University of Colorado Boulder Chancellor Justin Schwartz gives state of the campus address in Glenn Miller Ballroom on Feb. 10, 2026 (Avery Clifton/CU Independent)
University of Colorado Boulder chancellor Justin Schwartz reflected on the past and spoke of the future at the state of the campus address on Tuesday. Around 1,600 people tuned in for the annual address from the Glenn Miller Ballroom or online.
This year, Schwartz announced various improvements across community success, research funding and sustainability. He finished by calling on members of the CU community—regardless of their position—for new ideas to improve the university.
“Where you sit in the organization does not define whether you will come up with a great idea,” Schwartz said.
The chancellor acknowledged the changing landscape of higher education, specifically for institutions receiving federal funding. He described the last year as unstable and overwhelming but encouraged CU to consider its core values.
“Guided by our past, rooted in our shared values and mission, and with an appreciation for one another, we are focused now on our future,” he said.
Schwartz said the university was committed to the individual and collective success of all students, faculty and staff. Along with academics, he highlighted initiatives in other areas of student life, including housing, wellness and financial stability.
“Student success is much more than obtaining a degree,” Schwartz said.
He announced actions focused on student success, like expanding access to career development, global learning, and digital portfolios. Schwartz highlighted student housing plans, including new first-year residential learning communities and off-campus housing on Colorado Avenue.
In his address, Schwartz emphasized the importance of community mental and physical health. He announced that mental health services will expand services to include couples and family therapy. He also highlighted how the Basic Needs Center, which aids students with resources like food and housing, served nearly 2,000 students in the last year.
“We aim to be the national leaders in student wellness,” Schwartz said.
The chancellor spotlighted CU’s research, which earned more funding in 2025 than any previous year. He highlighted a few faculty members for their recent and upcoming innovative work. For example, CU faculty received a three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to rebuild community trust in higher education.
“Congratulations to Elias Sacks, Terri Wilson, Jennifer Ho and Michele Moses,” he said. “I am so excited to see CU Boulder leading in this critical area — it’s a strength for our campus and a critical area of focus and need across American society.”
Schwartz also shared sustainability goals and achievements on campus this year. CU has made progress to replace all diesel buses on campus with electric alternatives. Schwartz said CU has purchased eight electric buses already.
The chancellor said this new goal comes after single-use beverage plastics were eliminated from campus. He announced that currently, the Environmental Center is implementing reusable systems in campus dining to reduce waste.
“At CU Boulder, we not only support our people; we support our planet,” he said. “We have only just begun and must continue to elevate our focus on sustainability.”
The chancellor closed his address by encouraging the audience to share ideas to the recently launched Big Ideas initiative. Following his remarks, initiative co-chairs Waleed Abdalati and Stefanie Johnson gave further information on how to participate.
The initiative acts as an open forum to share ideas to improve the university. The prompt is intentionally open-ended, according to Schwartz.
“What is most important is that these ideas be meaningful, ambitious and sourced from throughout our campus,” he said.
A group of CU faculty across colleges will review ideas based on potential impact, feasibility and compatibility with CU’s mission. Accepted ideas will advance to an executive board and the original contributor will be notified.
Brylan Graber, a political science and international affairs major, said his involvement in student government motivated him to attend the address. He is a member of the CU student government off-campus life board, which provides resources for students living off campus.
He praised Schwartz’s announcements about student-housing, saying the extra capacity would have a positive impact.
“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” he said.
Graber said that in the next year, he hoped to see the Chancellor recognize United Campus Workers, a labor union for public university employees across the state. The union has recently been advocating for collective bargaining.
“They’ve been trying to get recognition among all four CU campuses,” he said. “But it would be nice to have some recognition of them by the Chancellor, and have that collective bargaining power between older staff, students and faculty.”
He further complimented Schwartz’s speech and said he wanted to remain involved with the university.
“That was a fantastic speech and I’m really looking forward to the next year at CU,” Graber said.
Contact CU Independent News Editor Avery Clifton at avery.clifton@colorado.edu
