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ASCEND Case Statement

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An overview of the strategy and priorities of ASCEND: The Campaign for the University of Denver.
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Page 1: ASCEND Case Statement
Page 2: ASCEND Case Statement
Page 3: ASCEND Case Statement

There are many ways to rise: to the

occasion, to the challenge, in esteem,

in influence. And many reasons:

because you are called, because the

times demand it, because it is right.

All of these things shape and power Ascend:

The Campaign for the University of Denver,

but at its core this vital effort—this future-

focused partnership between the power of your

generosity, the clarity of our shared vision,

and the momentum and impact of what we

will achieve together—is about rising to a

higher plane for the benefit of our students,

our community, and our world. It is about

being bold, about becoming something that

has never before been seen in American higher

education. The heights to which we will ascend

represent nothing less than the reimagining and

reinventing of 21st century higher education—

and the very notion of what it means to be a great

private university dedicated to the public good.

In the process, DU will reach new summits

and break new ground, marked by defined

and demonstrated educational quality for our

students and measurable outcomes for our

state and our planet as we focus the impact of

the intellectual capital we generate every day.

DU will be worthy, both of your support and

of a rebirth of the trust that once accrued to

great universities as the source of innovation

and progress.

With your investment, DU will lead the

nation in reinventing the university as a place

with constant and effective influence on real-

world issues. There will be no ambiguity—DU

will consistently prove why we matter regionally,

nationally, and globally. Remarkable lives lived

by remarkable alumni will be the product of

our teaching, solutions will be the result of

our scholarly and research efforts, and direct

applications of our intellectual capital will be

the metric by which greatness is determined.

Ascend: The Campaign for the University of

Denver is about rising to a higher plane for

the benefit of our students, our community,

and our world.

—Chancellor Robert Coombe

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When DU was founded, the

Civil War was still raging,

and it was not clear whether

America would survive, let

alone prosper. DU was quite

literally on the frontier—of the nation, of 19th

century knowledge, of belief in the power of

learning, on the edge of tomorrow.

Today, after nearly 150 years of growth

and change, DU is at the peak of its strength

in educating students of exceptional talent

and intelligence, in recruiting and retaining

teachers and researchers at the very top of their

disciplines, and in the size, reach, and dynamism

of our alumni. We have arrived at a tipping

point—the frontier is once again laid out before

us. But this horizon is not the Rocky Mountains

or even the West itself. The high ground to which

we must ascend is in defining and leading the

way to the globally connected great university

of tomorrow—“great” being clearly measured

and demonstrated by the outcomes we produce

for our students and our community, the

return on investment we produce (academically,

internationally, and economically), and the

impact we have upon the serious and escalating

issues that challenge our world.

This is our moment: yours and DU’s.

The way universities operate in this second

decade of the 21st century is far too much

like it was generations ago. We too often talk

to ourselves, too often gaze inward, too often

congratulate ourselves for our output rather

than our outcomes. That approach to academia

has already been changing for some time at

DU; we are ahead of the curve, and with your

help—only with your help—we will continue

our ascent.

Our

NeW

FrO

NTie

r

2 ASCeND

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Two decades of visionary investment in

DU facilities has brought us to this moment.

The Morgridge College of Education; the

Sturm College of Law; the Daniels College

of Business; Olin Hall and the division of

Natural Sciences and Mathematics; the Josef

Korbel School of International Studies; the

divisions of Arts, Humanities, and Social

Sciences; the Lamont School of Music;

the Graduate School of Social Work; and

the Women’s College—all have benefited

from new or remodeled buildings. Two

new residence halls have created a dynamic

setting for student life, and new centers for

recreation and the performing arts have

allowed DU to share its resources with the

community. Today we are prepared and

poised to turn all of our focus, and our

partnership with you, to invest in the power

and potential of the human component.

Together, we have created the launching pad.

Now, Ascend: The Campaign for the University

of Denver is poised to address and fuel the two

significant arcs in the ascendency of DU in

the coming decades. First is the immeasurable

impact of the lives our graduates will live and the

contributions they will make, and second is the

many ways in which DU will leverage the enormous

intellectual capital centered on this campus into

solutions for the issues and challenges that lay

before our country and our planet.

This is the moment when we will look

forward and ascend onto the next frontier and

into a brighter future. But we can’t do it alone.

There are many ways to rise: the most powerful

is together.

