October 15, 2015

Dear Alumni and Parents,

Block 2 is always an exciting time on campus, with two big events - Family Weekend and Homecoming - falling together in this one block. As another busy Block 2 comes to a close, it's a good opportunity to reflect on the past, present, and future of Colorado College.

Homecoming brings our alumni back to campus, and conversations with you are always the highlight of the weekend. At the veterans' reunion, alumni who served our country remind us of the college's long tradition of service. Their CC stories reinforced the importance of a liberal education in helping students to build a life filled with meaning, a quest that is especially acute for those for whom life and death conflicts have been real experiences, not abstract concepts.

The celebration of 50 years of teaching by Professors Owen Cramer and Tim Fuller highlighted long-standing traditions that are at the heart of CC: academic excellence, deep connections between faculty and students, and intellectual curiosity, all of which are rooted to our special place of learning in the Rocky Mountain West.

Family Weekend brought many parents, grandparents and siblings to campus, to see the same CC energy and spirit in our current students. Field trips to Catamount Institute and Callicrate Beef offered a glimpse of the experiential education that is central to the Block Plan. The 100+ poster displays at the internship fair highlighted the wide variety of ways CC students are supported in career exploration, and the networking event that followed enabled our well-connected parents to be a part of that support.

Both weekends provided many occasions for conversations about our vision for the future: plans for the library which we hope to begin in the spring, a new East Campus residence hall, supporting our culture of innovation, and building a more inclusive campus.

Our roots, of course, extend to 1874, when General William Jackson Palmer set aside land for Colorado College, with the aim of bringing the best in American higher education to the west. CC is the institution that it is today because of the contributions of so many who have had a hand in delivering General Palmer's ambitions. Our past has led us here, and our present leads us on. This is our time!

With warm regards,

President Jill Tiefenthaler