A New Year of Possibilities

There is something distinctly special about a new year. For many of us, it is a time of dreaming big, setting goals and charting paths to reach them. For me, it is a time of anticipation of the possibilities ahead and appreciation for those who turn such possibilities into reality.

It is our community of leaders, learners and innovators who bring new possibilities into reach at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus every day. Your ambitious ideas and uncommon determination drive advances in health and medicine, and we want to shine a light on your stories.

With this newsletter, At the Forefront, we look forward to featuring some of those stories and highlighting your impact throughout the year.

Before we take a look ahead, I must share the sad news that the CU Anschutz community lost a longtime leader, educator and mentor yesterday. Stephen Berman, MD, served as director of the Center for Global Health at the Colorado School of Public Health and a member of the School of Medicine faculty for decades. He also held an endowed chair in academic general pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Under his leadership, the Center for Global Health was designated as a World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Promoting Family and Child Health, and grew in stature as a dynamic hub of global health research and advocacy. A passionate provider and prominent voice for family and child health, Dr. Berman was devoted to serving children in need and advocating for increased access to healthcare at local, national and global levels. Along with his wife, Elaine, Dr. Berman has been a generous philanthropic supporter of global health and pediatrics initiatives at CU Anschutz. He will be deeply missed.

A Strong Foundation

As we settle into the first weeks of 2023, it is a fitting time to take stock of our successes and opportunities.

While 2022 was not without its challenges, we weathered the storm and came out stronger for it. Research awards reached a record $692 million and revenues topped $2.6 billion. Transformational philanthropic commitments created the Gates Institute and established the Katy O. and Paul M. Rady Esophageal and Gastric Center of Excellence.

We continued to draw extraordinary people to our ranks. Faculty and staff now number 13,000 and enrollments are steady, with more than 4,500 future leaders working toward their degrees.

You blazed trails on the innovation front, with 146 invention disclosures and 178 patents filed. Such successes do not go unnoticed. Indeed, the journal Nature ranked our campus #4 among academic institutions globally for the strongest innovation links.

These impressive numbers and accolades point to the incredible talent and hard work of our community. Thank you for making our progress possible.

Challenges & Opportunities Ahead

As we anticipate many more successes in the year ahead, we do so knowing of several challenges on our path forward.

The financial market downturn affected budgets across the University of Colorado system as we wrapped up 2022. These losses are relatively minimal for CU Anschutz, but we are not immune to the fiscal consequences. Our core operational budgets are not affected, yet current financial realities will impact progress on our strategic initiatives into 2023. While this development is disappointing, we are committed to sustaining our momentum on these efforts.

We are equally committed to rebuilding the social fabric of our campus in the wake of the pandemic and strengthening our sense of community as a hybrid workforce. Among our defining characteristics is a strong spirit of collaboration ‒ let us take advantage of every opportunity to foster interaction and forge connections as we move forward.

Campus Happenings

With the bustle of a new year come a number of events and activities that bring us together as a community. I encourage you to get involved in the many opportunities available to celebrate and learn from one another.

Among upcoming events are the biennial CU Social Justice Summit on January 31 and a host of activities around Black History Month in February. You can find details and registration below.

We are in for a productive and inspiring year ahead at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and I look forward to working alongside you in 2023.

Sincerely,

Don Elliman