Outlook from the Dean
More than ever, the College of Natural Sciences' role in education extends well beyond our campus borders and the confines of traditional teaching methods. We grapple with questions about the science education students receive before reaching college age and, for those who later enroll at Colorado State, how they will fare after they leave our university. 
This issue of Outlook covers some of the ways the College is working to meet these challenges. 
With respect to the education we provide future science and mathematics teachers, we were given a new challenge last year with the passing of Senate Bill 154, which requires that all teacher preparation programs fit within four years. Customarily, many prospective science teachers have invested five years to complete both their undergraduate degrees and teacher license requirements. Meeting the legislative mandate required a new approach.
We have decided to alter an existing degree to provide a more interdisciplinary focus in natural sciences with concentrations in various areas of science and math. We recognize that most school teachers are responsible for classes in more than one aspect of science and therefore believe this new approach will be more effective at giving students the ability to teach across disciplines. 
The natural science degree for future teachers also is consistent with our goal of offering a greater number of integrated science courses. I would like to see the College develop more classes combining physics, chemistry, and geology, for example. These courses could be especially useful for non-technical majors who want a better understanding of the sciences as a whole. 
One Colorado State program focused squarely on science and math education is the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education, or CSMATE. This program, described in greater depth elsewhere in this issue of Outlook, helps broaden the College's role in education, reaching out to current and future K-12 teachers to offer innovative methods that they can use in teaching science and math.
The College of Natural Sciences and the College of Applied Human Sciences currently are interviewing candidates for the position of CSMATE director, following the departure of Fredrick Stein last fall. We expect to have a new director on board by the time you read this publication. I hope that under the new director, CSMATE will continue to attract extramural funding to support its important mission.
Near the other end of our spectrum of college responsibilities lies the need to train skilled graduates in information technology. At present, higher education institutions cannot meet the demands for qualified employees in fields such as computer science, computer engineering, technical journalism, computer graphics, and computer business applications. The issue is particularly pertinent in Colorado, which supports a relatively high number of technology-sector jobs.
In response, the University has launched an initiative to increase the number of graduates in these areas. In computer science, for example, we have added three new faculty positions and in five years have nearly doubled the number of students. Of course, we also owe it to these students to continue giving them the high-quality education needed for a successful career. We also owe it to industry and government to provide the kinds of employees that can meet their demands.
So how do we plan to accomplish this? We will continue to offer a broad-based core curriculum that seeks to give students technical knowledge, oral and written communication skills, and the abilities to problem-solve and work in teams, along with a basic background in liberal arts. We also will continue to seek industry-based internships and opportunities for students to participate in research, independent studies, and research symposia. The future success of our students depends as much on hands-on experience as on GPA.
We feel particularly proud of the job our faculty are doing and of the students who will soon leave Colorado State. As commencement approaches, graduates are entering new chapters of their lives. We hope and fully expect that these lives will be enriched by what they have learned at Colorado State University, both in the classroom and outside.
Sincerely,

John C. Raich