Editor’s note: This message was sent to members of the CSU community this week by Provost and Executive Vice President Marion Underwood.

I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Lise Youngblade to a second five-year term as Dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, effective July 1, 2024. Since her initial appointment in 2019, Dean Youngblade has worked tirelessly on behalf of our students, faculty and staff, and she has provided valuable leadership to CHHS and the university in support of our mission, institutional priorities, and key initiatives.

Here are some of Dr. Youngblade’s accomplishments during her tenure as dean:

• Under Dean Youngblade’s leadership, CHHS has prioritized college support for student success and recruitment by converting a part-time position into a full-time Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs with broader responsibilities, adding a Student Success & Recruitment Specialist, and the appointment of the college’s first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice.
• Dean Youngblade also has led the college’s efforts to increase peer mentoring, first-year seminars, work study positions, and undergraduate research opportunities. These and other strategies have resulted in an increase in fall-to-fall persistence rates for CHHS majors since 2019 including a 3.5% increase among racially minoritized students. The college also has experienced an impressive increase in four-year graduation rates among first-generation students.
• CHHS has received $67 million in new grant funding over the past five years, and experienced a 55% increase in research expenditures. The college also has seen its endowment balance grow from $28 million in 2019 to $74 million today. That has helped fund nearly two dozen new scholarships, three new university chairs and endowed positions, and the enhancement and expansion of core programs.

Dr. Youngblade’s extension was approved by President Amy Parsons, acting under the authority delegated to her by the Board of Governors, Colorado State University’s governing board. I am grateful to all those who informed the reappointment process through their thoughtful feedback.

I thank Dr. Youngblade for her contributions to excellence and innovation in the advancement of our academic enterprise. I look forward to our continued collaborations as she leads CHHS through its strategic plan and vision for the future.

Please join me in congratulating her on reappointment.

Sincerely,

Marion K. Underwood
Provost and Executive Vice President