Colorado State University is more than a place.
Throughout 2022, you fueled transformation and growth with your generosity. The stories below are just a few of the countless examples of your impact in action and reflect the power of what’s possible when Rams come together.
To put it more simply, CSU is a community – CSU is you.
The breakthroughs you're fueling
Cancer is cancer, whether you have two legs or four, down to the cellular level. Comparative oncology – the study of naturally occurring cancers in more than one species – is the foundational principle of CSU’s Robert H. and Mary G. Flint Animal Cancer Center’s program, One Cure, which has fueled groundbreaking research and clinical trials for more than a decade. Donors like you help strengthen partnerships, illuminating lifesaving breakthroughs for all.
“CSU sits in this powerful position, with a unique facility, infrastructure, and personnel, to try and make a dent, and to turn certain cancers into chronic diseases that are manageable long term.” – Dr. Dan Regan, CSU assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
The resources you're renewing
As wildfire season becomes a year-round threat, affected communities need critical support. That’s where CSU’s Watershed Assessment and Vulnerability Evaluation program comes in – by partnering with private landowners to make assessments, collect data, develop personalized wildfire recovery plans, and help apply for aid. Your support for programs such as WAVE helps foster meaningful collaboration and bridge gaps among citizens, scientists, and policymakers.
“When the 2020 East Troublesome fire came through, it was pretty eye-opening. How do you quantify what happened and how do you move forward after something like that?” – Paul Klees, C Lazy U Ranch’s assistant general manager
The communities you're enriching
CAM’s Ag Academy, housed within CSU Spur’s Morgridge Learning Lab, helps undergraduate and graduate students, as well as young FFA and 4-H members, explore their agricultural affinity. Your generosity helps enrich local and rural communities while inspiring the next generation of global problem solvers.
“Our goal is to focus on giving people a positive interaction and encourage appreciation for the scale and impact of our state’s agricultural system.” – Jenny Bennett, agricultural literacy instructor and outreach coordinator with CAM’s Ag Academy
The dreams you're sustaining
A love of agriculture, an academic dream, and an unthinkable cancer diagnosis all collided for Briana Tangredi (B.S., ’20; M.S., ’22) in the middle of her animal sciences studies. Her resilience, strength, and dedication are reflected in every scholarship recipient’s story – how hard they work to get to, stay at, and graduate from CSU. Supporters like you help provide so much more than financial assistance – you help turn dreams into reality.
“I started to cry. Not because I had cancer, but because I had just been admitted to CSU for grad school. I had all these plans of what I was going to do with my future, and I knew those would immediately change. Without these scholarships, I wouldn’t have been able to return to CSU or continue my education as a master’s student.” – Briana Tangredi, CSU scholarship recipient and cancer survivor
The creativity you're nurturing
Through Kids Do It All, CSU theater faculty and CSU upperclassmen guide hundreds of middle and high school students through the entire theater process – from playwriting to performance, from design to musical composition. Your support for programs such as KDIA (and its Spanish-immersion counterpart) underscores the importance of art in our world.
“They’re learning how collaboration works better when we aren’t trying to talk over each other to get our ideas heard, but by building on other people’s ideas and working as a collective to try to make those ideas bigger and better.” – Debbie Swann, CSU theatre senior instructor and director for the Kids Do It All program based in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
The difference you're making
On CSU’s Day of Giving in April, more than 1,400 donors gave more than $180,000 (in just one day!), with 64% made up of individual gifts of $150 or less. An amount such as $10 may not seem much at first, but programs such as Rams Against Hunger can turn that $10 into a nutritious meal for a student experiencing food insecurity. And $150 can feed a student for an entire month. With that in mind, more than 8,500 meals were raised for students on Giving Tuesday in November.
The momentum you’re generating
In 2022, CSU celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX – landmark legislation that leveled the playing field for women in sports – with a landmark $5 million gift from Bohemian Foundation. This is the largest gift dedicated to women’s athletics in Mountain West history and will significantly enhance facility upgrades for the women's soccer and softball programs that began last summer. It will also jump-start the second phase of the Moby Locker Room project to create expanded locker room spaces for women’s sports teams.
The legacy you're continuing
The late Joe Blake, chancellor emeritus of the CSU System and longtime advocate for higher education in Colorado, championed the College of Liberal Arts by founding the Blake Leadership Scholars Program in 2018 and then making the largest gift in the college’s history the following year. After Blake’s passing in February 2022, community members gave more than $6,000 in his memory, showing how philanthropy goes beyond monetary giving – it can also be a gift of legacy and inspiration.
“Joe was a model of grace, goodwill, and good humor, whose love of language, passion for ideas, and commitment to this state and its people were unsurpassed.” – Tony Frank, CSU System chancellor
A year made possible by you
The 2022 year began with a bold vision: Increase opportunity through scholarships, drive innovation through research, create a sustainable future today, and provide access and help make connections in line with CSU’s land-grant mission.