Dear Lynx community,

Since commencement, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the year behind us and the opportunities that await us in the 2026-27 academic year. As part of that process, I revisited notes from some of my earliest meetings as chancellor.

Those conversations centered on many of the same themes that continue to guide our collective work today: learner success, new ways of serving lifelong learners, the importance of collective growth and health of the university, and connecting our teaching, research, and workforce development efforts to the needs of the communities we serve across the Denver metro area and Colorado. One topic we circled back on frequently was what it meant to be an anchor institution.

My notes also captured a growing recognition that higher education has entered a period of significant change. Demographic shifts, enrollment pressures, a federal transition, and shifting public expectations were all reshaping the landscape and will continue to do so. These headwinds continue to be strong and sometimes unpredictable, which is why I have continued to articulate that this is a critical time for us to unite internally around a shared path forward to a sustainable and thriving future.

The conclusions we reached in those early conversations were that the institutions most likely to succeed would be those that adapted first, widening their perspectives beyond the traditional boundaries of higher ed. Success would also require collective alignment and internal collaboration as well as external partnerships in support of learner outcomes. 

Fast forward to today, it is no surprise that many of our most significant initiatives are rooted in those same ideas. The Student Success Transformation Initiative, CU Denver Direct, ​academic program check-ins, lifelong learning, and the Strategic Plan Refresh​ all share a common goal: ensuring that CU Denver remains responsive to the needs of learners, employers, and the communities we serve. 

As we’ve discussed throughout the year, initial results have been and continue to be encouraging. Last fall, enrollment increased for the first time since 2020, while first-to-second-year retention reached a record-tying high of more than 76%. We’ve seen tremendous progress through the early implementation stages of our Student Success Transformation Initiative and admits across our CU Denver Direct partner school districts are up compared to historical baseline levels. During the past month, our CU Denver Direct partner school districts have also grown from four to six with the addition of St. Vrain Valley Schools​ in June and School District 27J in Brighton in July.

These outcomes reflect not only institutional progress, but they also demonstrate that more learners than ever before are finding access, opportunity, and success at CU Denver.  

Late last month, I had the opportunity to travel to India to tour potential sites for our Hyderabad location and to meet with the Standing Committee of India’s University Grants Commission in New Delhi. As demand for high-quality higher education continues to expand globally, the feedback we received was incredibly positive. We await word on whether our application to continue exploring this opportunity will be approved.

Our exploration in India reflects a broader commitment to thinking differently, grounded in the principles of our Strategic Plan Refresh. Not only is it an opportunity to widen our investments in learner success, but we are also pursuing organizational excellence and innovation that will create positive change in India while also directly driving positive change in Denver.

Like India, Independence Plaza offers an opportunity to approach our work in new and different ways. Although we remain in negotiations on the purchase, the exploration of the potential acquisition of Independence Plaza is emblematic of our ongoing strategy to strengthen connections between our university community, the city of Denver, and the employers and industries shaping downtown and the broader metro area.

This, too, is true of our recently announced partnership with Denver Economic Development & Opportunity (DEDO) to build a regional innovation and entrepreneurship hub to incubate and accelerate Denver metro area and regional startups. The partnership, for which the Downtown Denver Development Authority (DDDA) recommended $4.5 million in funding, will also help CU Denver increase access to internship opportunities, employment pathways, and career-engaged and experiential learning.

During my visits with schools and colleges this past spring, I often shared the story of Arizona State University (ASU) and Phoenix. Thirty years ago, neither ASU nor the Phoenix metro area were viewed as they are today. The transformation of the Phoenix metro area was not due to any single initiative, but through intentional alignment of ASU’s strengths in education, research, innovation, and workforce development with the needs and desires of Phoenix and its local industry partners, with a particular focus on semiconductors.

The lesson here is not that we should emulate ASU, though its commitment to measure itself not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes, is similar our own access ethos. Rather, it serves as a reminder that universities can be powerful drivers of place-based progress when they broaden their vision.

When I think back to where we were just one year ago, many of our conversations focused on possibilities. There is still much to accomplish but, as we near the start of the 2026-27 academic year, I am encouraged by the collective progress we have already made.

We are engaging with those we serve, partnering with both civic and community leaders, and listening to our industry partners. We are recognizing that our contributions are vital to creating a thriving and inclusive community where people want to live, work, learn, and build their futures.

As I have said, this lane for prosperity and success is open to CU Denver. Our location, talent, and public service obligation position us uniquely to take advantage of it. In doing so, we will build not only a stronger future for CU Denver, but for the Denver metro area, as well.

Thank you for all the ways you have chosen to lean in to build a more sustainable and thriving future for our university.