Chancellor Venkat Reddy shared the growth of UCCS, how the university is expanding its presence in Denver and answered questions with metro-area alumni and CU Advocates in an outreach event held Aug. 24 at the CU system office in downtown Denver.
“The big vision people want me to share is very simple. I want to figure out the best way to help our students succeed,” Reddy told the crowd. “The students that we’re sending out are future employees and future leaders in our community. Helping our students succeed doesn’t mean just teaching them a class, giving them a degree and sending them out. We give them in-class and out-of-class experiences that enriches their lives and allows them to be great citizens in our community.”
Reddy outlined recent projects on campus that included the opening of the Ent Center for the Arts and Mountain Lion Park, along with the upcoming openings of Mountain Lion Fieldhouse and UCCS Downtown. He also shared the plans for the William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center and the accompanying growth in the exercise science, human anatomy and physiology programs. He also outlined the plans in the developing cybersecurity programs.
Denver has represented the largest enrollment growth market for UCCS in the last five years with more than 1,000 students from Denver on campus. Of the 46,000 total alumni, 5,000 call Denver home, and 21 Denver-based employers recruited at UCCS career fairs in the spring 2018 semester.
Reddy closed his formal remarks with a call to the alumni and advocates to become involved with campus through sharing their UCCS experience, offering internships and career opportunities, supporting scholarships and visiting campus. He answered questions for 20 minutes on topics ranging from collaboration with other higher education institutions, the university’s work on keeping college affordable and how UCCS is working to address the workforce needs.
“We want to build a culture of respect, compassion, safety and excellence,” Reddy said. “I’m pushing this hard, and I won’t let anyone disrespect anyone on this campus. Without a strong culture, we can’t build a strong organization.”
The 50 attendees from alumni, CU Advocates and campus staff marked a capacity crowd for the first outreach event. “The Chancellor plans to host outreach events for alumni in other parts of the state,” said Joanna Bean, director, Alumni Relations and Annual Giving.
–Photos by Kayla Gronseth Boyer, Alumni Relations
Linda Bunnell…..seriously???