Vice Provost Herbie Lee hosted the second SAP informational pop-up, or “Cafe SAP,” from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the Jack Baskin Engineering courtyard on Nov. 14. This cafe focused on increasing circulation of UCSC’s achievements as an institution, in order to draw more attention to the school from donors and employers.
“I’ve always heard about the great things the campus is doing via its own communications, but from the outside world I’m not really hearing Santa Cruz or UCSC name dropped,” said UCSC research administrator Mariko Walton. “Hearing the Strategic Academic Plan and attending the chancellor’s forum, you get to see what the campus is doing and how our ranking is rising.”
Launched in November 2017, the SAP is designed to improve the academics of UCSC, attract new resources and identify educational barriers students may face.
The SAP received criticism in the past from campus for moving too quick and failing to involve students in its development. The Cafe SAP program seeks to alleviate part of the criticisms, said Vice Provost Herbie Lee.
“We’re trying to do broad outreach and outreach at many different levels, some as mass communication and some as small group,” said Lee. “People tend to be much more engaged if we can get them in a small group setting.”
Five people were in attendance at this cafe, none of whom were undergraduates. Two were graduate students and three were university staff.
Right now, the SAP committee is reviewing its design principles before moving into its implementation process. The next cafe will be Dec. 12, at the UCSC Scotts Valley Center.
