Messages From Leadership

Tomorrow, June 19—Juneteenth—marks the day in 1865 when enslaved Texans first learned about President Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, which announced the end of slavery in the United States.

As you may be aware, the U.S. Department of Education has issued final regulations that put into place new legally binding requirements that will impact the way DU and all universities that receive federal funding manage and report cases of sexual assault.

Congratulations for all you have achieved during the spring 2020 term, which has been one of the most challenging periods we’ve ever experienced on our campus and throughout the country and world.

There are moments in an organization’s trajectory when you understand the gravity of the situation and you know you are at a critical moment. This is one of those moments and this is a message that is so difficult to write and even harder to share

As you are no doubt aware, the University Planning Framework for 2020–2021 has been hard at work planning for fall logistics, digital and online strategies, financial solutions and more.

The recent events we’ve experienced as a community—the deaths of so many Black Americans at the hands of those who are sworn to serve and protect us—are disturbing and intolerable and call upon each one of us to reach deep down and ask, what more can I do? 

Tonight we ask that we all extend our support for a few more minutes to commemorate the more than 100,000 victims of the coronavirus in the United States, as well as the thousands more people whose lives are lost every year to racial violence.

One month ago, I announced the University of Denver’s plans to reopen with face-to-face classes when we begin our fall term in mid-September (Sturm College of Law in mid-August), even if delivery had to be modified in some way.

There is much work to be done as we manage the financial impacts of the coronavirus on our University, and on every member of our community.