Bulletin
L. Song Richardson’s Journey to the CC Presidency, p. 16
SUMMER 2021
Summer Music Festival musician Andrew Stump plays his horn on a rock outcropping in Garden of the Gods. Scott Yoo, conductor of the music festival, and a PBS film crew led a group of music fellows on an early morning hike to shoot scenes for the PBS series “Now Hear This,” directed and produced by Harry Lynch and hosted by Yoo. Read more online at 2cc.co/YooPBS. Photo by Josh Birndorf ’20
A publication for alumni, parents, and friends. Vice President for Communications: Jane Turnis • Editor: Leslie Weddell • Production and Editing: Brenda Gillen • Creative Director & Design: Felix A. Sanchez ’93 • Design: Dina Snow • Copy Editing: Helen Richardson • (719) 389-6603, bulletin@coloradocollege.edu • THE COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN (122-860) is published four times per calendar year by Colorado College, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3294. General Series 609, Bulletin Series 515. PERIODICALS postage paid at Colorado Springs 80901-9998 and at additional offices. POSTMASTER: Please send ADDRESS CHANGES to Colorado College Bulletin, Alumni Records, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3294. The Bulletin is also available online at coloradocollege.edu/bulletin. To stop receiving a printed copy, email bulletin@coloradocollege.edu and let us know.
CONTENTS
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Fostering Felines? Pandemic Puzzles? What Helped Faculty Get Through COVID
28 REACH OUT TO THE BULLETIN We’d like to hear from you! The Colorado College Bulletin is distributed to alumni, parents, and friends. It seeks to portray the people, events, experiences, and topics that best reflect a CC education. We welcome comments, feedback, items of interest, class notes, letters to the editor, story suggestions, etc. CC Connections: Have you unexpectedly encountered a fellow Tiger somewhere in the world? Let us know! Class notes, obituaries, weddings and celebrations, births and adoptions: Send your news! Information submitted should be for the current or previous year only. Please send digital photos (JPGs at 300 dpi and minimum of 3.5 x 5 inches) or good quality prints at a similar size. Include complete information about the location, date, and circumstance, and identify people in the photo left to right. Help us build a better Bulletin by participating at sites.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin Please send story ideas, class notes, and prints or digital images to: Bulletin/Communications, Colorado College 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3294 Email: bulletin@coloradocollege.edu For information: (719) 389-6603
Professor Emeritus Bob Loevy on Liz Cheney ’88 and the GOP Showdown
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Think Bookmobile – But For the Arts. CC Takes the Arts on the Road
From the President
2
On the Bookshelf
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Campus News
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Peak Profile: Lauren Shoemaker ’11
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Point of View
31
Alumni Activities
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Athletics ON THE COVER The Unexpected Path: L. Song Richardson’s Journey to the CC Presidency, p. 16 Photo by Katie Klann
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Q&A with the Former Acting Co-Presidents
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Celebrating the Class of 2020
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Celebrating the Class of 2021
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Class Notes 40 Milestones
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CC Tiger Esports
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www.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin | 1
PHOTO BY KATIE KLANN
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends, I am thrilled to be starting my journey with you at Colorado College. When I began learning about CC, I was struck by its boldness and its innovative spirit. Whether it’s antiracism, the Block Plan, the arts, or creativity and innovation, just to name a few, CC impressed me as a place that wasn’t afraid to try new things in service of its mission. Now that I am here, getting to know the campus, the people, and the institution, those first impressions are resonating even more. This is a place that attracts courageous people with a strong sense of community who are willing to take risks. The dedication people have for CC is apparent, and the willingness to think creatively about how to improve on our already stellar program is infectious. After a harrowing move that included a pet illness, car breakdown, and subsequently missing our movers when they arrived in Colorado Springs, CC community members dove in, met our movers, unpacked, and created a warm welcome. That kind of generosity and sacrifice — these CC staff members gave up their weekend to tame the chaos — is rare, yet indicative of the kind of community here. I feel lucky to be a part of this remarkable community. Some highlights of my first days here: Former presidents Dick Celeste and Jill Tiefenthaler P’21, P’24, and members of their families graciously met with me and shared advice and wisdom.
Professor Emeritus of Political Science Glenn Brooks visited me to talk about the creation of the Block Plan in 1970. There were two things he wanted me to remember: First, by staying grounded in the liberal arts, professors were able to experiment in their classrooms from the very beginning (and they still do!). Second, the Block Plan wasn’t something that was fully conceived when it began — they just jumped in, tried things out, and innovated. I think these two lessons will serve us well as we move forward. In early June at their annual retreat, I was delighted to meet our board members, many of whom are alumni and/or parents of Colorado College students, and all of whom are deeply connected and passionate about CC. This was a high-energy, exciting gathering, and I could hear the love for CC in the board members’ voices. I came away from this meeting truly excited for our future. Also in June, I learned about CC’s Summer Music Festival and attended an amazing concert. Festival Music Director Susan Grace and Festival Conductor Scott Yoo have created a wonderful annual gathering that brings together top pre-professional student musicians from across the world, some of the foremost classical and contemporary music faculty who perform globally, and lucky audiences in the Colorado Springs region who are delighted to hear the result. This summer my husband, Kurt, and I are exploring our new environment. I especially enjoy walking on the beautiful Colorado College campus.
2 | COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN | SUMMER 2021
President L. Song Richardson
The campus is like the community — different, creative, and yet part of a whole that fits together well. We are enjoying all the Springs has to offer, from the physical beauty of the mountains to great food and unique stores. I am grateful for Mike Edmonds and Robert Moore, our former acting copresidents, who carefully and thoughtfully led the college during an unimaginable international health crisis and furthered our antiracism efforts during what became a year of reckoning. I must also recognize and express my gratitude to the Cabinet, the Scientific Advisory Group, the COVID Advisory Leadership Team, the diversity, equity, and inclusion team, and all the many faculty, staff, students, alumni, and families who stretched, adapted,
supported one another, and kept this community strong. As the academic year begins, I am excited for this moment as we emerge from the pandemic. I am looking forward to feeling the “rhythm” of the Block Plan that everyone talks about and getting to know you — students, faculty, staff, alumni, families, and friends — and experiencing your energy and enthusiasm for CC. Sincerely,
L. SONG RICHARDSON President
By Leslie Weddell
Summer Session is Back at CC!
From Ice to Art: Honnen Ice Arena Undergoes Transformation The Honnen Ice Arena, named for Edward Honnen, a Class of 1921 alumnus, is undergoing a transformation. The ice was melted and removed in mid-June, and plans call for using the building as the primary new home for 3D arts classes until a permanent home can be developed. Additional campus spaces for 3D arts classes also have been identified, including a studio in the new Ed Robson Arena. Honnen received an honorary B.S. degree from CC in 1960 and an honorary D.S. degree from the college in 1983. Additionally, he sat on the college’s governing board as an alumni trustee from 1946 to 1950 and as a charter trustee from 1960 to 1983.
One of the benefits of the Block Plan is the versatility it offers, including in the summer. CC undergraduates and visiting undergraduates from other schools have the opportunity to participate in courses during summer blocks A, B, and/or C. Because of the upheaval caused by the pandemic during the 2020-21 academic year, CC undergraduate students were offered the opportunity to earn 10 blocks instead of the usual eight. Director of Summer Session Jim Burke says this summer the program is absorbing multiple academic-year courses that couldn’t be taught in the fall or were moved — in hopes of having fewer COVID restrictions — to the summer. This year Summer Session is offering 68 courses, more than double the 33 courses offered last year, with nearly 1,100 students enrolled. The classes offered are a combination of in-person, hybrid, flex, and fully remote. Additionally, the summer pre-college program is vibrant, with a 20% increase in enrollment from 2019. “CC is one of the few institutions offering in-person pre-college programming this summer, which our students are definitely excited for. Many have been in remote learning all academic year, so they are eager to engage with their peers and experience everything the Block Plan has to offer,” says Burke.
Although the ice rink is being removed, the Honnen legacy will continue: The building, which was begun in 1963 and completed in 1966, will be known as “Honnen,” and the Honnen History Wall, which will include Honnen’s biography, will wrap around the second-floor club level seating of the new multipurpose arena. The popular public ice-skating programs will resume at Ed Robson Arena after its scheduled October opening.
TOP: Students in Block A Organic Chemistry finish their lab work before the end of the block. BOTTOM: Students in the Block A Printmaking class share their work and lead creative activities for the CC community. Photos by Chidera Ikpeamarom ’22
The program draws students from all over the country, with many coming from California, Washington, Oregon, New York, and Texas, he says, to take classes such as Biology of Epidemics, Marketing for Entrepreneurs, and Freedom and Empire: The Drama of Ancient Politics. And while it’s academic, it’s not all academics. Summer Session partners with Student Life and the Colorado College Student Government Association to provide a range of activities for students in the summer term, including: • 4 outdoor movie nights • 6 Switchbacks games (soccer) at Weidner Field • 13 Bemis art classes • 18 concerts open to the public • 3 outdoor performances through the Fine Arts Center • 3 First Friday barbecues to kick off each summer block
Campus Reopens to Visitors — With Precautions CC started welcoming visitors to campus this summer with an updated visitor policy that prioritizes initiatives that serve CC students, academic programming, and prospective students and their families visiting campus. On June 21, the Admission team started welcoming prospective students and their two guests for campus tours. Tours required preregistration and on-site check-in, and all participants had to follow CC’s policies for social distancing and mask wearing. Additionally, the college has begun allowing visitors to attend approved outdoor athletics events.
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By Leslie Weddell
Mary Ann Schwartz Graffeo Named Vice President for Advancement
Two members of the Colorado College community who served in interim or acting roles during the past year have been promoted. Mike Edmonds, who served as acting co-president, has been named senior vice president and chief of staff. Rochelle T. Dickey ’83, P’19, who served as interim dean of students/vice presi-dent for Student Life, was named to the position permanently. Both promotions became effective July 1.
