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For alum Heidi Wagner, Boulder has never been just a place on a map. It represents part of her family’s history and a lifelong connection to ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������—one that began generations ago.����

In the 1950s, Wagner's great-grandmother served as house mother for the Sigma Nu fraternity on campus, and her great-grandfather hauled red stone to Boulder to help build the university’s iconic campus. Years later, her father, Clay, studied geology, chemistry and math at ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������; her mother, Ann, was raised by local ranchers and eventually brought up three young children in CU’s student family housing.��

Wagner herself graduated from ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ journalism program in 1986. Though her career took her beyond Boulder, her connection to the city and university never faded. Now, that lifelong bond is coming full circle through a new initiative that will bring the university and city even closer together.����

The Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative is a new program designed to bridge campus and community through student-led engagement and problem-solving. Supported by a $5 million endowment gift from Wagner, the initiative embodies a simple but powerful idea: The challenges facing the city of Boulder don’t stop at the edge of campus, and neither should the solutions.��

“I am beyond excited to launch the Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative at a time when engagement, collaboration and action are sorely needed at all levels of government and community,” said Wagner. “By working directly with the city of Boulder as well as local businesses and nonprofits, students will be given practical experience as well as an appreciation for complex, real-time problem-solving that benefits the Boulder community.”��

A Boulder legacy ��

For Wagner, the new initiative is about carrying her family’s legacy forward.����

From mining, ranching and farming in the area to raising children in CU housing, the Wagner family’s lives have been intertwined with the university and the city in ways that reflect their values of connection, respect and belonging. Now, those experiences continue to influence how Heidi thinks about giving back.��

“Growing up in Boulder, I never distinguished the city from the university, so it made perfect sense to design and endow a program that focuses on their shared interests,” said Wagner. “My own career in advocacy at the federal level has only impressed upon me the need for civic engagement to start early and start local.”��

Over the decades, several other members of the Wagner family have attended ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ and other Colorado institutions, pursuing careers in healthcare, public service and higher education. Wagner herself recently retired after a successful career in healthcare legislative and regulatory policy and law in Washington, D.C., and credits ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ with helping to fuel her momentum.��

Through every chapter and generation, the Wagner family embodies the spirit of Boulder: open-minded, welcoming and deeply committed to education and community. Now, Wagner is channeling that history into an investment in the next generation.����

“By sending me to Washington for an internship on Capitol Hill, CU changed the trajectory of my life, both professionally and personally,” said Wagner. “My great hope is to do the same for CU students participating in this initiative by facilitating and prioritizing engagement, collaboration and action.”��

The Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative reflects ���Ҵ�ý�ƽ������ and Wagner's shared belief that the campus and the city are strongest when they work together. In this way, this new effort is not only a continuation of their family legacy but an expansion of it—one that invites students to become part of Boulder’s story and help shape its future.��