Accreditation Site Visit Decoration Contest
Ahead of the upcoming WSCUC Accreditation Reaffirmation site visit, Academic Affairs and the Provost’s Office are taking a page from Staff Council's playbook to challenge all departments and organizations to enter into a door and/or bulletin board decorating contest! Let’s showcase the talents, passion, and engagement of our university community under the accreditation reaffirmation theme, “Rooted & Rising Together”.
The winning department(s) will receive a special delivery of Mia Bella Cupcakes for the whole team! (We’ve heard cupcakes are popular motivators for creativity).
- Photo entries are due to OAAVP@humboldt.edu on Wednesday, April 8 by the end of the day
- Submissions should indicate the theme category, department and a contact person
- The Provost’s Office will send out a form with photos of all entries for faculty and staff to vote on their favorites on April 9-10th Open this voting form to cast your vote!
- The winner will be announced on Monday, April 13
- Cupcakes will be delivered to departments on April 20
About the Rooted & Rising Together Theme
“Rooted & Rising Together” celebrates our university’s strong foundation and bold future as we prepare for WSCUC Accreditation Reaffirmation.
- To be Rooted is to honor our deep connections to our redwood environment, cultural heritage, sustainability, community values, and students grounded in scholarship and purpose.
- To be Rising is to embrace growth, innovation, and opportunity. It reflects expanding programs, research, technology, and pathways that empower our students to thrive beyond graduation.
- To be Together is to recognize the collaborative spirit that defines us: our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, shared governance, and education for the public good.
Together, this theme reflects who we are and where we are headed: grounded in our mission, rising toward new possibilities, and united in continuous improvement.
Below are additional descriptions of the theme elements and how they can be potentially expressed through the contest categories, as well as some ideas to get started!
Please make it a priority to use sustainable, recycled, reused, or found materials for all categories, as much as possible. Please visit this sustainability webpage for guidance.
- Best “Rooted”: To win this category, decorate in a way that reminds us of our redwoods, native plants, people connected to nature and each other, students grounded in scholarship, focus on sustainability, community values, and/or shows the cultural roots of our staff and students.
- Best “Rising”: To win this category, design a board or door that shows a vision into the future of our university and its students. Ideas include opportunities provided to continuing and graduating students such as study abroad, certifications, grad school, our expanding campus, new technology that benefits our students (the flight simulator, kinesiology lab, simulation lab, etc), socioeconomic benefits, and research breakthroughs.
- Best “Together”: To win this category, decorate a door or board that provides a look into the social atmosphere of how our university affects the larger county community, markets, demonstrations, and local businesses, or how we embrace our campus clubs, events, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Best “Prepared”: This category will be awarded to the board and department that is most prepared for the Accreditation visit! This includes knowing, symbolizing, and showcasing the Lines of Inquiry #1, Accreditation Site Visit Information, and our Institutional Report Themes:
Justice as an Organizing Principle
Resilience Through Adaptation
Education for the Public Good
Transparency & Shared Governance
Trajectory, Not Arrival
Evidence-Informed Improvement
- Overall: This category will be awarded to the best overall board theming and design for those who dare tackle all categories on one door or bulletin board!
Remember these are just suggestions to get you started. Feel free to let your creativity flourish!
Annalisa Rush
Office of Academic Affairs