Colorado State University President Tony Frank Delivers Fall Address
Colorado State University President Tony Frank gave his annual address to students and faculty yesterday morning followed by the annual picnic on the CSU Oval. The president said the school will have to prepare for a time when it no longer receives any state funding.
President Frank said the long-term plan will focus on:
• Growing non-resident student enrollment;
• Maintaining CSU’s position as the school of choice within Colorado; and
• Pushing for excellence in every aspect of the university’s mission.
He went on to say:
“Unless there are fundamental changes to the way in which we as Coloradans manage the resources we entrust to each other in this place we call home, there will be no funding for public higher education – not on some far off day, not after we’re all comfortably retired, not at a time to warn our children to look out for, but in the next 7-10 years – on our watch,” Frank said. He referenced a report from the Center for Colorado’s Economic Future that anticipates a gap of $3.34 billion between the state’s General Fund revenues and expenditures by FY2024-25. The report is online at www.du.edu/economicfuture/index.html.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SPEECH
• CSU has a freshman class that is the largest and among the most diverse in school history, breaking a record set only last year – the fourth year in a row of record enrollment.
• While this year’s class is also among the most academically qualified in CSU’s history, one in four are still the first in their family ever to pursue a college education.
• Completion of the first major fundraising campaign in university history – reaching the goal ahead of time and then exceeding it by almost $40 million.
• CSU had another year of record research funding, continuing to be home to one of the most productive research faculties anywhere in the country.
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