This is the moment when we will look

forward and ascend onto the next frontier

and into a brighter future.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 3

Page 6: ASCEND Case Statement

Too often, higher education is seen as

merely a few years in our lives that

prepare us for what comes next. But

all great universities, DU included, are

the starting point for a chain reaction

of discovery and accomplishment that continues

outward in ever-expanding waves. Simply put,

exceptional students go on to do exceptional

things with their lives, and their achievements

can quite literally change our world.

Today at DU, cutting-edge academic

programs are transforming our students’

learning experiences. At the undergraduate

level, we’ve developed one of the nation’s most

comprehensive study-abroad programs along

with an exceptional school of international

studies, introduced a rigorous and inspiring

new writing program in all of our majors,

added many innovative new faculty members,

redesigned our curricula, and boosted student

participation in research and scholarship.

For our graduate students, we’ve added

extraordinary new faculty scholars, expanded

the breadth and depth of our research

enterprise, and developed unique new

interdisciplinary programs.CHAi

N re

ACTi

ON

The University of Denver is a great private

university, dedicated to the public good.

4 ASCeND

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 5

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AHeAD AND ASCeNDiNg:

THe eNTrepreNeuriAl SpiriT

One of the ways DU’s celebrated Daniels College of

Business is ascending globally is as the exclusive

educational partner of Deutsche Bank’s Global

Commercial Microfinance Consortium, which controls an

$85 million fund designed for microfinance projects in

developing countries like Kenya, Uganda, and Cambodia.

DU students work alongside Deutsche Bank

managers, evaluating requests for loans to establish

small businesses. Once the students have, with

Deutsche Bank’s agreement, approved the requests,

the funds are distributed to individuals and groups

in impoverished, rural villages. DU students and

faculty annually visit these communities to analyze the

effectiveness of the loans and to make recommendations

for future loan allocations.

The program was recently recognized by Forbes

magazine, which ranked DU’s two-course sequence of

social entrepreneurship and microfinance among its “10

Most Innovative Business School Classes” in America.

“It is especially meaningful to our students to have

this responsibility and opportunity,” says R. Bruce

Hutton, Ph.D., the Piccinati Professor of Teaching

Innovation at DU, who partners with Maclyn L. Clouse,

the Sorensen Distinguished Professor of Finance, in

teaching the courses. “Our students learn not only what

it means for communities to receive these loans, but

also the due diligence involved to ensure that loans are

distributed and used in an appropriate fashion.” CHAi

N re

ACTi

ON4 ASCeND

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 5

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Appl

ieD

iNSp

irAT

iON

Billions of dollars of public funds are

granted to colleges and universities

each year for research and

development. And what are they—

we—doing with your money? What

are we doing with the power and potential of

your investment? At DU, we think it is vital that

you ask—and it is our responsibility to define

our outcomes and how they resonate in the lives

of you, your family, and your community. Only

then can we make the case for your continued

investment in our shared future.

There are literally thousands of good

examples, but this is the bottom line: We at DU

are entirely focused on the impact of our work

as scholars. We identify needs and seek to offer

solutions through our research. Each day we

leverage that vast intellectual capital to generate

answers for the great issues of our time, and

we will continue at an accelerated pace. DU

faculty members are engaged in exploration and

discovery that span the totality of the sciences

and the arts, always striving to make lives better,

easier, safer, and richer throughout the world.

Each day we leverage vast intellectual

capital to generate answers for the great

issues of our time.

6 ASCeND

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Appl

ieD

iNSp

irAT

iON

6 ASCeND

AHeAD AND ASCeNDiNg:

NeW HOpe FOr AlS pATieNTS

The outcomes of DU research serve a vast range of

constituencies, but few have more urgent needs than

those with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. That is why Dan

Linseman, Ph.D., is searching for a way to slow down

the early stages of the disease, and surprisingly he may

have found it in black rice, celery, and strawberries.

Linseman’s research on the effects of antioxidants

found in common foods is a cornerstone of DU’s Eleanor

Roosevelt Institute (ERI) as well as DU’s visionary

Knoebel Center for the Study of Aging.

Armed with a $2.4 million grant from the National

Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of

Veterans Affairs, Linseman, an assistant professor in

DU’s department of biological sciences and a senior

researcher with the ERI, is ascending to the place

where he can perhaps unravel the mysteries of this

progressive, neurodegenerative disease that over the

course of just a few years destroys nerve cells in the

brain and the spinal cord.