Following a comprehensive national search, Mary Ann Schwartz Graffeo has been named the new vice president for advancement. Graffeo previously served as senior associate dean of advancement at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering.
Edmonds has more than 30 years leadership experience at CC, and will play a key role as President L. Song Richardson’s strategic advisor and principal aide, supporting and carrying out the college’s goal and objectives. The first Black leader to serve as president in the college’s history, Edmonds will be integral to advancing the college’s major institutional initiatives, including the Antiracism Implementation Plan. He will join Richardson and college leadership in strategic planning, policy development, and decision making, and advance college priorities and initiatives that involve local, state, and external agencies. Additionally, he will serve as the president’s representative on key college committees and constituent groups, as well as lead special projects and committees when appropriate. He also will oversee the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center alliance.
PHOTOS BY ZAK KROGER
Edmonds knows CC, its students, faculty, staff, alumni, board, and community well. While in
Student Life, he was dedicated to improving the student experience, residential life, student opportunities, campus safety, and career planning. He has strong ties in the Colorado Springs community, having worked with leaders and partners in the city and region and serving on many area boards. Dickey served in the acting capacity as dean of students/vice president for Student Life for the past year, leading her team and guiding students through a highly challenging time of pandemic, protocols, quarantines, and disruption to students’ lives. Throughout that time, she focused on students’ safety, connectedness, and well-being. Dickey, a first-generation student at CC, earned her bachelor’s degree in drama. She joined CC in 1990 and through the years served as senior associate dean of students, associate dean and director of minority student life, and director of minority and international students. Her commitment to antiracism, diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging have been steadfast through the decades. She received the Victor Nelson-Cisneros Award for her commitment to diversity and inclusion for all members of the CC community, and an Urban League Service Award for commitment to the welfare of minority students. She was honored with three awards from the NAACP: the Community Education Award, Freedom Fund Award, and an award for enduring support of civil rights and social justice.
PHOTO COURTESY USC
Mike Edmonds Assumes New Role, Rochelle Dickey Promoted
Graffeo, who joins the CC leadership team on Aug. 18, will provide strategic direction and leadership for development, advancement services, alumni and parent relations, volunteer leadership, boards, college events, and annual giving. “Mary Ann is an accomplished team builder and a highly collaborative leader. She brings vision that will help Colorado College become even stronger,” says President L. Song Richardson. “I am excited to build on that vision as we work to increase access, further our antiracism commitment, and dedicate ourselves to continued academic excellence.” “I am honored and delighted to be joining the Colorado College community of colleagues, friends, alumni, students, and their families,” Graffeo says. “I look forward to being a part of President Richardson’s leadership team and to supporting her aspirational vision for the future of Colorado College. I am excited about getting started and about helping advance this extraordinary and unique learning community.” At USC Viterbi, Graffeo’s leadership, strategy, and acumen for fundraising resulted in surpassing Viterbi’s campaign goal of $500 million, achieving the largest single fundraising initiative for an engineering school worldwide. She was personally credited with raising more than $125 million in support of transformative initiatives throughout the school. During her tenure, Graffeo and her advancement team added 63 new endowed scholarships and fellowships and 30 new endowed chairs and professorships. She launched multiple diversity and equity programs at USC Viterbi Advancement, including an “Equity and Justice Primer” and a department-wide “21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge.”
4 | COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN | SUMMER 2021
The Sounds of Professionalism: No Leaf Blowers or Sirens
Welcome
PHOTO BY JOSH BIRNDORF ’20
New Building to Enhance KRCC’s Capabilities
Radio listeners know that sound effects are essential to a story: They engage the audience, help deliver information, increase production value, evoke emotional responses, and help set the scene and mood. Unless, of course, they are completely unrelated to the story. That’s what the KRCC staff has increasingly found in its quarters in an old Victorian house on Weber Street, and why they are eager to move into a stateof-the-art building. “I have truly loved the building on Weber Street, warts and all, for a very long time. Unfortunately, the warts are really starting to get in the way of delivering the quality news product that the listener deserves — unless, of course, you like sirens, motorcycles, leaf blowers, etc., in the background during your newscasts,” says Mike Procell, KRCC host of “All Things Considered.” “Every siren, car alarm, and opening door goes out over the air,” says Abigail Beckman, the station’s “Morning Edition” host. Adds KRCC Station Manager Jeff Bieri, “It has too many creaks and groans for us to do professional broadcasting.” Construction is nearly complete on a new state-ofthe-art public media center in downtown Colorado Springs. Located at 720 N. Tejon St., the Southern Colorado Public Media Center will include KRCC, Colorado Public Radio, Colorado College’s Journalism Institute, and Rocky Mountain Public Media’s Colorado Springs Regional Innovation Center.
Last year Colorado Public Radio and Colorado College entered into a collaborative partnership, and on Feb. 1, 2020, CPR started operating the KRCC group of stations on behalf of Colorado College. In addition to purchasing the new building, CPR’s commitment includes installing a new transmitter and upgrading KRCC’s aging equipment. The cost of creating the Southern Colorado Public Media Center is approximately $4 million; CPR has already secured more than $3 million, including more than $1 million from CPR reserves. “It’s our hope that the Southern Colorado Public Media Center will enable the participating organizations to educate the next generation of journalists and public media professionals and more fully engage and entertain Coloradans in a way that promotes an informed society, civil conversations, and solution-focused problem solving,” Bieri says. “We are seeking at least an additional $1 million in support for this exciting vision. Your generosity will help Coloradans build bridges among the cultural, economic, and regional differences that shape and define the Centennial State.”
Class of
2025!
The Class of 2025, selected from a record pool of 10,969 applicants, arrives on campus in midAugust with 625 students scheduled to begin their studies this fall. For the ninth consecutive year, more than half of the applicant pool chose to apply either Early Decision or Early Action, and for the eighth consecutive year, more than a quarter of the incoming class self-identify as students of color; additionally, 6% are international students. In the last decade, the population of students of color and international students has increased by more than 60% while 10% of the incoming class are first in their families to attend college. We’ll have more information on the incoming class in the winter issue of the Bulletin, but here’s a sneak peek!
10,969
APPLICANTS (MOST IN CC’S HISTORY)
14.2%
ADMITTANCE RATE
28.2%
SELF-IDENTIFYING AS STUDENTS OF COLOR (INCLUDING THOSE IDENTIFYING AS MIDDLE EASTERN)
62
FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS
43
QUESTBRIDGE* STUDENTS
In addition to commercial funders and individual subscriptions, funding the Media Center will require the philanthropy and personal commitment of those who share KRCC’s vision. Contact KRCC Station Manager Jeff Bieri at jbieri@krcc.org, (719) 473-4801; or CPR Senior Vice President of Development Jim East at jeast@cpr.org, (303) 871-9191 ext. 327.
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS * QuestBridge is a nonprofit organization that matches high-achieving students from under-resourced high schools with opportunities in higher education. CC is now in the eighth year of its partnership with the organization.
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By Leslie Weddell
FACULTY UPDATES
Christine Siddoway’s Antarctica Research Highlighted by BBC
Dylan Nelson Releases New Film, Receives Three Grants
PHOTO BY JENNIFER COOMBES
Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies Dylan Nelson produced the documentary feature film “Groomed,” which premiered in mid-March. The film, which follows director Gwen van de Pas’s journey to confront her past as a survivor of child sexual assault, has led to a reconsideration of van de Pas’s criminal case against her offender in Holland. Nelson also has been awarded three grants to support her upcoming documentary, “The Liegnitz Plot,” which follows Gary Gilbert, a former producer on “Seinfeld,” as he investigates reports dating back to the Holocaust of a mysterious Nazi who stole priceless stamp collections from concentration camp victims, then stashed the stamps in a Nazi-occupied basement in Legnica, Poland. Nelson has received a $100,000 grant from the Hall Family Foundation, a $15,000 Momentum Grant from the Catapult Film Fund, and a $20,000 post-production grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (the Claims Conference), to help support the project.
“It’s an unassuming rock, greenish in color, and just over 4cm in its longest dimension. And yet this little piece of sandstone holds important clues to all our futures.” So opens a BBC story, “Climate Change: A Small Green Rock’s Warning About Our Future,” which features a discovery by Professor of Geology Christine Siddoway, presented this spring at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. Usually held in Vienna, Austria, this year’s meeting was convened online because of COVID restrictions. Siddoway presented in the session “The Antarctic Ice Sheet: Past, Present and Future Contributions Towards Global Sea Level.” Her abstract caught the attention of the EGU media team, who invited Siddoway to speak at the “Scientific Sleuthing: Geoforensics & Fingerprinting” press conference in April. The event provided an opportunity for journalists to learn about some of the latest detection techniques that geoscientists use to trace geological materials to their point of origin on Earth, or in geological time.
Board of Trustees Approve Promotion of Six Faculty Members Five associate professors and a lecturer have been promoted following the June meeting of the Board of Trustees. Those promoted to full professor are: • • • • •
Kristina Acri, Economics and Business mily Chan, Psychology E Regula Evitt, English Steven Hayward, English Miro Kummel, Environmental Science
Jean Gumpper, Art and Art Studio, was promoted to senior lecturer. 6 | COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN | SUMMER 2021
The Colorado College Faculty Handbook states that: “Persons promoted to the rank of full professor at Colorado College have attained a level of achievement that fulfills their earlier promise. They have earned widespread respect for their teaching effectiveness and their consistent commitment to student learning. Several peer-reviewed publications (or equivalent performances or exhibits) since tenure review now testify to their scholarly reputation. In addition, they have made significant contributions to the life of the college — for example, by chairing a department or program, by demonstrating
leadership on faculty committees or special college projects, by mentoring new faculty, or by co-teaching in interdisciplinary courses. Recognition for leadership in the wider community or in a professional society can further strengthen a case for promotion to full professor.”
