Green leader

"'Forever Green' could prove to be golden for Colorado State University. ...[E]ven the utensils and plates used at the fall address picnic were biodegradable."

—Fort Collins Coloradoan, on how CSU President Larry Penley wove the theme of "Forever Green" throughout his fall address to the campus community, acknowledging the University's historic land-grant mission and its relationship to contemporary issues of sustainability, global responsibility, and effective research

Cookstove clean

"The Shell Foundation sees this partnership as one of the most exciting and important developments in its seven-year history."

—Kurt Hoffman, Shell Foundation director, about the foundation’s partnership with EnviroFit, the company that is using CSU-developed technology to reduce the number of global deaths caused by indoor air pollution from cookstoves

Traffic-jam economy

"People are beginning to complain about traffic in Wyoming. We think that's great progress in our state."

—Brent Hathaway, dean of the College of Business at the University of Wyoming, at Bixpo, the regional business expo, in Loveland, Colo., about how the state's growing population has affected the economy

Research record

Colorado State University's pioneering work in renewable energy, infectious disease, and biomedical research helped push research expenditures to $296 million in fiscal year 2007 – among the highest levels of federal funding for universities nationwide. Annual research expenditures were 11 percent and $29 million more than the previous year, and an increase of 49 percent over the past five years, according to Colorado State's Office of the Vice President for Research. By comparison, CSU’s average rate of increase based on the last three years of reported data has surpassed that at Texas A&M, Purdue, North Carolina State University, University of California-Davis, and all the campuses of the University of Colorado System.

Future forecast

In 2022, Fort Collins will be a city rich with entrepreneurs and clean energy innovations out of Colorado State University, economic experts told industry leaders at the Bixpo business expo in Loveland, Colo. Martin Shields, regional economist and associate economics professor at CSU, considers geography when predicting future growth, noting that the line between the Denver metro area and Northern Colorado will be blurred with expansion of northern Denver. Fort Collins must attract corporate offices in addition to satellite locations to compete with larger metro areas, said Shields. That creeping growth will create competition for Loveland, a region that will continue to grow as the region's medical hub. Patty Silverstein, economist for the Denver Metro Economic Development Corporation, said the growth south to Denver will require an expansion of regional transportation.
—Fort Collins Coloradoan

Collaboratory leader

The Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory selected its first executive director, David Hiller, a former staff member and advisor to U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. Hiller, who will be based in the Colorado State University System offices in Denver, will work with the organization’s directors and executive board to pursue a strategic vision, expand joint research activities, and increase coordination with state and federal officials. The Collaboratory – a research partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder – develops renewable energy technologies for rapid commercialization. The Collaboratory will boost the state's renewable energy economy, generate new businesses, and create new markets for Colorado's farm and forest products.