Copyright denverpost
Paul Burkhardt, Naropa University’s new president, has arrived in Boulder at a turning point for the university. As Naropa celebrated 50 years as a university in 2024, its leaders have opted to increase online student enrollment and sell its main campus, all to ensure that Naropa remains successful moving forward. One major way Burkhardt plans to lead Naropa into the future is by establishing strategic partnerships, which he believes is a key way to combat the challenges that plague many small liberal arts schools nationwide. Burkhardt plans to keep Naropa strong by working with community colleges, high schools, local organizations and other mission-aligned universities to build partnerships and pathways for students to enroll at Naropa. “I think it’s a time where collaboration and solidarity are what will allow institutions with distinctive missions to find others with similar missions and collaborate,” Burkhardt said. “That’s what’s going to allow institutions to weather the storms in higher education right now.” In the past two years, more than 30 small four-year colleges and universities announced closures, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Birmingham Southern College, Goddard College and Iowa Wesleyan University, according to Forbes. Common factors include reduced enrollment, tuition losses and mounting debt, according to Forbes. In the last few years, there’s also been growing public skepticism about the value of a degree in higher education, specifically a liberal arts degree. To adapt, Naropa has expanded its offerings by moving online. Almost half of Naropa students are enrolled in online or limited residency programs, according to Burkhardt. Before the pandemic, about 90% of Naropa students were in-person. Burkhardt said it’s too soon to say whether Naropa will continue to offer an in-person experience or eventually move completely online. “We’ll see what the strategic planning generates, but it’s my hope that we’ll always have in-person, on-campus learning here in Boulder,” he said. The strategic planning process Burkhardt referenced is the biggest initiative he’s working on now, which is to develop a new strategic plan for Naropa in collaboration with students, staff, faculty, trustees and community members. In addition to considering options for online and in-person learning, the plan will focus on student success and well-being, job placement, retention, new academic programs and employee well-being. The strategic plan will also work to build enrollment. If enrollment can be increased to 2,000 or 3,000 students, Burkhardt said, it’s easier to be resilient and offer more programs and services that attract and retain students. Enrollment at Naropa this fall is 948 students. “I think we’ll continue to innovate in our programming and also expand the flexibility of our programming for distance learners,” he said. Naropa also announced in August of 2024 that it would sell its main campus at 2130 Arapahoe Ave after 40 years, citing the need to invest in the university’s future. A task force of students, staff and faculty is helping to plan for the university’s move to the Nalanda campus, which is located farther east from its main campus at 6287 Arapahoe Ave. Naropa plans to renovate and build as needed at the Nalanda campus to ensure it can meet the university’s needs, Burkhardt said. “I’m really impressed with how well the community has come through that process of accepting the sale of this dear, wonderful, beloved campus, and really realizing that the proceeds of the sale are really important for investment in the future of Naropa,” Burkhardt said. “(It will) help us to be able to invest in becoming what we determine through our planning process and what we want to become in the future.” Naropa is also working on its affordability for students, Burkhardt said, especially amid federal financial aid challenges. For example, Naropa is fundraising so it can offer need-based financial aid for graduate students to counteract the loss of the Graduate PLUS loan program, which will be eliminated for new borrowers starting July 1, 2026. Burkhardt has spent his career working in leadership positions at small colleges and universities, including as provost at the University of Olivet College in Michigan and as executive vice president and provost at Prescott College in Arizona. Burkhardt moved to Boulder in July and started work as Naropa’s new president on Aug. 1. He has taken over for former Naropa President Charles Lief, who retired after holding the position for about 13 years. Burkhardt has no prior connection to Naropa, unlike Lief, who has a 40-year affiliation with the university, starting as a student of Naropa’s founder, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and later as a lawyer for the university and the chairman of Naropa’s Board of Trustees. “This is a moment when many of the people who were connected to the founding moment are passing the torch to the next generation,” Burkhardt said. “That’s true for faculty, it’s true for staff, leadership (and) trustees.”
