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If you’re a regular reader of our magazine, you know I’ve used this space several times in the past to talk about CMCI’s forthcoming integration with the environmental design program at the university.Ìý

And I can’t tell you how exciting it is to stop talking about it and start doing the work of bringing us together.Ìý

In this issue, you’ll read more about the name change and why we felt it was important to become the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. But allow me to reiterate how important it was to me to make this change. We’re a college that prides itself on teaching our students to tell good stories, whether through a podcast, a documentary, an algorithm or a social media account. Well, design is just another way of telling a story—one that helps us understand why we’ve made certain choices about the built environment, and what those choices say about our priorities going forward.

As a college, when we look at some of the big problems facing us—like how to make the built environment work better for people, how to incorporate sustainability into everyday solutions, or how to elevate equity into what we build and create—it’s clear that design is an important part of developing effective solutions. Hands-on learners, innovators and problem-solvers are at home in both CMCI and ENVD, which will allow our communities to seamlessly collaborate in seeking sustainable solutions to the great challenges facing our society and the world. By adding ENVD’s majors to CMCI, we will cultivate faculty and student collaborations that encourage us to explore new areas, look at problems from a different perspective and marshal creativity in developing innovative solutions.

And while it took some time for us to get to this point, I’m pleased that we’re already seeing some positive impact and exciting collaboration between environmental design and the college. ENVD students will be using augmented reality tools in our Immersive Media Lab this semester on a project to develop better models for retrofitting neighborhoods in Denver. A joint career fair is already in the works, and the undergraduate Design Club is bringing students from both areas together to learn how to use their skills to complement their talents and create beautiful designs.Ìý

I’m excited to usher in this new chapter for the college, and am excited for July 1 when our rebranding becomes official. Keep an eye out for more news as we continue work on this!

Warm regards,Ìý
Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and InformationÌý