Celebrating 2025 successes

Academic Affairs | Advancement | Athletics | Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs | Ent Center for the Arts | Kraemer Family Library | Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience | Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships | College of Business | College of Education | College of Engineering and Applied Science | College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences | College of Public Service | Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences | The Graduate School

2025 was a remarkable year for UCCS. As the semester and year comes to a close, we take this chance to look back at the many achievements across campus.

Academic Affairs

The Division of Academic Affairs provides the foundational support for everything related to teaching, learning and research at UCCS. Led by the Office of the Provost, the dedicated team manages the university’s core academic functions: undergraduate and graduate education, faculty development and strategic accreditation. This year, the division focused on strengthening resources and support for faculty affairs.

• Launching the inaugural UCCS Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA)
  • • The creation of this office marks an important milestone in UCCS’ commitment to make our campus a welcoming and supportive home for all our faculty. The office will serve as an advocate for faculty, offering resources to support their career progression and recognition of all they do.
• Alignment of faculty needs and Office of Faculty Affairs activities
  • • Beginning in fall 2025, the OFA began collecting input from faculty on what they are hoping for from the office with a focus on the core areas of faculty connection, advocacy, recognition and the evolution of their careers (CARE). In the spring, the OFA will continue to solicit feedback from faculty via visioning sessions and group discussions.

Advancement

University Advancement includes the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Alumni Relations, Development and University Marketing and Communications. This division is dedicated to advancing the university through partnerships, outreach and service to the campus and to the community.

• Accolades
  • • 2024 Davey Awards, Silver Prize – Integrated Campaign (Recruitment)
  • • 2024 Communicator Awards, Award of Excellence – Advertising Campaigns (Educational Institutions)
• Community and government partnerships
  • • Multiple UCCS students serving internships and fellowships at local companies, from the tech industry and journalism to government and defense offices.
  • • UCCS Marketing partnered with colleges and units on eleven major campaigns, including our Community Impact (CPS, COE, COB, CONHS), HEROES and Carry The Light, and specific EAS programs, accounting for over $120K in advertising handled in-house, and generating millions of impressions for specific units and majors.
  • • Congressman Crank spoke at McConkie Leadership Conference and State Senator Mark Baisley spoke at the Aerospace conference.
  • • In partnership with El Paso County District Attorney, UCCS faculty taught Spanish 101 to all local District Attorneys.
• Communication and social media
  • • Transitioned from Communique to UCCS News, a more clear brand for campus and external community.
  • • Celebrating a 500% increase in research articles as compared to fall 2024.
  • • Officially relaunched TikTok, with videos already earning hundreds of thousands of views per month.
• Donor recognition
  • • UCCS distributed the annual Donor Impact Report to donors, highlighting the collective impact of philanthropy during the 2024-25 academic year. This collaborative project was supported by Alumni, Donor Relations and Engagement as well as Marketing and Communications and Operations teams.
  • • The Donor Relations and Major Gifts teams mailed hundreds of thank you letters from grateful students to donors who support scholarships. This annual activity shares the joy of philanthropy while also expanding donor giving.
  • • The annual giving team, with support across the division, led a successful Food Fight campaign, raising more than $41,000 from 311 donors. With a goal of $20,000 the community came together to put a big dent in food insecurity at UCCS.
• Marketing and Video Production
  • • Provided free professional portraits to any faculty/staff member, establishing consistency in our campus-wide branding and eliminating costs to colleges and departments who previously obtained these themselves. In August alone, over 140 portraits were provided to faculty and staff, amounting to between $10,000 – $15,000 of expenses saved for the campus.
  • • Tripled the amount of high production quality UCCS sports broadcasts that streamed for first time on RMAC Network pay-per-view and KRDO Plus, including the Cross Country Conference Championship streamed from downtown Colorado Springs, and multiple men’s and women’s soccer conference tournament games, all to positive feedback.
  • • Created the invite trailer for the C3 Wonder Event with Theo Edmunds and recorded the event at the Ent Center for the Arts,
  • • Streamed, supported and created three of the videos played at the State of the Campus.

