Chancellor's Communiqué

Honored to Join CU Denver Community, 1-4-2016

Dear colleagues,

I write to send warm greetings on my first day as CU Denver’s new chancellor. I am pleased and honored to be here.

I’d like to begin by thanking outgoing Chancellor Jerry Wartgow for his leadership and significant contributions to CU Denver. During both his “tours of duty” here, he led with acumen and grace, and I feel privileged to follow in his footsteps. I’ve had the good fortune to benefit from his wise counsel during the leadership transition.

In the months since the announcement of my appointment, I’ve been listening and learning. I’ve heard accolades from the outside community about CU Denver, its talented faculty, staff and students, and its many contributions to the greater Denver area and the world of research and education. Much of this I knew already—and it’s part of why I was excited by the opportunity to be your chancellor. I’ve also heard the hopes of many who believe CU Denver is poised to move to an even higher level of impact and success. As your leader, I believe my role is to help you, individually and collectively, fulfill the promise of what is possible.

To do that, I need to continue listening and learning. I want to hear your thoughts and ideas as I deepen my understanding of CU Denver’s challenges and potential. Please join me for an open forum on Wednesday, Jan. 27, as we formally launch the process of working together to create a shared vision for the future. To accommodate differing schedules there will be two sessions: one at 8 a.m. in the Lawrence Street Center, 2nd floor Terrace Room; and one at 4 p.m. in the Student Commons Building, Room 2600. Watch your email and Today for additional details between now and then.

In the meantime, if you see me on campus, I hope you will feel free to introduce yourself and start a conversation. I am eager to get to work and to explore with you how together we can make CU Denver the very best it can be.

As we begin this new year, I’ll close with a quote I often heard from my late Irish grandmother: “May you get all your wishes but one, so that you always have something to strive for.”

Dorothy Horrell
Chancellor