Outreach Initiative Aims to Improve How Colorado State Serves Citizens of Colorado

Colorado State University is conducting a review aimed at improving the ways in which it serves the citizens of Colorado, and has called on a longtime leader in the agricultural community to spearhead the effort.

Kirvin Knox, who today announced his retirement from the university effective at the end of the year, will serve as chairman of a task force on outreach at Colorado State. The task force, which has already been meeting, will focus on all the ways the university provides information and services to the citizens of Colorado and will focus on improving those offerings. The main thrust of the committee’s work will be to organize Colorado State’s numerous resources internally so that those resources are available to the public in a timely and efficient manner.

"Outreach across the university has always been a special concern of mine because Colorado State is Colorado’s land-grant university-a role we take very seriously," Knox said. "To meet this role, we must focus on the challenges facing Colorado communities, challenges brought about by our changing economy and social structure. Colorado State University is uniquely positioned to provide the kinds of services and knowledge that the people in our communities need."

Knox, who will continue to serve as vice provost through the remainder of the year, will immediately leave his post as dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. As the chair of the task force, he will be charged with delivering a plan to Provost Loren Crabtree before the end of the year.

Some of the major issues the plan will address include sustainable agriculture, the impact of growth on the state and the agricultural industry, water and irrigation management, management of pests and invasive weeds, delivery of education at a distance to underserved communities and family and societal issues.