DISCOVER MORE ONLINE Read more about the promoted faculty online at 2cc.co/faculty2021
Maintaining Campus Traditions During a Pandemic David-Elijah Brown ’22, one of four student leaders of the CC spoken word group, SpeakEasy, reads some of his poetry at the Student Artist Showcase in April. Among them was “untitled poem about grandpa,” a poem about his grandfather who died of COVID. The poem juxtaposes his childhood memories with his last memory of his grandfather, that being over Facetime via his nurse’s phone. Photo by Chidera Ikpeamarom ’22
Students participate in Colorado College’s traditional champagne shower, with a few COVID-19 modifications. The celebration, held at the Earle Flagpole on campus, required students to make a “time slot” reservation in advance, attend in small groups or pods, and be masked. Photo by Gray Warrior/Colorado College
CC Director of Campus Activities and Student Orientation Amy Hill was featured in a University Business story in May titled “Colorado College Keeps Traditions Alive, Even Through a Pandemic.” The story details how Hill and Colorado College got creative in boosting morale and participation on campus, and notes that instead of shutting down or moving all activities online, CC made event planning and outreach a priority. “What might have seemed impossible last March proved to be possible, primarily because campus leaders kept such a positive mindset,” notes the article. Hill and CC leadership looked for ways to continue traditions such as Llamapalooza, Dance Workshop, and the end-of-year champagne shower. “We tried not to just cancel everything because we wanted to honor the student experience as much as possible and mark those traditions or milestones as best we could,” says Hill. “We wanted to tell our students, this is what you can do instead of saying, no, you can’t do that. I deeply empathize with students who feel they’ve been robbed of something in terms of building community and connecting with friends. We have tried to get people to change their frame of reference from the deficit mentality to what opportunities have come out of this.” And with COVID-dictated modifications, many events continued for the more than 800 students who were on campus during the Spring Semester.
Preregistration and RSVPs were required for activities, with students having to agree to safety guidelines. Larger events were scaled back or done in shifts or on multiple days. The college rented out a local theatre for movie premieres, took over a mini-golf course for students to play for a few hours, and had a food truck come to campus. There were DIY kits themed for national causes, Black History Month, and Women’s History Month, and a 20-foot outdoor screen and projector to hold more outdoor screenings. Procedures for large events evolved over the year, Hill says. “Our SOCC [Sounds of CC] Battle of the Bands normally would have 10 student groups competing against each other over two nights. That was difficult to plan during COVID because of shared equipment and space airflow. We found two student groups that were willing to play. We worked with our spoken word group, SpeakEasy, and our student comedy group, Sun Butter, and we came up with a first set and second set.” Those were held on Armstrong Hall’s outer walkway, where two different stages were set up so the equipment could easily be swapped out after sets and to allow for cleaning time between performances. “We started to develop other events based off that model, introducing yard games like cornhole and giant Jenga,” Hill says.
Members of Colorado College’s Indigenous community, including Monique Gaspar ’21 (Maya Q’anjob’al), gather for an end-of-the-year gift-giving celebration. Students, faculty, and elders exchange gifts and cultural items, including this blanket. Photo by Josh Birndorf ’20
Students play with giant wooden blocks outdoors during the annual Llamapalooza music festival. In addition to music, the Campus Activitiessponsored event included free food and a variety of games and other activities. Photo by John Le ’24
Dance Workshop, which is open to all students who want to dance and typically has more than 300 participants, saw major changes this year. “With our campus guidelines, anything over 10 people needed to be supervised,” Hill says. The Dance Workshop group “just knocked it out of the park. They got so creative, with small groups of 10 dancing outside in parks and filming it with drones, and then basically making music videos of their work. In the spring, we did an outdoor screening that had 100 people come through to watch. “It’s been rewarding to ditch the old models and come up with what’s new, and see what works and what doesn’t, and what we can take away from it,” Hill says. “We could not have pulled these events off without the partnership of our student event planners or the support of the unsung heroes — our campus events service providers in AV, facilities, campus safety, grounds, and food service who were eager to find ways to make the impossible possible in COVID-safer ways to serve our students.” www.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin | 7
Kittens to Collages, Poetry to Puzzles: CC Faculty Find COVID Lifelines By Leslie Weddell
We asked the CC faculty what got them through COVID. Was it nesting with Netflix? Huddling with Hulu? Did they hold quarantined concerts? Were they burgeoning bakers? It turns out, CC faculty members used the past year and a half in ways they might not have otherwise.
Among her “purrfectly” named kittens were the O-Chem brothers, named after organic chemists Markovnikov, Friedel, and Crafts. Her students in Block 1, who had just covered acid-base chemistry, helped her name the next set: Sir Lowry (an orange tabby) and Professor Bronsted (a tuxedo with a goatee). The Curies came next (Marie, Pierre, and Irene); a Siamese-mix trio. From top to bottom are the O-Chem brothers, Markovnikov, Crafts, and Friedel, named after the organic chemists. Marie, Irene, and Pierre Curie: Counter-clockwise are Marie (chocolate point), Irene (laying down, lilac point), and Pierre (white strip on nose).
Fostering Kittens Associate Professor and Chair of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department Habiba Vaghoo fostered kittens with Happy Cats Haven. “I had been wanting to do it for a long time and when we were forced to stay home, it seemed like the perfect time,” she says.
8 | COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN | SUMMER 2021
Photos courtesy Habiba Vaghoo
She started with two kittens — and ended up fostering a total of 20 abandoned felines. Vaghoo would foster them for about five to six weeks, making sure the kittens were healthy and gaining weight. They would then be spayed or neutered, and go up for adoption at Happy Cats Haven.
After a short break, Vaghoo started again with Peppa and George, who came from North Carolina. In Block 6 when she was teaching Structure of Organic Molecules, she held a naming contest for the three kittens she’d just received, with the student who came up with the winning names receiving a beaker mug. At last writing, she was fostering five feral kittens who were found in an abandoned Chevy. All the kittens Vaghoo fostered went back to the shelter for adoption — except two. O-Chem brother Markovnikov was adopted by Associate Professor and Chair of the Anthropology Department Christina Leza. And Vaghoo kept Marie Curie, the foster fail (or success, depending on how you look at it).
For Pulley, everything looks like a possible craft item. “I keep scraps of paper and bits of things. So many. Think of a lot of scraps and stacks of paper and know that it is much more than that. I’ll be cutting a design out of a page, and I’ll see a small bit fall to the ground. I’ll act like I’m not going to pick it up and save it. But when I start to clean up, I can’t throw away that little flower or bit of sun, sky or curious wording. Sometimes the color catches me or there’s a curve or slash or angle that I can’t let go of.”
Puzzles and Music Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jessica Kisunzu turned to puzzles and music. “One of my first lifelines was doing puzzles – I did nine puzzles ranging from 500 to 1,500 pieces,” she says. The 1,000-piece Paris puzzle was one of the first ones she did, and it took her about a month to complete; she was teaching then and took her time. Kisunzu also spent more time listening to audiobooks and podcasts, “which works quite well with doing puzzles,” she says. One of her favorite audiobooks during this time was “Born a Crime,” by Trevor Noah. Kisunzu also bought an audio interface setup so she could start recording music and learning the basics of audio mixing. A digital keyboard made it fairly straightforward to record piano, but having the additional interface allowed her to also record guitar and vocals more easily. “I’ve been using mainly the software GarageBand to then adjust the frequencies for different tracks, add percussion and/or digital instruments, and more,” she says. “It’s a complex process and I’ve only scratched the surface, but it’s been really fun to start turning isolated tracks into full songs. My goal is to release music in the form of an EP [extended play record, a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record] or album at some point, so this is a step in that direction.”
Lisa Noll was trying to think of a prop or stage setting for the socially distanced reading of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” and came up with the idea of the pitchfork and stuffed animal. Those who know Mark Haddon’s play will understand … . Photo courtesy Lisa Noll
various plays aloud. “The plays took us out of ourselves and interrupted obsessive conversation about the pandemic,” Noll says. Among the plays they read were Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” Luis Alfaro’s “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles,” and the long verse poem, “Ludlow,” about the 1914 Colorado coal field massacre, by Professor Emeritus of English David Mason ’78. As the weather grew colder, they switched to reading short stories over FaceTime, including a Halloween reading of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and Colm Toibin’s new work, “The Shortest Day,” on the Winter Solstice. “Everyone in the group is keen to keep up with their new hobby after the pandemic eventually subsides,” says Noll.
This past year she didn’t collage for herself as much as in the past. However, Pulley did channel her collaging into cardmaking. She made Halloween cards for friends, which led to more cardmaking throughout the year. “I created online craft sessions with different groups of students. For the Indigenous students at CC, Polly Nordstrand [FAC curator of Southwest art] and I put together craft kits and organized Zoom sessions. We also contributed homemade cards for the Indigenous Elders in Colorado Springs as part of a Winter Solstice care basket organized by a local Indigenous community member. Pulley says she was thankful for funding from the English Department, Creativity and Innovation, Indigenous Studies, and her Schlosser professorship, which helped make a lot of the projects happen. “When resources are limited and support systems eroding, being able to work with forgiving textiles; low-stakes processes and sessions; and with whims and half-baked ideas is a gift we can always give to ourselves and one another. At the end of the year Polly and I made cards for the Indigenous students graduating this year. So much love went into those cards. So much love … and glue.”
The group even found thespian fame on NPR, when they were written up in an article titled “The New Normal” in a newsletter this past April. The très difficile 1,000-piece Paris puzzle was one of the first ones Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jessica Kisunzu tackled in Spring 2020, taking about a month to complete it while teaching. Photo courtesy Jessica Kisunzu
Reading Aloud Last summer, three CC couples, Professor Emeritus of Geology Eric Leonard and his wife, Lisa Noll; Professor Emeritus of English Barry Sarchett and his wife Adjunct Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature Lisa B. Hughes; and Professor Emeritus of History Douglas Monroy and his wife, Ann Van Horn ’85, began gathering (at a social distance) in their backyards to read
DISCOVER MORE ONLINE A complete list of their readings is available online at 2cc.co/readingplays
Creative Collage To relax, to process, and to nurture creativity for the sake of creativity, Assistant Professor of English Natanya Pulley is a fan of low-stakes arts and crafts. “I look for forgiving crafts and textiles: collage, felting, watercolor coloring books, creating stickers through Canva [a graphic design platform used to create visual content]… anything that gives me a chance to fail and start over or try new things.”