“ALS is a devastating disease, and its symptoms

and effects can be extremely swift and debilitating,”

Linseman says. “Unfortunately, we are many years,

perhaps generations, away from a cure, but I am

encouraged that our research will lead to advances in

treating the onset of the disease following diagnosis—

to alleviate some of the early pain and suffering.”

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 7

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The future will ask much of our graduates. It will demand that

they respond quickly and intelligently to stunningly complex

international challenges. It will also present them with

unimagined opportunities, unprecedented technologies, and

for the first time in human history, a truly global community.

Will their education and preparation for this volatile future be in the

same old entrenched model of higher education that is a product of the

past? Not at DU, it won’t. Not if we invest in their futures right now.

It is a simple equation: Today at DU, top students from across the

nation and around the world want to come here, and we are limited

only by our ability to meet their financial needs. We want to attract

diverse, exceptional students—who will do exceptional things with their

lives—regardless of their economic, cultural, or national backgrounds.

Then we need to power their experience here with superior resources,

faculty members, and coaches to mentor and guide their success and

achievement as they chart paths of significance in classrooms, labs,

studios, and even athletic fields.

DU will prove itself to be the great international university for Denver

and the Rocky Mountain region—in a way that drives our economy and

enriches our culture. It will require the competitive funding to bring far

greater numbers of the best and the brightest to campus. It will require

more extensive partnerships with governments, international businesses,

non-governmental organizations, and overseas educational institutions,

and the pursuit of programs and initiatives addressing the myriad of

issues raised by globalization. Most important, it will require you.pATH

S OF

Sig

NiFi

CANC

e

DU will prove itself to be the great international

university for Denver and the Rocky Mountain

region—in a way that drives our economy and

enriches our culture.

8 ASCeND

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 9

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pATH

S OF

Sig

NiFi

CANC

e8 ASCeND

AHeAD AND ASCeNDiNg: BriNgiNg CleAN

WATer TO A KeNyAN Slum

Clean water can prove almost impossible to find in

Kibera, one of the largest and most overcrowded

slums in the world, located on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Interdisciplinary teams of DU faculty members and

graduate students are conducting essential research on

the effectiveness of a dozen clean water stations spread

throughout the enormous slum, where trash and raw

sewage are commonplace.

The stations, equipped with basins, toilets, and

showers, were placed with the help of DU faculty and

students. For the past two summers, DU teams have

spent several weeks in Kenya, gathering data about the

needs of Kibera residents and information about water

station usage. DU also formed a “Kibera Working Group,”

crossing the spectrum of the DU academic community,

including representatives from the Josef Korbel School of

International Studies, the Daniels College of Business,

the Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies,

and the Department of Geography.

“The student teams survey community health

awareness involving water and sanitation,” says Renee

Botta, Ph.D., chair of Media, Film and Journalism

studies at DU, who has accompanied the students to

Kibera. “This data will help future DU researchers tailor

programs to communicate the risks of infection from

unclean water and the unsanitary disposal of waste.”

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 9

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With your help, DU will continue ascending,

becoming something few universities are these

days: nimble, brave, relevant, and student-

centered, but also focused on the issues.

With your help, DU will continue ascending, becoming

something few universities are these days: nimble,

brave, relevant, and student-centered, but also focused

on the issues. It’s high time the academic world and the

real world were one and the same.

What does that really mean? Take education itself as an example.

All of us know that education, from kindergarten on up, is in a chaotic

place. It is one of the central challenges of our time. Access, affordability,

and accountability in higher education; K–12 reform; the need for

enlightened leadership among teachers and administrators; national

competitiveness; distance education—that’s just the short list of the

education issues being debated in America today.

And when was the last time you heard a university school of

education taking part in that debate? The silence was deafening, and

DU has moved to change that. We designed DU’s Morgridge College of

Education in a totally new way, firmly positioned in the middle of those

debates as both focal point and hot button, the place for critical research,

new ideas, and community discourse. We transformed the College from

training-based to issues-based. Now it is the fulcrum through which the

intellectual assets of DU are leveraged to drive positive change in our

schools. Why does DU matter? That’s why.

10 ASCeND

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 11

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10 ASCeND

AHeAD AND ASCeNDiNg: leADiNg THe

DeBATe, FiNDiNg THe SOluTiONS

Gregory Anderson’s background is perfectly suited for

his role as Dean of the University of Denver’s Morgridge

College of Education. He has been on the frontlines

of the issues that face American education—leading

strategic planning efforts to strengthen innovative

classroom practices—and he is unabashedly committed

to producing the next generation of cutting-edge

educational leaders.

