Photo by Will Powers
Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,
Like virtually every college president in the country, I have had many occasions to communicate with the Colorado College community about how we are dealing with the effects of the economic downturn. It has been helpful to put our circumstances into historical context.
We often hear and read the word “unprecedented” to describe current economic conditions, but they are not in fact without precedent. Eighty years ago, Colorado College suffered a severe endowment loss, decreased enrollment, and unpaid student accounts. Four residence halls were closed. A decade later, the effects of the Great Depression still held sway, and as President Thurston Davies stated in his 1939 annual report to the Board of Trustees:
“Upon the vigorous foundation of the past we are trying to build a new and vital institution which will continue to uphold and develop the previous achievements …. To say that an institution is at any time at a crossroads is trite. I feel right now, however, that … Colorado College, already one of the widely known small colleges in the country, will be preeminent in its field.”
Davies believed it 70 years ago. I believe it now. We are at a crossroads, but we will prevail. We are making tough financial decisions to ensure CC’s viability.
In this issue about the quality that characterizes our students and faculty (standouts in the Class of 2009; new tenure-track faculty hires); and read about the commitment that characterizes our supporters (support for financial aid; commitment to the Vision).
Such quality and commitment are what promise to sustain Colorado College.
Sincerely,
Richard F. Celeste
| Board of Trustees | David Lampton P ’00 – Washington, D.C. |
Raymond Petros Jr. ’72 – Golden, Colo. |
David van Diest Skilling ’55 – Palm Desert, Calif. |
| Margaret Allon ’81 – Denver, Colo. |
Elizabeth Larned ’83 – San Francisco, Calif. (Secretary of the Board) |
Jack Pottle ’77 – Denver, Colo. |
Michael Slade ’79 – Seattle, Wash. |
| Neal Baer ’78 – Los Angeles, Calif. |
Amy Shackelford Louis ’84 – Hinsdale, Ill. |
Adam Press ’84 – Los Angeles, Calif. |
Brian Thomson ’85 – Denver, Colo. |
| Susan Burghart ’77 – Colorado Springs, Colo. |
Robert Manning ’69 – Denver, Colo. (Co-Vice-Chair of the Board) |
Harold Price P ’75 ’76 – Laguna Beach, Calif. |
Hans Utsch P ’92 ’95 – New York, N.Y. |
| William Campbell ’67 – Englewood, Colo. |
Manuel Martinez ’74 – Denver, Colo. |
Jane Rawlings ’70 – Pueblo, Colo. |
Colburn Wilbur – Los Altos, Calif. |
| Richard Celeste – President of Colorado College |
Margaret Mathies ’57 – Claremont, Calif. |
Edward Robson ’54 P ’79 – Phoenix, Ariz. |
Brian Williamson ’96 – Wilmington, Del. |
| John Chalik ’67 – Piedmont, Calif. |
Chad Milton ’69 – Prairie Village, Kan. |
Robert Ross – Oklahoma City, Okla. |
John Wold ’75 – Denver, Colo. |
| Daniel Cooper ’66 – Buena Vista, Colo. |
Eben Moulton ’68 – Cambridge, Mass. |
Ken Salazar ’77 – Washington, D.C. (Honorary Trustee) |
Nancy Woodrow ’68 – Wayzata, Minn. (Co-Vice-Chair of the Board) |
| William Hybl ’64 – Colorado Springs, Colo. |
Douglas Norberg ’62 – Seattle, Wash. |
Robert Selig ’61 – Woodside, Calif. |
Suzanne Woolsey P ’97 ’98 ’00 – Harwood, Md. (Chair of the Board) |
