CU President Bruce Benson and CU Anschutz Medical Campus Chancellor Don Elliman made a visit to Washington, DC on February 24 and 25 to meet with the Colorado Congressional delegation and highlight a number of issues important to the University.  They focused on ways that the CU System, and CU Anschutz Medical Campus in particular, can work with our elected leaders to grow Colorado’s economy.  These include continued development of a biosciences technology park and other development projects around the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, protecting a strong patent system so that CU start-ups can grow, and providing robust funding for federal agencies that support the cutting edge research on CU campuses.  They also spoke with members of the delegation about the CU Cancer Center's recent announcement that they will join the ORIEN precision medicine network.  

While speaking with members of the delegation, President Benson highlighted a recent report from the Taskforce on Government Regulations in Higher Education, which received a hearing in the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee.  President Benson served on the Taskforce, which was sponsored by U.S. Senator Bennet and other members of the committee, to look at ways to reduce the growing regulatory burden facing institutions of higher education.  We remain hopeful that some of the task force’s recommendations can be incorporated into a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act expected to move forward later this year.  A copy of the Task Force’s final report can be found on the American Council on Education’s website.

Pictured: CU Anschutz Medical Campus Chancellor Don Elliman, U.S. Senator Cory Gardner, CU President Bruce Benson, and CU Assistant Vice President of Research & Federal Relations Kent Springfield.