“There is an accountability debate raging in

American education practices, and educators are being

questioned about the quality of our classroom teaching,”

Anderson says. “We need to ensure that our teachers

are relevant to the market and to the children we are

teaching—especially in urban settings.”

Anderson expects Morgridge College to play a

catalytic role in helping the region and the nation

confront the critical issues associated with ascending

to an educated, productive, and competitive society—

principles that extend across DU’s academic disciplines.

“A quality education for all is America’s 21st century

civil rights issue, and it is our responsibility to ensure

success for all learners, particularly diverse students

thrust in a cumulative demographic disadvantage,”

Anderson says.

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 11

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reAl

WOr

lD, r

eAl C

HANg

e

Diversity—ethnic, cultural, philosophical,

economic—and inclusion are essential

elements of DU’s strength.

12 ASCeND

One thing is never in doubt at DU: what ultimately matters

most is who walks out of this institution, this experience,

this learning community—what kind of people they are,

how they have grown and changed, what they know, and

what they will do.

Diversity—ethnic, cultural, philosophical, economic—and inclusion

are essential elements of DU’s strength and a prerequisite for our future.

The demographic and cultural changes enriching our country, as they have

for more than two centuries, present an opportunity to embrace an even

broader, richer, more exciting America.

None of that is news. But a vital part of your investment in the future

of DU and our community is enlarging the definition of diversity beyond

numbers or percentages or questions of minority or majority. Diversity is

only part of the effort—we are also committed to developing a culture of

inclusion and inspiration that sustains intellectual achievement. A culture

that maybe one day, finally, will allow us to stop talking about and working

toward seamless diversity—because it will at last be here. The DU campus,

where we study, create, and share the knowledge of our world and educate

the students who will take their places as tomorrow’s thinkers and leaders,

is a great place for that vibrant new culture to take root.

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reAl

WOr

lD, r

eAl C

HANg

e12 ASCeND

AHeAD AND ASCeNDiNg: piONeeriNg

leADerSHip OppOrTuNiTieS

There may not be enough hours in the day for the

likes of Vanessa Teck; 26 or 27 would be better, but

still she is taking advantage of every opportunity DU

offers to ascend.

The sophomore communications major is an

undergraduate resident assistant, a member of student

government, and a participant in DU’s innovative

Pioneer Leadership Program (PLP). This distinctive

academic minor offers students an integrated learning

experience—combining coursework, a residential

community, civic engagement, and professional

networks with nationally known community, business,

and public sector leaders.

On average, a PLP student dedicates more than 75

hours every year to community-based organizations

in Denver and beyond. Collectively this totals more

than 5,000 hours for all students in the program. Teck,

a resident of Denver drawn to DU in part because

of the opportunity to volunteer in her community,

conducted a conference on campus for Denver high

school students—offering study skill workshops and

encouragement to set personal and professional goals.

“PLP offers a fantastic chance to make a

difference,” says Teck. “I am very committed to the city

of Denver and the students in our local high schools. It

is important they have the tools necessary to achieve.”

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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 13

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The late comedian/philosopher

George Carlin described the arrival

of the future this way: “There’s a

moment coming…wait for it…

it’s getting closer…almost here…

NOW!...oh, it’s gone.”

We will not miss our moment. We will

ascend to a new frontier, defining a new kind

of higher education relevant to the rest of the

21st century, changing student lives in valuable,

relevant ways, creating outcomes and results

that address the challenges and opportunities of

the future, and proving our worthiness of your

investment in real and meaningful terms.

We will do none of this alone. We owe

our continued rise to prominence in huge

part to the tireless dedication, generosity, and

commitment of the extended DU family. You,

in other words. Alumni, donors, loyal friends,

casual observers who have become loyal

friends, volunteers, board members—all of you

are at the heart of our vision and have provided

the foundation for our future success.

As we’ve said, we need you now more than

ever, but not out of sheer loyalty or obligation—

we need you to believe in us because we

prove we are worth believing in, because we

demonstrate our value in real ways, because we

do more than we talk. Because we see ourselves

and our responsibilities differently than most

universities and we act on that different vision.

