The Global Future of CU Boulder

An Interview with CU Provost Phil DiStefano

      

Kevin Doran

        On a sunny day this fall, I sat down with Dr. Phil DiStefano, CU Boulder Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor—also a key supporter of EESI—for a conversation about his views on interdisciplinary education, global warming, and the development of EESI. 

          Growing up in the steel town of Steubenville, Ohio, DiStefano was the first in his family to go to college—and the first to go to graduate school. “When I graduated from high school,” he recalls, “I would say that 70 percent of the males that graduated went to work in the steel mill…Very few went to college.”  Today, DiStefano is the chief academic officer of a premier public university encompassing 9 colleges and graduate schools that offer 85 bachelor degrees, 70 masters degrees, and 50 doctoral degrees to some 28,000 students via 3,400 courses in over 150 areas of study. It is an improbable but inspiring career path.

          There were, of course, a few other stops along the way. DiStefano arrived at CU Boulder as an assistant professor in 1974 after earning a Doctorate in Humanities Education at Ohio State University. He has since served at the University of Colorado as an Associate Professor with tenure, Full Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Studies, Dean and Vice Chancellor, Interim Chancellor, and now as Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor. 

          Asked about the future of CU Boulder, DiStefano sees a need to ensure the University and its students are equipped to play a meaningful role on the global stage. “CU Boulder has to be multiple things in the future,” he says. “We have to be a state institution with global ties. Instead of taking one foreign language our students probably need two foreign languages, and one of them should be in Hebrew or Arabic or Chinese rather than Spanish and French and German.

See DiStefano, Page 7

Alex Nelson

        The earth does not take summer a vacation, and neither do its guardians. This summer, on July 2, EESI held an event called “Envisioning Energy” in the Wittemyer Courtroom of CU’s Wolf Law Building. Among the panel of distinguished speakers was Colorado’s own U.S. Congressman Mark Udall, now serving his fifth term representing the Second Congressional District in Washington, D.C.  He graciously took some time to chat with EESI after the event.

           Congressman Udall praises the citizens of Colorado for our commitment to responsible energy consumption and environmental conservation.  Noting our closeness to the land on which we live, work, and play, Udall proudly observes, “Respect for the environment comes easily to those of us living in the Rocky Mountain West.”

         Indeed, when Colorado voters passed Amendment 37 in 2004 – an amendment to the Colorado revised statutes concerning renewable energy standards – we signaled to the nation and the world that Colorado is serious about protecting the land and reducing our reliance on foreign energy and oil.  Congressman Udall campaigned widely for the Amendment and describes its adoption as “a pivotal moment where our state took an important step in the right direction toward renewable energy.”

        “There is a national trend taking place, and Colorado is certainly at the forefront,” Udall says.  “We are home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, our institutions of higher education are active in the clean energy field, our elected officials are eager to help move us down a sustainable path, our business community is encouraging new investments, and the general public is engaged in what is taking place.” Showing his colors, Udall declares, “Coloradans have never taken a back seat to anything, and that is certainly true when it comes to addressing our national energy challenges.”

        The Congressman believes that Governor Bill Ritter’s election in 2006 was a further victory for sustainable energy.

See Udall, Page 7