THE BLOCK AND
BEYOND SUMMER 2021
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
DEAR FRIENDS, When Building on Originality: The Campaign for Colorado College launched publicly in 2017, we embarked on an incredible journey together. We’ve made great strides. Our goal to raise $435 million made it the largest campaign in the college’s history. To date, with your support, we’ve raised $465 million. This spring, the college announced news of an historic gift — a future bequest that is the largest commitment from an individual donor in CC’s history. We are inspired by the donor’s generosity and foresight and hope that you will enjoy reading more about the $33.5 million future gift on page 2. Along the way, the campaign has already brought significant changes to campus: • The Charles L. Tutt Library underwent an award-winning renovation, creating the largest carbon-neutral, net-zero energy academic library in the U.S. • We have launched 126 new scholarships, and the work of garnering support for scholarships remains a key priority. • The alliance between Colorado College and the Fine Arts Center created collaborations that brought 350 classes into the museum.
J E F F K E L L E R ’9 1 , P ’2 2
B O B S E L I G ’6 1
Yet, our work is not complete. As we near the end of the campaign on Dec. 31, our focus is on realizing remaining campaign priorities. In these final months of Building on Originality, we are grateful for what donors like you have made possible. We ask the entire CC community to join us with a gift of any amount to help ensure that our distinctive approach to higher education continues to benefit future generations. Sincerely,
• CC hockey will play its first-ever on-campus home games next fall in the new Ed Robson Arena. JEFF KELLER ʼ91, P’22 BOB SELIG ʼ61 Life Trustee Chair, Board of Trustees and and Campaign Co-Chair Campaign Co-Chair
1
CC R ECEI V ES $33.5 MILLION FU T UR E GIF T L A RGE S T F ROM I N DI V I DUA L D ONOR I N C OL OR A D O C OL L EGE H IS T OR Y
A
n anonymous donor has made a $33.5 million future estate commitment to the college. This is the largest gift from an individual donor in the college’s 147-year history and will support CC’s future needs and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
“We cannot fully express how grateful we are to receive this unprecedented gift,” said Mike Edmonds, current senior vice president and acting co-president of the college at the time the gift was announced. “The donor who made this bequest for the future is showing gratitude for the powerful impact the college has on its students now — including our efforts toward antiracism and becoming more accessible — and entrusting CC to create even greater opportunities for thousands of students in the years ahead.” Robert G. Moore, current senior vice president for finance and acting co-president of the college at the time the gift was announced, added, “This donor, through their extraordinary bequest, will make a transformational difference for the future of the college and the Fine Arts Center.
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
Their foresight and generosity inspire our entire community.” The donor saw a chance to have a lasting impact. “Colorado College has given so much to me, and it brings me great joy to see how CC positively changes the lives of students,” said the donor. “Every year I see curious, creative critical thinkers expand their world, find their passion, and apply the knowledge and courage they gain at CC under the guidance of fantastic faculty and staff. That translates to exciting progress ahead for our world: This is where our next leaders are inspired. My wish is to keep that brilliance and spark bright for future generations.” The donor wanted to inspire other members of the Colorado College community to give. “My first gift to Colorado College was $25,” the donor said. “I’ve seen the promise that students bring and that CC fosters. I encourage others to give back at all gift levels because supporting this great place is a way to have an impact far beyond the college’s boundaries and far beyond this time.”
YA LICH CEN T ER N E W S T U DEN T SERV ICES CEN T ER M A DE P O SSI BL E BY $50 0K GI F T
C
olorado College will soon have a brandnew student center with a wellness, health services, and counseling area, bookstore and mail center, art studio, and café. Inasmuch Foundation donated $500,000 to fund the center and name it for Barbara Neeley Yalich ’53 and her late husband Milo “Mike” Yalich ’50.
Mike was captain of the hockey team that later was inducted into the Colorado College Sports Hall of Fame and the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame. He also played football and baseball and managed CC’s intramural sports program. During WWII, he was part of U.S. Navy campaigns in the South Pacific.
Barbara served as CC’s director of development and vice president for development and college relations. Trustees of the college awarded her an honorary bachelor of arts degree. During her career, she held executive positions at the Association of Junior Leagues of America, Health Association of the Pikes Peak Region, and El Paso County Mental Health Association.
Barbara’s community involvement includes a longtime connection to Inasmuch Foundation, established by Charter Trustee Edith Kinney Gaylord ’36 in Oklahoma City. Inasmuch Foundation has supported the college for decades, including grants of $10 million for the Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center and $5 million for the Tutt Library renovation and expansion.
3
STA NDING ON THE SHOULDER S OF GI A N TS O N Y X BE N G S T O N ’18 SH A R E S H E R GR AT I T U DE
A
pay-it-forward mentality inspires Onyx Bengston ’18 to give back because she says it’s what got her to where she is today.
