Young people take risks and push boundaries. Our job is to prevent the worst outcomes and provide resources.
Philip DiStefano
Philip DiStefano, of Boulder, is chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder and host of the UN Human Rights sponsored Right Here Right Now Global Climate Summit.
Posted inOpinion Columns
Opinion: As global temperatures rise, those who stand to lose the most are those who have the least
CU convenes a dialog about the link between climate change and human rights.
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Philip DiStefano: What higher education has learned from the COVID-19 pandemic
It’s been a year since COVID-19 struck our world, and we all underwent a tectonic, generational change. Such a monumental societal disruption causes us to re-examine all kinds of institutions, including higher education. Last March, as the pandemic spread and confusion gripped our nation’s college campuses, University of Colorado Boulder took immediate, decisive action and […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Philip DiStefano: CU Boulder supports legislation eliminating test scores and legacy status for admissions
Colorado has an incredible opportunity in this year’s legislative session to increase access to higher education. Legislators can help end statutorily driven discriminatory practices and help the state’s colleges and universities compete with out-of-state schools for Colorado’s students. Lawmakers can realize these changes by passing two proposed bills addressing outdated admissions practices. One would eliminate […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
DiStefano: We have a leadership crisis. Here’s how Colorado universities can help.
Now, more than ever, I have been thinking about leadership and what it takes to become and maintain being a good leader. Maybe you have as well. Too often and for too long, I believe, too many have sought leadership positions for power, self aggrandizement and short-term gain, turning a blind eye to the long-term […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: CU Boulder will be back, but the coronavirus will force some changes
Whenever I meet with parents of University of Colorado Boulder students, I begin by thanking them for entrusting their young adults to us. I tell them their loved one’s safety is my No. 1 priority. That’s why when I first learned of the seriousness of COVID-19, we immediately moved to action. We transitioned CU Boulder […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
CU chancellor: Colorado needs more funding for college diversity
Every winter under the gold dome of the Colorado Capitol, the state legislature comes together to literally write Colorado’s history. In 2014, with little fanfare, they established a scholarship to help low- and middle-income students — disproportionately students of color, first-generation and underrepresented. Since then, tens of thousands of Coloradans who may not otherwise have […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Federal investment in university research is critical to surging public-private partnerships
When a SpaceX passenger capsule docked with the International Space Station on March 3, completing a flawless daylong trek, it put an exclamation point on the success of public-private partnerships. On the eve of that headline-making voyage, NASA Deputy Administrator James Morhard and colleagues from NASA were on our campus in Boulder to help us […]