Ö÷²¥ÓÕ»ó

To my new Lynx community:

I am very excited, but also humbled, to join you all on campus and formally begin my role as Chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver. While it is a great honor for me to be asked to lead, I also begin with a clear view of the responsibilities of the job and expectations you have for me as a leader. As I begin my first days, I wanted to share a little about what you can expect from me. I look forward to meeting many of you as one of the newest members of this community and am excited for the work we will embark upon together as we move forward.

The uncertainty of this moment in our society calls upon us and other institutions of higher education to continue to be opportunity engines for advancing the success of individuals, our communities, and our society. This foundational contribution is central to the commitment each of us demonstrates as a member of the Lynx community—striving together to uplift and empower those who entrust us with their dreams. Our mission must not be deterred—even when events on the horizon are unclear. With this principle as a starting point, here are my commitments to you.

The mission of Ö÷²¥ÓÕ»ó is critical to so many and will endure. I was raised by teachers and come from a strong Hispanic family. The value of education and innovation as a force for good was established early for me; it is a cornerstone of my personal value system and an animating factor in decisions in my own career and leadership. I believe in our mission to support and encourage the students we serve, especially our first-generation students and others from traditionally marginalized communities as they pursue higher education as their pathway to success. I celebrate our status as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution and will seek to bolster our work in that arena and others to ensure we vigorously seize the opportunity to open the doors and access to academic excellence ever wider to groups too often left out.

I will continue to uplift and empower our students and put their futures at the forefront of decision making. I value the extraordinary impact of research, scholarship, and entrepreneurship and will always place emphasis on these critical aspects of our mission. Complementing this impact, the most central objective motivating our shared work is the success of every student who chooses to build and strengthen the foundation of their future with us. As I spent time on the campus through the search process, I heard and felt in all the students, faculty, and staff I met a genuine shared commitment to this most fundamental goal. I will always meet you squarely in that focus.

I will push all of us to innovate. If we believe that student success is our highest priority and that our research, scholarship, and creative works will transform and have impact, we must innovate. If we are certain that a safe and supportive campus environment is the best place for all of us to work, learn, and grow, we must innovate. If we truly want to see our institution meet our own high expectations, innovation must be our watchword. We must continue to evolve, develop, and grow to find new ways to meet the needs of our students, serve our communities, and be the beacon in our society that I described above. For us to advance, we must draw upon all voices, not just a few.

I will approach all our interactions with a spirit of authentic collaboration. I am deeply invested in the existing forums we have to work together toward defining our future and bringing it into reality. Whether it is through collaboration with shared governance or individual members of this community coming together in other ways to share ideas for how we can work in common cause, I believe that a better institution—one built to weather our current challenges without straying from its mission—will take all of us driving toward our goals together. We must always remember that in the end, we are on the same team.

I will operate with transparency and provide consistent and clear communication. None of these other commitments can succeed without this as an organizing and operating principle.

I am so grateful to have spent some time with many of you already and look forward to meeting more of you and working together with every member of this community toward our shared future—a thriving one. I intend to have a visible presence on campus, particularly as I seek to learn and better understand the challenges and opportunities facing our community so that I can make decisions that support our people and mission. Over the coming days and weeks, as each of you has the opportunity to engage—either in structured settings or as you just see me around campus, please come with an openness and eagerness to share your thoughts and aspirations for our institution. I value your input, as well as your willingness to hold me accountable for my commitments to you. Your voice in our shared future is not just welcome. It’s essential.

With gratitude and anticipation for our shared journey ahead,