Assistant Professor of English Natanya Pulley says “so much love … and glue” went into the cards she and FAC Curator of Southwest Art Polly Nordstrand made for the Indigenous CC students who graduated this year. Photo courtesy Natanya Pulley
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CC Students, Recent Graduates Garner Awards Colorado College students and recent alumni representing a variety of departments and disciplines earned a number of academic awards this year.
Of CC’s 21 total applicants in this most recent cycle:
CC Fulbright Adviser Roy Jo Sartin says that Fulbright reports this cycle was the most competitive in the program's 75-year history.
57% 33% advanced to semifinalist status
of the 12 semifinalists were named finalist or alternate
Fulbright Semifinalists: Robin Hilderman ’20, University of Edinburgh study award in geology to the United Kingdom Olivia Humphreys ’21, English Teaching Assistant award to Thailand Ana Kilgore ’21, English Teaching Assistant award to Kazakhstan Jia Mei ’21, English Teaching Assistant award to Malaysia Sophie Ramirez ’17, research award in public health to India Danielle Richardson ’21, English Teaching Assistant award to Timor-Leste Olivia Schultz ’21, Taipei Medical University study award in psychology to Taiwan Carissa Sherman ’21, study award in anthropology to Canada Lauren Weiss ’21, University College London Entrepreneurship Award in computer science to the United Kingdom Elizabeth Wolfe ’21, École Normale Supérieure de Rennes Award in Mathematics to France
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Abby Williams ’20
Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society Undergraduate Paper Contest, third place
Ben Gellman ’22 and Deksyos Damtew ’22
Saria Sato Bajracharya ’20
Davis Projects for Peace
Sierra Takushi ’21
Cade Quigley ’23
Abby Roat ’22
Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Thailand
Anya Steinberg ’21
NPR Student Podcast Competition, grand-prize winner
Goldwater Scholar
Sophie Cardin ’22
Newman Civic Fellow and Truman Scholar
Erasmus Mundus
Goldwater Scholar
Sam Cadigan ’20
Parsons School of Design Role Models Competition, honorable mention
Grace Perry ’19
Fulbright Research Grant in sociology to Uruguay
Mayta Cohen ’24
International Championship A Cappella Open, outstanding soloist
Maddi Schink ’23
Gilman Scholarship award
Not pictured: Alessandra Ahlmen ’21, Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society Undergraduate Paper Contest, first place Nick Cleveland-Stout ’22, Boren Scholarship alternate, Portuguese in Brazil Leighton Perry Lum ’21, Boren Scholarship alternate, Arabic in Oman
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New Hockey Coach’s Journey to CC Shaped by Mentor’s Influence By Joe Paisley
T
here is no overstating Nate Leaman’s influence on Colorado College hockey coach Kris Mayotte.
He learned much about hockey and life from the NCAA title-winner, whom he calls his “former coach, mentor, and thankfully now, friend.”
“Besides my parents, he has made the biggest impact on my life,” says the first-time head coach, 38, who plans to build upon the veteran coach’s transformative lessons observed at Union College and later Providence College. “It’s not just Xs and Os. He cares for the players, the college, and the community. It’s why you see a complete program when you look at Providence, because Nate is a complete person.” “I realized the impact coaches have on young men’s lives,” Mayotte says. “Union and CC are quite similar as Division 3 schools with a D1 hockey program. It’s the kind of setting I believe in.” That means helping athletes beyond the whiteboard. “We have the responsibility to do more,” he says. “Coaches cannot hole themselves up in their offices and just focus on wins and losses. “I learned that from all the coaches I played and worked for all the way back to [Cornell] coach [Mike] Schafer,” he adds. “They worked to build relationships on- and off-campus while spreading the message and embracing the mission of the school.” Mayotte was a Union goalie from 2002-06, competing for Leaman his final three seasons. After playing professionally, he landed a volunteer position under Schafer that eventually led to being hired as the Tigers’ coach on April 7.
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Colorado College Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine and CC Hockey Coach Kris Mayotte hold up Mayotte’s brand new jersey. Photo by Casey B. Gibson
After 10 years as an assistant and associate head coach, Mayotte knows how to turn around programs.
Coach [Mel] Pearson. I still have a lot to learn. That is why I chose the [CC] assistants I did.”
His two years under Greg Carvel rebuilding St. Lawrence showed the importance of a culture based on hard work. Carvel led once-struggling Massachusetts to the 2021 NCAA title.
There is a lot of work ahead for Mayotte and his assistants, 2005 NCAA champion and Denver goalie Peter Mannino and former NHL defenseman Mark Stuart ’06, a CC All-American.
“We worked hard to prepare well and made sure we demanded the opponents’ respect,” Mayotte says. Leaman snapped up Mayotte in 2014 and says he was a big reason why the private school won its first NCAA title that season. Mayotte grew up a lot while Leaman turned Union around. Later as a Friars assistant, Mayotte learned how an underdog became and stayed a contender. Mayotte led recruiting efforts, which helped Providence qualify for the NCAAs in all five years there. Mayotte won two golds and a bronze as a U.S. assistant at the world junior championships and assisted the past two seasons at Michigan, where he coached many NHL draft-caliber players. “It’s about not getting comfortable and challenging myself,” he says. “I knew I would learn a lot from
Mayotte is ready, Leaman says. “He has won championships by recruiting top players and great role players. He has coached all aspects of a team. He is a very bright young coach.” His track record made him the choice, according to CC Vice President and Director of Athletics Lesley Irvine. “The match is very clear and the momentum it brings is truly exciting,” she says. Mayotte believes he can take advantage of that impetus and invigorate a team that last reached the NCAAs in 2011. “I knew from my playing days that Colorado College was a top program and made steps to return to that level with Robson Arena [opening this fall],” Mayotte says. “I know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Rick Swan Enjoys Perfect Ending to His Tenure with Colorado College Volleyball By Dave Reed
W
hen Rick Swan announced he was stepping down after 23 seasons as head coach of the Colorado College volleyball program, he never imagined his tenure would end with unparalleled perfection.
In his last season, Swan guided the Tigers to a 17-0 record, their third Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in the past four years, and the No. 1 ranking in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Division III Top-25 Coaches Poll. Each of those accomplishments was made possible by dominating all three matches against arch-rival Trinity University, including the 22-25, 25-21, 30-28, 25-19 victory in the SCAC championship game.
LEFT: Colorado College Volleyball Head Coach Rick Swan has plenty to celebrate after guiding the Tigers to a 17-0 record in his last season. Swan stepped down after 23 seasons with the team. Photo by Charlie Lengal TOP: One of the 2020-21 season highlights was the CC volleyball team winning its third Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in the last four years. Photo by Charlie Lengal
posted an 18-15 all-time mark against Trinity, which includes a 4-1 record in championship matches of the conference tournament. In 2009, Swan guided Colorado College to a 35-5 mark and a berth in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers fell to eventual national champion Washington University in four sets. CC finished that season ranked No. 7 in the final AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll — one of six times the Tigers finished a year in the Top 10. Since then, Colorado College won 30 or more matches nine times and extended its streak of NCAA tournament appearances to 22 seasons.
With that win, Swan improved to 596-175 at Colorado College and 629-215 overall, which included two seasons at Webster University in St. Louis. His victory total and .773 winning percentage both are program records.
In 2017, The Tigers earned the program’s first No.1 ranking and finished the campaign with a 33-2 record, setting a program single-season record with a .943 winning percentage. During the regular season, CC posted a 7-0 mark against nationally ranked opponents, including a sweep of Calvin College for the program’s first-ever victory over an opponent ranked No. 1 at the time of the match.
In addition to guiding the Tigers to six SCAC championships since they joined the conference in 2007, Swan led CC to a 177-23 record and a .885 winning percentage in league matches, which was the highest among all SCAC head coaches. He also
During his tenure in Colorado Springs, eight of Swan’s players have combined for 13 AVCA All-America certificates, including Sara Boyles Bibler ’03 (2001), Emily Perkins Oates ’11 (200910), Courtney Birkett ’16 (2015), Abbe
Holtze ’17 (2015-16) and Lizzy Counts ’20 (2017), who earned first-team honors. The Tigers also have been regular recipients of SCAC recognitions, claiming 32 first-team honors and 19 second-team selections. During that time, Colorado College won all five of the conference’s major awards, including Swan being chosen Coach of the Year six times by his peers. This past season, CC’s list of award winners included junior middle hitter Georgia Mullins ’22, who was voted the Player of the Year in a ballot of the conference’s head coaches. The three other recipients were senior Isabelle Aragon-Menzel ’21, the inaugural Setter of the Year, and outside hitter Isabella Lipacis ’24, the Freshman of the Year. Swan also established a tradition of academic excellence within the program. During his tenure, Colorado College earned the AVCA Team Academic Award 15 times, including each of the past eight years. With 17 total awards, CC is tied for 14th alltime in Division III and ranks first in the SCAC. Five Tigers earned seven total CoSIDA Academic all-District honors, including Meryn Grant ’08 and Isabelle Aragon-Menzel ’21, who were named Academic All-Americans in 2006 and 2021, respectively.
