Gratitude and giving back, 12-6-2018

As we prepare for the winter break and reflect on the year that’s passed, I’d like to share my gratitude for all that you have done to make this campus so remarkable.

​What a year it’s been, for both the CU Anschutz community and the people we serve. We’ve reached record heights in clinical visits, research funding, student enrollment, tech transfer, invention disclosures, faculty recruitment and philanthropic support. Our research and clinical breakthroughs are benefitting patients on campus and throughout Colorado and beyond. Each of you has contributed to our success, and for that you have my sincerest appreciation.

Your work to improve health in our communities strikes a particularly resonant chord in this time of holiday giving. You not only provide clinical services for those in need (dental care for veterans at the Heroes Clinic, for example, and multidisciplinary care to the uninsured at the Dawn Clinic), you also offer indispensable learning opportunities, from teaching health and sex ed in middle schools to helping design curriculum at a new neuroscience-based K-8 school.

In this same spirit of giving, the annual CU in the Community program, starting this week, provides a chance for faculty and staff to commit four hours of work time through March 30 volunteering in organizations throughout metro Denver. We encourage departments to volunteer as a group, which can be a fun way to gather with colleagues outside the normal work setting and contribute together to our community.

The season of thanks calls for one more, to President Bruce Benson and his wife Marcy, for their 10 years of service to CU’s four campuses. With a true passion for education, Bruce’s efforts in fundraising, operational efficiency and legislative advocacy have put CU on sound financial footing. He and Marcy have also been stalwart supporters of this campus. We take this opportunity as the first of what will be many occasions to extend our gratitude to them,

There is no more fulfilling work than what we do at CU Anschutz to improve health and lives. It is my privilege to share this work with you.

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Don Elliman
Chancellor