University of Colorado, A Message from the President
May 2016

Dear Friends and Alumni,

It's always good for us to take stock of the job we are doing. And while there are many facets to CU's operation to examine – our research enterprise, economic impact, contributions to communities, and health care work, among others – at the end of the day our success is measured by the success of our alumni.

This week we will undertake the first systemwide assessment of the careers of CU alumni. Graduates from all four of our campuses will receive an email link to a Web-based survey that we hope will provide us insight about life after CU. There is a tendency to overcomplicate surveys of this type, so we want to keep it simple.

We will ask alumni where they are in their careers, what they earn, and how their CU education helped them (or not). We're also asking them to think back to their job and what they earned one year after graduation. The latter has been a common part of surveys commissioned by the state in recent years.

Certainly the value of a CU education is not measured solely by earnings, but it is an important factor. A college education is an investment people make in themselves, and it's one that almost always pays a substantial dividend. Many studies show that graduates earn more, they have greater opportunities in life, they participate in community and civic life in greater numbers, and they are healthier and happier than those who don't earn a college degree.

There is a considerable push these days for universities to produce graduates who are workforce ready. Yet I know from personal experience and from talking with many CU alumni that the path people take in college and immediately after is not easily scripted.

For instance, I would never have predicted that my career would lead me to the presidency of my alma mater. I earned a geology degree in 1964 and built a successful company in that field. That allowed me to branch out into several business interests while also getting involved in civic and community endeavors, in addition to politics. Four Colorado governors appointed me to higher education reform or project panels. All of this combined to prepare me for the job I have had for the past eight years.

Many fields, such as medicine, engineering or law, send alumni down a relatively proscribed path. Others, particularly in the liberal arts, prepare graduates for a broad variety of endeavors.

Our survey aims to gauge the diversity of those experiences by asking how (or if) alumni's CU experience helped prepare them for their lives and careers. We will use the data as a baseline measure of the job we are doing in preparing graduates for the world.

The survey will help us quantify what we already know anecdotally: CU alumni are an accomplished bunch, making their marks in education, business, the arts, health care, engineering and dozens of careers in between. We know from our low loan default rates that our graduates get jobs, but this effort will give us a deeper understanding of the fields they are in.

The survey will be strictly confidential and will not be used for solicitation purposes. I know we ask you to participate in a number of CU surveys, so I appreciate your participation. Alumni should look for an email on Thursday that will take them to the survey. I will report back to you on the results in an upcoming issue of this newsletter.

For feedback, contact officeofthepresident@cu.edu

Sincerely,
Bruce D. Benson
Bruce Benson
President


CU medical students begin clinical training in Colorado Springs
CU medical students begin clinical training in Colorado Springs
The CU School of Medicine Colorado Springs Branch welcomed its first cohort of students to their clinical training/third year of medical school. The branch is the first regional branch for the School of Medicine, based on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Colorado Springs Branch>>

Congratulations to this year's President's Teaching Scholars
Congratulations to this year's President's Teaching Scholars
A heartfelt congratulations and thank you to this year's President's Teaching Scholars: Jeannette Guerrasio, CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and Andrew Martin, CU-Boulder. The title signifies CU's highest recognition of excellence in – and commitment to – learning and teaching, as well as active, substantial contributions to scholarly work.
President's Teaching Scholars>>

Spotlight on Alumni: Passing on the glory of connecting in the classroom
Passing on the glory of connecting in the classroom

Boulder High School Principal James Hill prides himself on the power of mentoring and building relationships. It's what helped him balance the rigor of academics with the pressure of playing college football as a CU-Boulder student-athlete in 1989.

Principal Hill>>

All Four Colorado
Lafayette middle-schoolers get taste of campus life
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The I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County, a college-prep program for low-income youth, brought nearly 500 sixth- and seventh-grade students from Angevine Middle School in Lafayette to campus to provide a taste of college life.
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News from our campuses
University of Colorado
Boulder

Tickets for Dalai Lama's summer visit on sale: The Nobel Peace Prize-winning spiritual leader will share Tibetan teachings with the public and the CU-Boulder community during two sessions at the Coors Events Center.

University of Colorado
Colorado Springs

UCCS prominent in launch of National Cyber Intelligence Center: Creation of the Colorado Springs-based National Cyber Intelligence Center is moving quickly now, with an organizational structure, some board members and plans.

University of Colorado
Denver

Vietnam and honey fuel undergrad research: CU Denver's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program offers students engaged teaching-and-learning experiences.

University of Colorado
Anschutz Medical Campus

Mice flown in space show nascent liver damage: A CU Anschutz Medical Campus researcher has found that mice flown aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth with early signs of liver damage.

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Office of the President, University of Colorado
1800 Grant Street, Suite 800, Denver, CO 80203
p: 303 860 5600 | f: 303 860 5610
www.cu.edu | officeofthepresident@cu.edu
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