Dear Colleagues:

The semester is well underway. Our students have settled into the rhythms of their classes, research, activities and friendships. Fall is beginning to transform our beautiful campus. Last week, we gathered as a university community for President Parsons’ Fall Address and University Picnic. And this week, alumni and families return for Homecoming and Family Weekend.

There are certain moments during the academic year when you can see and feel the full Colorado State University community around you. This is one of them.

I love this time of year because it brings together so many of the people who are part of CSU: students, faculty and staff, alumni and families, friends and partners. It reminds us that while a university is shaped by its mission, its history, and the teaching, research and discovery that happen here, it is ultimately defined by its people and the connections they form.

It was wonderful to see so many of you at the Fall Address and University Picnic last Wednesday. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to come together for this annual CSU tradition and to hear the President reflect on our university. One point she made has stayed with me: We each have an opportunity to be ambassadors for Colorado State University and to tell CSU’s story.

I have thought about that in the days since. Our story is not only about what CSU accomplishes, but also about the people who make those accomplishments possible. Every day, our faculty and staff help students discover what they are capable of becoming. You pursue research and creative work that expand knowledge and improve lives. You create programs, partnerships and experiences that connect CSU to communities across Colorado and around the world. And through countless interactions that may seem ordinary in the moment, you shape how people experience this university and what they carry with them when they leave.

Homecoming makes those lasting connections especially visible.

This week, alumni will return to a place that helped shape their lives. Families will spend time with students and experience the community their students now call their own. Friends and partners will join us in celebrating CSU traditions. And generations of Rams will come together to reconnect, reminisce and cheer on our football team as they take on Oregon State in our first Pac-12 conference game at Canvas Stadium.

To our faculty and staff, thank you for helping us welcome our extended Ram family back to campus this week. Whether you participate in Homecoming events, welcome visitors into your college or unit, reconnect with former students, or simply offer directions to someone trying to remember where a building is, you are helping create the experience of coming home to CSU.

Thank you for being the people who make CSU such a special place to learn, work, discover and call home … and come back to.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful fall week and all that comes with Homecoming at Colorado State.

Go Rams!

With gratitude,

Lise M. Youngblade, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President