Dear Roadrunners, 

I want to thank you all for a stellar Commencement this month. It is a special occasion for our students and their families, who were able to celebrate without disruptions. This is thanks to the hard work and collective effort of a group too large to name its members. But please know that the detailed and comprehensive planning on the part of the University Events team, security personnel and hundreds of volunteers made the day’s success possible. 

As you’ve likely seen in other messages this week, demonstrators have abandoned the encampment that had been set up on the Tivoli Quad for more than three weeks. Thank you for your patience as we worked around the clock during this time to ensure that our campus environment remained safe and that our educational mission continued. 

To do that, we made changes to building access, some of which remain in place this week. On-campus operations and activities are back to normal, though employees and students still need their campus ID badges to access most buildings. We will keep the main door to the Jordan Student Success Building open and monitored for visitors to enter.    

Meanwhile, those on campus will notice fencing around the Tivoli Quad, which remains closed until further notice for repairs. I’d like to thank our partners at the Auraria Higher Education Center and their custodial staff for all the extra time and hard work they’ve put into cleaning and restoring the quad and other outdoor spaces. 

The past several weeks have felt rather chaotic for many in our campus community. And I know that for some of you, it felt more than just chaotic: It felt unsafe. It’s fair to say we’ve learned a lot from this experience. Among other things, we hear your feedback on the need for clearer Emergency Notification System (RAVE alert) language. We are working with our AHEC and emergency-response partners to review and improve the language. A full after–action review will take place in which we will consolidate and build on opportunities to foster free speech without impeding the ability of others to learn, work or express their beliefs in an environment that both is safe, and feels safe. This will be particularly crucial as we enter the upcoming election season.    

Remember, If you have safety concerns while on campus, please contact the Auraria Campus Police Department for assistance at 303-556-5000 or Text-a-Tip to 720-593-TIPS (8477). If you call 911 from an MSU Denver desk phone, you will be routed to ACPD.

Our Communications team has been working diligently to keep you updated with verified info as quickly as possible and will continue to keep the campus-demonstration webpage updated with the most relevant information.  

Sincerely, 
Larry Sampler, chief operating officer and vice president for Administration