As Colorado State University-Pueblo leaders work to define more concretely their definition of the vision of being “The People’s University,” they are aggressively taking a first step in connecting more with the community through space in downtown Pueblo.

The university’s Vision 2028 project has established a downtown presence for CSU-Pueblo at Watertower Place, an emerging downtown Pueblo project spearheaded by Ryan McWilliams, a CSU-Pueblo alum and a member of the CSU-Pueblo President’s Citizen’s Advisory Board.

“We do know that 'The People’s University' means deep, serious involvement with the community and it has to go both ways,” said Donna Souder Hodge, chief strategy officer and executive director for organizational development at CSU-Pueblo.

CSU-Pueblo President Timothy Mottet explained that the university's initiative to become the people’s university by 2028, honors regional histories, a commitment to work and the need to establish new and innovative campus learning and support systems to better serve students and Southern Colorado.

The first two years of Vision 2028 implementation will include a focus on external partnerships and new revenue streams that will continue to drive innovation on the Belmont campus. A new coaching model for student advising, redesigned general education and capstone courses, an investment in athletics facilities, and a new financial aid model provide a foundation for change on campus.

Enrollment initiatives will be tailored to create quality programming that appeals to traditional high school graduates from the region, adult learners with some college and no degree and graduate students who may want to up-skill or re-imagine their professional lives through certificate programs and an online suite of graduate programs.

Souder Hodge said leaders identified early in the school’s visioning process that a downtown presence was crucial.

“We believe that we have lots of expertise on our campus and that we can be involved and help with something innovative like Watertower Place. And we know for sure that there is incredible expertise in this community and we need to have a really big conversation about how we get that expertise on our campus and working with our students.”

Mottet said that a downtown office will create an opportunity to expand campus collaborations with local businesses, industry and ongoing economic and social innovations for the region.

“The university is evolving and morphing. I think to be a true people’s university is to be responsive to the needs of people in real time,” Mottet said.

“What you need today is not what you are going to need tomorrow.”

Mottet and Souder Hodge said becoming the people’s university will be a process.

“What we wanted for the university and our students is to have a seat at the table as an innovation like Watertower Place was happening,” she said.

Mottet said CSU-Pueblo is running parallel with Watertower Place as a concept of evolution.

“I think there is value in the process. You have process and you have the product and a lot of people focus on the product or the outcome,” Mottet said.

“I think what we are interested in with Watertower Place and Ryan, is working through the process. Much of our learning and our evolution is process driven.”

Souder Hodge said the university will get students and faculty involved with businesses and teams at Watertower Place.

“Simply having a presence downtown can change the way CSU-Pueblo does our work,” Souder Hodge said.

She said that Watertower Place is appealing for several reasons – one being that McWilliams is an alum and is from Pueblo.

“He left and he came back and made his home here. That matters to us,” Souder Hodge said.

“As a member of the CSU-Pueblo President’s Citizen’s Advisory Board, he has a picture and an understanding of what happens on our campus, which is really great.”

Mottet said faculty at CSU-Pueblo educated McWilliams and now he is giving back.

McWilliams said Pueblo has a phenomenal history and it needs to be honored and its story needs to be told.

“We are bringing in companies from out of state and out of the country and we need to connect all those companies with the community. CSUP is the community. They are at the core of a lot of this,” McWilliams said.

“Our version of Pueblo is an insanely, positive adjective.”

McWilliams said he is a proud alum and people always ask where he went to school.

“When I say Colorado State University-Pueblo, the rest of the world actually holds us in pretty high regard. Pueblo is known throughout the world for a lot of different things especially in the rail industry,” McWilliams said.

“Being able to give back is exactly what I want to do here in Pueblo.”

Mottet said CSU-Pueblo’s space also will bring people to the Watertower facility.

“For us, it’s bringing potential students back to the university and using the downtown presence at Watertower Place as a place to have a conversation with students and prospective students,” Mottet said.

“I think this could be a hub where we have a center for continuing education where we bring community members back into the fold and take their work experience and give them credit for that and then work toward a degree.”

amestas@chieftain.com

Twitter: @mestas3517