Weekly Letter from the Provost—June 26 Edition
As mentioned in the final weekly of the spring 2026 quarter, I plan on sending these updates biweekly during the summer months. If you have suggestions for what we should include in future communications, please submit your ideas or stories here. Suggestions received before noon on Monday will be reviewed and considered for publication in that week’s newsletter. Others will be held for consideration until the following week.
Today’s update falls into four categories:
Campus news and happenings
- Goal 1: Shape enrollment and improve retention and graduation rates for all students
- Goal 2: Improve career outcomes and better prepare our students to succeed and lead in an AI-transformed workforce
- Goal 3: Strengthen academic excellence
Campus News and Happenings
DU Meets Objectives and Receives Board Approval for Fiscal Year 2027 Budget
This significant accomplishment, a key step toward shaping and sustaining DU’s academic transformation, would not have been possible without the hard work, leadership, and sacrifices of so many within our community. Thank you.
Inaugural Institute Advances Teaching Excellence and Student Success
On June 16 and 17, the Office for Faculty Success, in partnership with the Office of Student Success and the Office of Teaching and Learning, hosted 40 faculty members for the inaugural Institute for Teaching Excellence and Student Success. This DU Forward–funded initiative, aligned with the 4D Experience, focused on strengthening student retention, belonging, and holistic thriving by equipping faculty with pedagogical tools to support student success.
Over two days, faculty engaged with practices designed to enhance teaching and learning in support of student success. The institute marked an important commitment to advancing faculty development aligned with institutional priorities.
This initiative advances the University of Denver’s commitment to innovation and excellence in teaching and learning while supporting institutional student success goals. I am grateful to the faculty who participated and to the colleagues who made this effort possible, including Leslie Cramblet Alvarez, assistant vice provost for teaching and learning and director of the Office of Teaching and Learning; Kristy Firebaugh, assistant vice provost for student success; and Laura Sponsler, interim associate dean for faculty affairs and clinical associate professor in the Morgridge College of Education.
Goal 1: Shape Enrollment and Improve Retention and Graduation Rates
DU Remains on Track to Meet Fall 2026 Enrollment Goals
The core new student enrollment assumptions for fall 2026 were 1,050 new first-time first-year (FTFY) undergraduate students and 1,642 new graduate students (on-campus and online). For undergraduate students, summer is a time when those who have already deposited can reconsider for various reasons, and so we are working aggressively to retain them (1,189 FTFY deposits as of June 25) and to defend against melt. Currently, we are only seeing a 5.7% melt rate, which is similar to that of recent years. Should that trend continue, we are on pace to meet our enrollment goal of 1,050 for this fall.
For graduate student recruiting, summer is often a time when we see an increase in deposits (especially in the professional schools and from international students in all the disciplines). As of June 22, we have received 1,535 deposits and are seeing significant activity over the summer. We had 30 deposits in a single day last week, thanks in large part to the hard work of the colleges’ and schools’ admissions teams’ rapid processing of admissions decisions through ‘instant admit’ days. We will be running another series of these instant admit days next month. We have 157 international students with visas in process, another reason for optimism. Forty-four of those students in process have already been issued visas and another 18 of these students are already in the country. Based on these data points, we have a positive outlook on our ability to meet our enrollment goal of 1,642 new graduate students for fall 2026.
Goal 2: Improve Career Outcomes and Better Prepare Students to Succeed and Lead in an AI-Transformed Workforce
Career Services Available to DU Graduates
Recent DU graduates have access to full career services after graduation! Graduates can schedule appointments to meet one-on-one with professional career advisors, review job opportunities posted through DU, and attend workshops and programs. Graduates can schedule online, or contact the Burwell Center for Career Achievement if they need assistance. Full student career services are available for a year after graduation, and then alumni can take advantage of services specifically for alumni.
Summer Strategy: Build Career Momentum Without Burning Out
Graduate Student Workshop: 5 to 6 p.m. on Monday, June 29
In this workshop, graduate students will learn how to use the summer months intentionally, for job searching, networking, or simply exploring career options. With a clear plan in place, it is possible to advance your career while also protecting time, energy, and well-being.
This is a monthly graduate career workshop hosted by the Career & Professional Development (CPD) team. To request accommodations or for questions, please email megan.chambers@du.edu.
The workshop is designed for graduate students, but all DU students and alumni are welcome to attend!
Preregister here to receive the Zoom link.
Daniels Takes Classes into Corporate Offices
This spring, Daniels College of Business faculty member and Senior Associate Dean Lorenzo Patelli moved the classroom into corporate offices across Denver, sending our MBA students into boardrooms at Ball Corporation, KPMG, Arrow Electronics, Plante Moran, GLC Advisors, and Junior Achievement.
This new initiative, Class@Work, is #TheDanielsEffect: an illustration of what it means to be the country’s most market-connected business school. As Patelli puts it, “Daniels opens doors, and the community multiplies them.” Goal 3: Strengthen Academic Excellence
DU Faculty Member Receives Fulbright Scholar Award
Congratulations to Professor Cristin Tarr for selection as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for 2026–2027 in Botswana. Fulbright Scholar Awards are prestigious fellowships that offer scholars transformative opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while strengthening their professional development and fostering long-term connections that enrich their careers, campuses, and communities. Among the achievements of Fulbright alumni are 63 Nobel Prizes, 98 Pulitzer Prizes, and 83 MacArthur Fellowships.
Korbel Faculty Member Publishes Fifth Edition Book Exploring and Updating International Futures
Pardee Institute founding director Barry Hughes has published the fifth edition of “Exploring and Shaping International Futures,” an open-access book that makes the foundations of International Futures available as a practical guide for learning, teaching, scenario analysis, and long-term policy thinking.
The book updates earlier editions for the eighth generation of international futures and is organized around three questions: What future would we like? Where do current trends appear to be taking us? And what leverage do people and institutions have to shape what comes next? The full, open-access download is now available.
Department of English Graduate Student Featured in the New York Times
Mary Helen Callier, PhD student in English, was discussed in Elisa Gabbert’s most recent New York Times “On Poetry” feature.
Wissal Chichou, Undergraduate Student, Featured in the Washington Post
Focused on the COMPASSion Immersive Experience, designed by Erin Anderson-Camenzind and Cris Tietsort, the Washington Post examined the workshop through the eyes of a student who participated in the Compassion Lab Mobile Classroom through a class with Liz Sperber.
Wishing you a restorative and productive start to your summer!
Sincerely,
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor