DU Forward

DU Forward sets a clear direction for the University of Denver’s future, one that is intentionally focused, deeply student-centered, and rooted in what makes DU distinctive.

At its core, DU Forward is all in on the student experience. We are building a university experience that is personalized, holistic, and experiential, designed to meet students where they are, connect learning across the classroom and the world beyond it, and prepare graduates to lead purposeful lives and careers.

The student experience is fundamentally shaped through the work of our faculty. Faculty research, scholarship, and creative practice generates new ideas, advances knowledge, and drives innovation. Through faculty-led inquiry and discovery, students learn alongside scholars who are shaping their fields, tackling complex challenges, and translating research into real-world impact.

DU Forward is about making deliberate choices that strengthen who we are and what we do best. By aligning our priorities, resources, and investments around a shared vision, DU Forward moves the University ahead with clarity, focus, and impact. 

"DU Forward positions DU to succeed and flourish amid sustained change."

- Chancellor Jeremy Haefner

• The Vision of DU Forward

  We are transforming the University of Denver to lead in a time of profound change—building on our strengths, expanding our impact, and elevating what makes DU distinctive. Together, we are shaping a future defined by academic excellence, innovative discovery, and most importantly, a preeminent student experience at a leading research university. This experience develops the whole person, advances knowledge for the public good, and prepares graduates to lead and thrive in an ever‑evolving world.

• Our North Star: The Student Experience

  The student experience is our North Star. DU Forward is how we get there—guiding the University of Denver through a period of transformation while strengthening what makes DU excellent, innovative, and a premier choice for students seeking a personalized education that supports lifelong professional and personal success.

  DU Forward represents the next chapter in DU’s story and a clear picture of where we are headed. Over the next five years, we are advancing a strong liberal education alongside excellence in areas such as business, science and engineering, law, the arts and humanities, and health and behavioral sciences. This path will be greatly supported by faculty research and scholarship that generates new knowledge, advances innovation, and serves the public good. As a flexible and agile strategic framework, DU Forward unites the entire university around three guiding principles and a set of bold goals, grounding our work in shared values while allowing us to adapt as the world and our students’ needs continue to change. 

• It's Everything

  DU Forward is the strategic framework that guides everything we do. While it includes a set of funded, high‑impact projects, it also encompasses the priorities, goals, and initiatives advancing our institution through our academic and operational work.

  From new academic programs and innovative degree pathways to ongoing efforts that strengthen teaching, research, student support, enrollment, and institutional effectiveness, all strategic work at DU is aligned to and advances DU Forward. These efforts advance through both dedicated investments and our normal operational channels, working together to deliver meaningful, lasting impact.

  This shared framework ensures that strategy and execution remain connected so that individual initiatives, major projects, and everyday decisions all contribute to a common direction. DU Forward brings focus and coherence to our work, enabling the University of Denver to flourish with greater clarity, agility, and purpose.

• The Effect: Transforming DU...

  DU Forward is the pathway through which the University of Denver will flourish in a time of profound and ongoing change. In this moment for higher education, DU has the opportunity not only to endure, but to lead—to emerge stronger, more focused, and more impactful for the long term. DU Forward sets that course, aligning how we think, plan, and act so the university can thrive now and for decades to come.

  Through DU Forward, we are transforming both our focus and how we do our work. We will challenge old assumptions, invest in innovation, and act with greater agility, demonstrating that higher education can be nimble, strategic, and deliver meaningful return on investment for students and society.

  This transformation is deeply collaborative and holistic, engaging the entire community in shared purpose. By aligning strategy with execution, DU Forward empowers us to adapt quickly to changing student needs, market shifts, and emerging opportunities. We will deliver new ways of learning, reach new learners and markets, and use emerging technologies to help students build critical skills and shape the future of work both inside and outside the classroom. 

  By 2030, the University of Denver will stand at the forefront of higher education as a leader in student experiences, a flourishing institution, and a model for what a high‑performing, highly effective private university can and should be.