As higher education faces growing pressure to expand access and stay relevant, leaders are rethinking how universities can serve a broader and more diverse student body. At the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Chancellor Kenneth Christensen brings both a personal story and a clear sense of mission to that challenge. The son of two first-generation college graduates, he built his career in engineering and academic leadership while staying grounded in the values of transparency and service.
On The Innovating Together Podcast, Chancellor Christensen reflected on the lessons guiding his leadership today: widening access for nontraditional learners, staying visible and connected on campus, and creating unity of purpose in a time of division. His vision points to how CU Denver, and urban public universities more broadly, can model a future of higher education that is both inclusive and mission driven.
Expanding Access to Higher Education
Chancellor Christensen is determined to remove barriers that keep nontraditional learners out of higher education. At Illinois Tech, his previous institution, he helped launch four degree programs on Coursera in just eight months. These programs admitted any student who could earn a B average or higher in their first three courses, opening the door to adult learners, working professionals, and students who had previously stopped out.
“This idea of rethinking how we find entry points and transition points and hopefully excellent exit points from universities to meet learners where they are, that's something that I've really carried forward.”
That philosophy now guides CU Denver’s approach as it builds new pathways for students with diverse life experiences.
The Path to Higher Ed Leadership
Chancellor Christensen, the son of two first-generation college graduates, always knew the transformative impact of higher education, although he never imagined himself as a university leader. He credited his grandfather, a small-town irrigation system manager in northern New Mexico, with modeling the leadership style he would eventually adopt:
“My grandfather, a laborer who never graduated from high school, used to run and oversee that network with grace, objectivity, and compliance. It showed me that you can lead a group of people with honesty and transparency in a servant way, but also uphold the necessary standards and principles.”
Growing up in a region that ran on agricultural systems, Chancellor Christensen was drawn to a mechanical engineering major at the University of New Mexico, where he found his path forward thanks to what is now called the Engineering Student Success Center. He saw how that community supported students from underserved backgrounds and launched his academic career by sponsoring him to present undergraduate research at his first professional conference. That event set him on a straight line to graduate studies, faculty positions, and ultimately institutional leadership.
Servant Leadership and Staying Connected
For Christensen, leadership is about visibility and humility. Since stepping into his role at CU Denver, he has made it a priority to attend student, faculty, and staff events and to walk the campus regularly. These practices keep him grounded in the lived experiences of the community he serves.
“It's good to be visible as a leader because you need to understand your constituency groups. And I have a rule. I'm not Chancellor – I don't have a new first name. I'm Ken, and I'm a community member just like everyone else. I want to understand their lived experiences so that we can do right by them in the decisions that we make.”
By leading with transparency and accessibility, he builds trust and strengthens collaboration across campus.
Finding Unity in Divisive Times
Christensen acknowledges that universities reflect the divisions playing out in society. But he believes student success can serve as a unifying principle for faculty, staff, and students.
“Oftentimes a lack of clarity is a paralysis, and paralysis now is not aligned with the virtues of innovation and growing and thriving in this environment.”
“In academia, we've often had more infighting than worrying about what's going on around us. So, let’s be able to articulate, listen, and focus on the big things. If there was ever a moment for us to find some unity of purpose internally to help drive change, that can help balance what's going on outside of us, it's now.”
At CU Denver, keeping the mission front and center is helping create the clarity and cohesion institutions need during uncertain times. Without it, he argues, institutions risk paralysis. Anchoring decisions in student outcomes provides the focus needed to move forward.
With 50% of students identifying as first-generation, CU Denver holds federal designations as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. This diversity, Christensen argues, positions the university to model how urban public campuses can anchor their cities while expanding opportunity. He sees CU Denver as uniquely positioned to model what higher education must become: inclusive, adaptable, and anchored in public service.
“We have academic programs and approaches to supporting students that meet them where they are and with what they need. By reaffirming our mission in career readiness, economic development, and community engagement, we’ll thrive moving forward. I think we could become a national model of an urban public university.”
Christensen’s leadership at CU Denver highlights what’s possible when institutions focus on access, connection, and unity of purpose. His story offers a blueprint for how urban public universities can meet the moment and help shape the future of higher education.
Note: This episode of the University Innovation Alliance’s Innovating Together Podcast originally aired on August 18, 2025. The podcast appears live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- The Urgent Responsibility of Public Higher Education - UIA
Explore how leaders like Ken Christensen model servant leadership. One of our favorite examples comes from Dr. Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University, who spoke candidly about the essential role of public universities. - University of Colorado Denver
A public research university in downtown Denver, part of the University of Colorado system. Ken Christensen became its chancellor in February 2025. - Coursera
Under Christensen’s leadership, Illinois Tech expanded access launching four degree programs on Coursera. This approach removed barriers for adult learners and returning students, which is worth examining for any institution considering online expansion. - Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
Christensen cites this leadership classic as formative in his career. It offers frameworks for how organizations can move from competence to excellence, a useful guide for higher ed leaders navigating change. - Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division by Robert George and Cornel West
Christensen has recently drawn on this book as he fosters respectful civic discourse at CU Denver. For leaders facing polarization on campus, it offers timely insights on building community around truth and dialogue.
Watch the Archive
Bios of Guest and Co-Hosts
Co-Host: Bridget Burns, Executive Director, University Innovation Alliance
As a trusted advisor to university presidents and policymakers, Dr. Bridget Burns is on a mission to transform the way institutions think about and act on behalf of low-income, first-generation, and students of color. She is the founding CEO of the University Innovation Alliance, a multi-campus laboratory for student success innovation that helps university leaders dramatically accelerate the implementation of scalable solutions to increase the number of college graduates.
Co-Host: Sara Custer, Editor-in-Chief, Inside Higher Ed
Sara Custer became Inside Higher Ed’s editor-in-chief in 2024 after serving four years at Times Higher Education. At THE, she worked across departments to launch and grow the Campus platform, and then lead its editorial team. Prior to that role, she served as digital editor, helping to launch THE’s newsletter strategy and overseeing daily, weekly, and monthly publications. Ms. Custer was previously editor and senior reporter at The PIE News, a website and magazine covering the international education industry. She grew up in Cushing, OK., and earned a B.A. in English literature from Loyola University Chicago and an M.A. in international journalism from City, University of London. As a journalist, she has covered global higher education for more than five years.
About Innovating Together
Innovating Together is an event series that happens live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It also becomes a podcast episode. Every week, we join forces with Inside Higher Ed and talk with a higher education luminary about student success innovations or a sitting college president or chancellor about how they're specifically navigating the challenges of leadership. We hope these episodes will leave you with a sense of optimism and a bit of inspiration.
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