Boulder – Incoming freshmen at the University of Colorado will receive a revamped orientation this summer dealing with student wellness and diversity, among other things.
But orientation director Jim Davis Rosenthal said the changes have more to do with him being a new director than a response to troubling events over the past year.
“It’s about a holistic approach to campus life that, really, all students need to have,” Davis Rosenthal said Thursday. “It’s the result of planning I’ve done over the past year.”
Major changes will be most visible in areas of advising, residence life and student-development programming.
The alcohol death of a freshman last fall and a rash of incidents in the last few months had some officials considering a new approach with incoming students. The faculty assembly has considered a course for freshmen about student life.
While Davis Rosenthal said the orientation will be “much changed,” he said he did not focus on particular incidents.
“For instance, the multiculturalism sessions,” Rosenthal said, “that’s something I started planning (last) September.”
In a release, Davis Rosenthal said newcomers can expect “a lot of changes to the actual programming, which we’ve made with the intention of communicating more effectively with students and parents.”
The first orientation session begins on Monday.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
