Shortly after CU Boulder named Justin Schwartz as the new chancellor in 2024, the university announced that Schwartz and his family wouldn’t be moving into the university-owned house that former Chancellor Phil DiStefano lived in. Instead, CU shelled out $3.75 million on a new home for the incoming chancellor.
At the time, CU spokesperson Jeff Howard told the Camera that the new house was the best course of action. “The CU system and CU Foundation determined after careful consideration to invest in a property in Boulder just minutes from campus, providing the best use of resources to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the campus,”.
One reason for the new home? Roughly $3.7 million in needed renovations on the house DiStefano had lived in — not from anything the former chancellor did to the home, but routine updates and repairs. While we don’t have a full picture of what renovations were required, reporting from the time indicated that upgrades to comply with building codes and the Americans with Disabilities Act were required, among other things. And while that would certainly be expensive, from where we sit, in our homes and apartments, itap still hard to imagine what $3.7 million in renovations would look like.
But renovation bill aside, itap understandable for CU to occasionally invest in a new home for a chancellor. It is regular practice for universities to provide residences for chancellors (never mind that their salaries are often eye-watering to us normies). And the funds for the new home came from the CU Foundation.
“No funds derived from tuition nor state allocations are being used,” Howard told the Camera. “Nor are these funds that would be otherwise available for scholarships or other uses. The funds are available for the purpose of investment, and real estate in Boulder is a strong investment.”
Fast forward two years and CU announced earlier this month that Schwartz was and CU was going to put it back on the market.
According to a CU spokesperson, Schwartz is moving out of the house for personal reasons. That is completely acceptable. We cannot begrudge him or his family for moving for any reason.
But it is hard not to feel like CU’s “investment” in this $3.75 million home no longer looks so great — and in fact looks like a bit of fiscal irresponsibility.
Here are the facts another way: The CU Foundation splurged on a wildly expensive home. The university claimed it was an “investment.” Now, two years later, the school has no use for the home and is planning to sell it in a relatively cool market.
In May 2024, the median sale price for a house in Boulder was $990,000,. In May 2026, it was down to $854,000. Itap hard to imagine the foundation is going to get much ROI in such a market.
On top of the situation with the chancellor’s house was the news from June that the CU Athletic department managed to.
Itap not uncommon for universities to lose money on bowl trips, but CU’s losses appear to be tied to the fact that the school simply misclassified the game and then overspent accordingly, sending too many band and spirit members to the game and paying out bigger bonuses to coaches than the game merited.
And on top of all of it all is CU’s apparent administrative bloat. At CU Boulder alone, more than. Of course, many of these jobs provide tremendous value to the university, but in an era when, itap hard not to feel there is a better way forward.
In the grand scheme of things, these figures — $3.75 million, $1.24 million, $200,000 here and there — can pale in comparison to the size of CU. The system’s. CU Boulder alone has a $2.54 billion budget.
That means these bad investments and losses and excessive expenditures amount to a few percent at most.
But itap the optics that matter. Especially as, who, in addition to having to pay more for classes, are also being squeezed by an.
The money spent on the chancellor’s house came from the CU Foundation and couldn’t be used on tuition; we understand that, but for a bit of perspective, it is worth remembering that $3.75 million could cover a year of tuition for roughly 267 students, or four years of tuition for 67 students.
A few million dollars may look small on CU’s balance sheet, but it looks huge to students struggling to afford college.
CU Boulder is one of our community’s crown jewels. It brings so much to Boulder and all Boulderites, regardless of whether they are or have ever been affiliated with the university. It has helped draw some of our most influential citizens here as students or faculty; it is an essential part of our economy; and it is a prestigious academic feather in our local cap.
But as we look to the new school year, it is more important than ever for CU to be — and appear to be — a good fiscal steward, to address rising tuition, to examine costs, to make sound investments, and to make sure that it is focused, first and foremost, on being the excellent educational institution that it is.
— Gary Garrison for the Editorial Board
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