The world today is rich with promise and

possibility, fraught with uncertainty, and driven

by relentless change. Tomorrow will be the same,

only more so. Truly, education is more critical

than ever. Our effectiveness, and our ability to

Our

mOme

NT iS

Her

e

14 ASCeND

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identify opportunity and to marshal resources

strategically, will in large degree determine the

University of Denver’s continued success.

DU has been bolstered by your generosity

through the remarkable beginnings of an

ambitious—some might say audacious, given

the times—fundraising campaign to bring our

vision and the programs and capital projects that

will power it into reality. Momentum has been

created—DU has completed fundraising for the

Ralph and Trish Nagel Art Studios, the Denver

Soccer Stadium, the Pat Bowlen Training Facility,

the Pardee Center for International Futures,

and the Sié Chéou-Kang Pavilion. And we have

raised a significant amount for scholarships and

faculty support. Collectively, these efforts during

the initial years of the campaign have broken all

DU fundraising records.

We are winning the race, we are ascending

to new heights, but we are far from the finish

line. In Colorado parlance, of the nearly 60

peaks that top 14,000 feet on our extraordinary

horizon, we have climbed a respectable

number. But every new summit brings a

new view, a fresh perspective, a farther

horizon. We urge you to join us as we

continue to ascend.

From right here, from right now, with

your investment and your belief, we will lead

the nation toward the next phase of higher

education, focused on our students first and

foremost, but equally laser-focused on using

our intellectual capital to generate real-world

results and solutions for real-world issues.

There is a moment coming…and it is

ours, together.

From right here, from right now, with

your investment and your belief, we will

lead the nation toward the next phase of

higher education.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 15

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every age presents its challenges

and tests. It is the job of the

university to greet those challenges

as opportunities and to confront

those tests with imagination and

resolve. But that is not enough: we must also

define, create, and prove results and solutions

that work in the real world and lead to real

improvement in people’s lives. At the University

of Denver, our efforts and aspirations are

guided by a single overarching vision: as a great

private university dedicated to the public good.

So how will we serve the public good?

How will our work as educators, scholars, and

researchers really help improve the human

condition? We will look outward and not inward.

peOp

le A

ND p

rOgr

AmS

As noted, we will measure our success through

the value we bring to our students’ lives, the

quality of graduates we produce, the manner

in which they lead their lives, and the ways in

which we leverage our collective intellectual

capital against the great issues of the day.

Our vision emerges from a community-

wide dialogue that has taken place over the

last decade. In that time, we have thought

deeply and at length about our history and

legacy, about the roles we have played locally,

nationally, and globally. We have also thought

about what we want for our students and

about the contributions we want to make to a

dynamic state, a still-young nation, and a global

community in need of leadership.

16 ASCeND

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The primary focus of Ascend: The

Campaign for the University of

Denver is increased support to

inspire and enable DU’s best people

and programs—including new and

enhanced opportunities for undergraduate

and graduate students, support for innovative

faculty, and resources for effective academic

programs and facilities.

The Academic Commons at penrose libraryPenrose Library will reassert its place as the

intellectual hub of the DU campus through a

transformation to an academic commons—an

initiative revolutionizing the configuration of

the current library and redefining its existing

infrastructure. In the Academic Commons at

Penrose Library, students will find a setting

that draws them in before and after class,

encouraging and welcoming spontaneous

inquiry and casual exchanges with faculty,

facilitating debate on matters great and small,

and serving as the scholarly and social heart

of our thriving university. The Academic

Commons at Penrose Library is one of DU’s

highest fundraising priorities.

innovative Ways to use the power of ScholarshipsIntelligent and talented students are among

society’s principal resources, whatever

their backgrounds or economic standing.

While much has changed at the University

of Denver through the years, our commitment

to providing accessible education to the

TOOl

S OF

TrAN

SFOr

mATi

ON

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most talented and committed students

remains steadfast.

Scholarships help keep DU open to the

brightest students from all backgrounds. Great

students invigorate the academic and social

climate on campus. They help to create an

intellectual environment percolating with ideas,

a truly fertile ground for learning. Their vitality

encourages excellence in our faculty—creating

a true synergy. Perhaps most importantly, upon

graduation, great students are more likely to

become leaders in the world, and their lives

of success, purpose, and meaning reflect the

University’s mission to serve the public good.

Accelerating Teaching and Discovery Through Faculty Chairs and professorshipsA great faculty is the essential foundation of a

truly great university. Exceptional educators and

scholars create and present unmatched programs,

engage in the highest caliber research, and most

importantly, bring out the best in their students.

