Epper Lays Out a Plan for CSU Pueblo’s Future in First State of the University Address

President Rhonda Epper delivered her first State of the University address Wednesday, telling a full room of faculty and staff that Colorado State University Pueblo has weathered a hard year and now has a plan to build on it.

The address opened the university’s second annual Fortnight, the two week run of welcome events that mark the start of the academic year. This year’s crowd grew from last August’s inaugural Fortnight, a sign Epper pointed to early in her remarks as proof that the campus community is showing up for one another.

Before she began, Epper welcomed a familiar face in the crowd. Rico Munn, CSU Pueblo’s former interim president and the incoming chancellor of the Colorado State University System, sat among the audience.

“He’s part of our family,” Epper said. “Thank you so much for being here, Rico. It means a lot to us.”

Epper joined CSU Pueblo in March and spent her first months on the job confronting a difficult FY27 budget, a wildfire response that turned parts of campus into a staging ground for emergency crews, and her first commencement as president.

“It was an important reminder for me of the real purpose of this work,” Epper said of that commencement.

Then came a summer few on campus anticipated. When the Aspen Acres Fire threatened the region, CSU Pueblo became home to the incident command team and, over several weeks, more than 1,700 firefighters and support personnel.

“When our community needed us, CSU Pueblo stepped up. I was incredibly proud of that.”

— President Rhonda Epper

Much of Epper’s address described the headwinds facing CSU Pueblo and higher education broadly. Colorado is projected to see a 12 percent drop in high school graduates between 2023 and 2041. Federal policy changes have already cost the university several major grants, including Title V, Title III and TRIO funding. State budget pressure continues, and Colorado lawmakers are weighing a reorganization of the state’s higher education structure under House Bill 1317. Fewer Americans believe a college degree is worth the cost than a decade ago.

Epper pushed back on that last point with numbers. She said the median wage for a college graduate in 2024 was about $79,000, compared with about $47,000 for someone with only a high school diploma, a gap of roughly $32,000 a year that has held steady through multiple economic cycles.

“College still pays,” she said. “But we cannot assume the public understands it. We have to articulate that value more clearly.”

Four Priorities, One Strategy

Epper laid out four priorities to guide the university: enrollment growth, student success, financial stability and career outcomes tied to industry partnerships. She described the four as connected rather than separate goals, each one strengthening the others.

CSU Pueblo’s total enrollment has climbed from roughly 3,000 students in fall 2022 to about 3,500 today, and the university has set a five year goal of reaching 3,750. Epper was candid that the number still falls short of the roughly 4,500 students CSU Pueblo enrolled a decade ago.

“Our recent trajectory is promising. Our longer term trajectory is very concerning.”

— President Rhonda Epper

On the financial side, Epper said the university ended fiscal year 2026 with a smaller loss than the year before and a net gain of close to $500,000 in its general fund, though cuts were still required to correct structural deficits heading into FY27.

“We cannot cut our way to long term prosperity. The long-term path to financial strength is growth.”

— President Rhonda Epper

Stealth Employees Take the Stage

Epper closed her portion of the program by recognizing CSU Pueblo’s stealth employees, staff members whose work often goes unseen but keeps the university running day to day. She called forward twelve honorees:

• Chiz Colon — Online Programs Coordinator
• Kristen Olguin — Student Program Employment Manager
• Cerrah Williams — Intake & Support Specialist
• Arron Schmitz — Accounts Receivable Manager
• Salvador Ramirez-Perez — Custodian I
• Kim Spurlock — Parking Manager
• Steve Liebel — Associate Dean of CHASS
• Lashelle Romero — Admin Assistant III for CSTEM
• Jordan Freed — Associate Director of Housing Operations
• Belinda Gallegos — Health Care Technician I
• Dax Charles — Associate Athletic Director and Head Wrestling Coach
• Matt Morris — Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach

Each received a coin to mark the recognition, and the group posed for a photo in front of a banner of last year’s Fortnight kickoff.

Mackin Sets Student Success as the Year’s Focus

Provost Dr. Gail Mackin took the podium next with remarks centered on academic affairs. She opened by recognizing the seven faculty members who earned tenure or promotion over the past year, calling them to the stage:

• Dr. Barbara Brett-Green — Professor
• Dr. Md Rashad Islam — Professor
• Dr. Young Ji Yoon — Associate Professor
• Dr. Michael Briscoe — Associate Professor
• Dr. Laurie Corradino — Associate Professor
• Dr. Karen Krepps — Associate Professor
• Thaddeus Young — Senior Lecturer

“These milestones represent far more than a change in title. They reflect years of commitment to our students, to teaching and mentorship, to scholarship, and to the service that strengthens this university and our community.”

— Provost Dr. Gail Mackin

Mackin outlined her own priority for the year ahead: student success, with particular attention to retention and graduation. CSU Pueblo currently retains about 64 percent of first year students, and only 26 percent of students complete a degree within four years. Mackin set five year goals of 70 percent retention, a 40 percent four year graduation rate and a 60 percent six year graduation rate, and she asked each college and school to raise its own retention numbers by 2 percentage points annually.

The university will switch its student support platform from Starfish to Navigate this year and continue moving its learning management system from Blackboard to Canvas ahead of a full rollout in spring 2027. CSU Pueblo will also host a site visit from the Higher Learning Commission on March 15 and 16, 2027, as part of its ten year reaffirmation review.

“Student success is not one initiative, one office, one person. It’s the result of the thousands of interactions that happen across this university every day.”

— Provost Dr. Gail Mackin

A Shared Task Ahead

Epper returned to close the program with a story from a lunch she had with a Pueblo community member the week before.

“She looked me in the eye and said, ‘We need you to be great.’ I’m not great unless all of you are great. It’s going to take all of us.”

— President Rhonda Epper

Epper closed with a wish for a strong semester ahead, and the program moved into a box lunch and a series of faculty-led talks at the Technology, Education and Engineering Building to round out the first day of Fortnight.