Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends of Colorado College,

BUL-AUG16-PG02-JillPhotoColorado College’s strategic plan calls for nurturing in our students a strong sense of place. As focused as they are on the immediate and the virtual, we challenge them to engage in this community and region, and to develop local connections that play an important role in defining their CC experiences. I firmly believe that strengthening this aspect of a CC education empowers our student to be thinkers, creators, and leaders.

New buildings and renovations create wonderful opportunities to reinforce our sense of place! Armstrong Quad is currently unrecognizable as holes are being drilled for a new geothermal heating and cooling system that will power Tutt Library. I am proud that this project will help to make our new intellectual hub a net-zero energy user when it opens in Fall 2017. In addition, construction will start soon on a housing community for juniors and seniors on East Campus. Utilities for this new development are being buried underground as I write to you.

The Baca Campus also reinforces our connection to our region. Beloved former Board of Trustees Chair Jerry McHugh Sr., P’80, P’84, G’09, G’10, who passed away in April, demonstrated his understanding of
the importance of place when he made the initial gift to acquire the buildings and adjacent land in the San Luis Valley. That tradition of Board vision and philanthropy endures. On June 16, the college dedicated our Baca solar array to honor former Board of Trustees Chair and Life Trustee Sue Woolsey P’97, P’98, P’99. The new array, installed by students last fall (pictured above), generates all the energy needs of our Baca Campus. Woolsey has long championed sustainability at CC, and her gift advanced her commitment in a tangible way.

Our alliance with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is another exciting development, one with deep roots Alice Bemis Taylor loved and supported CC and the Fine Arts Center and in the 1930s contributed her immense collection of Southwest art and artifacts to both institutions. The partnership will enable CC to offer expanded learning opportunities for students through interaction with the artists and material cultures of the Southwest, highlighting the rich heritage and living traditions of our region. Additionally, this alliance provides opportunities to engage with the Colorado Springs community.

I am constantly reminded that good decisions and generous gifts of the past matter so much to what we can accomplish for our students today. Each of us can help CC make the most of today’s opportunities, which will have enduring impacts on the college. As CC alumni and parents, your involvement will shape this institution for decades to come. I invite you to stay connected to the many opportunities for supporting this special place!

With warm regards,

Jill Tiefenthaler