A first-generation college student from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Bengston was a member of the Bridge Scholars Program when she arrived at Colorado College. The year-long program offers a welcoming community, supportive mentoring, and engaging and challenging coursework for first-year students. Bengston graduated from CC with a major in economics and a minor in Asian studies. Her favorite memories include multiple study abroad experiences and learning on campus with CC professors, but most important to her are the lifelong relationships she made with faculty, mentors, and peers. Like many across the globe, Bengston has been working remotely during the pandemic. As assistant vice president for corporate strategy at PNC, a financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she works with transformational change to build effective organizations. “The Block Plan trained me to think creatively, work quickly but effectively, and collaborate as part of a team,” Bengston says. “These invaluable soft skills helped prepare me for life after CC.” Bengston is also CC’s young alumni trustee, serving a two-year term that began June 2020. She gives back to CC through her role on the Board of Trustees, volunteering with the Career Center and Office of Admission, and planning the Young Alumni Reunion. She shares that financial donations are an essential part of giving back as well.
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
“I know the stress of navigating work study and grocery budgets. I know the impact that $50, or even $5, can have. We can choose to support the causes that mean the most to us,” she says. Recent admission access initiatives inspire Bengston. Through test-optional admission, students can choose whether to submit standardized test scores. This ensures a more holistic and equitable admission process. The Stroud Scholars Program is a college preparatory program for high-achieving students from marginalized backgrounds living in the Pikes Peak Region. The Colorado Pledge ensures that lower- and middle-income Colorado families will pay no more than the cost of attending the state’s flagship institution. “These access initiatives show that CC is committed to bringing a diverse class of students to Colorado College. And I am thrilled to see initiatives like the Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund, which ensure that students are supported throughout their time here,” she says. Bengston says that the generosity of those who came before her inspires her to give. “I always say that I stand on the shoulders of giants because many people have given back so that young students like me could have a chance to learn, lead, and challenge themselves,” she says. Bengston hopes that one day she’ll be able to fund another student’s education, but in the meantime, she knows her annual contributions, combined with gifts from other alumni, families, and friends makes an impact for students today.
5
On February 13, SOCC (Sounds of Colorado College) held a record sale to raise money for the CC Mutual Aid Fund. Each record was sold for $5 and in total $720 was raised for the fund.
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
W E’R E IN THIS TOGETHER COLORADO COLLEGE MUTUAL AID FUND HELPS STUDENTS IN NEED
S
olidarity, not charity.”
It’s the philosophy that unifies the Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund, a student-run financial aid fund and the first of its kind at Colorado College. Established in July 2020, CCMA provides supplementary monetary aid to students in need, helping them cover basic needs not covered by their financial aid package.
The fund was established by a small group of students who saw the everyday impact of wealth disparity at Colorado College. CCMA aimed to address this gap with a direct redistribution model: Students with financial need would self-declare it, and students and alumni with the means — be it $10 or $100 — would support them. Organizers modeled their initial efforts after “Nobody Fails at Scripps,” a Scripps College student group. They trace mutual aid’s general origins to marginalized communities creating new frameworks when existing ones do not provide adequate support. “COVID has brought to light many of the disparities that existed in our society before the virus took hold,” says founding member Tova Salzinger ’22. “But even once the pandemic is over, income disparity will continue. Fifty dollars for some students isn’t much. To others, it’s the difference between getting groceries this week or struggling to make do until the next paycheck.”
Recurring donations provide the fund with a dependable flow of financial resources that can meet students’ ongoing need, but this need is still higher than what fundraising efforts have covered. “We’re thrilled by how many students have given to this fund already,” Hannah Friedman ’22, one of the lead organizers, says. Student giving is 300% higher than previous years, which is a testament to how this fund resonates with students. “It’s pretty simple; students shouldn’t have to struggle to make ends meet when resources are out there to meet that need. And I think students see that,” says Friedman. “We’re also so grateful to the alumni who have given so generously to CCMA during this time of need,” Misbah Lakhani ’23, another lead organizer, adds. “Every amount helps; each dollar has a direct and immediate impact. We’re excited to engage more alumni in this effort because with alumni support, we can ensure that CCMA continues to help students in need.”
Visit crowdfund.coloradocollege.edu to support the Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund.
7
THE CH A NGEM A K ER B R O N F M A N S C H O L A R - I N - R E S I D E N C E C H AV E Z : ‘ THIS IS W HER E I BELONG’
R
ight after Felicia Rose Chavez got off the phone one day in Spring 2019, she turned to her husband and said, “This is it; this is where I belong.”
She had been talking with Dez Stone Menendez ’00, director of Creativity & Innovation, the Colorado College program that works to make creativity and innovation a part of students’ everyday lives — to give them the creative confidence to be changemakers. Menendez knew Chavez was herself a changemaker and was set on getting her to take the first-ever Bronfman Scholar-in-Residence post, a three-year residency named for CC trustee Sam Bronfman and Kelly Bronfman P’10, P’19, who made a gift to financially support the program. To Menendez, Chavez was the ideal choice — an award-winning educator and author who embraces equity and inclusion, ideals Menendez has been seeking to boost at C&I. What’s more, Chavez had already taught at CC as a Riley Scholarin-Residence and won an award for that work.
