The Colorado School of Public Health (ColoradoSPH) stands as an indispensable resource for Colorado, the Rocky Mountain region and the nation. When complex public health challenges emerge, communities, policymakers and partners turn to ColoradoSPH for trusted expertise, rigorous science and practical solutions. As a top 20 school of public health, our mission remains clear: to elevate the role of public health and strengthen communities for generations to come.
This past year tested the resilience of public health and the institutions that lead it. Funding constraints, economic and political uncertainty, and systemic changes to long-standing public health agencies created headwinds across the profession. These challenges required rapid adaptation and sharpened focus. And, in the face of uncertainty, ColoradoSPH did what it has always done –demonstrate that public health leadership is not defined by stability alone, but by the capacity to lead through disruption.
Here are just a few of the stories and themes that shaped the school in 2025:
Transformative Giving
This year marked a historic milestone in philanthropic support for the school. Philanthropic investments signaled confidence in our mission and momentum for what is possible. A $6 million commitment from the Anschutz Foundation to advance mental health and injury prevention, along with the establishment of a $1.75 million Endowed Chair of Innovation, exemplified how philanthropy can accelerate impact. Philanthropy gives ColoradoSPH the capacity to respond to today’s challenges and the stability to deliver lasting public health impact. Benefactors from across the country have recognized this, and that is why we are on track to have the best fundraising year since ColoradoSPH’s founding.
Working Alongside Communities
ColoradoSPH deepened its commitment to communities across the state by forging partnerships rooted in shared purpose and collective action. Our faculty and staff have worked alongside early childhood educators to examine workplace needs and forge a path to improved mental health and working conditions. Similarly, the school continues to lead Colorado’s Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative. This statewide program helps entrepreneurs, small business owners and community leaders adopt policies and practices to support employees affected by substance-use disorders. By listening to communities and aligning science with lived experiences, ColoradoSPH helps build systems that promote the health and well-being of communities in all corners of the state.
Turning Research into Real World Application
ColoradoSPH researchers delivered science that matters. Faculty secured major grants and advanced innovative projects addressing some of the most pressing health challenges, including diabetes treatment, climate-related health risks, firearm injury prevention and supporting adolescent mental health.
The school’s Injury & Violence Prevention Center received a prestigious NIH R25 grant to launch a national Firearm Injury Prevention Research in Nursing Scholars Program, training early-career nurse scientists – through collaboration with the CU Anschutz College of Nursing and School of Medicine – to advance evidence-based firearm injury prevention in clinical and community settings. Our research from Colorado and Pennsylvania showed that children living near dense and active oil and gas wells face a significantly higher risk of developing rare childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia, underscoring the opportunity for prevention-focused public health policies at the local level.
A Trusted Resource for Colorado and Beyond
When Colorado policymakers need trusted public health expertise, it turns to ColoradoSPH. From evaluating the linkages between COVID-19 and cancer diagnoses to informing statewide vaccination strategies, our faculty provide evidence-based guidance that shapes decisions affecting millions of people. Earlier this year, Colorado lawmakers turned to the school to evaluate pathways to universal health care through a landmark statewide analysis authorized by Colorado Senate Bill 25-045. The study will provide rigorous, Colorado-specific evidence on costs, financing, and impacts across the health system. Because of economic pressures at the state level, no state funding was appropriated to support this project. Instead, the community has stepped in to support the research, donating more than $500,000 to advance the work of the school. The school’s role in this and other policy work reflects our continued role in shaping the future of health in the Centennial State.
Thought Leadership That Shapes Policy and Practice
ColoradoSPH serves as a leading voice in public health. Our faculty and staff work daily to inform the public and promote thought leadership in public health. Through expert commentary, media relations, and bringing in high-profile guest speakers, we promote facts in moments when clarity is essential. School leadership highlighted the growing financial burden facing Coloradans with cancer as treatment costs continue to rise. Others noted the health risks Americans face with sweeping cuts to food safety programs. The school played a lead role in convening thought leaders across the public health profession, bringing luminaries like former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and global health advocate Lawrence Gostin, J.D. to campus. By convening policymakers, practitioners and community leaders, the school creates space for informed dialogue and forward-looking opportunities.
Looking Ahead
In 2026, ColoradoSPH will expand our influence by leaning into our strengths: meaningful partnerships across Colorado, generating science that informs action and remaining relevant to the communities we seek to support. Time and again, ColoradoSPH has proven its ability to lead. Every partnership forged, every insight shared and every act of generosity helps advance public health at a moment when it is needed more than ever. We look forward to working with state leaders, benefactors, alumni, students and others to shape the future of public health together.
