June 24, 2025 – The University of Colorado Boulder announced today a $2.5 million gift from long-time donors Dale and Patricia Hatfield to establish the Hatfield Endowed Professorship in Space Policy and Law.
The professorship will drive teaching and research on space policy and law, with broad implications for national security, global communications, navigation, weather forecasting, and international collaboration, underscoring the university’s commitment to leadership in this fast-evolving field.
“As humanity ventures beyond our planet, space law and policy have emerged as a new frontier, offering vast opportunities to shape the future of space exploration and utilization,” said Dale Hatfield, donor, adjunct professor and distinguished advisor at the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Law School. “The realm of space beckons a new generation to establish the legal and policy frame that will govern our cosmic endeavors.”
This position will rotate every two years between the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Leeds School of Business, and Silicon Flatirons Center at Colorado Law, supporting faculty whose teaching and research advance this work. The rotating structure is designed to encourage collaboration across engineering, law, and business, mirroring the real-world intersections shaping today’s space landscape.
Professor Marcus J. Holzinger of aerospace engineering sciences is the inaugural Hatfield Endowed Professor, bringing expertise in space policy, domain awareness, development, and strategy. Holzinger plans to use his policy research, combining astrodynamics and geopolitics, to build a future in space based on democratic norms.
The announcement was made today at the university’s first conference exploring the future of space as a shared and sustainable resource – Challenges in Sustaining Space as a Resource – hosted by the Silicon Flatirons Center. The two-day event continues tomorrow in Boulder.
Learn more about the donors and the inaugural Hatfield Endowed Professorship.
