NEWS: TONY FRANK

For more than 50 years in the United States we’ve designated March 19 as National Agriculture Day. It’s one of those “holidays” that most people don’t realize exists, which is why I want to draw some attention to it and why it matters.

In early January, I had a chance to speak before the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General Assembly. This was the 16th year I’ve had the privilege of joining my fellow higher-education CEOs to share thoughts on the state of Colorado higher education and our hopes for the future with these state legislators, as they figure out how to structure the state’s budget for the coming year.

On opening weekend alone, more than 107,000 people ventured to the National Western Center for the National Western Stock Show. tIt was also our opportunity at the CSU System to celebrate the first full year of operation for our CSU Spur campus, where we’re showcasing learning and discovery around food, water, and health all year long in our Terra, Vida, and Hydro buildings.

As Chancellor of the CSU System, Tony Frank is taking a statewide view of the land-grant college’s mission, and planning for the next century of Colorado history.

Perhaps it’s the stage I’ve reached in my career (or in my life), but I find myself tending toward reflection as each year ends. The greatest gift with which each of us is entrusted is our time. Did I use it well this year? Where do I need to apply a greater sense of urgency next year?

Growing up on a farm that raised primarily beef, dairy, and hogs, Thanksgiving was the special holiday when we went to a local farm and purchased a turkey (this was in the days before pardoning turkeys came into vogue).

Human words, no matter how well constructed, fail us in trying to capture the complexity of emotion released by the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

Across America’s college and universities, first-generation students make up more than 40% of each entering class, and yet they face a range of obstacles that make them less likely to graduate.

Hear Tony’s insights on his childhood, career, and the pivotal lessons he learned from his dad and Abraham Lincoln. Tony discusses the challenges and triumphs of higher education, the value it brings, and his vision for the next 10 years.

This month marked the return of what is arguably Colorado’s greatest college rivalry: the Rocky Mountain Showdown between our state’s largest public research universities, Colorado State and the University of

In biblical times, cities were located far apart without the transportation systems we enjoy today. So, when people gathered for large religious events, there were also frequently large commercial gatherings focused on trading goods. This is where the tradition of community fairs began.

If two years of lockdown from the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we love to be together, to gather in community, to celebrate our history and our traditions. And that’s about to happen across Colorado as we head into county fair season.

Of all the people I’ve worked with at Colorado State University, few embody the spirit of the land grant university as much as Paul Thayer.

When a student is academically prepared for college but has no family history with higher education, they can find lots of reasons to believe that pursuing a college degree isn’t for them.

Back in 2017, at the Biennial of the Americas, Colorado State University and Denver Water announced plans to work together to support a new future for water research, policy, education and innovation. This week, that vision comes fully to life with the opening of the Hydro building on the CSU Spur campus at the National Western Center.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending the celebration of life for Walter Scott, Jr., a Colorado State University alumnus and donor for whom the Scott College of Engineering is named.

Over the course of this past summer, I hit the road with my colleague Kathay Rennels and traveled around the state. This is a trip we try to make every year – this summer included stops in Greeley, Yuma, Fort Morgan, Steamboat Springs, Craig, Gunnison, Grand Junction, Center, Alamosa, Lamar, Rocky Ford, Castle Rock, and Durango.

Op-ed from Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader and Democratic Senator from South Dakota who serves on the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, and Tony Frank, Chancellor of the Colorado State University System who has a research focus on infectious disease pathology.

The truth doesn’t need to be believed to be true. Facts exist even when we miss them or hide them. And arguing to win an argument is not the same as discussing to more fully understand a complicated issue.

Food brings people together – around the dinner table, at picnics, and on restaurant patios. Sometimes, though, food production and its complexities spark a tension between rural and urban communities and drive us apart.

Last week, I proudly joined President Timothy Mottet at Colorado State University Pueblo to kick off a new phase of the campus’s comprehensive campaign.

Mary Ontiveros was the long-time head of Admissions and the first vice president for Diversity at CSU in Fort Collins.

CSU System Chancellor Tony Frank was invited to speak about “Campus Freedom of Speech and Expression” to the Boyer 2030 Commission, charged with designing a 2030 Blueprint for Excellence & Equity in Undergraduate Education at U.S. research universities.

Since 2008, we’ve had a big dream at the Colorado State University System. We’ve dreamed of creating a one-of-a-kind public campus that doesn’t grant degrees but instead throws open its doors and invites the community to come inside and explore learning about food, water, and human and animal health.

A couple of weeks ago, the Colorado Futures Center at the CSU System released the first of what will become a new, short-term economic forecast for Colorado. This new ColoradoCast found that economic activity in our state has rebounded to where it was pre-pandemic and will continue to expand in 2022.

There have been no shortage of comparisons made between the recent images of Afghan civilians clinging to airplanes and the iconic image of Vietnamese citizens filling the stairs to the lone Huey helicopter sitting atop the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.

On the same day in 1863, the U.S. government created both its own Department of Agriculture and a new model of higher-education education institution – land-grant universities – that also focused on preparing people to feed a growing nation.

Jim Sheeler graduated from Colorado State University in 1990. Our paths didn’t cross. I arrived on campus as an assistant professor in 1993, and I was on the faculty in Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, while he was a graduate in journalism.

I grew up on a small farm in Illinois. I spent mornings doing chores and after-school time in 4-H, and my plan was to farm. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else or wanting to live anywhere else. College seemed foreign to me, and quite a stretch.

Over the years, I’ve written many long email messages, but never, to my increasingly leaky memory, a New Year’s Eve message.