President's Letter - Colorado State University-Pueblo

President’s Letter
Because the
financial condition of
the State has brought
a 19 percent decline
in state funding,
enrollment growth
—including the
largest freshmen class
in University history
this fall — has been
critical to our financial
situation this year.
While most institutions
are cutting budgets,
we are proposing a
budget that will add
more than $1.2 million
in new programs
and personnel to our
current year’s budget
to meet the needs that
accompany our rapid
growth.
Dear Alumni and Friends:
It brings me great pleasure to introduce the current issue of our alumni magazine,
which highlights the success of our athletic programs, our tremendous enrollment
growth, our new and renovated facilities, and most importantly, the contributions of our
students, faculty, staff, and alumni to our state and community.
Our faculty and students have teamed up to test water quality in the Fountain Creek
and Arkansas River and to assess needs and improve access to health care services for
rural citizens, among many other projects. By doing so, CSU-Pueblo faculty, staff, and
students continue to show they understand the importance of building partnerships with
organizations, businesses, and individuals beyond campus borders as part of our mission
as a regional comprehensive university. I credit our current growth to expansion of those
outreach efforts and to the other improvements and additions we have made to our
campus.
Because the financial condition of the State has brought a 19 percent decline in state
funding, enrollment growth — including the largest freshmen class in University history
this fall — has been critical to our financial situation. While most institutions are cutting
budgets, we are proposing a budget that will add more than $1.2 million in new programs
and personnel to our current year’s budget to meet the needs that accompany our rapid
growth. That new money will be invested in paying, first and foremost, for the additional
instructional costs of serving so many new students.
Although our funding levels from the state are significantly lower than they have
been in the past, we are making every effort to maintain our tuition at an affordable level.
Although most institutions increased their tuition by nine percent, we increased tuition
at a lower rate (4%), in order to help our students stay in school and to continue to attract
new students. At CSU-Pueblo, we serve a high percentage of high-need students, and we
believe that large tuition and fee increases are more likely to affect our student body than
would similar increases at some other institutions. That is good news for our students,
but there is bad news for our hard working faculty and staff. While we believe we will be
able to avoid furloughs and layoffs, our employees did not receive any salary increases
this fiscal year, a direct result of the decreases in per student funding levels from the state
for all public institutions of higher education. I find this particularly disappointing having
seen firsthand how hard everyone has worked to improve and grow this institution.
On balance however, the outlook for CSU-Pueblo is overwhelmingly positive. Our
enrollment is growing, our facilities and our academic reputation are improving, and
the morale of our outstanding faculty and staff remains high. Please share news of our
success with friends, neighbors, relatives, and business colleagues. Show your pride by
wearing CSU-Pueblo clothing. Word of mouth has always been one of the most successful
marketing tools and among the best ways to enhance reputation.
We are proud of our ongoing transformation, and we hope that the news in this issue
will give you an even greater sense of pride in your alma mater. We would welcome a visit
from you to witness the transformation for yourself.
Go Thunderwolves!!
Joseph Garcia, President
2 C O L O R A D O S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y - P U E B L O