Chancellor Phil DiStefano speaks at the State of the Union Address Tuesday in the Glenn Miller Ballroom. He compared the campus' situation to Charles Dickens' 'A Tale of Two Cities.'(CU Independent/Kelly Kaoudis)
DiStefano presented his State if the Campus Address this morning at 9 a.m. in the Glenn Miller Ballroom at the UMC.
The chancellor divided his speech into two parts, focusing both on the positive characteristics of the university as well as areas that need improvement. He related CU’s current state to Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.”
“We might term our predicament ‘A Tale of Two Universities,’” DiStefano said. “One strong, vibrant, visionary and thriving. One struggling for funding, resources and a firmer place in the public body.”
According to the Colorado website, the speech was streamed live on the NewsTeam Boulder website and could be viewed on Channels 3 and 63.
The chancellor said the university is making progress towards internationalizing CU’s campus and building a more globalized student body. He said the international student enrollment has increased by 11 percent this year, putting the university that much closer to its five-year goal of 2,500 international students.
“An international student population of 2,500 or 3,000 will provide an enriched living and cultural experience on campus and a global perspective in the classroom,” he said.
The Faculty in Residence program, DiStefano said, will become the next step toward making the large university a little smaller. Faculty will live, teach and hold office hours in specialized residence halls, working closely with students.
In his speech, the chancellor said the progress being made with Flagship 2030’s “Colorado research diamond” includes developments in the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory and the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology.
DiStefano said the university still has room for improvement.
“We still have work to do,” he said. “We are continuing to work with regional universities and the other campuses on ways to further enhance the research diamond for the benefit of Colorado, the nation and the world and relevant research for all of society.”
The Chancellor said new developments on CU’s east campus will help further advance science, behavioral science and technology research. He said careful financing has also allowed the university to build the Visual Arts Complex and the Center for Community.
He said there are complications with funding, salary cuts and other budget sacrifices to work through.
“The talk of the state’s $1.5 billion offers us extremely difficult scenarios,” he said. “If the board chooses to raise tuition significantly, it is our intention to increase financial aid correspondingly to ease the burden on our students.”
He said he discourages putting a cap on state tuition, as it is difficult to know what the effects will be on the budget. Tuition and state funding make up most of the university’s budget, and he said he believes it is too early to make such a decision.
DiStefano named several people who are helping to better the university, one of whom is the new CU Alumni Association Executive Director Deborah Fowlkes. DiStefano said she is helping achieve goals by working to enhance alumni affinitive, starting international chapters and reinvigorating domestic chapters.
“In addition, our new Associate Vice Chancellor for Outreach and Engagement Dean Anne Heinz is creating a targeted and expanded outreach program that strengthens connections between the University of Colorado and Colorado communities,” DiStefano said.
He touched on the possible changes being made to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and said the program discontinuance committee and the exploratory committee will make reports and recommendations to the university.
“We see opportunity in giving our journalism and pre-journalism students the tools for success in a new media environment defined by the visual age,” DiStefano said. “Last month students gathered in two campus forums to present their concerns, needs and expectations as we make this important transition.”
Leaving the floor open for questions, DiStefano received only one inquiry concerning plans on further improving the school’s relationship with the community. He responded by saying representatives form the university will be meeting with other members of the region to work on bettering the bond between the school and the community through collaborative events.
The Chancellor said he is confident CU can come together as one unit in order to enhance the school’s positive qualities and make changes to improve certain areas that are in need of attention.
“Despite these obstacles, our Flagship 2030 strategic plan has not and will not be set aside,” DiStefano said. “In fact it has remained center stage, continuing to provide us vision and guidance.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Carli Auran at Carli.auran@colorado.edu.
