May 23, 2025

Dear CSU Community,

Congratulations on a successful academic year! This spring culminated with honoring 5,349 CSU graduates at a spectacular University-wide Commencement at Canvas Stadium and at 37 meaningful recognition events across campus. Graduates were inspired by commencement speaker and CSU alumnus Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, Senior Washington Correspondent for MSNBC, and co-host of The Weekend. Thanks to everyone who worked to make commencement so special. As we celebrate new beginnings for CSU’s Class of 2025, let’s also reflect on what we’ve accomplished together—the photos below highlight just a few of my favorite moments.

This year, as students, faculty, and staff, we made measurable progress toward our top priority: student success. We saw higher graduation rates and improvements in retention. Our faculty continued to earn recognition for excellence in teaching and scholarship, with over 50 faculty receiving prestigious national and international recognition this year. Their dedicated efforts enhanced undergraduate engagement in research, artistry, and community engagement; advanced impactful research; and increased the national reputation of programs across our University.

This year’s state budget shortfalls and a shifting federal landscape brought ongoing challenges and uncertainties. Our institution, students, faculty, and staff are being affected in profound ways, and I am immensely grateful to everyone who is working to analyze and respond to these circumstances. We will continue to work together to navigate the difficulties we will face in the coming months.

Thanks to all of you who contributed to our system of shared governance—your voices in meetings, councils, committees, and the Incident Management Team have helped shape our direction. Special thanks to the faculty and staff working to enhance our systems and processes. Your efforts have driven progress on major initiatives including the Strategic Roadmap, budget model redesign, the new HR Workday system, and the Cybersecurity Alignment Initiative.

As our systems modernize, our campus continues to evolve, too. Planning and construction is underway on major projects that will shape the future of CSU: the Veterinary Health and Education Complex, the ATLAS laser facility, revitalization of the Clark Building, and the Don and Susie Law Engineering Future Technologies Building—all designed to expand opportunities for future generations of Rams.

We’re also proud of the momentum in CSU Athletics. As we prepare for our transition to the Pac-12, our teams continue to shine, propelled by record game attendance and more community support than ever before. CSU is building a championship culture, with conference championships won by women’s volleyball, men’s indoor and outdoor track and field, and men’s basketball, and football competing in the Arizona Bowl. We are so proud of all our students’ engagement, whether in D1 sports, club teams, or in hundreds of student organizations.

CSU continued to model democracy in action this year through active student government, our second annual Democracy Summit, academic programs, and guest speakers with a wide range of viewpoints. Our University is becoming recognized as a leader in this space and will continue to advance toward becoming the national model for the modern land-grant university.

This collective success is a direct reflection of you—our remarkable CSU community. As summer begins, I hope you find time to slow down, reconnect with loved ones, and recharge. Summer at CSU will have its own energy. I’ll see many of you at Canvas Stadium enjoying the Professional Bull Riders competitions and concerts featuring country artists Tim McGraw and Jon Pardi; at the Lagoon concerts with Colorado-based bands; across campus welcoming visiting and incoming students; and around the state during CSU’s annual state tour. This fall, we’ll celebrate our 155th year of excellence. I’m already looking forward to welcoming everyone back!

With gratitude,

Amy Parsons
President, Colorado State University