August 26, 2025

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the start of the new academic year at Colorado State University. We are so very proud of our extraordinary research and teaching faculty at CSU, and you are among the best the world has to offer. Returning faculty members, it is good to have you back and I hope your summer was restorative and productive. If you are new to CSU, you will find a community here where you are embraced by caring colleagues and students eager to learn from you, driven by endless curiosity and a desire to make a difference.

For all of us who choose this work because we see the inherent value of higher education and believe in its pursuit of human flourishing – along with that of animals and the planet and all that lives and lies beyond – the start of a new year brings renewed excitement, energy, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

But I know for many of you over the summer, you were following the headlines swirling around higher education and the federal impacts. It has at times been overwhelming and fatiguing, and keeps us treading water in a sea of uncertainty. As we navigate a complex and evolving federal landscape for higher education, I want to recommend a recent article by the Harvard Business Review titled Now Is the Time for Courage: Five strategies to drive bold action amid uncertainty. For higher education and all who serve in roles as administrators, faculty, and staff, I believe this HBR article carries an especially powerful message.

Let me address the matter of academic freedom and concerns that have emerged among faculty who are trying to be courageous and navigate the climate we find ourselves in. And I say this unequivocally, academic freedom is a foundational principle for our nation’s higher education system, and CSU is firmly committed to ensuring that you as our faculty have the freedom to pursue rigorous scholarship and advance knowledge in your fields.

At the same time, we must be mindful that our students are here to discover and find their voice even when it might fall counter to our own. This reflects another foundational principle of higher education, which is dedicated to educating informed citizens, promoting critical thinking, and providing spaces for the free exchange and competition of ideas, a concept which is codified by CSU’s Student Bill of Rights. Likewise, state and federal law, as well as CSU policy protects all our students from discrimination, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, religion, creed, political beliefs, age, and disability. Combined, this means that our students have the right to express varying perspectives and cannot be treated differently based on their identities.

On a final note, you should have received an invitation last week to the upcoming Provost’s Ethics Colloquium on The Future of Higher Education. I hope to see you there on Thursday, Sept. 18. It’s an important conversation at a critical crossroads, and we are fortunate to have two excellent keynote speakers from Purdue University join us followed by an outstanding panel of CSU leaders ready to talk about where we are and how to move forward from here.

The best to you as we launch the fall semester and a new academic year! Thank you for choosing CSU, and for everything you do to elevate our excellence and help us fulfill the promise of a college degree. Your presence on our campuses matter, and you have one of the most important jobs in the world.

Sincerely,
Marion

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