This month, we’re welcoming approximately 67,000 University of Colorado students to our campuses – roughly 19,000 of whom are just beginning their educational journeys with CU. People often ask me what I like best about my job, and my answer is always the same: Our hard working students who are building a future for themselves, their families, our state, nation and world. What an honor it is to be part of their lives, and to work for a university that has graduated hundreds of thousands of students over the past 148 years. CU has long provided outstanding education and opportunity to generations of students who have gone on to make a significant difference in so many ways. 

Every year, I look forward to greeting students as they move in for the start of the fall semester. I love talking with them about where they’re from, what they’re interested in studying, and how they came to join the CU community. I remember my excitement (and nervousness) when I began my own CU journey as a student almost 40 years ago. As a lifelong Coloradan, I can’t recall a time when I didn’t know about CU. For me, it’s always been a key part of Colorado, a place that represents hope, hard work and opportunity. As you might imagine, my deep appreciation of our great university continues to grow every day.   

We’re working to foster such appreciation, respect and love for CU among Coloradans in every part of the Centennial State. To help raise awareness about the university’s profound impact statewide, we recently launched the “Dear Colorado” campaign, our first systemwide marketing campaign in nearly a decade. As part of this effort, we’re creating an open dialogue with the people of Colorado: We’re asking them to share what they love about our state, and we’ll respond by highlighting how our students, faculty and staff work to support the things they care about most. Whether it’s Colorado’s landscapes, climate, leadership in quantum, cultures, world-class health care and research, outdoor industry, military installations or vibrant arts community, people at CU are advancing work in all these critical areas – and so many others. With that in mind, we want to hear from you. What do you love about Colorado? Visit LoveColorado.com and let us know!

The “Dear Colorado” campaign will enable us to showcase the special qualities of our four campuses, the distinct opportunities and learning environments each offers, and the extraordinary people who make up our campus communities. The campaign will help us spread the word far and wide that CU is Colorado. We love this state. 

As Colorado’s university, we embrace our name and are committed to serving the entire state. Simply put, that’s our primary mission. We’re working to show Coloradans that college is for them and their families. We want them to pursue the post-secondary and lifelong learning journeys of their dreams. That’s why we continue to take serious steps to make it easier to afford a CU degree, and why we’re working hard to tell people about CU. 

This summer, our work took us to Buena Vista, Craig, Eagle, Glenwood Springs, Gunnison, Gypsum, Steamboat Springs, Pueblo and other cities. While our primary goal in visiting Colorado communities is to listen and learn from Coloradans about their needs and challenges, and how CU can partner with and better serve them, we also use these trips as opportunities to raise awareness about our university. These conversations enable us to demonstrate what we have to offer, what we’re doing, and the myriad ways we work to keep the out-of-pocket, bottom-line cost of a CU education in check for our students and families.  

By showing Coloradans the direct connection between CU and what they value most about our state, we can show them that we’re their university – and a university for all of Colorado. We’re eager to share the stories of how our CU community serves our great state and great people, and to demonstrate our deep commitment to both, now and over the next 150 years.

Again, I hope you’ll let us know what you love about Colorado at LoveColorado.com. Thanks in advance, and here’s to an amazing academic year ahead!