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The National Western Stock Show kicked off its 119th year last weekend with a record opening day, welcoming the world to Denver for 16 days of livestock, entertainment, exhibits, and a full-throttle celebration of American agriculture. Even with the cold temperatures outside, there’s no warmer place to be in January than at the National Western Center for this greatest of Colorado traditions.

I’ve been thinking lately about a photograph. It’s the only photo on the desk in my office. It’s small, faded, and black and white. It’s a kid in his baseball uniform sitting dejectedly on first base, looking straight ahead across an empty ball field backed by flat cornfields as far as the eye can see. It’s a pretty depressing photo, actually, but perhaps I read more into it because I was the subject. We’d just lost our final game of an epic Little League season (or so I remember it) on an error I had committed, and my dad snapped ...

I’ve written in this space before about first-generation students – those who are the first in their families to earn a college degree. But nothing I’ve said captures the importance of the first-generation journey better than the simple observation I’ve shared above from one of our first-year students at CSU in Fort Collins. First-generation students are the foundation of the Morrill Act of 1862 and what it means to be a land-grant university.

Fall on the Midwest farm where I grew up meant pulling a 2-row corn picker with an ancient John Deere M. We kids groaned at it. We lusted after the new Uniharvester, or at least a tractor with a cab! Fall meant running the cattle and hogs in the corn stalks, digging the potatoes out of the garden, getting the apples into the cellar, eating the last watermelon right before the first frost, and the chance for a pheasant dinner with a side of #4 shot.

Almost half the people on our shared planet will partake in elections this year. Many have done so. It’s a fascinating thing, really – that we, at least in theory, have rejected the idea that either divine or earthly “power” should direct our course into the future. We have chosen instead to rely on an imperfect collective process where – again, at least in theory – we listen, think, share our opinion, then collectively agree to abide with the majority.

In my last newsletter, I wrote about the widespread misconceptions about the cost of public higher education. I asked, at the end of my column, for your ideas on how we can better communicate the straight facts … and I want to thank everyone who responded with such thoughtful ideas and comments. Clearly, this issue hits close to home for a lot of us.

This week and next, our flagship campus will start sending out financial aid awards to returning students. This is happening later than usual at CSU and every other campus because of the revamping of the federal FAFSA forms – and we know that students and families are anxious to learn what kind of support they’ll receive in paying next year’s college costs.

I’ve been thinking lately about time, and how we spend it. There are 8,760 hours in a year. By some estimates, the average lifespan for a person in the US is around 76 years, or 665,760 hours. Of course, many of us won’t make it to 76, and others live much longer.

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).