Ten recipients were chosen from 35 outstanding nominations this year. They will be honored Friday, May 4 at an invitation-only ceremony in the West Wing of the Leslie J. Savage Library. The event starts with a social at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m.
"This spring’s screening is sure to please,” Lucido said. “Students have made short experimental, documentary and narrative films.”
Student Film Night is a regular end-of-semester exhibition of student creative work at Western. Typically, the screening is scheduled during the last week of classes. New this spring, the screening falls during Finals Week to allow the parents of graduating seniors to attend and stay for commencement.
“I have heard of several parents of graduating seniors planning to attend,” Lucido said.
The faculty members receiving tenure are: Brad Burton (Petroleum Geology), Tina Butterfield (Art), Jeffrey Dykes (Business Administration) and Suzanne Taylor (Physics).
The professors receiving the honor of emeritus are: Paul Edwards (Communication Arts) and Terri Murphy (Art).
In “Reassurance in Negative Space,” Hiscox muses with revelatory insights on such wide-ranging topics as multifarious netsuke, nuclear fallout, artichokes "coming into new brilliance," the DMV line and the Zen of "the sublime [that] can spring from small things."
Buell Foundation Executive Director Susan Steele notified the university last month, according to Western Vice President of Finance and Administration Julie Baca, who forecast that design could be launched as soon as late April.
The library originally opened in 1939. None other than Denver-based architect Temple Hoyne Buell–after whom the Buell Foundation is named–designed it in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. In 1951, the library was dedicated in honor of trustee member Leslie Savage to recognize his work at Western.
Bro and Johnson will address practices that Patagonia, a renowned designer of outdoor clothing and gear, has implemented over the past several years. The duo will touch on what sustainability, business and the environment look like for today’s entrepreneurs. They will talk about their surf-class business, too.
The event is free and open to the public.
“American Climber” is a memoir loaded with epic climbing stories and adventures—much of which take place during Mehall’s time at Western and in the Gunnison Valley. It contains two underlying themes: a compelling narrative of the author’s tumultuous journey to climbing, which ultimately saved his life, and a detailed look at the American dirtbag climbing culture. This new version includes a complete full color photo spread.
The Boundless Opportunity Scholarship is designed to benefit motivated nontraditional students who recognize the power of education in creating a better life for themselves and their families.
“As always, we are looking to help students be successful, and this is another opportunity we have been granted to do that,” Western Assistant Director of Financial Aid Tanner Stillwell said. “We are extremely thankful and look forward to awarding scholarships to some great candidates.”
“Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.”
Tree Campus USA, an Arbor Day Foundation program, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.
The Institute offers a variety of graduate credit content courses designed specifically for K-12 educators who want to enrich their existing curricula. Participants enhance their content knowledge, share pedagogy, learn creative ways to deliver lessons and network with educators from throughout Colorado and beyond. Intensive seminars with qualified instructors immerse participants in their subjects.
On Monday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center Theater, Nicole Esquibel will host a showing of her documentary “Neva Romero: Jamas Olividados,” which explores the deaths of six Chicano Rights activists in 1974 Boulder.
The film focuses on a 21-year-old University of Colorado student who, along with two other activists, was killed in a car bomb at the Colorado Chautauqua. Three other activists were killed 48 hours later in another car bomb. No one was ever convicted.
The three new minors all fall under the Communication Arts program at Western. Starting Fall 2018, students can minor in Film, Public Relations and Theatre.
This three-night series billed as “Wildlife 101: Management in the Gunnison Basin”–free and open to the public–is slated for three consecutive Thursday evenings: Feb. 15, Feb. 22 and March 1. Each talk will be held on Western’s campus at the ICELab off Escalante Drive from 6:30-8 p.m. The series is designed to explore the science behind wildlife management, including topics such as: the role hunting plays in conservation, population ecology, habitat management, and the challenges and opportunities in the Gunnison Basin.
Through a dual enrollment agreement, students will be able to enroll in SEI's classes offered online, in-person and as hands-on labs to receive college credit from Western. Students can also enroll in SEI's Solar Professionals Certificate Program, which is recognized by the Colorado Department of Higher Education and comprised of a combination of SEI class offerings.
This includes but is not limited to operations from marketing, student recruitment, faculty hires, programming, curriculum, institutional culture and services.
Salsbury also asked the DEII Committee to work alongside each of the strategic planning committees to ensure the groups integrate attainable, actionable, relevant, specific and temporally appropriate goals in their respective sections of Western’s next Strategic Plan.
The DEII Committee is also charged with developing and tracking metrics and benchmarks to qualify progress.
The exhibit runs from January 18 to February 22, 2018, featuring the work of Carrie Ann Baade, Marcus Goldson, Anders Johnson, Ryan Austin Lee and Don Eugene Seastrum. The exhibit was curated by Jeffrey Taylor.
