Dear colleagues,

We are writing to provide some updates on the ongoing evolution of graduate education administration at CU Denver. 

Recapping State of Play

In spring 2025, Council of Graduate Studies (CGS) consultants made recommendations to help ensure success for graduate education programs and operations at CU Denver. To follow through on these recommendations, in June, the Provost’s Office appointed a special assistant and three faculty fellows: the co-authors of this memo along with Provost Karen Marrongelle. We worked this summer to develop a charge and workplan for a new Graduate Education Working Group. Further background on recent graduate education changes and communications can be found on this page.

What the Working Group is Doing

Beginning this month, we will convene this working group—a faculty-led cross-section of graduate education stakeholders—with special focus on: 

1. Governance: What policies and procedures should guide graduate education delivery at CU Denver? 
2. Structure: What administrative structure should oversee and coordinate CU Denver graduate education operations? 
3. Funding: What policies and procedures should guide graduate student employment and tuition remission? 

As the working group explores these three primary questions, other CGS recommendations may be addressed or prioritized for follow-up in varied forums. 

By Dec. 15, 2025, the working group will deliver recommendations to Chancellor Kenneth T. Christensen and Provost Marrongelle. The working group’s full charge and membership can be found here:

Graduate Education Operations This Semester

We know many of you, and the graduate students you serve, will have reason to engage with central administration on graduate studies. Please direct any questions, ranging from approval and routing of graduate education forms on this page to broader operational questions, to GraduateEducation@ucdenver.edu. This email is monitored and followed up on regularly. Though answers to some questions may be fluid during this transitional period, they will be routed to academic leadership if timely adjudications are needed. 

The Graduate Council and the Graduate Education Support Team (GEST) have provided crucial guidance on behalf of CU Denver graduate education. They will continue to convene this year, intersecting at times with working group dialogues, to support effective operations and partner alignment as we strive to maximize the scope and impact of these support structures. 

One key graduate education topic being discussed, outside the scope of our working group, relates to admissions. CU Denver school and college leaders are guiding efforts to identify opportunities for greater efficiency and standardization of admissions, as central admissions leaders provide support to ensure process consistency and honor program-specific criteria.   

We greatly appreciate your patience during this transition period and will provide further updates when available.

Karen Marrongelle, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Michael Wunder, Special Assistant to the Provost for Graduate Education

Scott Bauer, Faculty Fellow, Graduate Education

Jeffrey Jacot, Faculty Fellow, Graduate Education

Gillian Silverman, Faculty Fellow, Graduate Education