Ad hoc Caltech co-curricular group

To: The Campus Community
From: Thomas F. Rosenbaum, Sonja and William Davidow Presidential Chair and Professor of Physics
Date: September 9, 2021
Re: Ad hoc Caltech co-curricular group

Trustee Deborah McWhinney, chair of the Board's Student Experience Committee, will be leading the newly formed Caltech Co-Curricular Group (C3 Group), a committee charged to delve into the co-curricular experiences of Caltech undergraduates and graduate students.

The C3 Group is a follow-up to a successful re-accreditation process. It will explore the broad impacts of the Caltech co-curricular experience, striving to identify the elements that play significant roles in how students feel about their time at Caltech, to articulate the most successful approaches, and to make recommendations on how to enhance the Caltech co-curricular program in a manner that will strengthen the experience for all students. The C3 group will have representatives from recent alumni, the office of student affairs, faculty, and staff. A steering committee will serve alongside the C3 Group to offer additional perspectives.

Over the next four months the C3 Group will engage in a consultative and collaborative process that includes input from students and alumni, and from student affairs professionals at Caltech and across the nation. They will review existing data, conduct focus groups, and conduct cognitive interviews, all to validate what we do exceptionally well and recommend where there are opportunities to improve. The C3 Group is planning to submit a summary report with recommendations to me by calendar year's end.

The C3 Group will be chaired by Trustee Deborah McWhinney and co-chaired by Diana Jergovic, vice president for strategy implementation. Members include: alumna Lorinda Dajose (BS '16, content and media strategist in the office of strategic communications), Natalie Gilmore (assistant dean of graduate studies), Felicia Hunt (assistant vice president for student affairs and residential experience), Mark Longo (senior director of strategic initiatives and development administrative management), Candace Rypisi (assistant vice provost and director of student-faculty programs), Hima Vatti (assistant vice president, equity and equity investigations), and Nicholas Wey-Gomez (professor of history).
Alumna Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux (MS '03, assistant vice president for diversity, equity, inclusion and assessment) will serve as research director and advisor to the group, and Hillary Tribbs (administrative affairs manager, office of strategy implementation) will staff the group.

The C3 Steering Committee includes Dexter Bailey (vice president for advancement and alumni relations), Kevin Gilmartin (vice president for student affairs and the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of English), Cassandra Horii (assistant vice provost and director of the center for teaching, learning, and outreach), and Alum and Trustee Mason Smith (BS '09).

I am grateful to the C3 Group and Steering Committee for taking on this important initiative.