The campus improvements, especially in the face of eroding state funding, are very visible and worth touting. I find it hard to give DiStephano much grief in that area. His role with the athletic department is a different story.
The C in CU also stands for Construction. There has been lot of campus improvements. But....
Have those buildings helped improve the rankings of the university?
Is CU more or less prestigious now than it was in the 1970s or 1990s?
CU made it's mark jumping all over NASA and space exploration through a fine aerospace program. The astronaut alumni have been a crown jewel amongst alumni. Too bad the space program and NASA isn't as high profile as it was during the cold war.
CU scores some points for Molecular Biology and Chemistry.
But CU has largely missed the boat on some of the biggest cash cows of the last 20 years.
Homeland Security ---- Nope
Genome Research ---- Nope
Computer Software ---- There's better
Petroleum & Energy --- no oil. no gas. Wind farming and solar haven't exactly taken off
Manufacturing, tourism, hospitality --- not really.
Has the Business School been among the top 25 in the nation. Nope.
CU has spent its treasure on building the medical center in Denver. The leadership has been engaged in a perpetual struggle with Capital Hill to keep state funds from drying up faster.
This is not a school that has been taking risks, and positioning itself to climb up in stature.
Boulder has been on autopilot. While the building construction is great, I'm not sure exactly how that corresponds to the value of the degree.
There's no doubt that the college experience in Boulder is unmatched due to the lifestyle that living in Boulder affords. The campus still looks beautiful as ever.
But if you are not evolving in this global economy, then your are getting left behind.