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ED ROBSON ARENA: BY THE NUMBERS Ed Robson Arena is nearing completion and scheduled for an October opening, with the first regular-season game scheduled for Friday, Oct. 8, against St. Lawrence University. You can watch the ongoing construction via the live construction webcams at www.coloradocollege.edu/ robsonarena 14 | COLORADO COLLEGE BULLETIN | SUMMER 2021
TOP: An eastward view of the Ed Robson Arena shows construction underway, as vehicles line Tejon Street in the foreground. Photo courtesy Nunn Construction
BELOW: The interior of the arena during construction. Photo courtesy Nunn Construction
Here’s a behind-the-scenes peek at some elements of the multipurpose 269,227-square-foot building:
2,571
CUPHOLDERS
103
SPEAKERS
2,188,000 POUNDS OF STRUCTURAL STEEL
17,000
SQUARE FEET OF ICE
3,400
SEATING CAPACITY
493,920
PIXELS IN THE SCOREBOARD SCREENS
6,950
CUBIC YARDS OF CONCRETE USED IN THE PROJECT
3,400
SEATING CAPACITY
13,500
SQUARE FEET OF GLASS
10.02
MILES OF HEATING/ COOLING PIPE TO KEEP THE ICE TEMPERATURE CONSTANT
608
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ON SITE THROUGHOUT THE PROJECT (APPROXIMATELY)
324
ROBSON ARENA PARKING GARAGE SPACES
17
REGULAR-SEASON HOME GAMES FOR THE INAUGURAL 2021-22 SEASON
2021-22 COLORADO COLLEGE
HOCKEY HOME SCHEDULE Oct. 2, 6 p.m.
Exhibition
Oct. 8, 7 p.m.
St. Lawrence Univ.
Oct. 9, 6 p.m.
St. Lawrence Univ.
Oct. 30, 6 p.m.
Air Force Academy
Nov. 5, 7 p.m.
St. Cloud State Univ.*
Nov. 6, 6 p.m.
St. Cloud State Univ.*
Dec. 10, 7 p.m.
Univ. of North Dakota*
Dec. 11, 6 p.m
Univ. of North Dakota*
Dec. 17, 7 p.m.
Arizona State Univ.
Dec. 18, 6 p.m. Arizona State Univ. Jan. 14, 7 p.m.
Western Michigan Univ.*
Jan. 15, 6 p.m.
Western Michigan Univ.*
Jan. 22, 6 p.m.
Univ. of Denver*
Jan. 28, 7 p.m.
Univ. of Nebraska Omaha*
Jan. 29, 6 p.m.
Univ. of Nebraska Omaha*
Feb. 18, 7 p.m.
Miami Univ.*
Feb. 19, 6 p.m.
Miami Univ.*
Mar. 4, 7 p.m.
Univ. of Denver*
Home Games are are played at Ed Robson Arena. *NCHC Opponent
For ticket information, visit: www.cctigers.com/tickets FOLLOW CC TIGER HOCKEY:
1 TIME ST
IN ITS 80+ YEAR HISTORY TIGER HOCKEY WILL PLAY HOME GAMES ON CAMPUS
CCTigers.com facebook.com/ColoradoCollegeHockey @CCTigerHKY
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The
Unexpect ed L. SONG RICHARDSON’S JOURNEY TO THE CC PRESIDENCY
Path
PHOTO BY KATIE KLANN
By Jane Turnis, Vice President for Communications
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PHOTO BY KATIE KLANN
PHOTO BY STEVE ZYLIUS/UCI
L.
Song Richardson’s mother had her children’s futures planned.
“It was always clear to me and my siblings that we were expected to succeed — I would become a concert pianist, or attend Harvard, or become a doctor.” Her mother got much of her wish. As a child, Richardson — who goes by Song — practiced piano for four to six hours every day, and she became that concert pianist, winning nine major piano competitions, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. (Her brothers also became musicians). She went to Harvard College, earning her undergraduate degree in psychology before earning her Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. “My mom is a very, very strong woman,” Richardson says, laughing. “It was important to her that I, as her daughter, be self-sufficient. She wanted to ensure that I would never have to be dependent upon anyone for my survival.”
She tells this story on a June morning while sitting in her new home — the President’s House — at Colorado College. She, her husband, sculptor Kurt Kieffer, and their two cats, Scratch and Crouton, are adapting to their new life in Colorado Springs after moving from Irvine, California, where Richardson was the dean at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. On July 1, she became Colorado College’s 14th president. Richardson is incredibly relatable, humble, and inspiring. While few people become concert pianists, many have played a musical instrument. Even without achieving the success she did, they can appreciate the broader lessons of working hard, never quitting in the middle of an endeavor, and sometimes needing to find a creative way to the end. When her presidency was announced in December, her video introduction to the CC community included a story about long being paralyzed with fear when she was required to speak in public, and how she overcame that trepidation by learning everything
she could about speaking and presentation. Her honesty, warmth, and captivating delivery gave hope to the many viewers with that same fear. Her authenticity is striking. She uses her own life experience to show students that through dedication and determination, anything can be achieved. “I never imagined the path my life would take,” she says. “I was someone who was extremely shy. I couldn’t speak in public. You would think I would be about to cry because my voice would shake so much. I would walk sideways because I didn’t want people to look at me. I just never thought that this is where I would end up. I have been so lucky.” She credits her Korean mother and Black Army officer father with giving their all to provide an environment where she and her siblings would learn to be ambitious. They taught the importance of hard work — and great possibility.
NG RICH SY L. SO COURTE PHOTOS
“My days as a concert pianist taught me the importance of discipline, of knowing that when you make mistakes — which are inevitable — you have to keep going. It teaches you to be creative,” she says.
ARDSON
But after winning that last concerto competition, Richardson stepped away from the piano and struck out on her own path, grateful for the bigger life lesson of music:
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PHOTO BY KATIE KLANN
experiences, and we must be willing to listen, learn, and communicate with people with whom we may vehemently disagree,” she says. “Developing these skills serves our students well in the constantly changing world in which we live.” So, she was impressed that those same values were paramount at Colorado College. She read everything she could find, watched videos about the college, and scoured the CC website.
“I’m an optimist ... with grit, a willingness to take chances and to make mistakes, and surrounding myself with people who are smarter than I am, we can accomplish anything. What attracted me to CC is that we have a community that embodies these qualities.” “My parents sacrificed everything for me and my brothers. It’s because of them that my brothers and I had so many incredible opportunities,” she says. “My mom cleaned houses and worked the night shift in a rope factory so that she could be around during the day to take us to music lessons and help us with our studies. She’s embarrassed when I share this story, but I always tell her she shouldn’t be. She makes me proud.” Richardson wasn’t looking to leave UC Irvine when she was approached about pursuing the CC presidency, but when she started learning about Colorado College, she was struck that the college’s values seemed to match her own: the liberal arts, creativity and innovation, the Block Plan, the way students are encouraged to explore many disciplines and see from many perspectives. “I love UCI Law,” she says. “Before joining their faculty, I dreamed of being there because they care passionately about teaching. They care passionately about scholarship, about making the world a better place, and about antiracism. I believed that no other school in the country would share these same commitments and values.” The liberal arts are important to her, because broadly educated students in discussion-based classes can make positive change in a world where snapjudgment polarization plays out on social media, in the news, and in political echo chambers. “At a liberal arts college, we must be open to new ideas, to people who are different from us, to new
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“I’ve learned over the course of these years to recognize the feeling I have when something is right,” she says. “I began to learn about CC and that feeling started. I started to get butterflies in my stomach. My heart rate went up. The more I read and the more I learned about CC, the more excited I became. Everything that I care about, both in my personal life and in my professional life, was reflected in the values of Colorado College.” Once she met the search committee — comprised of alumni, students, faculty, and staff — her enthusiasm only grew. She saw a community of ambitious, creative, innovative, and strategic risk takers — the community that built and adopted the Block Plan — and one that says, “why not?” “I’m an optimist and believe that with grit, a willingness to take chances and to make mistakes, and surrounding myself with people who are smarter than I am, we can accomplish anything,” she says. “What attracted me to CC is that we have a community that embodies these qualities.” As a kick-start to getting to know that community while she was still in California, Richardson conducted 23 Zoom get-acquainted meetings with faculty, staff, and student leaders. “It was exciting. I felt such optimism about the future of CC. It really confirmed all the aspects of this community that made me want to say ‘yes,’” she says.
She met via Zoom with former acting co-presidents Mike Edmonds and Robert G. Moore regularly for several months before assuming the presidency and will continue to work closely with them on the college’s Cabinet. Edmonds was the first leader of color to serve in the president’s role at CC; Richardson is the first woman of color to be president. “I find them both remarkable,” Richardson says. “It’s clear that they love and care about CC so much. The fact that they both stepped up at a time when they knew they would have to navigate COVID says so much about them. They’ve been successful, and I feel lucky to continue to work with them.” Since May, she’s met former presidents Jill Tiefenthaler and Dick Celeste, the CC Board of Trustees — “many are alumni, and I experienced firsthand the intellectual firepower a CC education produces. The level of the conversation we had was tremendous.” And she learned about the Summer Music Festival through Susan Grace, its music director: “It is extraordinary.” A discussion with Professor Emeritus Glenn Brooks about the creation of the Block Plan was especially impactful, she says. “It was amazing. I met Glenn and his daughter (Amy Brooks ’82) and we spoke about the Block Plan. He said two things that he wanted me to remember: That the Block Plan wasn’t completely thought out and complete before it began. They said, ‘Let’s just see what happens’; they didn’t know what it would become. And the second thing to remember is that the liberal arts is the core. Remembering this allowed us the freedom to experiment. “What I’m excited about is working with the CC community to determine what innovations we will make in the next decade. With the liberal arts as our core, what chances, what risks are we willing to take to catapult us into this next decade? We must be willing, at least in my view, to take risks, with a safety net,” she says. “I expect us to believe that we can do more than anyone imagines we can do. I expect to be challenged all the time. That’s what I love. I expect us to be kind with the people we work with, to be respectful, even as we challenge each other, and to make the best decisions that we can make, and to fail,” she says. “Because I will fail a lot. Part of the reason for that is because if we aren’t failing, we’re not taking the risks that I think we need to take to figure out the answers to the challenges that we have in higher ed today.”