Narrative paintings encompass those works that express concepts, ideas, philosophies, stories or any number of content-texts. The medium employs the power of visual images to provoke thoughts, arouse feelings and stimulate the intellect. A narrative work can call into question commonly accepted beliefs, relate histories or challenge authority.
Beginning with the 2018-19 academic year, five new classes focused on topics such as information security, cryptography, network security, hacking and malware will be available to students.
Western modeled its new Information Security emphasis after a renowned program at the University of Maryland, positioning Western to be a leader in this area of study within the State of Colorado.
Professor Duane Vandenbusche, Ph.D., will kick off the evening with a slide show on the history of the mining towns. Emeritus Professor Bruce Bartleson, Ph.D., will join him to discuss the geology of the region.
In the second half of the evening, CLCD Productions’ Cathy Carpenter Dea will join the group. Cathy will discuss her film team’s amazing experiences shooting footage of Vandenbusche and Bartleson during the San Juan Mining Tour for an upcoming documentary entitled “Breaking the Mold, Colorado Contemporaries.”
Bruce Bartleson, an emeritus professor who taught Geology at Western from 1965-98, and Duane Vandenbusche, a professor of History at Western from 1962-present who also coached cross country and track & field from 1971-2007, are the guests of honor among an audience of 200 for a gala dinner and champagne toast/roast. The event will celebrate 88 collective years of teaching by Bartleson and Vandenbusche at Western as well as the legacies each has formed shaping the lives of thousands of students and athletes in the Gunnison Valley.
“Roaring Fork Leadership (RFL) is a nine-month training program designed to bring community members together through interactive and experiential learning,” Held said. “RFL graduates ultimately become better leaders, experience personal growth and are more engaged in the community.”
This year approximately 20 people were accepted into the program.
Held is currently the senior project manager at Forum Phi, an award winning architectural firm located in Aspen.
Sophomore Maddie Hart of Boulder and junior Gordon Gianniny of Durango were named to the United States team to compete at the third annual Youth Skyrunning World Championships in L’Aquila, Italy, on Aug. 3-5.
In Fall 2016, Warren Knutson, now a senior graduating in May, hosted an information session at a Politics Club meeting to gauge interest in launching a new Mock Trial Team at Western. Less than two years later, the team, which now has 14 members, has under its belt a regional competition at the El Paso County Courthouse in Colorado Springs and a local showcase at the Gunnison County Courthouse.
At Western State Colorado University, Master in Environmental Management (MEM) student Ryan Walker and associate professor Dr. Jonathan Coop have partnered with collaborators at the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to study strategies for sustaining these forests. One question they have been examining is how some types of fire–including prescribed fire and naturally-occurring, low-severity fires–might protect forests from extreme, high-severity fires.
Hamner represents House District 61 at the Colorado Legislature, which includes Pitkin, Lake and Summit counties and parts of Delta and Gunnison counties. She currently serves as chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, a six-member group charged with drafting the state’s annual budget bill. The 2018-19 budget cycle will be her second stint leading the committee.
"I'm honored to have been invited to speak to the graduates at Western and look forward to celebrating their achievements,” Hamner said.
There were 14 teams in the final competition, and the trio competed against the likes of CSU, University of Colorado Boulder, CU Denver, the University of Wyoming and the University of Denver. The teams included both undergraduate and graduate students.
The inaugural West Elk Bicycle Classic got its start on Western’s campus in 2012 as a road-cycling event with a mountain-biking cause.
“The mountain bike team then was hit or miss,” Western Chemistry professor Jarral Ryter said. “I had two Chemistry majors on the team in my upper-level labs also working as teaching instructors.”
“This is the third year that LEAD has hosted Alternative Spring Break,” said Sara Phillips, Director of the LEAD Office. “The purpose of alternative breaks is to provide an option outside of a traditional spring break experience by traveling and completing community service."
This year, the Western group traveled to Chicago, Iowa and Kansas to explore topics relating to sustainability, conservation, identity, food systems and food security.
These Western State Colorado University (or for some, Western State College) alumni have been particularly active in the Gunnison community. From journalists to government officials to community organizers, these people have had an impact on the university and the city of Gunnison.
Chris Dickey '93:
Thorpe is famous for her work with creative nonfiction, which has been regarded as "masterful" by The Denver Post. At her upcoming appearance at Western, she is slated to discuss her new release, "The Newcomers," which details the lives of 22 teenagers in a beginner-level English class at South Denver High School. We spoke with Helen about her new release and her upcoming appearance here at Western.
Prior to your time as a published author, you were quite a successful journalist. How has your time in journalism shaped your writing today?
Fifty people were invited to Taylor Auditorium that chilly Tuesday night, nametags abreast, energy buzzing in the crowd. Lots of people were familiar with Second City and came to get a closer look at the famous Chicago touring comedy company, while others were excited to learn some real-life skills at the workshop, using improv techniques in real-life situations.
