April 2016
Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano Philip P. DiStefano

Dear Friends,

Tom Cech teaching a class

Nobel laureate Tom Cech teaches undergraduate chemistry last fall. CU-Boulder has guaranteed a fixed-tuition, locked in for four years, creating predictability in college financial planning for Colorado students and their families. 

This month the Board of Regents passed a groundbreaking tuition plan for our resident students – fixed-tuition locked in for four years to create predictability in college financial planning for Colorado students and their families. We’ve had a plan like this for out-of-state students for about 10 years.

Fox31, Denver, April 10: "CU Boulder implements four-year tuition guarantee for resident students"

Beginning fall semester 2016 and fall semester 2017, incoming freshmen will see a one-time increase of up to 5 percent in their tuition and mandatory fees, which will then remain locked for four years. (The official rate for the entering fall 2016 class has been set at 3.97 percent). Incoming freshmen in the fall of 2018 and 2019 will see a one-time increase of up to 4 percent in their tuition and mandatory fees, which will then remain locked at that rate for four years.

Continuing students also benefit from the plan and details for current sophomores, juniors and seniors are available on our Value website.

We believe the tuition guarantee changes the conversation by shifting the burden of managing the risk of major swings in the economy from the students and their families to the university. It also allows current high school students to plan for what the cost of tuition will be at CU-Boulder for the year when they will enter.



VP Biden receives enthusiastic campus welcome

Vice President Joe Biden at CU-Boulder

Vice President Joe Biden at CU-Boulder on April 8.

Campus safety is our top priority so we fully endorse the national "It’s On Us" campaign to prevent campus sexual assault. We are a leader in this campaign and Vice President Joe Biden came to campus April 8 to highlight our efforts before a packed gymnasium of students.

USA Today College, April 9: "'Crying silently': VP Biden advocates for sexual assault victims during Week of Action"



Anaya appointed CU Law dean

Jim Anaya

Jim Anaya was appointed CU Law School dean this month.

I am pleased to announce the appointment this month of Jim Anaya as the dean of the CU Law School. He comes to us from the University of Arizona where his teaching and writing focus on international human rights and issues concerning indigenous peoples. He has litigated major indigenous and human rights cases in domestic and international tribunals, including the U.S. Supreme Court. 

He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico and his law degree from Harvard University.

I am delighted that Dean Philip Weiser will return to the faculty and continue to serve as the executive director of the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship along with the campus entrepreneurship initiative.

CU-Boulder Today, April 13: "Anaya named new dean of Colorado Law"



Original Shakespeare texts come to campus this summer, and more news on the arts

An original Shakespeare book

First Folio! makes its only Colorado appearance at CU-Boulder in August. 

I consider it an international compliment that the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., chose CU-Boulder as the only Colorado stop for its traveling exhibit, First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare.

This 1623 collection by Shakespeare's theater colleagues preserved Shakespeare's plays soon after his death. It will be on display at the CU Art Museum Aug. 9-31. Scholars consider it one of the most influential books in history because without it, plays such as Macbeth and The Tempest may have been lost forever.

The campus is complementing First Folio! with a summer-long program of 40 exhibitions and events we're calling Shakespeare at CU. Please join us in Boulder this summer for these exciting events.

In fact, the arts are integral to our mission and supported by our highly accomplished students, alumni and faculty.

For example, composition Professor Carter Pann was named a finalist this week for the Pulitzer Prize in music for his inspirational movements for a saxophone quartet, "The Mechanics: Six from the Shop Floor."

Boulder Daily Camera, April 19: "CU-Boulder's Carter Pann a finalist for Pulitzer Prize in music"

Meantime, innovative dance Professor and alumna Michelle Ellsworth won a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship this month. She was highlighted in The New York Times' article Best of Dance 2015.

Boulder Daily Camera, April 12: "CU-Boulder dance professor Michelle Ellsworth wins Guggenheim Fellowship"



Growing strawberries on Mars

Heather Hava

Ph.D. student Heather Hava.

We are proud of our space legacy, now spanning 60 years. It started in 1956 when our rocket technology was spun off to form Ball Brothers Research Corporation, two years before NASA was born.

Today, we are NASA's top-funded public university, home to top-10 ranked programs in aerospace engineering and physics, among others. We remain a national leader in educating astronauts, scientists, engineers—and now a space gardener. Read about this CU-Boulder graduate student who was honored recently for her innovations in how one could grow food on Mars.

Denver Post, April 12: "Growing strawberries in space isn't far from reality, says CU student"



Students rewarded for success

Derek Driggs, Richard Paucek and Matthew Winchester

Left to right, Derek Driggs, Richard Paucek and Matthew Winchester earned prestigious Goldwater Scholarships.

Half of this year's six Colorado-based winners of the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship attend CU-Boulder. The $7,500 national scholarship recognizes sophomores and juniors who have achieved high academic merit in math, science and engineering and who are expected to be leaders in their fields. The Goldwater Scholarship Program is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

CU-Boulder recipients—Derek Driggs of Golden, Richard Paucek of Greenwood Village and Matthew Winchester of Englewood—are all juniors from Colorado. Not only do they stand out in their academic pursuits, but they are actively engaged volunteers.

CU News Center, April 5: "Three CU-Boulder students win prestigious Goldwater scholarships"

Also, since 2013, 36 students from Fort Peck, Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations and Haskell University have participated in CU-Boulder's STEM Research and Mentoring Program on Sustainable Building.

We are proud that last month two students from last summer's program presented at the 2016 Emerging Researchers National Conference in STEM in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Science Foundation.

Indian Country Today, March 24: "STEM Projects Take Two Native Students to DC"



Glenn Miller inducted into Colorado Music Hall of Fame

Glenn Miller plays the trombone for couple

Glenn Miller was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame April 16, in his namesake ballroom.

Glenn Miller (A&S ex'26, HonDoc Hum'84) was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame on April 16 in his namesake ballroom. The big-band great was perhaps the most popular musician in the world when he went missing in World War II. His legacy lives on through the Glenn Miller Archives at the CU Heritage Center.

Boulder Daily Camera, April 15: "Acclaim for CU-Boulder legend Glenn Miller shines light on archive; Famed big band legend enters Colorado Music Hall of Fame"



New athletic facilities named among nation's Top 15

CU-Boulder Indoor Practice Facility

CU-Boulder's donor-supported indoor athletic facilities were named among the 15 best in the nation. 

The Bleacher Report last month named CU-Boulder's Champions Center Indoor Practice Facility among the nation's top 15. The new facilities are completely supported by the generosity of donors, and set the stage for student success on and off the field.

Go Buffs!

Sincerely,

Philip P. DiStefano
Chancellor
www.colorado.edu/chancellor