought on by COVID-19. Although it is
the first time this university, since its
founding in 1932, has had to deal with a
pandemic, the Boise State community has
united to respond quickly to meet this
challenge. With a ‘student-centric’
posture, the College of Innovation +
Design (CI+D) along with the rest of the
University, is moving to ensure student
learning and academic progress during
this time.
In 2018 and 2019, Boise State
University was named as one
of the top 50 most innovative
universities in the country by
U.S. News andWorld Report.
Gordon Jones
Founding Dean, CI+D
Regardless of the reason, change is
constant. As a university (and in life), we
will always face new situations, demands,
and pressures. While every year may not
have a pandemic, we can expect changes
to present themselves. If we are honest,
most of us dislike disruption to our lives,
which can make these times especially
hard, both personally and professionally.
However, I want to stress that I believe
those people and organizations that
cultivate and maintain a culture of
continuous innovation will be best
prepared to tackle change.
In CI+D we strive to model a continuous
innovation mindset. We don’t see
problems as insurmountable, rather as
opportunities to be addressed. We
proactively question the trends and
sponsor initiatives that we believe will
help to ensure Boise State is
well-positioned to adapt to the changes
facing higher education today. Some
trends we may be able to anticipate, and
as a result, be the advance warning
system to the University. In other cases,
our culture and approach is one of helpful
service when dealing with the unforeseen.
In all cases, we believe that CI+D can
serve as a positive catalyst for the
changes needed to keep Boise State
University strong.
This annual report details our current
work. No single program is meant to serve
as a panacea to a university facing
multiple opportunities and challenges.
Rather, we believe each CI+D initiative is
designed to solve a problem and serve as
a playbook for our colleagues inside and
outside of Boise State. I invite you to read
on and I hope you enjoy learning about
the great work of these change agents
who are working to make this university
the best it can be.
If you have an interest in supporting our
work please contact Heather Kimmett, our
Director of Development, who can serve
as a point of contact for our investors.
Lastly, thank you to the hundreds of
people and dozens of public and private
sector leaders across Idaho who have
supported the work of this college. We
appreciate your support and we will
continue to strive to serve our students,
state, and region to the best of our ability.
[1] Education Dive (2020). A look at trends in college
consolidation since 2016.
https://www.educationdive.com/news/tracker-college-anduniversity-closings-and-consolidation/539961/