Office of the Chancellor

Joe Blake was named chancellor of the Colorado State University System in May 2009. He officially took the helm as the first sole chancellor for the CSU System on July 1, 2009. Blake oversees a three-campus system comprised of two traditional campuses and an online campus.

The three campuses have distinct and unique missions in serving the state, region, country, and world, educating about 30,000 new and returning scholars annually. Highly skilled graduates number more than 6,500 a year, and more than 150,000 alumni live throughout the state, nation and world. The system involves a total operating budget of $872 million, with annual research expenditures totaling $311 million.

The campuses include:
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, a doctoral-granting research university, was founded in 1870 as the state’s land-grant institution. The system’s flagship, CSU in Fort Collins has four statewide service entities (Colorado State Forest Service, CSU Extension, Agricultural Experimental Center and the Colorado Water Institute), and a student body of 25,000. Colorado State University-Pueblo serves as a designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and is Colorado's fastest growing university with a student body of more than 4,600. CSU-Global Campus is an online university, serving non- traditional students.

CSU Extension has offices in 59 of 64 Colorado counties delivering community-oriented research-based information, educational and 4-H programs. CSU is home to several top centers and programs, including the top-ranked veterinary medicine program.

In 2008, the CSU System Board of Governors separated the roles of CSU Fort Collins president and system chancellor, which had long been combined. The board recognized the increasing responsibilities were too demanding for one person. The board believed the university could only improve by adding a strong and proven leader in Denver to serve as chancellor and manage legislative affairs, increase CSU’s visibility, promote CSU’s work and mobilize efforts to find a dedicated funding source for higher education.

Mr. Blake is a Colorado native and was the longtime head of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce where he served as the president and CEO for nearly a decade. His career has been centered on statewide leadership and stewardship of Colorado’s economy, competitiveness and business climate. He will draw on a lifetime of business and civic acumen and leveraging connections to increase alumni engagement and donor support for the Fort Collins and Pueblo campuses. A priority for Blake is to marshal the leadership in higher education and around the state to begin working toward sustainable funding solutions for public higher education.

Mr. Blake has an ardent commitment to public service. He serves as a board member of The Denver Foundation, Denver Public Schools Foundation, the Metro Denver Sports Commission, Porter Hospital Foundation, Denver Police Foundation, and the Executive Committee of Colorado Concern (Past Chair). In recent years, he has chaired the Colorado Transportation Commission, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and was the past vice chair and board member of the CSU System Board of Governors before becoming a candidate for the chancellor position.

A commitment to Colorado and higher education was highlighted in 2005 when Mr. Blake served as co-chair of the statewide Yes on C&D campaign, a coalition of more than a 1,000 organizations focused on passage of Referenda C and D, also known as the Colorado Economic Recovery Act.  Referendum C passed protecting certain state agencies, including higher education, from drastic budget cuts for a five-year period.

He served on Governor Bill Ritter’s Transportation Finance and Implementation Panel. His past community service includes co-chairing the Denver South Platte River Commission, serving as president of the Metro Denver Home Builders and the Hospice of St. John Foundation, as trustee emeritus of the Denver Zoological Foundation, and as a commissioner on the Colorado Baseball Commission.

In recognition for his record of service and contributions to the community, he has received several awards: the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, NAIOP’s President’s Leadership Award, Jane Silverstein Reis Foundation Award, the American Jewish Committee National Human Relations Award, the Henry M. Porter Award for Community Leadership from the PorterCare Foundation, HBA Builder of the Year Award, Public Education Business Coalition’s Champion of Education, the University of Colorado Law School’s Executive in Business Award, and the University of Colorado Graduate School of Public Affairs Public Service Award.

Mr. Blake received an honorary doctorate of business administration from Johnson & Wales University.

In 1980, he was a part of the Mission Viejo Company senior management team that created Highlands Ranch and continued with that development team until he was selected as president of the Denver Metro Chamber. Before moving back to Colorado, Mr. Blake spent time in Washington, D.C. as an FBI special agent, an attorney, and legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Gordon Allott.

He is a graduate of Denver East High School, Dartmouth College (B.A., English Literature) and the University of Colorado School of Law (Juris Doctorate). He currently resides in Denver and is the father of two and the grandfather of four.