Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,

It has been a wonderful semester at Colorado College! We piloted exciting new campus programs to support our students and advance our mission. We also came together for Family and Friends Weekend and Homecoming to celebrate our community.

The college application season is in full swing, and we are excited that our Colorado Pledge, Stroud Scholars Program, and test-optional admissions policy have generated even more interest in CC. As of mid-November,  Early Action and Early Decision Round I applications are up significantly from last year, including a more than 40% increase in applications from Coloradans.  The total number of applications will likely exceed last year’s all-time record of 9,445.

The Colorado Pledge will help to make CC more financially accessible for low-and middle-income Colorado families. As student body president Ethan Greenberg ’20 expressed in “New Pledge Opens CC’s Doors to Colorado Families,” the Colorado Pledge will also strengthen students’ sense of place and engagement. To fund the program, we need to raise $20 million. Thanks to the support of donors, we have raised nearly $5 million as of November 15. Susan Burgamy ’66 established the first scholarship for the Colorado Pledge, and chair of the Board of Trustees Susie Burghart ’77 initiated “Susie B’s Challenge.” Susie is matching gifts of $50,000 or more to establish endowed scholarships for the Colorado Pledge. During the first two weeks of November, she matched donations of any amount, inspiring more than $100,000 in new gifts. At Homecoming, the Class of 1969 generously directed their 50th reunion gift of $74,000 to the Colorado Pledge, which Susie matched. It is a remarkable outpouring of support that will have a tremendous impact on CC’s future.

We also recently launched the Stroud Scholars Program, which is a college preparatory program for students in the Pikes Peak Region who face barriers to college acceptance and success. The program honors the legacy of siblings Kelly Dolphus Stroud ’31 and Effie Stroud Frazier ’31, two of the earliest African-American students at CC. Stroud Scholars will join the program as rising high school sophomores. For three summers, at no cost, they will participate in a three-week campus program that builds quantitative reasoning and writing skills and prepares them for college admission and success. Students who complete the three-year program will earn admission to CC and receive a full financial aid package.

CC recently adopted a test-optional admission policy, building on our flexible admission policy that has been in place since 2010. This change aligns with our commitment to a holistic admission process that considers the whole student. Read about these changes in “More Than Scores: CC Admission Goes Test-Optional.”

I hope that you are inspired by this issue’s stories about giving, which highlight the ways alumni are giving back to Colorado College and their communities. The Mitzvoters, 13 alumni who pool $50 each per month to donate to a cause they care about, underscore the remarkable power of collective action. We are grateful to Ed Robson ’54 for his generous $12 million gift for the new on-campus hockey arena, which will be an incredible facility for Colorado College and the wider Colorado Springs community.

No matter the amount, every gift makes a difference. The holiday season reminds us of the importance of sharing, and I hope that we all bring this spirit of service and philanthropy into the coming year. Thank you for your support!

Warm regards,

Jill Tiefenthaler 

President