To ensure that DU recruits the finest faculty

members and keeps them here, support in the

form of new endowed chairs and professorships

is essential. DU faces intense, better-funded

competition for these extraordinary educators,

and the ability to offer a candidate an endowed

chair is a powerful attraction.

programs and Facilities that match AspirationsIn the modern world, learning doesn’t come

in neat packages, and the future demands

ever more flexibility. The educational

experience that best serves students

freely crosses the old divisions between

majors and minors, as well as residence

halls, classrooms, labs, athletic fields,

departments, and colleges. That’s why DU

has established a set of strong, effective, and

leading-edge curricula based on an engaged

and boundary-free approach to learning

and research.

Still, the rapid evolution of new fields

of study, new and more effective methods

for teaching, and the ever-widening

distribution of learning modes among our

students presents a daunting challenge.

Support for future-focused programs and

facilities is critically needed if the quality

of the academic enterprise at DU is to

keep growing in a manner that produces

measurable results for our students and

our world. Carefully aligned with trends in

industry, research, and scholarship, the new

programs and facilities we envision will

give our students an exceptional education

and the best chance at opportunities

beyond graduation.

Great students invigorate the academic

and social climate on campus.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 19

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A century and a half ago, it was a bold

act to imagine a university on such

a vast and volatile frontier. And

even though virtually everything

has changed in 150 years, some

constants remain the same: the frontier is

uncertain, it is vast and high, and a bold and

intelligent spirit will be required to ascend to

the fast-approaching summits.

The University of Denver aspires to true,

demonstrated, relevant greatness. It’s that

simple, and that’s our value proposition. We

want the best students, the best faculty, the best

academic programs, the best experience, and

the best results. The leaders of tomorrow—the

very creators and crafters of tomorrow—are

looking to us, and it is our responsibility to

iNve

STiN

g iN

OuT

COme

S

ensure they have an outstanding education that

will serve them and help them serve others.

We need you to help us make this happen. Not

out of loyalty, although we thank you for that,

certainly not out of obligation, but because you

believe absolutely that you are making a wise

investment in a brighter future.

The support of generations of DU alumni

and friends like you has brought us to this

point. Now, we have the chance to transform

our vision into achievement through Ascend:

The Campaign for the University of Denver.

Our focus is on the people who make the DU

community great—our students, faculty and

staff—and on gifts that inspire and enable them,

and power the programs they will use to ascend

to greatness.

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endowment■ Undergraduate Scholarships

■ Graduate Scholarships and Fellowships

■ Faculty Chairs and Professorships

Capital Construction and renovation■ Academic Commons at Penrose Library

■ Denver Soccer Stadium

■ Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall (Morgridge College

of Education)

■ Knoebel Center for the Study of Aging

■ Pat Bowlen Training Facility (Varsity athletics)

■ Pardee Center for International Futures

(Josef Korbel School of International Studies)

CAmp

AigN

pri

OriT

ieS

■ Ralph and Trish Nagel Art Studios

■ School of Engineering and Computer Science

■ Sié Chéou-Kang Pavilion (Josef Korbel School

of International Studies)

■ Nagel Hall (undergraduate residences)

Current use Funds■ Non-endowed Scholarships

■ Academic and Student Program Support

■ Athletic Team and Intramural

Program Support

■ General Facilities Maintenance

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 21

Page 34: ASCEND Case Statement

WAy

S TO

giv

e

Cash■ A gift of cash is one of the simplest donations,

and it maximizes your charitable deduction

while providing immediate benefits to DU.

■ Gifts of cash include currency, personal checks,

money orders, credit cards, and wire transfers.

Charitable Bequests■ Bequests via your will or revocable living trust

can allow you to leave a significant legacy to

benefit your favorite academic program or

provide scholarship support to students.

■ Bequests also allow you to retain control of

your assets during your lifetime.

■ A bequest can be tailored to almost any set of

circumstances, and it provides an unlimited

deduction for estate tax purposes. Bequests

should be directed to: “the University of

Denver (Colorado Seminary) in

Denver, Colorado.”

gifts of Appreciated property■ As an alternative to donating cash, you can

increase your tax savings by transferring

appreciated property such as securities or real

estate directly to the University.

