President Saliman recaps year’s highlights, looks ahead with Faculty Senate

CU President Todd Saliman spoke during the April 25 meeting of the Faculty Senate, his second report to the governance group during this academic year.

Saliman recapped a busy period for the administration, including his appointment of new chancellors at UCCS and CU Boulder, both receiving unanimous approval from the Board of Regents. He said he also continues to honor outgoing CU Boulder Chancellor Phil DiStefano, thanking him for his “incredible dedication, leadership and commitment to the university.”

The current legislative session is scheduled to conclude next week, with some CU-related bills still moving through the state legislature at the time of the meeting. A success worth noting was funding for CU and higher ed across the state.

“We started working well before the session began with other higher education institutions to come up with a funding request that would enable us all to maintain our service levels, given the current level of state funding,” Saliman said. “State funding has a direct impact on each of our campuses and their ability to do what they do.”

The joint funding request proved successful, with the legislature and governor ultimately approving a $107 million operating increase in funding for higher education. CU’s share is $29.4 million, equal to an operating increase of 9.6%.

“It’s very close to what we had requested as a group of institutions,” Saliman said. “We’re grateful to the legislature for approving that and to the governor,” who signed the budget into law on Monday.

State funding for higher education remains relatively low compared to other states, Saliman said, though Colorado has improved in recent years.

As part of his discussion with the Faculty Senate, Saliman responded to a list of questions on several topics. In one, faculty referenced how DEI initiatives have come under attack by lawmakers in other states. “There is no indication at all that the Board of Regents would do anything to restrict our work in this space,” Saliman said. “If anything, they’re asking what more can be done. The majority of the board is very, very committed to this work.”

Saliman said work continues on the development of a new marketing campaign for the CU system. “I want Colorado to have a love affair with the University of Colorado.”

With the systemwide strategic plan currently in place slated to conclude in 2026, Saliman said the process for developing the next strategic plan will begin in January 2025.

Saliman began and concluded his talk with an expression of gratitude to faculty.

“Thank you for what all of you and your colleagues have been doing this academic year,” Saliman said. “You are the core of what we do at CU.”