Athletics

With a dozen sports consisting of several men and women’s teams, UCCS cheers on many student-athletes, and the Athletics Department saw several historical athletic achievements this year.

• Cross Country
  • • Men’s cross country qualified for their 12th NCAA National Championship meet and finished 13th at the 2025 NCAA National Meet.
  • • Women’s cross country qualified for 15th NCAA National Championship meet, and finished 6th at the 2025 NCAA National Meet
  • • The women’s team also finished as runner-up at NCAA South Central Regional Championships, the highest finish at a regional meet ever, andfinished runner-up at RMAC Championship, tying the highest ever finish at a conference meet.
  • • Women’s team Coach Corey Kubatzky named named USTFCCCA South Central Region Coach of the Year.
• Soccer
  • • Men’s soccer saw the first RMAC Regular Season and RMAC Tournament Championships in program history.
  • • Women’s soccer qualified for the NCAA national tournament for the seventh time in program history and won the NCAA First and Second Round matches to advance to the NCAA Regional Championship.
• Volleyball
  • • First RMAC Championship in program history, and Coach Tara Hittle became the first coach in program history to be named RMAC Coach of the Year.
  • • Finished the season with a 26-4 record, the most wins ever in a single season.

Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

Overseeing several departments on campus to ensure students thrive at UCCS, Enrollment Management and Student Affairs is dedicated to driving innovation and excellence in higher education to enhance the student experience and empower every team member to reach their full potential.

• Management
  • • Successfully changed CRM platforms from Salesforce to Slate.
  • • Continued to expand use of CollegeVine AI recruiter, Clawdia.
• Partnerships
  • • Hosted 800 4th and 5th graders from Colorado Springs and Pueblo for the Colorado Springs Utilities Pikes Peak Children’s Water Festival.
• Rankings
  • • UCCS Ranked No. 1 in Learfield Directors’ Cup Fall Standings.
  • • UCCS made the Military Times “Best for Vets: Colleges” list of 2025, coming in at #4 in the state of Colorado.

Ent Center for the Arts

Built to serve the Pikes Peak region, the Ent Center for the Arts at UCCS is committed to bringing transformational programming, from performances to educational opportunities, to the Colorado Springs area. Diverse performances of all kinds are offered to campus and the Colorado Springs community, with several academic programs available to further student interest and participation in the arts. Between the Gallery of Contemporary Art (GOCA), Theatreworks, Ent Center Presents and more, there’s a show for everyone at the Ent Center for the Arts. Learn more about past, current and upcoming performances online.

• Cabaret
  • • Theatreworks kicked off its 50th Birthday Season in style with a rousing production of the musical Cabaret. Cabaret was Theatreworks’ highest-grossing show ever, selling over 4,500 tickets. The production earned rave reviews from publications across the Front Range, and attendance from UCCS students, faculty, staff, and their families more than doubled compared to previous highs.
• Introduction to Technical Theater
  • • The Introduction to Technical Theater course, taught by Theatreworks Technical Director Dan Porten, offers hand-on experience for UCCS students to learn the fundamentals of set construction, stage lighting and effects, costume shop procedures, sound technology and safety. After completing the course, students volunteer on UCCS student productions to apply their skills. Those who participate have the opportunity to apply to work for Theatreworks to help construct sets, sew and care for costumes, prepare audio equipment and run the light board during professional shows.
• GOCA
  • • GOCA launched a groundbreaking partnership with the Anschutz School of Medicine to explore how arts engagement affects second-year medical students’ observational skills and empathy. The inaugural cohort completed the program earlier this year, and GOCA Curator Joy Armstrong, Ph.D., and Anschutz Medical School Assistant Dean Jamie Backer, Ph.D., are preparing to welcome a new group of students in the coming months.
• Youth Documentary Academy Film Festival
  • • Later this winter, the Ent Center will host the third annual Youth Documentary Academy Film Festival, curated by the UCCS Social Work Club. The festival features powerful films directed by local high school students who are tackling critical issues.