PHOTO BY CHIDERA IKPEAMAROM ’22
and I am fortunate to have him in my life. Growing up on a farm, he was always tinkering with machines and coming up with solutions to fix them. Now he works with found objects, metal, clay, and wood, conceives of things in his head, and creates them. He is incredibly innovative and creative about so many things. In fact, some of my most important scholarly works resulted from conversations we had.” Richardson is thrilled to be starting at CC at this time. “We’ve all just been living in this pandemic, and we are all craving community. This desire to come back and rebuild our community, to re-emerge, this is a special moment.”
As a scholar of implicit racial and gender bias, Richardson was especially intrigued that CC started its antiracism work in 2018, before the term “antiracism” was popular, and before the killing of George Floyd shook the nation and the world. Former president Tiefenthaler initiated the college’s antiracism commitment after an unknown person sent a hateful, racist email attacking campus leaders of color Edmonds, then dean of students and vice president for Student Life, and Rochelle T. Dickey ’83, P’19, then senior associate dean of students. Other hurtful incidents, including racist posts on social media, have occurred at the college over the years. The pain they caused is lasting and deep.
Kieffer has an art studio at the house, where he works on his contemporary sculpture that incorporates wood, metal, fired clay, and found objects. His most recent pieces, made from aluminum foil, metal, and epoxy resin, “represent the turmoil, anxiety, displacement, and the ultimate resiliency of the human spirit resulting from the global pandemic,” his artist statement says. He worked in the social justice arena in the past, on a program with government and businesses, providing people experiencing homelessness with a path to employment. “We met in Seattle through mutual friends,” Richardson says. “He’s a real Renaissance man,
She plans to teach — “not in Block 1 or Block 2,” she says — but she’s excited about the possibilities for a class: “Using social psychology as a lens to understand the impact of race on policing. Or a multi-disciplinary class involving theater, arts, and the law to study Shakespeare,” something she has experience in, having represented both Hamlet and Shylock in mock trials while at UCI Law. As she’s embarking on a new life in Colorado Springs and the presidency at Colorado College, she’s returning, a bit, to her beginnings as well. An upright piano sits by the wall in the living room — the piano she’s had since childhood. “I regret not playing for a while,” she says. “I’ve started to practice again.” Richardson laughs when she shares that her mother told her something else from her parents’ early years of marriage: “I was conceived in Colorado Springs, at Fort Carson. So, in some ways, I’m coming home.”
“What happened here happens everywhere all the time,” Richardson says. “Sadly, experiences like these aren’t unique or even surprising. But CC’s response to these events was new and courageous. That’s what caught my attention.” In her legal career, she represented people on death row, and became a state and federal public defender. Eventually she made her way to teaching criminal law at four universities. Higher education brought all of her interests together; she began using interdisciplinary research in cognitive and social psychology as a way to examine race in the criminal justice system.
PHOTO BY KATIE KLANN
Since their arrival in the Springs, she and Kieffer have been getting to know their new community, exploring the Asian markets and Korean restaurants in the area, and enjoying the nearby hiking trails. They’ve already experienced Colorado’s mercurial mountain weather, including snow, hail, thunderstorms, and sunny days.
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Q&A
with Former Acting Co-Presidents Mike Edmonds & Robert G. Moore By Brenda Gillen
Q. When you began your roles as acting co-presidents on July 1, 2020, what was your top priority? RGM It’s the same priority we’ve always had, which is to serve our students as best we can. That’s the purpose of the college. ME Our goal was to leave the college healthy and whole for the 14th president. We were concerned about having a fractured community in a remote world, keeping people invested and committed during a time where there was very little certainty. We stayed student and academically mission-focused. I don’t want it to be lost on the community that Robert and I had less than 48-hours notice about this. And so, we had the goal of collectively wrapping our heads around leading an institution during a pandemic without much notice and with no playbook.
Q. When the pandemic hit, Colorado College moved quickly to make changes to keep students safe while ensuring that students could continue their studies. How did you approach this challenge? ME We had to approach it from the vantage point of knowing that we didn’t know. And so, we had to
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“There was no luxury of being able to focus solely on COVID.”
Q. COVID-19 presented an incredible challenge to institutions of higher education. What were two or three of the most pressing issues that you focused on during the first months of the pandemic?
utilize the best minds that we had on campus and create some great partnerships with UC Health, Optum Health, and the El Paso County Health Department. We were certainly not above asking for help, and I want to acknowledge and thank our Scientific Advisory Group.
RGM The real crisis was Block 1 when our students ended up quarantined in large residence halls. Volunteers were helping to suit up and distribute food. When we had to send students home, it was a huge challenge to figure out who needed to stay and who was housing insecure and couldn’t go home. There were hotspots around the country, and some parents said, ‘I want my kid home, but could they not come right now because the outbreak where we live is terrible.’ Then there was the financial challenge. Hundreds of our students decided to take a gap year, and there was a resulting revenue loss. We decided early on to do our best to ensure that no employee was furloughed or laid off. I don’t think we understood how hard it would be to achieve that. We relied on remaining staff when we left positions vacant, and everybody ended up contributing to that goal. I think it created a sense of community.
RGM We decided to be guided by science and comply with the changing rules from the nation, the state, and the county. We frequently had to adjust our plans as the guidance changed. We expanded the size of the Cabinet and met every week. A good portion of each meeting was devoted to COVID.
ME We were trying to be equitable, flexible, responsive, and supportive, all while there were other crises going on: George Floyd, the defund the police movement, and the political climate. There was no luxury of being able to focus solely on COVID. We had to focus on the academic mission of the
— Mike Edmonds
PHOTO BY JENNIFER COOMBES
Q. How did the job of Colorado College president change to accommodate two individuals sharing the role? RGM Mike and I had worked together for 12 years and knew each other well. That allowed us to share and rely on each other’s strengths. When we had to make the hard decisions, like whether to send students home, we talked. I agree with Mike; what we heard from parents and students is educationally there was a lot of learning going on, even though it was in a different format.
college during a time where it was just turbulent. Our students were resilient, wonderful, gracious, and understanding. A first-year student set up a Zoom to let Robert and me know that although he was quarantined, he was still learning. Our faculty was tremendous. We often heard from students and parents that remote learning was not what they had envisioned, but by and large, they said this is good. You see that in our numbers: Retention rates are high, and attrition is low.
Q. How did you find meaningful ways to engage with faculty, staff (including your direct reports), and students despite the challenges of face-to-face communication? ME We did a ton of Zoom. We met with every department on campus so people could see us and get to know us. We continued to celebrate, hosting Zoom dinners with new faculty, recently tenured faculty, and athletic teams. We used Zoom not only to transact operationally but also to keep relationships strong. We also had blockly video conversations that were shared with the community. RGM The community needed to hear from us and from the other people on campus who really knew what was happening. I don’t know how many town halls we hosted, but it was a lot.
ME It’s a myth that there’s one person in the president’s role. The reality is any president at this college has benefited from the wisdom of staff, faculty, and students. What was different is that there were two people sharing the title of president. With the added layer of COVID, it would have been hard for one person to be everywhere they needed to be. Robert and I talked at least once a day, and we made no significant decision without consulting the other. The way CC approaches time helped. As difficult as it was to have to rethink every 18 and a half days, the Block Plan was a structural blessing because it gave us the chance to talk about it in terms of this is Block 1, this is Block 2, let’s get to block break.
Q. What are some of the highlights of your time as acting co-president? What will you remember most about this time? ME The winter graduate celebration will go down as one of my top memories after 30 years at the college. That was one of the most intimate, engaging, and moving ceremonies, and it was virtual. I had the ability to learn from other college presidents. One college president told her staff that if you need to walk away on a particular day, you could do that. I remember working with Robert to establish time off here to underscore the importance of self-care. I hope as we come out of COVID that CC does not return to its push-through culture.
Q. What were your favorite parts of being acting co-president? RGM We had a group of faculty who agreed to serve as academic advisors. Once a week, we spent an hour on Zoom. Their advice and counsel turned out to be pretty special. ME I can never thank our students enough for sincerely and wholeheartedly caring about one another. They established the Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund to help one another, which has been incredible.
“It’s amazing that for the 2020 Commencement ceremony, some 370 graduates returned to be together. Sitting on the stage and seeing them together made the whole year worthwhile.” — Robert G. Moore
RGM The in-person Commencements and the sheer joy that the graduates had in both classes. It’s amazing that for the 2020 Commencement ceremony, some 370 graduates returned to be together. Sitting on the stage and seeing them together made the whole year worthwhile.
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CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF
2020 Photos by Jennifer Coombes
I
t was a combination Commencement and a firstyear class reunion. Nearly 370 members of the Class of 2020 — including 11 Master of Arts in Teaching graduates — reunited on Sunday, May 30, for their long-awaited in-person Commencement ceremony. There was joy among classmates who had not seen one another, or their professors, since they were abruptly separated by the pandemic in March 2020. The class motto, “Hindsight is 2020,” may have been chosen with a sense of humor last year, but its poignancy a year later could not be missed. See highlights of the Class of 2020 Commencement: 2cc.co/classof2020
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CLASS OF 2020 7,997
APPLICANTS (A RECORD AT THAT TIME)
540
15.8%
31
25%
STUDENTS ENROLLED
ACCEPTANCE RATE
QUESTBRIDGE STUDENTS
SELF-IDENTIFYING AS STUDENTS OF COLOR
22
55
TRANSFER STUDENTS
GAP-YEAR STUDENTS
•C ommencement speaker: Richard Lariviere, former president and CEO of the Field Museum in Chicago • Common Read Book: “Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do,” by Claude Steele • Lived through the development of the East Campus Housing Community, renaming of South Hall, naming of Tava Quad, and renovation of Tutt Library • Saw the expansion of the alliance between the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center and Colorado College and the partnership between CC’s NPRmember station KRCC and Colorado Public Radio • Contributed to CC’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2020 by installing a solar array at Baca Campus; carbon neutrality celebrated Jan. 22, 2020
The class includes two Erasmus Mundus Scholars, a Watson Fellow, winner of The Denver Press Club student award, and seven Fulbright semifinalists, three of whom went on to become finalists.
