University of Denver Annual Report
Download the complete annual report (1.89MB-PDF)
As we accelerate through this, our 145th year, we at the University of Denver have our
gaze firmly focused on a bright future that holds many possibilities. Those possibilities are
bounded and informed by the past, though, and it is wise to look back, taking stock of the
year just passed and assessing its lessons.
With that in mind, we are very pleased to present this summary report for the 2007–
2008 year at DU (fiscal 2008). The year was, in many ways, the best in our history, marked
by a number of major milestones thoroughly aligned with our vision of being a great private
university dedicated to the public good.
The intellectual capital of the University continued to deepen and grow, as was clearly
reflected in our teaching and learning environment and in our scholarship and research.
The University community continued to bind itself together more tightly, as it focused its
energies on a number of key strategic objectives. Our national and international reach
widened, as we enrolled more international students, sent a record number of our undergraduates
abroad to study and engaged our intellectual assets with a vast array of constituents
across the world. Our business operations ran more effectively than in virtually any previous
year, generating new capital that was invested in our students, faculty, programs and facilities.
As all of this activity and progress continued to serve the intellectual and personal
growth of our students, so did it also impact the lives of countless people in the many
communities with which we interact—in Denver, the region and the world. We remain
committed to the notion that our success is measured by the lives of our alumni, the work
of our faculty and the manner in which they impact the lives of people outside the realm
of academia.
As we look ahead, the state of our economy is certainly such as to warrant due caution,
and we are constantly scanning the horizon for signs of trouble. Those signs have not yet
appeared, in enrollments, fundraising or other aspects of our operations where they might
be expected. Surely we will ultimately be affected, but the University is far better prepared to
weather an economic storm than in times past. Good long-term planning, healthy reserves
and a far broader reach will serve us well. All of that being said, at this moment the current
year shows every indication of being still better than the last.
Robert D. Coombe