The College of Health and Human Sciences stands ready to improve the health and well-being of people everywhere, thanks in part to the generosity of 9,934 donors who gave more than $82 million during the State Your Purpose Campaign for Colorado State University.

“Our generous donors enabled us to support our students, invest in our faculty and programs, and expand our facilities across campus,” says Dean Lise Youngblade. “Not only do these gifts impact our current programs and students, but more importantly, their collective generosity ensures that the forward-thinking work of the college continues, and that students leave campus prepared for the next steps in their careers and ready to make an impact in promoting the health and well-being of people, communities, and the environments in which they live. ”

Transforming the college

That generosity has literally changed the face of the college. Private giving during the campaign has supported new world-class facilities such as the Nancy Richardson Design Center, the New Belgium Fermentation Science and Technology Laboratory, Lory Student Center Ramskeller Teaching Brewery, the Columbine Health Systems Center for Healthy Aging, an expanded Kendall Reagan Nutrition Center, a thriving Avenir Museum for Design and Merchandising, and other enhanced spaces across the college, such as the Early Childhood Center, New Start for Student Veterans, and many more.

Enabling ‘design thinking’

One gift in particular helped transform campus and set the direction for many of the college’s design programs. Nancy and Curt Richardson gave a lead gift of $8.1 million to create the Nancy Richardson Design Center, a state-of-the-art facility that serves as an interdisciplinary creative space for students and faculty across campus.

The generosity of the Richardson family inspired others to support the $19.2 million facility as well, including Carla Dore, Workplace Resource, Saunders Construction, Carol Sarchet, the Green and Gold Foundation, the Light Center, Aaron and Catherine Finch, Jean Rand Hassenger, Salt Design, Martin and Pauline Gregg, and other anonymous donors. These pivotal philanthropic investments helped build an iconic building that has become a hub for “design thinking,” an approach to innovation and problem-solving that has attracted students from all eight of CSU’s colleges.

Student support

Throughout the State Your Purpose campaign, donors have understood the connection between the day-to-day well-being of students and their ability to achieve their potential in the classroom and beyond. Gifts totaling more than $9.5 million provided support for merit- and need-based scholarships that help students focus more on academics and career dreams and less on how they’re going to pay for tuition and rent and to put food on the table.

Instrumental investments in our students during the campaign included a joint transformational gift from Doug Patterson and the Beavers Charitable Trust along with anonymous donors to support heavy construction initiatives in the Construction Management program, as well as the college’s largest-ever annual scholarship commitment from Gordon and Joan Marks to support construction management students in the coming years.

Other scholarship and programmatic gifts during the campaign buttressed the college’s commitment to equity and inclusive excellence. The Dr. Laurie F. Michaels Scholarship in Education helps future teachers who are dedicated to social justice, while other donors such as Marie Macy, the Freeberg Family, Miriam and Tim Cake, the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation, and United Way’s WomenGive, have supported marginalized populations through child care tuition assistance for low-income and diverse families at the CSU Early Childhood Center and scholarship support for students training for careers in early childhood education.

Lightening the load

“One of the most moving gifts came in the final days of the campaign,” says Youngblade.

A generous anonymous donor who is passionate about helping others through difficult times established a new fund called Lighten the Load, which provides emergency financial resources to students facing challenging roadblocks such as those created by COVID-19.

“We need this next generation of leaders, and we need to do everything in our power to ensure their success” continues Youngblade. “They are our hope, they are our future, and we look to them to discover solutions to our world’s biggest challenges.”

Looking ahead

“Gifts to student scholarships, faculty research, buildings and labs, and community engagement allow us to think about our next big dreams,” says Youngblade. She’s excited about new degree programs; supporting the innovative research of the college’s outstanding faculty and graduate students; realizing the potential of design thinking at the Nancy Richardson Design Center; and expanding education, research, and outreach in mental and behavioral health.

“I am incredibly humbled, sincerely grateful, and truly overwhelmed by the generosity that has been shared with us during the State Your Purpose campaign. I see the impact of this amazing collective giving as I visit classrooms and laboratories, talk with students passing through the Oval, observe thesis presentations, congratulate faculty on grant awards, attend scholarship events, and witness the pride and smiles at our commencement celebrations each year as our students prepare to leave campus and make their marks on the world.  None of this would be possible without the investments made by our wonderful donors.  On behalf of everyone in our college, I extend our deepest gratitude.”