ENVD Director

State of the Program, spring 2021 and beyond

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 20:13:23 +0000

State of the Program, spring 2021 and beyond Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/09/2021 - 14:13

Dear ENVD community,

As we embrace the new year and enter the halfway point of the spring semester, the Program in Environmental Design is building on its core values and strong foundation to develop the finest educational experience for students. With several initiatives underway, I want to update you on our main priorities for the remainder of the year.

Strategic Planning
Eight years ago, we embarked on a new era of Environmental Design by repositioning the Program back to our flagship campus to reinvigorate and redefine design education at CU �鶹ӰԺ. As we progress, we will undertake initiatives in strategic planning to continue the development of ENVD over the next five years. By the end of this year, we will answer the following key questions to establish a path for future growth and success.

Where do we want to be in the university?
What kind of graduate programs would we like to propose?
How do we want to be perceived in five years?

Learning Objectives
In our efforts to ensure every student receives an education that prepares them for a career in the design profession, we will focus on the cohesive connection between courses and the integration of learning concepts and objectives.

We will revisit the ENVD learning curriculum to identify where gaps might exist so that we can reconnect the link between courses and learning objectives.
As technology advances, external influences change and societal demands evolve, there is always room for improvement.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
As we have tuned in to different perspectives and faced difficult truths, we recognize the need for prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In our efforts to align our actions with the overall university DEI initiative, we have established an internal committee to develop preliminary recommendations for ENVD.

Design Culture
The values of a community define that community. It defines the rules, written and unwritten, by which we all abide. ENVD will be reinforcing its values with the development of an explicit values message. The focus of this message will be that every member of the community is to be respected at all times and in all situations. There are no exceptions.

We will work to break down barriers within the design industry and a profession that has long been criticized for being an unwelcoming culture. While ENVD cannot change an entire profession, it can be a voice for change. We are committed to that voice.

COVID-19: Coping and Learning
This past year has been like no other. It’s challenged us in new ways and we continue to adapt and innovate every single day. It’s taken all of us, working together, to overcome these uncertain times.

As plans for summer and fall are announced, we are hopeful for a more comprehensive on-campus experience for the fall semester. As you may have read in the Provost’s message on March 29, the fall 2021 semester will return to a more traditional in-person experience at CU �鶹ӰԺ, with a few continuing precautions. We will continue to update our students with our plans for the fall semester.

Sincerely,
Paul Chinowsky
ENVD Director

The Program in Environmental Design is building on its core values and strong foundation to develop the finest educational experience for students. Several initiatives are underway for the remainder of the year.

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A message from the director: Black lives matter

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 20:59:12 +0000

A message from the director: Black lives matter Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/10/2020 - 14:59

Dear ENVD community,

Many of you have read my previous statement and reached out to let me know that I fell short in expressing how I felt about the recent and horrific killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and many other Black lives across our nation. I want to apologize for a statement that was too generic and not focused either on the pain and suffering of the Black community or on the specifics of what we intend to do to remedy that pain and suffering in ENVD. Please allow me another chance to express my and our program’s values more clearly.

First, it angers and saddens me to see that as a society we continue to repeat the same reprehensible behaviors with no consequences. This must stop. The lives of our Black community matter and all Black Lives Matter. Please know that I see you, I hear you, and that I stand with you.

I acknowledge that as a program there is a need for improvement to the ENVD culture, both inside and outside the classroom. It is difficult to admit that the actions and initiatives we have been taking are not always visible or communicated well, but I want to assure you that I am committed to working with you all to increase our awareness and take action against our flaws.

In the coming weeks, I will be working with our internal diversity committee and Designers Without Boundaries program to achieve the following goals:

To open this discussion and work together so that all voices can be heard
To develop a set of recommendations focused on education that ENVD can incorporate into its core values and teachings
To increase a consistent messaging platform throughout the ENVD program
To provide recommendations for guidance and training to assist faculty, staff and students in better understanding diversity, equity and inclusivity

I know that I have a lot to learn and that I am no expert on race and racism, and I am doing my part to educate myself. What I do know is that as designers, creators and makers of tomorrow we must not be colorblind. In fact, we have the power to design a better future that embraces color. We have the power to create spaces that do not profile, judge or discriminate against any person based on the color of their skin. With dialogue, we can spread this message to our community and beyond. Together, we have the power to make a difference.

