On January 13, 1969, an iconic album was released: The soundtrack to the Beatles' 1968 animated film, "Yellow Submarine." Included was an upbeat tune with simple lyrics: "All Together Now." Paul McCartney, one of the composers, said that there was an intentional "subcurrent" in the song, a dual-meaning where "we are all together now.”
Now, 52 years later, the song's message carries singular importance to us as a community of educators: we are all together now in our desire to move beyond the pandemic, to return to campus, and to take what we have learned in our virtual environment to create a post-pandemic institution fully responsive to the needs of our students. We all must face the reality that the college we left on March 13, 2020 is not going to be the same college to which we will ultimately return.
So, how do we build the "all together now" environment that allows ample opportunities for discussion, dialogue, and input into the future of the college? Well, we've already begun the process through our campus dialogues about our strategic plan, our ongoing town halls, and the forthcoming discussions about our budget. But our challenges and opportunities transcend those areas.
To build on our long history of a strong participatory governance system, and to offer ample opportunities for engagement of as many members of the campus community as possible, this spring we'll be implementing analysis groups. Here's how it'll work.
- Topics for discussion are identified in collaboration with the Chair of College Council, the President of Academic Senate, and senior leadership.
- An administrative co-chair and a faculty co-chair are identified. They, in turn, identify members.
- The analysis group addresses the chosen topic from a variety of vantage points (e.g., through data, literature review, analysis of current trends, consideration of institutional priorities).
- The analysis group generates a "white paper" outlining various factors that must be considered in developing a recommendation.
- The white paper is forwarded to the Chair of College Council, who will then direct one of the participatory governance subcommittees to review and to make recommendations to College Council for full deliberations..
- Recommendations are made by College Council to the President, as is the current process.
If you're invited to be one of of several analysis groups that will be formed this spring, please accept enthusiastically, because your voice is important and your opinions are vital as we build a West that is positioned to be "a gateway for success for every student" pursuing his/her education in a post-pandemic world.