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Nov. 21, 2024

Hello my SRS friends, 

I hope that you are doing well. As we approach the end of the year, I want not only to wish you and your families a joyous holiday, but I also encourage you to take some time to relax and celebrate.

In the spirit of celebration, I wanted to highlight that we just published the SRS Annual Impact Report. Please take a moment to read it, as it highlights the work of SRS units. You will see your own work, as well as the work of more than 1,000 colleagues, each of whom share a common mission to make CU Boulder a better place for more than 50,000 students, faculty, and staff. I’m extraordinarily proud, and we publish this report to let the campus know of the impact of your work.

No matter our roles, we have a common purpose — to serve.

The SRS team serves our community. We help students advance to their degrees and model how to be a part of something greater than our own individual contributions. We assist our faculty as they impart knowledge and make new discoveries. We build a community where people employ their skills to serve one of Colorado’s most important institutions.

In my 19 years with the University of Colorado, I attended more than 20 commencement ceremonies. If you’ve never attended, I strongly encourage it, as each of you in some way helped a student earn a degree. They and their parents take immense pride in their accomplishments. At the end of the ceremony, one of the regents reads the Norlin Charge, which one of the university’s greatest presidents gave to the 1935 graduating class. His words were meant for the students, but one section of them speaks to the work that we do each day.

“The university consists of all who come into and go forth from her halls, who are touched by her influence and who carry on her spirit. Wherever you go, the university goes with you.”

You are an integral part of the university. The work you do has meaning and endures. And you are the people who carry on the university’s spirit. I’m so grateful that I’ve had the chance to share a journey with you. And wherever I go, the university will go with me. 

As I write my last SRS Insights, I’m grateful for the opportunity you’ve given me to walk alongside you. It has been the honor of my lifetime to watch as you have supported each other in challenging times and shared in our success. Each day, I had the opportunity to work with smart, talented, and committed people who shared their talents and creativity. I learned more in the last five years from all of you than you can imagine. 

Thank you so much.

Pat

Other news and notes around SRS

• Martin Luther King Jr. convocation: I encourage everyone who can and attend CU Boulder’s Martin Luther King Jr., convocation on Thursday, Jan. 16 that will feature keynote speaker Isabel Wilkerson, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and bestselling author of “Caste” and “The Warmth of Other Suns”.
• DEI Impact Grants: The application window has opened for summer 2025 and academic year 2025-26 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Grant proposals. Forty-nine campus initiatives have been funded since summer 2023 through this program, and I encourage more applications this year. I know our SRS team has taken a number of innovative actions that have enhanced equity and belonging on our campus, and this program is a great way to help activate your great ideas.
• Safety messaging grant: Congratulations and thanks are in store as well for the CU Police Department and the university’s Prevention Science Program for winning a U.S. Department of Justice grant to partner on strategic messaging for hate crime prevention and bystander reporting.