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CELEBRATING THE CLASS OF
2021 Photos by Josh Birndorf ’20
A
n in-person Commencement ceremony was held Sunday, May 23, at the new Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs, with 532 undergraduate degrees and 17 Masters of Arts in Teaching degrees awarded. The event concluded a year like no other, in which students immersed themselves in virtual and hybrid learning, finding new ways to learn, foster relationships, and build community. Former CC President Jill Tiefenthaler P’21, P’24, now CEO of the National Geographic Society, delivered the Commencement address and received an honorary degree. A “Senior Sentiment” video for the Class of 2021, filmed and edited by Bergen Hoff ’22 and produced by former CC Video Producer Rachel San Luis ’10, describes what senior life was like for these students during COVID-19. See the video at 2cc.co/seniorsentiments DISCOVER MORE ONLINE For more on how the video was made, go to 2cc.co/2021video
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“Stumbling is not falling.” — Malcolm X
CLASS OF 2021 8,222
PHOTO BY GRAY WARRIOR
APPLICANTS (A RECORD AT THAT TIME)
48
15%
QUESTBRIDGE STUDENTS
ADMITTANCE RATE
60
51%
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
RECEIVED SOME FORM OF FINANCIAL AID
44
26.7%
WITH DUAL CITIZENSHIP
SELF-IDENTIFYING AS STUDENTS OF COLOR
35
53
LANGUAGES SPOKEN
FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS
• Common Read Book: “Citizen: An American Lyric,” by Claudia Rankine • Class Gift: Colorado College Mutual Aid Fund
The Class of 2021’s New Student Orientation included viewing the August 2017 solar eclipse. They started their time at CC with one worldwide phenomenon and ended with another.
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Amanda Martin ’23 pulls herself up to the next hold while climbing Kindergarten Wall in April at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. Students with the group Latinx Climbers participated in an introductory outdoor education clinic to learn the basics of rock climbing. Photo by Katie Klann
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Liz Cheney’s
Colorado College Education Led to GOP Showdown
Professor Emeritus of Political Science Bob Loevy published this article in The Gazette about his former student, Liz Cheney ’88, in early May.
O
ne of the rewards of teaching, from preschool through graduate school, is to have your former students succeed in life in a dramatic and well-publicized way. It is always a great feeling when a former pupil is elected mayor of the town or wins a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
These past two weeks have been big ones for this college professor. A former student of mine, Liz Cheney, Colorado College Class of 1988, was elected in 2016 to be Wyoming’s one member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Now she is a major participant in one of the biggest national news stories playing in the press, on television, and on the internet. The United States public is gripped by the story of Liz Cheney voting to impeach her political party’s former president, Donald Trump, for inciting the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6. But she has gone further, repeatedly accusing Trump of lying to the American people in his claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him by widespread voter fraud. Cheney has characterized Trump’s voter fraud charges as the “Big Lie.” Liz Cheney arrived at Colorado College in the fall of 1984. Her family was already connected to the college through her mother, Lynne Cheney, who graduated from the college in 1963. Lynne Cheney gained a measure of national notoriety as head of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the author of a major biography of President James Madison. Liz Cheney’s father, Dick, was a well-known figure in the Republican Party at that time. He had served as chief of staff to Republican President Gerald Ford. Then he went back to his home state of Wyoming to run for that state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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He was the representative from Wyoming the entire time that Liz, the oldest of his and Lynne Cheney’s two daughters, attended Colorado College. It didn’t take long for Liz’s political future to become evident at Colorado College. She started taking political science courses, including an introductory American Government course taught by me. She nicely arranged for her father to spend an entire morning with my class discussing his political experiences — at the White House and elsewhere — and elaborating on issues then facing the U.S. Congress. He concluded his visit with tips on how to get elected, exhorting the students to “build your list” of supporters and campaign contributors. About this time, I had a conversation with Liz Cheney about her plans after graduation. She spoke matterof-factly on the subject. “I’m watching the population growth in Wyoming,” she said. “Some time in the future, Wyoming should have enough residents to qualify for a second member of the U.S. House. That would be a good time for me to run, as that will be an open seat, and I will not have to challenge an incumbent, who would probably be a Republican.” You do not often hear talk like that from an undergraduate. As it turned out, Wyoming’s population did not merit a second member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Liz Cheney, however, was elected to the one seat.
Department in Washington, D.C., specializing on Middle Eastern affairs. She earned a law degree from the University of Chicago. Along the way she married, and gave birth to five children. She had a wide background of governmental and legal experience when elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, the same year that Donald Trump was elected president. She kept in touch with Colorado College. She participated in a major intellectual symposium at the college at the time of the 2008 presidential election. She has made many classroom visits to political science courses. I recognize that the Liz Cheney vs. Donald Trump fracas has divided the Republican Party, and that polls show many Americans siding with the former president in his charges of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. I am impressed, however, that the U.S. Justice Department and an array of state and U.S. courts have denied or dismissed the many charges of voter fraud filed by Trump supporters. I therefore agree with Liz Cheney that even a president of the United States should be challenged and criticized strongly when he lies to the American people. If a liberal arts college education does anything, it should inculcate in students the ability to discern the truth and then speak honestly about it. Liz Cheney has done both.
Liz Cheney continued her political science studies at Colorado College. She wrote a senior thesis entitled “The Evolution of Presidential War Powers.” It revealed her strong support for presidents who pursue a vigorous and involved U.S. foreign policy.
Bob Loevy taught political science at Colorado College from 1968 to 2014.
Following her 1988 graduation from Colorado College, Liz Cheney worked for the State
This article originally appeared in The Gazette on May 11, 2021, and is reprinted with The Gazette’s permission.
By Leslie Weddell
SUMMER 2021
One Year From Tonight By Heather Palmer ’81 How could Emily, aged 25 in 1864, decide what to do with her life when there were so many possibilities? The world she had been reared to expect had been changed forever by the Civil War. Incorporating the full text of an actual 1864 diary, the novel tells the story of the choices Emily made as she found her place in a new world. Palmer says students read an 1864 diary in a college history course she taught and were shocked by the choices the diary’s author made, so Palmer wrote this novel to explain Emily’s choices. Palmer also has visited CC History Professor Carol Neel’s classes, discussing how readers imagine experiences from historical diaries. Published by Heather Palmer, 2020.
Too Good To Be True By Carola Lovering ’11 A cat-and-mouse thriller filled with twists and turns, Kirkus Reviews says, “The second novel from Lovering more than lives up to the promise of her debut, ‘Tell Me Lies’.” Skye Starling may have it all, but her OCD has been a relationship deal-breaker. When Skye meets Burke Michaels, the stage is seemingly set for a fairy-tale story. But multiple voices in this narrative suggest all may not be well: Burke’s diary entries, written at his marriage counselor’s behest — yeah, he’s married (revealed early on); Skye’s former toxic boyfriend; and a decades-earlier narrative by Burke’s wife confounds the plotline. Nested in this tale is a none-too-gentle critique of our system’s social and economic inequities. Published by St. Martin’s Press, 2021.
No Globalization Without Representation: U.S. Activists and World Inequality By Paul Adler, assistant professor of history The book chronicles how U.S. consumer and environmental activists became significant players in national and world politics in the late 20th century. From boycotting Nestlé to lobbying against NAFTA to marching in the Battle of Seattle, the book shows how a progressive coalition arose demanding alternatives to neoliberal globalism. The book also illuminates how professionalized organizations became a critical part of liberal activism — and how that has affected the course of U.S. politics to the present day. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
Committed: Remembering Native Kinship in and Beyond Institutions By Susan Burch ’93 Between 1902 and 1934, the United States confined hundreds of adults and children from dozens of Native nations at the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, a federal psychiatric hospital in South Dakota. But detention at the Indian Asylum, as families experienced it, was not the beginning or end of the story. For them, Canton Asylum was one of many places of imposed removal and confinement, including reservations, boarding schools, orphanages, and prison-hospitals. Drawing on oral history interviews, correspondence, material objects, and archival sources, Burch, director of American Studies at Middlebury College, reframes the histories of institutionalized people and the places that held them. Published by University of North Carolina Press, 2021.
Lies with Man By Michael Nava ’76 The eighth in the Henry Rios mystery series, the book is set in 1986 Los Angeles, where a group of right-wing Christians has launched a ballot initiative to allow health officials to force people with HIV into quarantine camps ― and it looks like it’s going to pass. Rios agrees to be counsel for a group of young activists who call themselves QUEER (Queers United to End Erasure and Repression). QUEER claims to be committed to peaceful civil disobedience. But when one of its members is implicated in the bombing of an evangelical church that kills its pastor, who publicly supported the quarantine initiative, Rios finds himself with a client suddenly facing the death penalty. Published by Amble Press, 2021.
The Nasty Business of a Bodyguard By Elijah Douresseau ’13 Los Angeles chef Alvin Gates is an ambitious culinarian with a flair for Caribbean cooking and promoting his cultural food roots in the West Indian diaspora. And, he’s just landed a job cooking for business executive Jasmine Benjamin, aka Coco. The FBI soon shows up, cornering the young cook to become their eyes and ears on the inside of Coco’s operations. The FBI could not be more clear: The nation’s safety and future are in the hands of a guy who just wants to rock the socks off his client with good food. But he will have to don more than a chef’s hat if he wants to survive his undercover foray into the sophisticated crime underworld. The book has an accompanying Spotify playlist. Published by Elijah Douresseau, 2021.
Alumni who have written or edited books, or recorded CDs, are invited to send notifications to bulletin@coloradocollege.edu and bookstore@coloradocollege.edu. To mail a copy, send to Bulletin, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., Colorado Springs, CO 80903. All submitted material will be donated to Tutt Library. Inscriptions inside books are always welcome.
