#2 Univeraty of Colorado at Boulder APRiO22H5 Chancellor Philip DiStefano University of Colorado Boulder Cfiee of the Chenestior Dear Chancellor DiStefano: As members of the Committee for the Conference on World Affairs, we write in highest admiration for your inspired stewardship of the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus and for your life's work spent in dedication to higher learning. In particular, we are grateful to you for being a strong and loyal supporter of the CWA. This letter is to express our growing concern about the leadership of the Conference on World Affairs. As you know, the Conference is one of our state’s most inguished, enduring, and beloved institutions, predating the Independence Institute and the Aspen Institute, just to name a few. Beyond Colorado, the CWA is thought of as a national treasure and it garners international media attention, It is held up as a major recruiting tool for CU and as a shining example of Flagship 2030 principles. It plays a significant role in both the recruiting and retention of students, in campus accreditation and advancement efforts. CWA enhances alumni and community relations, and plays an invaluable part in cultivating centers of influence in wide-ranging sectors globally. The CWA funetions to raise the local, national and intemnational profile of the University of Colorado, Over the last year, the fundamental founding principles of the CWA have been called into question by a few administrators who are relatively new to campus. It seems the combination of unfamiliarity with the Conference and understandable concerns over campus-wide funding challenges have caused these administrators to mistakenly consider the CWA as something that must be narrowly defined, repaired, regulated, and remade into just another institutionalized, sterile conference. ‘The CWA is the blossoming of a public-private partnership that has evolved over the last 7 decades, with the current funding split equally between the University and the Boulder community. As you know, the in-kind contributions the Conference receives from campus, Boulder residents and international participants put the value of the CWA into the millions of dollars. Without exaggeration, this is a distinctly unique model that does not exist anywhere else in the world. While we have become accustomed to the CWA phenomenon in Boulder, we must not lose sight of the fact that other organizations spend the CWA’s entire budget to secure the individual presentations of only two or three speakers in total, as opposed to the 90-100 participants who pay their own expenses annually to come to Boulder. How amazing is that? The CWA model depends on the partnership and goodwill between the University and community. Without either party, this model ceases to exist.We write to you today to affirm our dedication to the Conference on World Affairs as expressed in our collective thousands of hours of volunteer time. We also affirm our desire to endow the CWA financially. We additionally reaffirm our dedication to the founding principles, which are the bedrock of this 67 year-old institution: 1) Representatives from the student body, community, faculty and staff serve on the Conference Committee and are responsible for overseeing the CWA sub-committees that plan the annual program and production of CWA; 2) CWA brings the world 10 Boulder in that the presenting participants are from outside the state of Colorado and, 3) The CWA is free and open to the public. ‘We hope that the University of Colorado Boulder will also reaffirm its commitment to the Conference on World Affairs at this time by recommitting to those founding principles and its financial health. In this endeavor together we can save, secure and grow an institution that brings untold riches to the University of Colorado and the Boulder communities. We greatly look forward to enjoying the Conference on World Affairs week with you! As always, thank you for your support. We all sincerely hope to continue this tradition for generations to come Sincerely, ‘The Committee for the Conference on World Affairs Beth Bowman William D. Loyd Gina Brimmer Linda M. Loose Jane Butcher Rich Loose Bill Butler Bob McClendon Patricia Bruck Tanya Mirchandani Diane Dvorin Bryan New Ben Eisenberg Michael O'Brien Tracy Ehlers James Palmer Annika Erickson-Pearson Isaiah Rifkin Madalene Fetsch Mary Rochelle Carl Ganz Kirk Rodgers Graham Gerritsen Lucienne Rosner Rosemary Getsie Mary Ryan Diane Harpold Lynne Sanditen Nieve Heskin Alec Sharp Katherine Hutman Ann Singer Faye Johnson Ramsay F. Thurber Jim Johnson Ryan Van Duzer Mary Pat Judkins Steve Vorhaus Jazmin Levis