������Ƶ18

Dear students,

Welcome back! After an exciting fall term, I hope your spring semester is off to a great start. If this is your first semester at CU, welcome to Boulder! Some of the best parts of my first six months as chancellor have been the opportunities I’ve had to connect with students, and I’m hopeful our paths will cross on campus, at a Buffs game or at a campus event during the semester.

I was inspired by the words of Isabel Wilkerson as she amplified and commemorated the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at last week’s convocation, and I’m excited about the enthusiasm I’m hearing for elevating our campus sustainability work internally and externally. I’m looking forward to watching student teams compete in the New Venture Challenge for the first time and rooting on our defending national champs on the ski team.

I hope you’ll also find things this semester that excite and motivate you. The on Wednesday will provide opportunities to try something new, and there are a number of ways to kick off your semester on a positive note in the days and weeks ahead.

All these things remind me that even in times of uncertainty, there is beauty and growth if we look for it.

Yesterday brought the inauguration of a new president. As the new federal administration gets established, CU Boulder has launched a federal transition webpage to keep faculty, staff and students informed. The university will continue analyzing what impact the transitions will have on higher education and the campus.

Whatever this semester may bring, our mission at CU Boulder remains the same: to transform lives through our education, research and creative work—and our faculty and staff are here to support you and your success.

Our campus remains dedicated to the open exchange of ideas and to offering educational and research opportunities that shed light on the challenges our society faces. We will continue to uphold free expression and to follow an “educate, engage and enforce” philosophy as we support campus activism. It’s also essential that each of us adheres to the university’s to ensure a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all.

Thank you so much for being part of the CU Boulder community, and best wishes for a great semester.

Justin Schwartz
Chancellor