University of Colorado

A Message from the President

July 2012

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Creating Futures:
Endowed chairs a boon for CU's reputation, research

As we pursue our goals for CU's $1.5 billion Creating Futures campaign, a high priority is to attract endowed gifts that will position CU to thrive for generations to come, and better insulate the university from variable year-to-year funding streams. Because every great university requires a great faculty, a key category for which we pursue such gifts is endowed faculty chairs.

An endowed chair, which provides reliable and perpetual funding for a faculty position in a specified academic area, is a great honor for the faculty chair-holder and can help an academic program recruit and retain world-class educators and researchers. Endowed chairs also are a reflection of the high stature and broad influence of that program.

Since Creating Futures began in 2006, donors have supported more than 15 new endowed chairs – adding to CU's lifetime total of more than 80. Endowed chair donors are motivated by their personal passions in varied areas, and by CU's strong reputation for teaching and research.

Several gifts of $1 million or greater have been directed in recent months toward endowed chairs at CU:

  • The Celeste and Jack Grynberg Chair in Adult Diabetes, awarded to Boris Draznin, M.D., who has dedicated his career to the physiological and clinical mysteries of diabetes. The Grynbergs were moved to establish the chair by their respect for Draznin and his tremendous work in research and clinical care.
  • The Roe Green Chair in Theater, the most recent of several significant commitments toward this important art form made by alumna Roe Green ('70, CU-Boulder). The chair will be filled by Bud Coleman, head of the theater and dance department.
  • The Wagner Chair in Women's Health Research, to be filled by Judith Regensteiner, Ph.D., director of the Center for Women's Health Research. A lead gift toward the chair has been made by Judi and Joe Wagner; Judi was founding member of the center's advisory board.

We are grateful to these and other endowed chair donors who have helped create futures throughout CU and beyond. To find out more about how you can establish or contribute to an endowed chair at CU, visit the CU Foundation's web page at www.cufund.org

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