Welcome Back – A New Year of Possibilities

Dear UNC Community, 

Welcome to the start of the spring semester! I hope you had a restful and restorative winter break. A new year always brings the opportunity to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and look forward to what lies ahead.

When I first arrived at the University of Northern Colorado, I was struck by the vibrant and caring community that defines our campus — a place large enough to offer countless opportunities for engagement, yet small enough that students, faculty, and staff greet each other by name. Nearly eight years later, these qualities remain at the heart of our culture and are embedded in our Rowing, Not Drifting 2030 strategic plan. 

As we begin 2026, I want to celebrate some of the milestones from the past fall that we achieved together: 

• Undergraduate retention, persistence, and four-year graduation rates are at record highs while equity gaps continue to significantly narrow.  
• UNC continues to be a leader in educating future educators. Colorado Middle Level Principal of the Year was awarded to UNC alumnus Nicole Petersen and Colorado Teacher of the Year were awarded UNC alumnus Stephen Paulson.  
• We expanded the university’s water conservation efforts by converting 3.4 acres of turf on the University Center hill into a native grass park, saving ~2 million gallons of water annually. 
• Three of our cultural centers celebrated milestone anniversaries — 30 years for the Native American Student Services and Asian Pacific American Student Services, and 40 years for the César Chávez Cultural Center.  
• Significant progress was made toward opening the UNC College of Osteopathic Medicine, including earning pre-accreditation status and on-time, on-budget progress on construction. This milestone means that we will welcome our first class of students in July. 
• Our athletics teams celebrated significant accomplishments in the classroom and outside. Football has had its best season since 2016, and Volleyball captured the Big Sky Championship. In the classroom, our Bears continue to excel with their highest collective grade point averages this past fall. 

Together, these successes reflect the momentum we’ve built, and they position us to carry that energy into another year.  

UNC continues to be a place of possibility — where students and alumni build the foundation to pursue their dreams, faculty inspire through discovery and inquiry, and staff provide the support that makes success possible. In the year ahead, we will continue to work together to advance our strategic priorities, strengthen student success, and deepen our impact in the communities we serve.

Our strength lies in the diversity of perspectives and experiences that make UNC a welcoming home for all, and I invite each of you to engage fully in this work and to support one another as we move forward together.

Thank you for all you do to make UNC the vibrant, welcoming community I am proud to call home. Here’s to a year of achievement, collaboration, and shared success. 

Rowing, Not Drifting,

Andy Feinstein 
President