As we enter a new decade facing a new reality with unprecedented challenges, it’s important to reflect on CU’s reach and mission. 

We have three imperatives: create tomorrow’s leaders, be the top university for innovation, and positively impact humanity.

That’s why we’re tailoring today’s degrees with tomorrow’s careers. We’re creating a holistic, safe and healthy learning environment. We’re more diverse than ever, with more international partnerships than ever, sparking breakthroughs in almost every field. 

And these innovative pursuits don’t stop with faculty. More than 2,000 undergraduate students are directly involved in groundbreaking research. They have studied the relationship between climate and conflict, created software for space exploration and tested the connection between cranial fluids and traumatic brain injury. 

Our campus community is working hard to help us get through the COVID-19 pandemic. They are 3D-printing parts of protective face shields for health care workers and developing an affordable over-the-counter test that can tell if someone has coronavirus before they develop symptoms.  

Our students, faculty, staff and alumni are Rhodes Scholars, Nobel laureates, business and political leaders, theorists, composers, historians, actors, artists, athletes, scholars, astronauts and authors. 

So it’s no surprise that we’re one of the best universities in the world for anything from sustainability and environmental law to aerospace, physics, and of course, innovation. 

We do it while adhering to the Colorado Creed: to act with honor, integrity and accountability; to respect the rights of others and accept our differences; and contribute to the greater good of the community. 

As a first-generation college graduate who benefits every day from my education, I’m committed to expanding this opportunity for anyone with the will to work for it and the passion to pursue it—wherever their dreams take them. 

Be Boulder. And go Buffs!

Sincerely,

Philip P. DiStefano, Chancellor
University of Colorado Boulder