Less than three weeks ago, I helped send 2,189 newly minted University of Colorado graduates off into an uncertain economy and a less-than-desirable job market.

I was struck by the parallels between their graduation and my own in 1975 during a challenging time not unlike today.

In 1975, the Arab oil embargo a few months prior had crippled the nation, cutting off our supply to imported oil, quadrupling the price of gasoline and causing a worldwide recession. Inflation topped 10 percent. Unemployment hit record highs.

Like today's new CU graduates, I relied on my college education as a buoy in choppy economic waters. As our graduates enter an uncertain world, they can have confidence that their CU degree will sustain them.

A recent study published by Forbes.com ranked CU seventh in the nation in earning power of its graduates, providing evidence of the enduring value of a CU degree.

That's high praise, but we are not satisfied.

Our strategic plan, Flagship 2030, is specifically tailored to make students dexterous, flexible and resilient in an ever-shifting job market during good times and bad.

Flagship 2030 initiatives in experiential and customized learning and our commitment to residential colleges give students the skills to branch out, bridge gulfs and renew themselves when life and career demand it.

The premium our students place on community and civic engagement make them well-rounded citizens and valuable community members with an ethos attractive to employers.

Just in the last few months, three students opened an orphanage in Uganda and engineering students designed a water-treatment tank for an orphanage in Rwanda.

Closer to home, six students spent their fall break working in homeless shelters and the men's basketball team put smiles on the faces of 1,000 low-income seniors when they delivered gift baskets on Dec. 6.

Despite the transformative qualities of a CU degree -- in fact the whole of the "CU experience" -- we have to recognize that our graduates are currently facing a difficult job market.

Still, Lisa Severy, CU's director of career services, tells us some industries will employ new graduates to replace higher-paid employees. And she encourages students to take advantage of campus career fairs, company information sessions and on-campus interviews.

She also notes that CU has a strong reputation with employers for the preparation and success of its graduates who are entering the market with the latest career training.

We've heard from some employers that even if they scale back on recruiting in general, they will not take CU off their list.

As the stock market fluctuates, an investment in a CU degree continues to hold its value as a catalyst to personal and professional success -- especially in the tough times.

G.P. "Bud" Peterson is chancellor of the University of Colorado at Boulder.