A $100,000 gift commitment to the University of Colorado that was announced last October by CU President Elizabeth "Betsy" Hoffman and her husband, Brian Binger, has challenged and inspired $550,000 in contributions from members of the CU Foundation's Board of Directors and its newly appointed president, Michael Byram.
At the CU Foundation's winter board meeting held today at The Anschutz Centers for Advanced Medicine, Byram and his wife, Carolyn, pledged $100,000 to benefit students at CU's four campuses and to show support for the dedicated work being done by President Betsy Hoffman.
Last October, at the time of Hoffman's gift announcement, members of the volunteer Board of Directors of the University of Colorado Foundation rallied around Hoffman's vision of CU as a preeminent research institution.
Contributions at all levels came in from board members and their spouses including Karren and Walter Kowalski, Dr. Guillermo and Maria Aragon, Marcy and Bruce Benson, and Rutt Bridges.
Board member Bridges said, "I have always believed that real leaders know how to 'lead from the front.' In making their gift, Betsy and Brian have demonstrated their commitment to Colorado. I am proud to follow such leadership."
Benson said, "When a new president comes to town and the first thing she does is contribute $100,000 to the University of Colorado, I applaud that."
President Hoffman, who has been at the helm of the University of Colorado system for barely five months, has generated considerable attention with CU's announcement last month of a $250 million commitment from entrepreneur Bill Coleman and his wife, Claudia. The Coleman gift has established an institute at CU dedicated to discovering ways to improve the lives of people with cognitive disabilities.
The University of Colorado and the University of Colorado Foundation Inc. are involved in a four-campus fund-raising campaign to generate private support for scholarship funds, faculty endowment, updated facilities and academic programs of prominence.