Supporting veterans, transgender rights, and other campus updates, 11-12-2018

Dear colleagues,

As we honor those who have served our country this Veterans Day, one CU Anschutz program is stepping up its care of veterans statewide. The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic, less than a year old, is expanding mental health services to veterans throughout Colorado via videoconferencing. The Cohen Clinic is one of our many medical and academic offerings geared toward caring for veterans, each bolstered by their mutual collaboration.

Collaboration powers so much of our work at CU Anschutz, and as such, it was a major theme of this year’s annual State of the Campus address, held Oct. 30. I always enjoy gathering with faculty and staff to take stock on what we’ve accomplished and where we intend to focus our next efforts. I’m grateful to those of you attended. If you couldn’t make it, you can catch up by reading the CU Anschutz Today coverage or viewing the complete address.  

One item discussed was our transition to the @CUAnschutz.edu domain, beginning in early 2019. This will affect websites and the email addresses of faculty, staff and students whose primary location is at CU Anschutz. The transition will happen on a rolling schedule throughout the first half of 2019; the Office of Information Technology will keep you updated on what to expect.

Our domain isn’t the only name that’s changing. In addition to the renaming of Building 500 to the Fitzsimons building in September, our main library will now be called the Strauss Health Sciences Library. A pharmacy alumnus and longtime CU Anschutz supporter, Henry Strauss ('51) established the library’s collection on complementary health practices and indigenous therapies from around the world, and a lecture series on a variety of integrative medicine topics. We’re pleased to honor Henry’s dedication and support for our education mission in this way.

Speaking of well-deserved recognition, I’m happy to relay the news that CU's Vice President of Health Affairs Lilly Marks, who contributed mightily to this campus for many years, was named chair of the board of the American Association of Medical Colleges at their annual meeting last weekend in Austin, Texas.

Finally, in response to recent news that the White House is considering a change to Title IX that would narrowly define gender as a biological, immutable condition determined at birth, I want to reiterate that CU Anschutz supports the rights of all of our community members, including transgender and gender non-conforming students and employees. We will continue to ensure that they receive all the protections necessary to ensure their equal participation in the life of the university, in accordance with our nondiscrimination policy. We understand that this federal policy uncertainty is upsetting, and we encourage those of you who are affected to avail yourselves of university support services, including maps of gender-inclusive restrooms​.

Mutual respect and civility are intrinsic parts of our mission, and we are committed to ensuring that our campus remains a place of tolerance and inclusion.

Best,

Don Elliman
Chancellor