The mission of Kraemer Family Library (KFL) is to serve with respect and to anticipate, understand and respond to informational needs. The success of each student is paramount to the KFL services and collections, with a focus on campus initiatives and six guiding principles.

• C3 Faculty Fellows
  • • Launched the C3 Faculty Fellows to bring the university’s most creative scholars into a shared space for experimentation, design and community collaboration. The first cohort is supported by El Pomar and is already shaping projects that connect community partners, student experiences and emerging technologies.
• Redesign
  • • Undertaken a nearly-completed full redesign of the library’s main floor to create a more student-centered, flexible and welcoming environment. The new layout improves visibility, flow, and access while aligning spaces with how students actually study, collaborate and create.
  • • Modernized furniture, technology and service points to support everything from quiet work to group projects, resulting in a vibrant, future-focused hub at the heart of campus.

Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience

The Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience aims to advance human resilience to adversity by designing evidence-based solutions through interdisciplinary research, healing therapies and community training and empowerment. This is accomplished through the work of three divisions: Research, Healing, and Community Training & Empowerment. 

• GRIT
  • • GRIT expanded once again with GRIT-Teen (GRIT for teenagers and youth) and GRIT-Care (GRIT for caregivers), and the Institute is pursuing a grant to add a module on substance use and recovery.
• Veteran Health and Trauma Clinic
  • • The Veteran Health and Trauma Clinic has expanded providers, adding four trauma experts to our clinical team and increasing capacity by 50 clients.
• Milestones Resilience Care Center
  • • Milestones Resilience Care Center is on track to pass 100 intakes since its start in June 2023, and added new resilience based services to its lineup of offerings, including Sound Healing, Forest Therapy and Llama Therapy.
• Mayor’s Young Leadership Award
  • • Nicole Weis won the 2026 Mayors Young Leadership award in the field of Sports, Health, and Wellness.
• Ongoing research
  • • Continuous development and publication of research initiatives and community trainings.

Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs 2030 Strategic Plan lays out a vision for the future of the university that builds on its core mission: to provide high-quality, accessible education; to advance knowledge; integrate student learning with the spirit of discovery; and to serve the community. These goals and initiatives, many of which can be seen in News & Updates or via the Action Website, form a shared journey—the climb toward the summit of the Success 2030 plan.

• Strategic launches
  • • Launched and/or refined the Strategic Pillar Website, the Strategic Action Website and the Differentiator Website; along with the CWC Survey, the Strategic Initiative Fund and the Strategic Spotlight Series.
• Cultivating partnerships
  • • Currently vetting partners for a proposed, on-campus hotel and conference facility – a living laboratory for a proposed and new Hospitality, Tourism, and Resort Management program in the College of Business.  
  • • Advanced a unified redevelopment vision for the North Nevada Avenue corridor with city and community partners.
  • • Strengthened partnerships with Exos and CommonSpirit, expanding opportunities for academic programs, student research and clinical engagement, and increased community and athlete utilization—advancing the Hybl Center as a national model for integrated health, sport performance, and academic collaboration.

College of Business

The College of Business helps students get ready for the ever-evolving business landscape via real-world experience and hands-on research, with focus on initiatives such as the Center for Entrepreneurship, Cybersecurity, the Economic Forum, the UCCS Ethics Initiatives and more.

• Reaccreditations
  • • AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business)
  • • PGA Golf Management Program
• Weidner Norwood Center for Real Estate and Property Management
  • • The Weidner Norwood Center for Real Estate and Property Management was established this fall to Addresess the growing regional and national demand for skilled professionals in real estate and property management (REPM), and aims to produce highly qualified property managers, strengthen community partnerships and promote sustainable development through advanced coursework in development and ownership.
• Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans
  • • Hosted the inaugural Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans (EBV), a program founded by Syracuse University and supported by the Center for Entrepreneurship, the College of Business and the El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization. Thanks to generous donors and sponsors, all expenses were covered for the veterans. The program reflects a strong commitment to empowering veterans to create and sustain successful ventures.

