Just about three years ago, we considered the problem of student-loan debt and discussed how endowments in higher education could help solve the problem, especially for CU Boulder. Today, we revisit that issue.

Unfortunately, the student-loan debt problem continues to worsen. Student-loan debt now stands at about $1.3 trillion, up from the $1.08 trillion reported in 2014. Comparisons to housing and credit-card debt continue to reveal the terrible scale of the problem. Sadly, recent press stories have highlighted numerous egregious abuses of commercial student loans. Many economists consider this to be the next national financial "bubble.”  

We are pleased to report recent successes in the College of Arts and Sciences with respect to visionary endowment gifts. Just in the last few years, significant endowment gifts for scholarships, endowed chairs and endowed professorships have enriched our college and accelerated increases in our academic quality. 

The benefits conferred by a strong endowment are impressive. For example, scholarship endowments directly alleviate student-loan debt, and these endowments have greatly aided CU Boulder students. In the last three years, 28 new endowed scholarship funds have been set up for College of Arts and Sciences students. For instance, the late Evelyn (BA A&S ’48) and Jack Katz endowed a scholarship in 2013. Through estate distributions, their gift to an endowed scholarship in their name totals almost $1 million. This will generate scholarship support to students interested in travel and the arts for generations to come.  Alumna Mary Ann Casey has also generously donated to our Global Grants endowment, and her gift has been matched by multiple donors to provide scholarship support to students who study abroad through our International Affairs Program. 

Universities also use endowed professorships to pay direct salary and research costs. When coupled with scholarships, endowments help transform students’ lives and advance our internationally acclaimed research, while becoming critical elements of universities' cost-containment strategies.

Named chairs backed by endowments hugely boost a university's reputation by granting the ability to attract and reward star faculty who deliver outstanding research and educational opportunities and experiences. Thanks to a generous bequest, we hired Professor Miles Kimball from the University of Michigan to fill the Eugene D. Eaton Jr. Endowed Chair in our Economics Department.

Margaret (BA A&S ’58) and David Grohne (BS Engineering ’58), together with David Pyle (parent) have made significant current and endowment gifts to support our Center for Western Civilization, Thought, and Policy and the visiting scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy program. This support enables the college to attract faculty and fellows to complement our excellent faculty and provide diverse educational opportunities for students and the community.

The generosity of Distinguished Professor and Amgen co-founder Marvin Caruthers—one of four CU Boulder faculty members to win the prestigious National Medal of Science—allowed us to recruit biochemistry professor Karolin Luger (a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, recently designated as an elected fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences). Luger holds the Jennie Smoly Caruthers Endowed Chair of Chemistry and Biochemistry. An estate gift to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry from the late Don Segur (BA A&S ’51) establishes an endowed chair, and has been complemented by another anonymous estate gift to the department. Together, these gifts will help us compete for the world's best chemists.  

These generous gifts are transforming our departments and the college, supporting our students while accelerating and expanding our research capacities. Our students will have unparalleled opportunities to learn from the very best faculty in the world. Our faculty will lead their disciplines.  

Virtually every aspect of what we do is richly deserving of an endowment, from research on quantum physics in our Physics Department, to research on race and culture in ethnic studies, to studies of Shakespeare and theatre across our arts and humanities units. This includes our many centers and institutes dedicated to more specific areas of academic inquiry. We must continue to transform our college to lead the world in research, while providing our students financial freedom from debt and increasing their educational opportunities. Our priority is to continue working with our generous donors to help us succeed in delivering top-quality academics here in Boulder. 

Steven R. Leigh is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. Kimberly Bowman is assistant dean for advancement.