November 13, 2025

Dear Colleagues:

We are nearing the final push of the semester and I am ready for fall break, as I’m sure you are. This point of the semester always feels incredibly busy but it is also a time when I am reminded of the extraordinary dedication and resilience of our faculty. Your commitment to guiding our students through their academic journeys, especially amid all the competing demands on your time, is truly inspiring. Thank you for your tireless efforts in the classroom, in your research, and in your service to this institution.

I want to share that the Provost’s Ethics Colloquium on the Future of Higher Education has been rescheduled for Tuesday, January 27, 2026. I am pleased to confirm that our original keynote speakers, Drs. Jay Akridge and David Hummels of Purdue University, are still available and committed to joining us on the new date. Once again, I encourage you to peruse their blog, Finding  Equilibrium: Two Economists on Higher Ed’s Future . They offer well-reasoned, compelling, economic arguments for the value of higher education, and their topics include academic freedom, tenure, research funding, institutional autonomy, accountability, and more. We will provide details on the time and location for the colloquium in the Provost’s Faculty Newsletter next month.

Many of those same topics – all top of mind for those working in higher education – were at the heart of this week’s APLU Annual Meeting in Philadelphia attended by hundreds of university leaders from across the nation. The theme of the meeting was “Rising to the Moment,” designed to celebrate the leadership and innovative spirit of public and land-grant universities as they adapt to change and opportunities. Sessions centered on navigating challenges including rapid shifts in policy and funding, options for new research and operational funding models, significant redesigns of the 2025 Carnegie Classifications and emerging accreditation models. There was a strong consensus of trust in how institutions have been dealing with various pressures and a belief in a strong future ahead.

The opening session was a panel of university presidents moderated by Dr. Waded Cruzado, the new APLU president. The panel featured Kent Fuchs of the University of Florida and Michael Drake of the University of California System, both recently retired. They discussed how institutions are responding to and thriving in the face of hardships and the power of public universities to drive solutions for societal problems, from health breakthroughs to economic mobility.

During the panel, I was most moved by something Dr. Drake said in talking about this leadership journey. He said, “There’s no cookbook on what to do. Bring all that you have, keep your eyes and your ears and your heart and your mind open, and do your best step by step. Be open and present and authentic in what you do every day.”  He also quoted the late Arthur Ashe, an alum of UC Irvine, who said, “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”

That wisdom should resonate with all of us, and I know it is how you conduct yourselves in your work. You bring all you have, you keep your eyes and ears, your heart and your mind open, and you use what you have and do what you can to support of our mission and our students. Thank you for choosing CSU; you make this institution stronger and better every day you are here.

Sincerely,
Marion

Marion K. Underwood, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice President