The following letter was issued to Colorado representatives from Colorado colleges concerning the COVID-19 crisis and its effects on schooling:

Dear Senators Bennet and Gardner and Representatives DeGette, Neguse, Tipton, Buck, Lamborn, Crow and Perlmutter,

The safety and well-being of students, faculty, staff, and local communities is our top priority. We are thankful and GRATEFUL to our Colorado Members for your swift action to provide much-needed support for essential health care services; economic relief to states, students and institutions of higher education; and regulatory flexibility for students and borrowers.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is essential to begin to address the needs on our campuses and in our communities.

Higher education is uniquely positioned to play a critical role in the statewide aid effort, with our talented student body and diverse faculty expertise. In recent weeks, our institutions have offered up our facilities as COVID-19 safe havens, spillover hospitals, and housing, as well as have donated personal protective equipment or are using 3D printers to create this equipment for the people, organizations, and agencies on the front lines of this pandemic.

Our campuses and institutions have been critical community partners and have had a huge impact across Colorado by contributing to the COVID-19 response, partnering with our Governor, our state legislators and you (our federal representatives).

We look forward to continuing our strategic partnership and our incredible work together on behalf of Colorado. We are grateful for your voices in Congress on behalf of not only higher education institutions but on all areas that serve our beautiful state.

Sincerely,

Angie Paccione, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Higher Education

Tony Frank, Chancellor, Colorado State University System

Leah L. Bornstein, President, Aims Community College

Greg Salsbury, President, Western Colorado University

Charles G. Lief, President, Naropa University

Janine Davidson, President, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Stephanie Donner, Executive Director, Emily Griffith Technical College

Rev. John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J., President, Regis University

Paul Johnson, President, Colorado School of Mines

Jill Tiefenthaler, President, Colorado College

Cheryl D. Lovell, President, Adams State University

Jeremy Haefner, Chancellor, University of Denver

Carrie Besnette Hauser, President, Colorado Mountain College

Tim Foster, President, Colorado Mesa University

Joe Garcia, Chancellor, Colorado Community College System

Andy Feinstein, President, University of Northern Colorado

Colleen Walker, Chief Executive Officer, Auraria Higher Education Center

Tom Stritikus, President, Fort Lewis College

Donald W. Sweeting, President, Colorado Christian University

Mark R. Kennedy, President, University of Colorado System

Admin