■ If you’ve owned the property for more than

a year, you are allowed to claim a charitable

income tax deduction for the full market value

of your gift without paying capital gains tax.

retirement Accounts■ By designating DU as the beneficiary of all

or a percentage of your IRA or any other

qualified retirement account, you can make

a substantial gift while avoiding estate and

income taxes that may consume as much as

two-thirds of the account balance.

22 ASCeND

Page 35: ASCEND Case Statement

income-producing gifts■ An income-producing gift, such as a gift

annuity or charitable remainder trust,

enables you to generate a current income tax

deduction while providing yourself or a loved

one with a secure source of income for life or a

period of years.

■ When funded with appreciated assets, it can

also help you increase your income while

avoiding capital gains taxes.

Artwork and Other personal property■ You may receive gift credit and an

immediate charitable income tax

deduction, typically for the appraised

value of your gift.

■ Your charitable deduction equals the full

value of your gift as long as it is used to

further our charitable mission.

real estate■ Real estate gifts are ideal for funding a

major gift such as an endowed scholarship

or professorship.

■ Residential, commercial, or agricultural

property may be contributed outright to the

University or through various charitable

trust arrangements.

Sale or Transfer of a Family Business■ The sale of a business may provide an

excellent opportunity to make a tax-

efficient gift that leverages the company’s

accumulated value.

■ You may wish to consider a gift of stock in

a family business to the University when

selling your business or transferring it to

family members.

life insurance■ A gift of a life insurance policy, or simply

naming DU as beneficiary, allows you to

make a major gift for a modest cost.

■ Many donors use insurance gifts to receive a

current tax deduction while disposing of an

old policy that is no longer needed.

■ Other donors purchase a new policy,

donate it to DU, and make annual gifts to

cover premiums.

Charitable lead Trust■ A lead trust enables you to transfer wealth to

family while reducing or eliminating estate

and gift taxes. Trust assets are removed from

the taxable estate, and growth in value passes

tax-free to heirs. You postpone the transfer

until heirs are more mature.

■ Payment of trust income to DU for a term of

years creates a charitable legacy with funds

that are otherwise destined for the IRS.

endowed Funds■ Endowed funds provide both immediate

and long-lasting benefits to the purpose

designated by the donor.

■ These self-sustaining funds are of great

importance to the University because they

generate predictable, growing streams of

income in perpetuity.

■ If you prefer, you can create a “term

endowment” that is designed to last a

limited time (e.g., 20 years).

■ “Flexible endowments” can be created with

a customized payout that varies from the

University’s standard annual payout of 4.5%

(e.g., an annual payout of 8.0% or one that

increases over time).

THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER 23

Page 36: ASCEND Case Statement

At the University of Denver,

tomorrow’s inventors, authors,

teachers, doctors, musicians,

scientists, CEOs, and other leaders

are given the tools and knowledge

they need to lead successful lives that will make

a positive difference in the lives of many others.

They also learn the responsibilities that come

with leadership. Now more than ever, this is a

university where students start from a higher

place and continue to ascend as successful

alumni well after graduation.

We must now ask: What will the University of

Denver be tomorrow and beyond? Each of DU’s

distinctive characteristics—outstanding students,

top faculty members, cutting-edge programs, and

expansive academic opportunities—contributes

to a campus experience that is far greater

than the sum of its parts. Our responsibility

riSe

TO TH

e CH

Alle

Nge!

is to preserve and build on these strengths, fuel

compelling new initiatives, and do everything we

can to make the University of Denver one of the

world’s truly great academic institutions.

These are exciting times. The University is at

a watershed moment, a crossroads in its history.

Yes, we are an outstanding university. The next few

years—those leading up to our 150th birthday in

2014—will determine whether we become a truly

great institution, serving our students, our city and

state, our country, and the world.

I invite you to become a part of our effort and

vision. Your participation in this campaign is

critical, and gifts of any size will help us meet our

goals. Invest in DU. Invest in our faculty and our

students. Invest in their talents and their energy and

in all they will accomplish for the world that awaits

them. We have been entrusted with a remarkable

opportunity. Let’s rise to the challenge together!

—Doug Scrivner, J.D. ’77

Member of the Board of Trustees and

Chair of the Advancement Committee

24 ASCeND

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Page 38: ASCEND Case Statement

University Advancement

2190 E. Asbury Avenue

Denver, Colorado 80208-7500

303.871.4306 or 800.448.3238

Email: [email protected]

du.edu/ascend


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