(Dec. 2, 2008) There will be no hunkering down at the University of Colorado Denver. No stopping and taking 
cover in light of difficult economic times. That message was sent loud and clear by Chancellor M. Roy Wilson and received by about 100 faculty on the Anschutz Medical Campus and Downtown Campus.
“I get asked all the time both internally and externally, ‘How are things going,’” he explained. “I do believe things are fine, but that’s only part of the picture.”
However, the obstacles facing higher education in Colorado are great, he stressed. “Even in a good economic year, it’s not a good year in Colorado for higher education funding,” he explained. “But we are facing in the right direction and we will keep walking. We have to keep moving, we have to keep thinking big and we have to take advantage of opportunities.”
Bright spots include:
* At this point, the university will be able to honor its commitment to increase department budgets by 1 percent to provide performance salary increases for faculty on the Downtown Campus in 2009.
* A deal is being worked out to provide child care for employees on Anschutz Medical Campus
* Strategic Plan implementation is under way
* Phase 1 of Anschutz Medical Campus is complete; Phase 2 is near, including the health and wellness center
* A micro-master plan for the Downtown Campus creating a distinct neighborhood corridor down Lawrence Street will be soon unveiled by Provost Rod Nairn
* Mayor John Hickenlooper and former CU President Hank Brown are chairing the effort to raise funds for the renovation of the Business School building at 15th and Lawrence
* Funding has risen significantly the past couple years: from $29 million in 2006 to $60.5 million in 2007
Wilson emphasized, however, that this funding surge has hit a stand still the past couple months due to the economic downturn. He re-emphasized, however, that cutting personnel is not the answer in these troubled times, noting a few years back the university had only 11 development officers and plans to have 45 in 2009. “This is the exact climate not to eliminate these positions, not to hunker down. This is going to be a very, very, very challenging year for fund-raising.”
Photos: Philip Joseph, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, asks the chancellor, above right, about tuition increase projections.