College of Education

The College of Education offers several programs that prepare professionals among teachers, leaders, educational administrators, counselors, researchers and policy influencers through high impact educational practices that center around equity, inquiry and innovation, and a consistent dedication to research and local and global initiatives.

• Initiatives
  • • Launched the Inaugural Future Educator Conference.
• Research
  • • Ph.D. students in the Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy program are highly engaged, and during fall 2025, doctoral students received fellowships, completed publications and presented at regional, national and international conferences under the guidance of faculty.
  • • Doctoral candidates Leah Matoka and Lindsay Hansen presented their study in Scotland at the University of Aberdeen during the Scottish Educational Research Association (SERA) conference. 
  • • Doctoral candidate Amy Akerman presented her research to CU President Todd Saliman during a recent UCCS visit, which explored motivations and interventions to increase the number of physician assistants working in rural Colorado.
• ACT Program
  • • Started the ACT program in July with a first-year goal of 25 students, and started the year with 41 candidates and have added five more throughout the first semester.

College of Engineering and Applied Science

The College of Engineering and Applied Science produces highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students with technical depth and competence to satisfy workforce needs. Through twenty-four Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D. degrees in a breadth of engineering areas, students take part in experiential learning in research, design projects, team-based projects and internships, leading to increased job opportunities in growing and in-demand industries.

• Research
  • • Two different student teams sent experiments to space: a NASA-level fungal bioleaching in microgravity experiment was sent to the International Space Station as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), and another team sent cricket eggs to space for a future food source experiment as part of the NASA RockStat-C experiment process.
  • • Faculty research resulted in a total of $15.3 million in research grants within the college, including Philip Brown’s $500,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, a prestigious grant awarded to early-career faculty.
• Cybersecurity
  • • Because of the work led by Shouhuai Xu, Ph.D., UCCS was designated as a National Security Agency (NSA) National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (CAE-R) for the college’s Ph.D. in Cybersecurity. UCCS is the first institution of higher learning in the state of Colorado to receive this significant cybersecurity research designation; it has been an NSA Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) since 2014.
• Civil Engineering Pathway
  • • Created a new career pathway in civil engineering, partnering with CU Denver and CU Boulder on a 2+2 Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree.

College of Letters, Arts & Sciences

The College of Letters, Arts & Sciences (LAS) combines vibrant research and scholarship within and across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and arts with engaging courses that provide strong foundations for any higher education degree. LAS offers undergraduate and graduate education that combines interdisciplinary experiences in the liberal arts and sciences and integration of our LAS community with the broader region and world, and hosts several centers within the college to highlight and champion its many disciplines and robust research.

• Student competitions
  • • The UCCS Ethics Bowl Team achieved remarkable success at the Rocky Mountain Regional Ethics Bowl on November 15, 2025, competing against universities across the region, UCCS Team 2 tying for second place and UCCS Team 1 earning the prestigious Spirit Award
  • • The Political Science Department sent six students to Georgetown University’s Model United Nations Security Conference in Washington, D.C., where over 80 universities and 800 delegates participated. UCCS delegates Leah Musgrave and Sheily Ventura won third place as dual delegates, and Kat Jenkins received a commendation.
• American Revolution showing
  • • Community and UCCS members converged on campus for a large-scale showing of Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution” with staff and guest speakers.

College of Public Service

The UCCS College of Public Service (CPS) provides students with a collaborative learning environment for lucrative careers in Public Administration, Criminal Justice, Social Work and more to improve the quality of life for people and their communities, here and abroad, through collaborative governance, public service innovation, community engagement and research. All CPS programs and degrees are connected through real-world application, theory and partnership networks, and can be learned about via their news updates.

