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�鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s student body has long been known to have a thirst for global experiences. More than 4,000 students participated in education abroad programs during the last academic year alone. Now, a new program will bring new opportunities to gain extraordinary global perspectives without leaving campus.

Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs Jill Blondin on Tuesday announced a partnership between her office and the��Center for Leadership to launch the Global Leader in Residence initiative. The new program is made possible in part by $150,000 in seed funding over three years from the Boettcher Foundation, and �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s Center for Leadership will serve as the administrative home of the program.��

Vice Chancellor for Global Affairs Jill Blondin

Director of the Center for Leadership Stefanie Johnson

“Our goal is to expose students to diverse models of leadership and provide them with sustained opportunities to learn from leaders who have shaped policy, science, business, education, the arts, human rights, sustainability and other areas of global importance,” said Blondin, who was named in May as���鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s first vice chancellor for global affairs. “We are grateful to the Boettcher Foundation for their generous gift that creates a launching pad for these opportunities for our students.”

The investment builds on the Boettcher Foundation’s longstanding commitment to developing courageous leaders and strengthening communities across Colorado. By bringing accomplished global leaders into sustained engagement with �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder students and the broader university community, the initiative will expose emerging leaders to new perspectives, experiences and approaches to leadership that can shape how they contribute to Colorado and beyond.��

“Developing Colorado’s next generation of leaders requires giving them opportunities to learn from people whose experiences and perspectives are different from their own,” said Boettcher Foundation President and CEO Katie Kramer, a graduate of �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder, where she was a Presidents Leadership Class Scholar and honors graduate of the Leeds School of Business. “Bringing global leaders to Colorado will challenge students to think differently, expand their understanding of leadership, and build connections between what is happening in our state and the larger world. We are excited to help create those opportunities right here in Colorado.”��

�ճ����Global Leader in Residence program will welcome internationally recognized leaders, scholars, innovators and changemakers to �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder for residencies ranging from several months to an academic year, starting in spring 2027. The leaders will engage students, faculty and the broader community through classroom visits, public lectures, workshops, mentoring, research, collaborations and signature university events like the Conference on World Affairs.

“Global engagement is not a separate activity that sits alongside our academic mission, and we have many great leaders and units around campus committed to creating transformational learning experiences that prepare our students to lead in an increasingly interconnected world,” said Stefanie Johnson, director of the Center for Leadership and a professor in organizational leadership and information analytics. “That’s why we envision the Global Leader in Residence as a university-wide partnership in which campus units will have the opportunity to help shape what each residency ultimately looks like.”

Each residency will be anchored within an academic college, school, institute, center or interdisciplinary partnership that best aligns with the selected leader’s expertise. The area of expertise and impact for the first Global Leader in Residence will be sustainability.

“The emphasis on sustainability this first year aligns one of �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder’s��four campus priorities with an issue of immense magnitude that we share with communities around the world,” Blondin said. “We want every student, faculty member, researcher and staff member to be able to engage across borders, cultures and perspectives, because the most important challenges and opportunities we face today are global in nature.”

Due to a compressed timeline in the first year and the intent to have the inaugural resident on campus in time for the Conference on World Affairs this spring, a selection committee will identify candidates, work with potential host units and select this year’s Global Leader in Residence. Anyone with suggestions of prominent individuals for this year’s leader can��submit them via webform by Oct. 15. In future years, there will be a formal call for nominations and proposals to host the Global Leader in Residence.��