As University of Colorado Colorado Springs leadership, alumni, staff and faculty celebrated 60 years with a look back at its history, they also looked ahead during the school’s annual State of the Campus on Wednesday.

UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet welcomed former chancellors, longtime teachers and other community members as she updated them on recent milestones and developments.

Coming off a year that saw challenges from the federal level including grant funding, student visas and a discrimination investigation, Sobanet affirmed the potential of her campus and its community going forward.

“Despite a few difficult years, we have a very strong foundation,” she said. “And together, we will shape a future that honors our legacy and achieves more than ever before.”

She began her presentation with a look back to 1965 and why founder Dave Packard pushed to develop the school. She explained how the Hewlett-Packard co-founder lobbied Colorado Gov. John Love to expand the University of Colorado’s extension courses in Colorado Springs to a four-year engineering program to educate the local workforce and support the local economy.

As the city grew, so did its campus and student body, peaking in 2018 at over 12,500 enrolled students. Sobanet noted that UCCS had 12,000 graduates over its first 30 years and that this would increase to over 50,000 over the next 30 years.

“In the past, we have been known as ‘the growth campus’ in the CU system,” she said. “A designation that we are going to get back.”

While enrollment has trended in the opposite direction since then, this year marked a slight reprieve. According to the fall student count, UCCS gained over a hundred students compared to the previous fall for a total of 11,153. The increase was largely the result of a surge in over 200 non-degree-seeking students, like dual-enrollment high schoolers, while degree-seeking students continued to decrease slightly.

This growth has come following a year when international students questioned both their safety on campus and whether they would return in subsequent years. Federal agencies revoked student visas across all CU campuses in March, though some would eventually get reinstated, and the U.S. Department of Education investigated UCCS over “race-based preferences” in its student body.

While overall enrollment is up, the university’s international students decreased slightly from 189 to 163.

Although staff, faculty and students have expressed a fear in expressing themselves on campus following the federal interventions, Sobanet took a moment during her presentation to reiterate UCCS’ commitment to academic freedoms.

“We know that having diverse perspectives makes us stronger, sharper and more resilient as a community,” she said. “Protecting these freedoms is not just policy, it is central to who we are as a university and to the future that we are building together.”

Sobanet attributed the school’s recent growth to efforts over the past year in bolstering business partnerships. Recent partnerships include the opening of the Colorado Springs School of Technology in Colorado Springs D-11 and the launch of its C3 Innovation to coalesce students, faculty and external partners.

Another addition to student recruitment efforts is a new AI tool known as “Clawdia” to answer applicants’ admissions questions.

Also feeding into recent and future developments is a notable rise in donor funding. Sobanet reported that the university had benefited from 4,200 donors over the last academic year and that the school was $500,000 away from creating a $100 million endowment. If this goal is met, she said the majority of the funding would go toward student scholarships.

Lynn Vidler, UCCS’ interim provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, added that faculty secured $12.5 million in sponsored programs and grants.

“In a challenging funding climate, this achievement indicates strength in our culture and … research and creative excellence,” she said.

In the years ahead, the university will carry on with its efforts to recruit and retain more southern Colorado, first-generation and military students. Additionally, renovation plans approved by the CU Board of Regents in February are underway and include renovations to Kraemer Family Library, while updates to UCCS’ applied science building are slated to begin next month.

Don Warrick, who has taught at the university since 1971, said he’s loved watching the campus develop over the years.

“It has been such a joy to be part of such an integral part of Colorado Springs and the lives of our students,” he said. “And boy, it’s been an adventure, hasn’t it?”

Other updates:

• 2,600 degrees awarded over the past year

• 40 new online courses launched

• $1.3 million TRIO grant received to support first-generation students, low-income students and students with disabilities over the next five years.

• Four conference championship teams by UCCS athletics

• 10 of 14 athletic programs regionally or nationally ranked by the NCAA

• Students’ work featured in 283 journal articles

• Re-accreditation to the College of Business and Administration for six years

• Re-accreditation to the PGA Golf Management program for five years

• 1,500 students attended the campus Yung Gravy concert, funded through student fees