She believes the writing workshop model used for 80-plus years doesn’t serve people of color. So, Chavez has set out to improve classrooms herself by moving educators away from “the way it’s always been done” via strategies outlined in her book just published in January, “The AntiRacist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom.” Her goal with the book: to move beyond a posturing of diversity and instead outline specific, replicable strategies, chapter by chapter, from initial course planning to final assessment criteria. “Decolonization necessitates work; it’s not something that might happen if we passively read a book to educate ourselves. Instead, it’s a series of steps … starting with us and then moving outward toward our students, colleagues, departments, and programs. The fact that we might be afraid misses the point,” says Chavez. “An antiracist pedagogy decenters authority so that we are no longer at the center of the discussion. It’s not about us. It’s about our students.”
“Her work was dead-on in terms of the values that I’m trying to promote through C&I,” Menendez says. “After having the conversation with her, it felt like a dream fit in terms of the skillsets and expertise she’s bringing with her.”
“We are responsible for broadening our thinking so that we can cultivate the next generation to serve as global citizens. The responsibility runs deep, and we need to own it. Let’s move forward in solidarity to create something that will have lasting implications,” Chavez says.
Chavez, a Chicana from working-class roots in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the first in her family to graduate from college, says she didn’t always feel like she belonged while earning her MFA from the University of Iowa, considered by many to be one of the best writing programs on the globe.
Chavez began in the Bronfman post in Fall 2020. This past year, she’s been plenty busy — not only teaching classes such as creative nonfiction, an inspiration lab, and podcasting, but also supporting CC faculty across several departments while conducting virtual, antiracist workshops across the country for fellow professors, plus
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
working with high school and college students on how to self-advocate in the classroom. She says of the latter, “That’s my favorite work.” In her approach with CC students, Chavez says she works to make them all feel they belong, but also to make them comfortable with risk. “Creativity itself has roots in risk and failure, so I’ve advocated for failure for years in my syllabi,” she says. “It’s so freeing to embrace a mental and emotional headspace to risk vulnerability, to try something new even if you ‘don’t know how to do it,’ understanding that real learning doesn’t hinge on external judgment.” Instead, she says the goal is to “listen to ourselves, to trust our intuition, to really grow from our experiences. It’s inside where the power is, in process over product, in confidence over conceit.” Another aim, she says, is to help students “engage in a pedagogy of deep listening. They’re in daily conversation with themselves first, practicing mindfulness to center and align with the day’s agenda, and then with one another, talking shop about how they’re doing, their fears and challenges and successes with reading and writing, and their individual visions for their work.” “They share food. They share music. They share about the artistic mentors they’ve long been studying before they even stepped foot into my classroom,” she says. “And in turn, we learn what’s at stake for each individual. It matters if they show up and if they succeed. We root for one another. I’d say that’s pretty radical.”
9
A BUILDING FOR CREATIVITY & INNOVATION With Creativity & Innovation continuing to scale, the college is planning a world-class building that will bring the C & I vision to life. The new, oncampus, interdisciplinary space will be designed for maximum flexibility, interconnection, and student/ faculty engagement. This building will be a state-of-the-art mass timber structure and among the most energy-efficient in the country, intended to serve as a design model to inspire the CC community and other institutions. Trustee Lisa '91 and Mark Hastings '90, P'23 made a $1 million commitment in 2020-2021 to support this building and name the Presentation Hall. The hall will be a multi-function, fully-flexible space for hosting myriad events from student presentations and film screenings, to visiting lecturers and the convergence of multiple classes. Support for C & I was seeded during the Building on Originality campaign with a commitment valued at more than $8.5 million by Life Trustee Bob Selig '61 and his wife, Meryl. This gift—one of the biggest commitments in the college's history— includes $6 million earmarked for the building. Fundraising for the C & I building is ongoing.
Contact Shannon Balmer at sbalmer@ coloradocollege.edu or (719) 389-7665 to discuss Creativity & Innovation giving opportunities.
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
11
OUR PROGR ESS OUR PROGRESS AS OF JUNE 2021
$465M 45%
126
ALUMNI PARTICIPATION IN THE CAMPAIGN
SCHOLARSHIPS ESTABLISHED IN THE CAMPAIGN
LO O K I N G F O R WA R D :
SCHOLARSHIPS GIFTS PROVIDING MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS
CREATIVITY & INNOVATION
TH E B LOC K & B EYON D
SUPPORT TO SCALE PROGRAMMING AND FUND A BUILDING
ALUMNI PARTICIPATION PROGRESS TOWARD 50% GOAL
W E G I V E B E C AU S E O U R I M PA C T I S
ST RONGER TOG E T H E R . Did you know? During the campaign, gifts under $250 total nearly $8.3 million, benefitting a range of priorities including scholarships and access, academic programs, and Creativity & Innovation at CC. Each gift, no matter the amount, helps ensure a stronger future for Colorado College students. Let’s pay it forward.
Make your gift today. Learn more: coloradocollege.edu/campaign
14 E. Cache La Poudre St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903
The sun sets over Pikes Peak as students on the men's lacrosse team practice on Washburn Field.
w w w.c ol or a d oc ol l ege.e d u /c am p aig n