CMU hosts third town hall meeting with parents to discuss Safe Together, Strong Together campus planning initiative

Thousands of university parents and students provide input on return to campus and zero percent tuition increase for Colorado students.

More than 2,000 parent participants joined CMU President Tim Foster and the university's Safe Together, Strong Together co-chairs John Marshall, vice president for student services, and Amy Bronson, EdD, physician assistant program director, in an hour-long town hall meeting on Monday, May 18. The CMU community meeting focused on answering parent questions about returning to campus along with the university’s recently announced zero percent tuition, fee, and room and board increase for students in the coming academic year.

"We need input from parents as we finalize our return to campus plan," said Foster. “I am humbled by not only by the number of parents who joined the conversation, but by the intensity and specificity of their engagement. The town hall was hugely valuable for our Safe Together, Strong Together planning effort."

Bronson and Marshall joined Foster during the meeting and covered a wide range of topics from virus testing and social distancing to fall sports and residence hall protocols. Foster also remarked on the recent CMU Board of Trustees' unanimous decision to not raise tuition in the coming year. The decision surprised some higher education observers as financial challenges facing higher education continue to reverberate throughout the economy.

The town hall session was part of the CMU effort to keep students and families updated and to solicits ideas, feedback and input from CMU community members on the Safe Together, Strong Together planning initiative. The initiative will result in the final operations plan for restoring in-person learning this fall.