Today is an historic day for the University of Colorado. This morning I had the rare privilege of announcing that the University of Colorado has received the largest gift ever given to a public university, a $250 million system-wide endowment from Bill and Claudia Coleman to establish the University of Colorado Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities.

Even though this remarkable couple did not attend CU, the Colemans have chosen to make Colorado their home and to demonstrate their confidence in CU by making this extraordinary gift. The Colemans have extensive backgrounds in the computer industry: Claudia was a manager with Hewlett-Packard and Bill founded BEA Systems, a leading developer of business software. They have a niece with a cognitive disability and are passionate about the application of technology on behalf of persons with cognitive disabilities. And, the Colemans foresee technology having a major societal impact for persons with cognitive disabilities. They both plan to play an active role in the Institute.

The Colemans' vision is to make the CU Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities the international center of excellence in developing adaptive assistive technology for persons with cognitive disabilities. I have made a personal commitment to leverage the Coleman's gift by obtaining additional funding from government, individuals and industry.

The Colemans' gift will create a research endowment and, over a number of years, lead to the development of chairs and professorships in several departments on multiple campuses. The earnings on the research endowment will ultimately be available on a competitive basis to any faculty member in the CU system who conducts research in the area of cognitive disabilities or in the development of assistive technologies relevant to this population. The Institute will provide seed money, matching grants, and bridge funding that will be multiplied by federal, state, and foundation research grants. While there is a small capital component, this gift will not be used to build a group of buildings on one campus or enhance a single department or college. The gift will be used primarily to build on existing interdisciplinary research and develop new and creative multi-campus partnerships.

As I have said since arriving at CU in September, one of the challenges CU faces as a leader among the nation's research universities is the alarming deficiency in resources necessary to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff. I have made the case that the best strategy for addressing that deficiency and enabling CU to remain at the highest level of excellence is to develop new and creative partnerships with individuals and industry. To be competitive, we must establish new chairs and professorships. The CU Coleman Institute is a model for resource development and the Colemans' remarkable gift is only a beginning for CU.

When Brian and I first met Bill and Claudia in October they had already made gifts to CU, but we quickly formed a bond that allowed them to realize their dream and challenge CU to respond rapidly to new opportunities. I take it as a personal challenge to continue to find ways to expand CU's resources and I welcome your help. I know you will join me in thanking Bill and Claudia Coleman for having the vision and confidence to invest in CU's future.