The week before Presidents Day weekend was a busy one. Working with the LEAD office, the BSA managed to kick-start its celebrations of Black History Month with a few high-turnout and fun events, starting with Soul Food night and trivia on Feb. 12.
“We fed everyone, and now we’re educating and inspiring people,” said BSA President Alicia Herbert, talking about the Black History Month’s tie ins with the diversity awareness and educational programs on campus.
The ceremony was big on presentation: students arrived at the University Center’s Ballroom No. 2 before 1:00 p.m. and sat around tables decorated with white tablecloths. A buffet lined the west wall with coffee, tea and good food for the honored students; and the stage featured a then-empty podium and a splash screen welcoming those on the Dean’s List to the ceremony.
Recently, Western State Colorado University’s club rugby programs have exemplified this. In 2017, the men’s team went 6-2 in the Division II collegiate Rocky Mountain Rugby League, losing twice to No. 1-seeded Montana State University.
The Freeride World Tour accepts only three new male skiers from North America each year.
“There were about 500 skiers competing for those three spots, so qualifying was very difficult," Moller said. "I was very fortunate to have two second-place finishes and a fourth-place finish, which got me the third spot."
Just five qualifying competitions are held in North America, and the tour takes competitors' best three results.
"So consistency is key," Moller said.
Long, a Business and Honors student, started with the school's Accelerator Program in August, culminating in a Shark Tank-style pitch program called “Trout Tank” in late November.
Dawid, the oldest, and Aneta, the youngest, are separated by four years. It’s arguably a perfect range; spread enough in age that the three can live and experience independently, but close enough to draft off of each other’s accomplishments. But how did they end up all together at Western, a small college in the Rocky Mountains thousands of miles away from their home?
Child’s play
The Konieczeks are a serious trifecta of runners; a tally board is needed to count the number of national podiums they have stood atop. This talent must run in the family.
All undergrad students pay a fee with their tuition that goes toward the SGA, which then allocates that money out to different clubs, programs and bills.
All students can go to the SGA website and submit a bill for a funding request. The bill is sent to an SGA senator who then writes the bill to be voted on.
This year, Sweet Life grew with the addition of Director of Student Health and We
The team finished a with a 2-25 record, 1-17 within the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC).
“Staying positive in the midst of a drought is definitely a challenge,” said freshman defensive specialist Bonnie Brode, “but all the girls on our team are really good at building one another up, pushing each other to be better and keeping everyone focused.”
While the Mountaineers have struggled, they have also strengthened on another and the team’s chemistry.
For the 6,000-plus residents of Gunnison and the many tourists and truckers alike who travel to or through the small Colorado city along U.S. Highway 50, Tenderfoot Mountain is best known for the big “W” marked on it facing town. Many Gunnisonians know it only as W Mountain.
The Environment & Sustainability (ENVS) program as a whole has seen terrific growth over the past few years. SES now includes a growing array of diverse academic programs, community events and a center for internal and external environmental problem-solving.
Eleven Experience, Crested Butte Mountain Resort and West Elk Lodge all attended the fair, which was held in the Borick Business
This year is the first year that Western is affiliated with IACURH and the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH). This gives students on campus the opportunity to attend national and regional conferences.
Natalie Anderson (Women’s Cross Country/Track), Katelynn Martinez (Women’s Basketball), Benjamin Price (Men’s Wrestling), David Traynor (Men’s Wrestling), Pete Kadushin, Ph.D. (assistant professor of Exercise & Sport Science) and Kim Miller, Ph.D. (associate director of Athletics) made the trip to the APPLE Training Institute.
Educating and promoting student athlete health and wellness and drug use prevention were the main topics of this event.
“Visual Arts Management” covers art sale taxation, insurance, transportation, customs and much more. There are sections on museums, curatorship, primary art, secondary market and cultural heritage compliance.
Throughout the spring semester, Western honors students taking the Honors 100 Gateway course have been pondering, “What is art for?” by exploring the many dimensions of how art can convey truth, power, ethics, morality, and beauty. The class has observed and studied these themes in various art mediums such as paintings, plays, films, and more.
Organized by senior-level students, the Crab Feed serves as a final project for ESS Event Management students and a volunteer opportunity for student athletes.
Nearly 30 athletes volunteered to act as wait staff for the event, representing Western’s football, swimming and women’s soccer divisions.
“A lot of people will be there, a lot of people who pour into this program and pour into athletics as a whole," said Zach Manchester, a sophomore Business Management student. “It’d be great to serve them.”
Along with faculty, undergraduate Exercise & Sport Science (ESS) and graduate High Altitude Exercise Physiology (HAEP) students aided in the research.
The desolation that rocks Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria isn’t a secret. This isn’t new news, per se, but it is forgotten news.
The island is still mostly without power, clean water and food; FEMA is overworked and understaffed. The coverage comes and goes, but according to the two Western students who recently returned from a relief mission, the common thread is simple.
People aren’t doing enough.
