Legislative Deep Dive: CNS Core Values
The College of Natural Sciences means different things to each person within it. We come from different places and leave to start our professional careers in different places. But the time we spend together between those milestones makes a significant and unique impact on each one of us. What makes CNS special is that despite our different hometowns, backgrounds and experiences, we all eventually find a home in CNS. This home is due to a collective set of values that each CNS student shares and develops during their time in our college. The values set our identity as a community and mark our priorities as a college. While these values have always existed within CNS, the Natural Sciences Council has taken steps this year to encourage the adoption of a formal set of core values for our college. The purpose of a set of core values within the College of Natural Sciences is to guide faculty and administration in decision-making, create a sense of community and belonging among all students in CNS, and serve as a set of standards towards which the college can strive. Precedent for college core values at UT has been set by the UT College of Pharmacy, McCombs School of Business, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, and Dell Medical School.
What are the Proposed Core Values?
Scientific Inquiry — the resolute quest to advance the forefront of discovery and explore the phenomena of the natural world.
Initiative — the will to unequivocally apply yourself in all aspects of life and be the master of your own path.
Ethics and Integrity — the courage to do the right thing and the utilization of knowledge for the benefit of humanity.
Creative Thinking — the ingenious and imaginative mindset towards learning, research and life by embracing interdisciplinary collaboration.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — the acceptance of all people into our community, the commitment to equitable opportunity for all, and the celebration of each person’s unique identity
How Were These Core Values Decided Upon?
These core values were developed after a series of focus groups, college-wide surveys, and discussion with administration (namely the Office of Diversity and Student Programs). Each of these participants were posed with the same two questions:
What values does CNS currently embody?
What values should CNS commit to strengthening?
At each stage, the proposed core values were edited to account for student opinions so that they would accurately represent the values that our student body identifies with. Despite CNS having its shortcomings with regards to certain values (namely diversity, equity, and inclusion), such values should still be included in the final list in order for the college to cement their dedication towards improvement. According to the final student body survey, 93.3% of respondents across all CNS departments approved of these core values as either representative of our college currently or values that our college should work towards strengthening.
So What Does the Legislation Do?
On Nov. 24, 2020, the Natural Sciences Council’s 80 student representatives voted to approve the proposed core values. The passage of this legislation serves as an official recommendation by the college’s student representatives for CNS administration to adopt these core values. It also defines accountability measures to annually review and renew the commitment to these core values. This includes annual departmental reviews by department chairs and an official review based on the core values by the Dean in the annual State of the College address. These reviews are suggested to contain the year’s progress towards upholding all five core values and future plans for building upon this progress.
How Would These Core Values Be Enacted?
Given the breadth of our college, the authors of the legislation chose not to include exact actions for adhering to the core values in order to give faculty and staff the creative freedom necessary to apply these core values in a variety of departments and offices. However, some examples of how these core values could be implemented were suggested in student body surveys and focus groups:
Incorporate core values into admissions and scholarship application evaluations
Allocate resources for underrepresented minorities in STEM and students with disabilities
Establish commitment to development of undergraduate research opportunities across all CNS departments
Hold core values as standards for classroom expectations
Guide decision-making by CNS administrative leaders
Consider core values as priorities when determining program and grant budgeting
Catalyze the development of new initiatives which represent the values of CNS
Next Steps
Now that these core values have been officially proposed by Natural Sciences Council on behalf of the CNS student body, the legislation has been sent to relevant CNS administrative leaders. The next step for NSC is to work with CNS faculty and staff to determine how these core values can be feasibly and tangibly enacted in each unique department and office. If you are an undergraduate interested in working with your department or office to implement the CNS core values, please contact NSC’s Senate Representative to get involved.
This article pertains to the passing of NSCR 2002: A Resolution to Adopt Core Values for the College of Natural Sciences on Nov. 24, 2020. The full legislation can be found here.
For more information, please contact NSC’s 2020-2021 Senate Representative, Rohit Prasad, at nsc.senate.representative@gmail.com.