2025 Outreach Tour embraces San Luis Valley

The 2025 CU Presidential Outreach Tour saw leaders including President Todd Saliman and Regents Nolbert Chavez, Elliott Hood and Ilana Dubin Spiegel visiting Colorado’s San Luis Valley. The tour is part of CU’s ongoing, year-round commitment to building trust and delivering impact, demonstrating how CU is for all of Colorado.

The July 30-Aug. 1 tour spanned Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties, where CU leaders engaged with K-12 and higher education leaders, nonprofit and civic organizations, and local business representatives to discuss the challenges and opportunities unique to rural southern Colorado, and how CU can be part of the solutions.

“That’s our foundational commitment,” Saliman said. “We want to be here to educate people so they can get an affordable education and get a valuable degree so they can get a better job when they graduate.”

During the tour, CU leaders emphasized how every student has a pathway to success at CU. It’s a message backed by data: 86% of Colorado resident applicants are accepted to CU campuses, and nearly half of all resident students graduate with no debt.

“CU puts more money into financial aid from internal resources than the state of Colorado puts into financial aid for all universities and colleges combined,” Saliman said of the university’s $400 million annual commitment. “We are highly committed to bringing college within reach for the people of Colorado.”

Through programs like CU Promise, which fully covers tuition and fees for Colorado students with the greatest financial need, and the CU Boulder Tuition Guarantee, CU is making significant investments in affordability and access.

The centerpiece of the tour was the CU event in the San Luis Valley community of Monte Vista. With presentations from CU Boulder, UCCS and CU Denver, the evening provided residents with an opportunity to learn directly from campus leaders about academic programs, admissions and scholarship opportunities.

“We want more people from the (San Luis) Valley at our campuses and that is why we are here,” Saliman said. “We have lots of choices for people. We want to make sure that all our campuses have communities where anyone from the state of Colorado can feel welcome.”

At the San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), CU leadership heard how local school districts are partnering to increase student success. In the Centennial School District, discussions highlighted the new Data Science Essentials Certificate Program, developed in collaboration with CU Denver, which provides rural students with a pathway into high-demand careers.

The tour also included meetings with Luis Murillo of the Alamosa School District, focusing on the San Luis Valley Family Center’s support for students and families through bilingual services, internet access and educational tools that remove barriers to success.

“I want to make sure students who go through the University of Colorado can lead happy and healthy lives,” Saliman said. “The University of Colorado needs to be providing the skills, the training, the resources and the connections that you and I need to find that dream. We want to connect with more Coloradans to make sure that we can do that for as many Coloradans as we can.”

As well as meeting with educational institutions, the CU delegation connected with community-based organizations driving meaningful change across the San Luis Valley. At the Boys and Girls Club, the group learned about new programs and facilities supporting youth development, while a visit to the Shooting Stars Cultural and Leadership Center highlighted local efforts to create safe, inclusive spaces for underserved youth. The group also met with the Maestas Commemorative Committee, which honors the historic 1914 lawsuit in Alamosa that challenged the educational segregation of Mexican-American students, which served as an opportunity for CU leaders to explore future collaboration in commemorating the case and advancing equity in education.

Other meetings with the San Luis Valley Resource Development Group, the Attainment Network and the Alamosa Chamber of Commerce focused on the intersection of education and economic development, and how CU can continue to expand its impact in the region.

“We are Colorado’s university,” Saliman said. “It is our mission to serve the people of Colorado, and all of Colorado’s communities.”