Amplifying Campus Excellence
Apr 3, 2025
Dear members of the Lynx community,
Today is an exciting day for our campus, and an impactful one! April 3 is our annual CU Denver Giving Day. Those of you who have been a part of this community longer than me surely understand the impact we foster each day for students who come to study with us in pursuit of opportunity—to meet their moment.
Just this week, I met with a group of students in the First-Generation and Multicultural (FaM) Business Program. This program represents the best of our university: a shared commitment to support our students so that they can maximize future success, while also servicing industry partners to meet placement demand. The result is a virtuous cycle of growth and innovation.
Giving Day provides us the opportunity to not only celebrate all that we make possible for our students and graduates through programs like FaM, but to amplify our efforts to ensure that our university remains accessible to a broad population of learners. In honoring the various ways CU Denver achieves these goals, I’ve committed to support all 31 unique funds participating in Giving Day. I hope you will join me in making a gift toward a fund that aligns to your own interests and passions.
In further consideration of our campus excellence, I also wanted to provide a status update on three leadership searches that are each nearing their conclusion. The finalists for these positions will be highly qualified and represent the spirit and culture that is emblematic of CU Denver.
- Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
- Vice Chancellor for Strategic Enrollment and Student Success (SESS)
- Vice Chancellor for Marketing & Communications
These searches, although distinct, are all fundamentally connected. The three leaders we hire will be paramount toward building a comprehensive enrollment strategy that places the student experience and their success at the center of everything we do. Within our current financial environment, we must think differently with a focus on three key areas: expansion of our learner base, alignment to workforce needs, and refinement of our degree and non-degree offerings. Yesterday afternoon, Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Ann Sherman shared an update on our financial planning for fiscal year 2026. While the news is far better than it could have been, our ability to thrive in the future and best serve our mission requires us to attend to these three imperatives with urgency and ingenuity.
Our success also relies on our willingness to collaborate and reward scalable best practices from across CU Denver. I have met with so many amazing members of our community over the past two months and there is cutting-edge innovation taking place here that too few know about. Exposure to these experiences cannot stop with me. We need to take a close look at localized initiatives that are having a positive impact on students’ success, celebrate them, and scale or replicate them when it’s feasible to do so.
As a university that prides itself on its inclusivity, I challenge our community to engage with our candidates in robust dialogue during their forthcoming visits. This is a pivotal moment for campus growth. Please participate in your most authentic capacity—be curious, ask questions, and, above all else, ensure our guests feel welcome. I know that they will experience the same gratitude I felt during my visits as a candidate for chancellor.
In encouraging our community to invest in the excellence of our university, I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge that we continue to navigate through challenging times in higher education. I recognize how heavy this sense of uncertainty can feel, not only for each of you, but your families and loved ones. We will continue to share all CU Denver communications and resources on our Federal Transition website. As a campus, we remain steadfast in our mission to provide opportunities for the diverse students, faculty, and staff who call our campus home. To our international students, we value you and the important ways you enrich our campus. Our Office of International Affairs is here to help answer questions as you navigate uncertainty in this moment and can be reached at ISSS@ucdenver.edu.
In closing, I have the utmost confidence that we will succeed in attaining the attention we deserve as an urban public research institution. The camaraderie I see as I walk through campus and visit with students, faculty, and staff is unique. My engagement with all of you is what I have enjoyed most and serves as the driving force behind my service as chancellor. Please read on for a collection of campus highlights.
College graduations mark a moment to celebrate all that our students have accomplished as they embark onward. Spring commencement on May 17 also provides our campus the chance to give back. Please consider volunteering and sharing in the culmination of a years-long journey for our learners.
Alejandro Rodriguez-Gomez, a senior mechanical engineering major, won the cover contest for Westword’s 42nd edition of its Best of Denver issue. Westword partnered with the College of Arts & Media’s Visual Arts department on the cover contest. Alejandro’s rendering is a take on the late Lawrence Argent’s Big Blue Bear, with a cow (synonymous with Best Of Denver cover art) standing in for its grizzlier doppelganger.
Wes Marshall, professor of civil engineering at the College of Engineering, Design and Computing, was selected as a recipient of the 2025 University of Colorado Thomas Jefferson Award. The award honors those who demonstrate a commitment to the ideals of Jefferson, including civic responsibility and commitment to the welfare of the individual. His 2024 book, Killed by Traffic Engineer, explores the intersection of record highs in road causalities and the complexities of modern traffic infrastructure.
Rich Allen, professor of psychology and interim dean at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), was named a 2025-26 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow. Each fellow explores a topic in postsecondary education policy which aligns to their academic interest, their institution, and the broader higher education community. In his regular role as associate dean, Rich has overseen undergraduate curriculum, teaching, and learning resources at CLAS, which includes enrollment management, classroom resources, and learning enhancement and assessment.