• Conferences
  • • The Criminal Justice Department had a strong presence at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) conference in Denver, including panel and poster presentations by several students
  • • Social Work faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends represented CPS and UCCS at the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) 71st Annual Conference in Denver.
• Student competitions
  • • The UCCS Mock Trial Team had a great showing in Spring 2025, including several individual student awards at various competitions. The team earned an automatic bid to the Opening Round National Championship (ORCS) in St. Paul, Minnesota, where they performed exceptionally well.
  • • The UCCS American Criminal Justice Association competition team traveled to Warrensburg, MO in October for the Region 3 competition. Five students represented UCCS during the rigorous multiday event. Team members brought home trophies for 1st and 2nd place finishes in physical agility (obstacle course), 2nd place in the firearms event, and 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the academic testing events. 
• Partnerships
  • • Two Public Administration students supported the Pikes Peak Regional Emergency Coordination Center Functional Exercise in October by serving in the Simulation Cell, which provided an opportunity for emergency responders, policy members and essential staff in Colorado Springs and El Paso County to simulate response to a wildland fire incident.
  • • MPA alumna and UCCS employee Shawn Hood gave a presentation to the 4th Judicial Court Division related to her spring capstone project on juvenile recidivism. This is part of a long-standing data project that CPS has with the Fourth Judicial Court Services, which engages capstone students with real-life data and provides critical program evaluation services to the court to address policy questions and apply for grants.

The Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences 

The Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences has an exceptional legacy of educating health care professionals, and had another extremely successful year increasing student enrollment, research production and community service, thereby strengthening the commitment to academic excellence, access and alignment with the healthcare and human performance workforce pipeline in Colorado and beyond.

• Launches
  • • The Nursing Program launched the first RN-MSN program in Colorado.
  • • The Bachelor of Science in Health Care Sciences began offering two new options: A fully online Health and Wellness Promotion option, and a Radiology Technologist option.
  • • Human Physiology and Nutrition created a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy Preparation Option in collaboration with the CU Anschutz School of Pharmacy.
  • • Human Physiology and Nutrition opened the Anatomy and Physiology Learning Center, providing tutoring services for more than 600 undergraduate students every month.
• Lane Center
  • • The Lane Center Clinics cared for more than 11,000 patients.
• Partnerships
  • • The Nurse Family Partnership received external funding for the 11th straight year.

The Graduate School and Research

The Graduate School at UCCS is dedicated to advancing graduate education, upholding academic excellence, promoting graduate student success, fostering inclusivity and nurturing a supportive community across its thirty-seven master’s programs, eleven doctoral programs and a variety of emphasis areas and certificates. The Offices of Research, Sponsored Programs and Research Integrity provided wraparound support to faculty and student researchers across campus, continuing their dedication to championing research from all areas.

• Awards and certificates
  • • Awarded fellowships, scholarships and tuition matching grants to 224 new and continuing graduate students in collaboration with the Office of Financial Aid.
  • • Ten faculty were awarded CRCW grants to support new research initiatives, and twenty-two Undergraduate Research Academy awards were given to students and their mentors to conduct research.
  • • In collaboration with the Office of Strategic Initiatives, eleven faculty were awarded Research Revitalization Fellowships.
  • • Over 60 faculty, staff, and students earned Responsible Conduct of Research Certificates.
• Student and program support
  • • Established Faculty Fellows to support graduate student success and retention.
  • • Published mentoring resources on the Graduate School website and Canvas resource hub for faculty, and published funding resources on the Graduate School website, including a new student employment manual for graduate students.
  • • Supported twelve graduate programs in expanding accelerated master’s pathways to twelve credits (formally nine credits), three graduate programs in proposing new accelerated master’s pathways, four departments proposing new graduate programs or certificates and four graduate programs revising certificate programs.
  • • Supported 439 master’s and doctoral students graduating in spring and summer 2025, while actively working with the many graduate students aiming to graduate in the upcoming commencement ceremony.
• Office of Sponsored Programs
  • • The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) achieved significant milestones to strengthen research administration and support faculty success. OSP submitted 155 proposals, successfully onboarded a new team and implemented transformative best practices to enhance efficiency, compliance and transparency across all sponsored projects.
• Pivot-RP
  • • The Office of Research launched a new tool to help faculty, staff and students find external funding. Pivot-RP is a web-based suite of tools used to identify funding opportunities and potential collaborators across all disciplines.