Philip DiStefano to Retire as Chancellor

On Sept. 26, during his annual State of the Campus address, Chancellor Philip DiStefano announced his retirement as chancellor of CU Boulder. He has served in the role since May 2009. 

DiStefano will remain in the chancellor position until a national search for his replacement is complete, he said, and then he will return to the faculty in CU Boulder’s School of Education, where he began his CU career as an assistant professor in 1974. 

“It has been such a rewarding and humbling experience to serve as chancellor of Colorado’s flagship university for the past 15 years,” he told the crowd in the Glenn Miller Ballroom. “I am so proud of our faculty, staff and students and all that you have accomplished, and I also will treasure the many alumni, donors, parents and friends of the university I was lucky enough to meet.”

Beginning in fall 2024, DiStefano will serve as senior executive director at the Center for Leadership and continue his role as the Quigg and Virginia S. Newton Endowed Chair in Leadership.

In addition to his duties as chancellor, DiStefano — a first-generation college graduate — has served as an educator, dean and provost at the university, dedicating his career to making CU Boulder a nationally recognized research institution while also serving as a champion for democracy.

He intends to continue the work toward improving the university and helping students succeed, he said. 

“When a Forever Buff asks themselves, ‘Am I better off for having attended CU Boulder?’” he concluded in his speech, “let’s make sure they can automatically and unequivocally say ‘yes’… not simply because of the dollars in their pocket, but because of the totality of their lives and the richness of the world around them.”