Dear CU Boulder students, faculty and staff,
Please join me in celebrating the great accomplishments of more than 6,500 graduates who graduate tomorrow in our first virtual commencement. I invite you to take part in the celebration, and if you are marking this milestone, I hope you will celebrate safely.
This is a defining moment for our graduates. Their college career has occurred during a time of rapid societal change. Titanic shifts in culture, politics, health and economics have defined their time at CU Boulder. These events have challenged our students’ resilience, awakened their spirit of collaboration and summoned their selflessness.
While the CU Boulder class of 2020 is one that will always be uniquely remembered, it is also carrying forward the powerful legacy of its predecessors. Buffs have always responded when faced with challenges, and our class this year joins CU alumni who have helped our nation and world overcome, succeed and thrive as a global society.
The Buff graduating class of 1918 faced both World War I and the great influenza pandemic. A generation later, Buff graduates endured the Great Depression and answered the national call to action in World War II. CU students helped to lead and win the Space Race and played key roles in establishing the Peace Corps, as well as environmental and civil rights. They have been a source of innovation, achievement and creativity for decades. CU graduates have always balanced their personal transformation with the evolution of their communities.
The class of 2020 now takes its place among this vibrant and storied community of Forever Buffs, reminding us of the inscription above the west door of Norlin Library: “Enter here the timeless fellowship of the human spirit.”
Central to making this timeless fellowship real is our faculty, whose dedication to the pursuit of knowledge, devotion to scholarship and constant mentorship has guided the journey of our undergraduate and graduate students.
Key to the faculty’s success is the role of staff, who has provided the scaffolding for this journey: the logistical support, the technology and the countless other tasks that lay the groundwork for successful research, creative scholarship, teaching and service.
Key to our students’ success over their time at CU are their parents, families and friends, who have guided and supported them holistically and provided encouragement during each step of their journeys to this day, especially during the rapid transition of the last two months.
Congratulations to our 2020 graduates, and to the parents, families, friends, faculty and staff who have supported them!
Fall planning update
Today I anticipate receiving the recommendations of the Academic Year 2020-21 Planning Team, which has now received more than 1,500 inputs from across the campus community and shared its initial recommendations during input sessions with our campus community earlier this week. I look forward to reviewing their report and to announcing the specific next steps we will be taking toward delivering a safe, flexible, COVID-ready in-person campus experience this fall—and I understand you are all eager for those details to solidify. I will share a more detailed update on our progress next week.
Proposed fall tuition: Zero percent increase
During the input sessions on Wednesday, we announced that in an effort to ensure access for our students and their families during this time, we are recommending to the CU Board of Regents that there be no tuition increase for incoming students this fall. This proposal is subject to the board’s review and approval.
Operational update
This week, we announced a gradual resumption of on-campus research beginning Tuesday, May 26, and reaching up to 25% by late June. This applies to researchers, and they must go through an approval process. Any work that can be done remotely should continue to be done off campus to help minimize the spread of COVID-19.
I want to thank everyone for their continued collaborative work as a challenging spring semester comes to a close, summer sessions are on the horizon and we work diligently toward fall.
We are Buffs together,
Phil