Published: Feb. 25, 2020

Colleagues,

Patrick O'Rourke, EVC and COO CU Boulder

Patrick O'Rourke, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer

I am excited to join you on the Boulder campus and step into my new role. I’m fortunate to have worked with many on this amazing campus while I was at the system administration office. I’ve also really enjoyed teaching as an adjunct faculty member at the School of Law. When Chancellor DiStefano approached me about joining the campus, I knew that it was a great opportunity to build upon the wonderful experiences I’d had over the past fifteen years.

I want to get to know you better, and to start things off, here are some quick things about me. I’ve lived in Colorado for most of my life, except when I was attending college and law school, and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. My wife Robin is a kindergarten teacher in Douglas County, and we have two children, Ryan and Rachel. They’re teenagers, so they both think I’m a nerd and they’re right! I love superhero and Star Wars movies. I try to get out on my bike as often as I can, but can’t keep up with the really fast cyclists in Boulder.

While I was working at CU System, I often worked and collaborated with Kelly Fox. Kelly was an amazing champion for the campus and the entire higher education community. She built a wonderful organization in Strategic Resources and Support. I’m very lucky to be the beneficiary of her leadership and vision. I am enthusiastic about carrying forward all of the good work this team has been doing, including the work within the Financial Futures and Strategic Facilities Visioning strategic initiative. I am committed to the collective campus vision outlined in Academic Futures and aligning our resources and support behind this roadmap to our future.

Over the next few months, I look forward to learning more about our team and all you do to make the Boulder campus a source of pride across Colorado. I hope to meet many of you in person and better understand how we can improve what we do. I welcome your insights and feedback.

Thank you for the warm welcome I have received, and I look forward to the work we will do together,

Pat

Patrick O'Rourke, 
​Interim Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Officer