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Not long ago I was talking with Richard “Dick” Engebretson (MBA’72), a longtime supporter of the university who has served on the boards of our Leeds School of Business, the CU Foundation and the Alumni Association.  In our conversation, I asked him what was special about his time as a CU student. His answer is instructive, I think, for all of the CU family: “I came to CU more or less on a whim, but by the time I left, all that I learned had given me all the tools I would ever need to create the life I wanted to live.”

What a great answer. And what a great description of CU’s enduring value.

As the university and our nation weather some of the toughest economic times we’ve seen in a generation, Dick described perfectly the value of a CU degree for our time, and perhaps, for all time. A CU degree — indeed, the CU experience — gives our graduates the tools they need for a lifetime of self-transformation.

But of course, as CU alumni, you already know that. Every time one of our graduates succeeds, many other people and the numerous institutions in which they are involved succeed along with them.

As we approach spring commencement, these are important things to remember. A CU degree gives our graduates the confidence to enter a shifting job market knowing they can succeed. In fact, a recent study in Forbes.com ranked CU seventh in the nation among public universities for the earning power of its graduates.

As alumni, you and your successes are as vital to advancing CU’s reputation as any ranking in a publication. Sharing how CU made a difference in your career and life is invaluable in helping us make the case for continuing our long legacy of transforming lives, Colorado communities and indeed, the world.

Working together, we have an opportunity to transform countless lives — those of our students and those touched by the works you do throughout your lives.  This is particularly true when we, as a country, are faced with financial challenges impacting virtually every facet of our lives.  Today we need graduates who are trained and educated to meet and overcome these challenges.

Thank you for your support of CU-Boulder. As Dick, you and thousands of alums prove daily, we are transforming the world one graduate at a time.  Without you, we would have no past and certainly, no future.