In solidarity,

Paul Chinowsky, Director
Program in Environmental Design

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Standing together against hate and violence

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 17:43:03 +0000

Standing together against hate and violence Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/01/2020 - 11:43

Dear ENVD community,

I hope this message finds you all well and healthy. I wanted to send out this message as the country is once again facing an inflection point in its struggle with race relations. What we are all watching is emotional, raw, and for many, triggering painful memories. We are watching the frustrations of a country that is tired of waiting for change. People who do not feel safe on our streets, in their communities, in their homes. We see our communities divided against themselves, tired of the lack of communication and the lack of being heard.

Watching these images every night can make one feel helpless. It makes one question how others feel in your own community, and what your friends are feeling within ENVD. We may not be able to stop the scenes that we are watching, but we can make sure that our ENVD community is not fostering the situation that is leading to these national feelings. We can make sure that our ENVD community is making every individual feel heard, empowered and important. ENVD is not perfect. We have our issues. We have room to improve.

ENVD is a community that we all value. It is a community that I want to see thrive. It is a community that I want every individual to feel like they belong and are valued. As such, I promise you that we will redouble our efforts to make sure that we will not tolerate any discrimination in our community. It simply does not matter what a person’s gender is, what their race is, what their sexual orientation is, what their socioeconomic condition is. It only matters that each of you is a member of the ENVD community. It only matters that you are a person with your own hopes, dreams, and desire to make a difference in the world.

A first step is to say that we all deplore the situation that is leading to protests and violence in the country. But that is not enough. We have to start by making sure that what we control is addressing the problem. And that is the message that I want all of you to hear today. ENVD will continue to work towards building a better community where every individual feels like they belong. We have work to do. I have work to do. But I pledge to all of you that I will keep working towards this goal and with your help, we will keep striving toward our goal. It is the first step.

Stay safe, stay healthy, we are a community and you are each valued and important. Never forget that. Stay strong.

Paul Chinowsky
Director

ENVD is a community that we all value. It is a community that I want to see thrive. It is a community that I want every individual to feel like they belong and are valued.

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A message from the director

Anonymous — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 17:18:17 +0000

A message from the director Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/31/2020 - 11:18

Coming together after spring break

Welcome (virtually) back ENVD students, from what was very likely a somewhat strange spring break. I hope this note finds all of you and your families healthy and doing well through this unprecedented event. I know that many of you are adjusting to the remote version of ENVD. Faculty and staff understand the mixed emotions that everyone is going through. It is perfectly normal to be experiencing some frustration, some anger, some disconnect, and especially for seniors, some loss. We are all feeling those things and we all empathize.

But now we are back from spring break and we all have to work together to make the rest of this semester as positive and successful as we can make it. This will, in fact, take all of us working together. Faculty worked diligently over the course of spring break to adjust courses, get technical issues resolved and to develop assignments that reflect our situation. Staff are also working to make sure you have what you need to succeed, to figure out how all the changes are affecting our students, and on making sure you feel connected to this program. Each of you now has a role to play in making the rest of this semester a success. We are not asking for anything more than normal—attend class, give it your best effort, and feel confident in your work. Will everything feel different—yes. Will things go smoothly every class—no. Will we work as hard as we can to make sure each and every one of you succeed—absolutely.

There have been some major developments while you were away on break that you need to make sure you are aware of. Pass/Fail grading is now available for every class this spring. It is student optional, so make sure you read the new guidelines and processes. But be aware—ENVD grade requirements for advancing in some courses are higher than a D- grade which gets a P in the university. Make sure you check with your advisor if you have any questions.

Summer session: For those who are considering taking coursed during the summer session, Maymester, A, and C terms will be remote learning. B term will be decided by April 15, 2020. The courses will still happen, but expect remote learning and look for a final word on B term.

Graduation: I know many of you that are graduating are disappointed that the May ENVD ceremony is being postponed. However, know that we are planning for an in-person ceremony at a later date. We are trying to determine what that date will be. Stay tuned—you will get that opportunity to walk across the stage and have your parents applaud your accomplishment. We will not abandon that event.

Things are going to be unstable as we continue. We will get you information as soon as we have it. However, many times we are receiving the information just as you are. So, know that we are not holding anything back. I will also have a weekly online Zoom session where you can ask me or any of the other ENVD leadership team questions. Look for that announcement in this newsletter.

Thank you for being patient with us during this time. I do want you to know that you have my word and the commitment of all the faculty and staff that we are putting everything we have into making this a successful semester. The ENVD students are our number one concern. I won’t lie to you and say everything is going to be perfect, but I will say that I have confidence in you, in our faculty, and in our staff that we can demonstrate to the rest of the university how to make this a successful semester.

Welcome Back and remember – We are ENVD!

Paul Chinowsky
Director, Program in Environmental Design

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A message from the director

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 17:41:15 +0000

A message from the director Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 01/14/2020 - 10:41

Welcome back ENVD student community

I hope that all of you had a chance to get some rest and enjoy some downtime over the break. As we welcome 2020, we are excited to celebrate the 50th anniversary of environmental design. We will be celebrating both the past and the future throughout this year. We will host special speakers, guest jurors and some surprises.

We will also be launching the first ENVD capital campaign to raise funds for building our scholarship funds, our emergency funds and to continue to build our technical capacity.

As we enter our 50th year, I thought you might be interested in a few ENVD facts:

ENVD is the only program in the Rocky Mountain Region where you can major in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, and product design at an AAU university – this is the highest recognition for a research university in the United States and CU �鶹ӰԺ is one of only 39 public universities who have this distinction.
ENVD has more environmental design graduates than any ENVD program in the country.
ENVD has more applicants to its program right now than at any time in the last decade.

We are very excited about our 50th anniversary year and to share this special year with you. It is going to be an exciting semester and all the staff and faculty look forward to making it a great start to a new decade.

As always, my door is open whenever you would like to share some thoughts about ENVD.

Happy New Year!

Paul Chinowsky
Director, Program in Environmental Design

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A message from the director

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 18:27:43 +0000

A message from the director Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 09/10/2019 - 12:27

Welcome back ENVD students!

It is hard to believe we are already in the third week of the semester. Everyone is in a routine and it is exciting to see the initial project reviews happening in studios. I hope all of our new first-year students are beginning to feel that they are a part of the ENVD community. The Emerging Leaders Program and the student organizations are doing a great job with all the events that are happening this month in ENVD. I hope everyone is taking the opportunity to get involved with the great organizations we have in ENVD.

By now you will have noticed some of the changes that occurred in ENVD over the past summer. We are excited to welcome a new group of faculty representing all of the majors. The new curriculum is in full implementation and the 8-week studios are bringing new energy to the first and second-year studios. The new maker space on the third floor and the new gallery are getting finalized and ready for use.

All of the changes have been implemented with one goal in mind – to provide our students with the best environmental design education in the country. As we enter the 50th anniversary year of environmental design at CU �鶹ӰԺ, the faculty and staff are excited to introduce our students to new challenges and new opportunities. I look forward to introducing these new opportunities over the next year as we celebrate together the golden anniversary of ENVD.

Welcome back to the start of the 2019-2020 academic year. It will be an exciting year as ENVD once again shows we have the most creative and hard-working students at CU!

As always – drop by any time if you have any questions or thoughts on the program.

Paul Chinowsky
Director, Program in Environmental Design

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ENVD director discusses climate change on CPR

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 18:58:59 +0000

ENVD director discusses climate change on CPR Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/03/2018 - 11:58

ENVD Director Paul Chinowsky talked to Colorado Matters about the damages to come, and possible solutions.

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ENVD director helps lead White House climate report

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 18:51:49 +0000

ENVD director helps lead White House climate report Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/03/2018 - 11:51

Paul Chinowsky, director of the Program in Environmental Design and co-author of a chapter in the climate change report released Friday, November 23, was quoted in the New York Times. Read the full article.

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” said Paul Chinowsky, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado, �鶹ӰԺ, and a co-author of the report’s chapter on the effect of climate change on roads, bridges and other infrastructure. That chapter concludes that more extreme storms, flooding and heat waves, along with rising sea levels, will damage the nation’s roadways, leading to dangerous infrastructure collapses and up to $21 billion in damage by the century’s end.

“I’m watching these arguments between politicians and scientists, but I’m on the ground with public works officials who say that argument’s irrelevant,” Mr. Chinowsky said. “People are going to get hurt and die if we don’t change the policy.”

Paul Chinowsky, director of the Program in Environmental Design and co-author of a chapter in the climate change report released Friday, November 23, was quoted in the New York Times.

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