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PEAK PROFILE
A
CC Alumna Wins Ecological Award Using Both Her Degrees
s you’re reading this, By Anna Funk Research in Leipzig, as well as a project Lauren Shoemaker ’11 for an international global research probably is on a mountain in network called DRAGNet (Disturbance Colorado, brushing up on her alpine and Resources Across Global Grasslands Network) — plant identification skills in preparation for her all co-led by other women. “I find that I’m working latest research project. On these mountaintops, in women-led teams pretty often,” she says. “I’m above treeline, a stunning diversity of short-statured passionate about supporting other women in science, wildflowers and other plants form a unique comand I’ve found in my own research I love working with munity that’s adapted to the high-altitude conditions. women teams. Shoemaker wants to understand the invisible forces that allow these species to live together in harmony — “Mentoring has been one of the most fulfilling parts and what will happen to them when climate change of my job as assistant professor,” says Shoemaker. alters their environment. “Supporting students as they figure out what their passions are and their own career paths has been Before now, the ecologist’s work predominantly incredibly rewarding.” focused on grasslands, though she’s been known to climb a mountain or two. “The alpine is definitely my Shoemaker’s scientific pursuits combine math and favorite ecosystem. I’ve always loved it from a personal ecology to study natural communities. Mathematical standpoint,” says Shoemaker, who grew up in Fort modeling allows ecologists to make quantitative Collins, Colorado. “I haven’t actually worked in the predictions about things like the abundance alpine as part of my research until, well, last week.” and diversity of species. But it’s not all numbercrunching: Shoemaker tests predictions from her This spring, Shoemaker, an assistant professor at the models in the field — and uses data from field University of Wyoming, was named a 2021-25 Early observations to make her models better. Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America. ESA names a cohort of fellows each year to honor She’s long been interested in the theme of early-career (less than eight years from their Ph.D.) combining math and biology. She double majored ecologists who show promise for continuing outin the two at CC, though at the time, she didn’t standing contributions to the field. Shoemaker was realize she could combine them. “I knew I wanted elected for not only her research endeavors, but also to do ecology longer term,” says Shoemaker, citing her leadership in collaborative science, teaching, her interest in conservation. “I was just also really and mentoring. passionate about math and started taking math classes on the side — I found I loved them so much She’s co-led working groups at the Santa Fe Institute I decided to double major.” and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity
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Shoemaker remembers the specific class that set her on her current career path: A one-credit, semesterlong course on mathematical modeling with Associate Professor David Brown. It was her first exposure to real-world applications of math models. In class, Brown encouraged the students to apply for a two-week workshop with the National Marine Fisheries Service at Mote Marine Laboratory in Florida that applied math models to fisheries science. Shoemaker applied, was accepted, and has been using mathematical modeling in ecology ever since. “One of the really amazing things about CC is how you can make the curriculum your own,” Shoemaker says. “You can tailor your courses around your goals and career aspirations, and make them what you’re most excited and passionate about. I think that played a huge role in my love of ecology.” After graduating from CC, Shoemaker earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the James S. McDonnell Foundation in complex systems science, which she took to the University of Minnesota. She has been assistant professor in the Botany Department at the University of Wyoming since 2019. “Ecological communities are incredibly complex, and it’s really challenging to understand their dynamics and to think about them in a unified way across systems,” she says. “There’s a tendency to think each different ecosystem is distinct. But what I’m passionate about is looking at the themes that unify them.”
Pandemic Intensifies Inequities in
POINT OF VIEW
Engineering, and Medicine report found that 50-60% of women across all levels in STEM — undergraduate to faculty — are sexually harassed and stressed that federal regulations (i.e., Title IX and Title VII) are not sufficient to address nor end these pervasive behaviors. Actions do not have to be illegal to be harmful. If efforts to broaden participation in STEM are to succeed, we must acknowledge and address the institutional structures, policies, and cultures that continue to exclude.
Reimagine science Scientific misconduct should include the mistreatment of people as well as data. Scientific societies have updated their codes of conduct and rescinded awards and honors, acknowledging that hostility within science is exclusionary and harmful to the creation of knowledge.
By Associate Professor of Environmental Science Rebecca Barnes
T
he pandemic is a magnifying glass on the structural and systemic problems of society, widening the disparities between us. Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) woke up to headlines announcing their daily struggles and highlighting persistent problems. From the New York Times asking: “Could the Pandemic Prompt an ‘Epidemic of Loss’ of Women in the Sciences?” to prestigious scientific journals publishing studies reinforcing harmful systems of power and perpetuating outdated stereotypes, there is ample evidence from the last 18 months of the systematic failures and enduring systems of oppression within science.
It is not a leaky pipeline The STEM workforce does not reflect the working population, with less than 30% of STEM positions held by women, almost all of whom are white. While gender parity exists in some STEM disciplines at the undergraduate level, this is not true as one moves up the ladder. For example, women make up 38% of undergraduate and 42% of graduate degrees awarded in earth sciences, but less than one-fifth of these women are employed in the field, also known as: the leaky pipeline. The leaky pipeline suggests that loss is passive, reinforcing the idea that if only more girls were interested in science, there eventually would be more women in higher-ranking positions. This is not true. The pipeline is not
passive; it has valves that hold people back based on their gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and physical abilities. It reinforces the idea that only some belong. For women, these valves include bias in letters of recommendation and prestigious awards, limited access to resources, and disproportionate amounts of unpaid service.
The pandemic has shown scientists that we can be gracious and supportive. We are not perfect, but we can grow and be better. Schedules are flexible, mental health matters. We are more than scientists. We are people. Our jobs, our careers do not define us. We are sisters, mothers, friends, and caretakers. We are artists, explorers, and musicians. The systematic societal problems of bias, discrimination, and harassment are barriers toward advancement within STEM. Behaviors persist because of historical structures of exclusion, large power imbalances, and a culture that encourages people to look the other way. A 2018 National Academies of Sciences,
The pandemic has shown scientists that we can be gracious and supportive. We are not perfect, but we can grow and be better. Schedules are flexible, mental health matters. We are more than scientists. We are people. Our jobs, our careers do not define us. We are sisters, mothers, friends, and caretakers. We are artists, explorers, and musicians. Black, brown, and Indigenous communities experience(d) greater COVID-19 infection and death rates, and greater rates of unemployment, while also making up a disproportionately large fraction of essential and frontline workers. These disproportionate impacts are intensifying the inequities present within STEM and have the potential to undo much of the progress made toward increased inclusivity. Please remember, the work is far from over, it really has just begun.
Associate Professor of Environmental Science Rebecca Barnes is a biogeochemist and ecosystem ecologist who teaches in CC’s Environmental Studies Program. She is on the leadership of 500 Women Scientists and is co-principal investigator of two multi-institutional NSF funded programs aimed at increasing equity and inclusion in the geosciences: developing evidencebased mentoring programs to increase the retention of women in the geosciences (PROGRESS) and the ADVANCEGeo Partnership, a project aimed at improving workplace climate by addressing bullying and harassment in science.
DISCOVER MORE ONLINE A footnoted version of this article is available online at 2cc.co/STEMinequities
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COLORADO COLLEGE
HOMECOMING & FAMILY WEEKEND
OCT. 8 - 1 0 , 20 2 1
We are so excited to welcome parents, families, and alumni to Colorado College this fall. Plans are underway for an on-campus Homecoming and Family Weekend gathering, Oct. 8-10, 2021. Since we weren't able to host reunion celebrations last year, this year we're combining reunion celebrations for the 2020 and 2021 classes as well as the parents/families of all current Colorado College students. Find out more on the Homecoming and Family Weekend website: coloradocollege.edu/homecoming
REASONS TO CELEBRATE President L. Song Richardson We look forward to introducing Colorado College’s 14th president, L. Song Richardson, during Homecoming and Family Weekend. Ed Robson Arena Opening just in time for Homecoming and Family Weekend, Ed Robson Arena is Colorado College’s multi-purpose, indoor, on-campus competition arena. Inasmuch Foundation, which has been a generous supporter of many campus projects over the years, awarded a grant to name the Mike and Barbara Yalich Student Services Center, which is adjacent to Ed Robson Arena. The Yalich Center will be home to a student wellness center, health services, bookstore, mail center, art studio, and café. CC Tigers Together COVID-19 impacted all of us in many ways, including keeping us from being together for on-campus events last year. We hope this year’s combined event will provide a vibrant opportunity for you to experience the richness of the CC community and to celebrate together. Whether you are looking to get acquainted with your student’s CC experience, roommates, and professors, or interested in being reacquainted with classmates, faculty, and friends, this weekend has something for you. We will communicate more details on specific events and schedules as plans are finalized. We look forward to celebrating with all of you in the CC Tiger family.
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REUNION CELEBRATIONS
Unless noted, each class will celebrate a standalone reunion.
1959 and 1960 60th Reunion (combined)* 1964, 1965, and 1966 55th Reunion (combined) 1970 and 1971 50th Reunion 1975 and 1976 45th Reunion 1980 40th Reunion* 1985 and 1986 35th Reunion 1990 and 1991 30th Reunion 1995 and 1996 25th Reunion (combined) 2000 and 2001 20th Reunion 2005 and 2006 15th Reunion 2010 and 2011 10th Reunion 2015 and 2016 5th Reunion 2017-2021 Young Alumni Reunion *Please note: The classes of 1961 and 1981 have decided to hold their reunions in October 2022.
If you plan to attend your class reunion, please let us know: reunions@coloradocollege.edu The health and safety of our CC alumni, student, faculty, and staff community continues to be our top priority, and the college is monitoring national and international updates on COVID-19. If necessary, we will adjust plans for large gatherings on campus to reduce risk. You can find more details on the Homecoming and Family Weekend website: coloradocollege.edu/homecoming
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HOMECOMING CONVOCATION
Alumni Association Awards
By Susan Burgamy ’66
T H E LO U I S T. B E N E Z E T AWA R D The Louis T. Benezet Award recognizes outstanding achievement in one’s chosen field, excellence through unusual success or contribution, innovation, or research that has advanced a profession or a cause, and/or extraordinary contributions and achievements that have improved people’s lives and exemplify the value of a liberal arts education. These attributes characterize the contributions of Louis T. Benezet, president of Colorado College from 1955 to 1963.
PHOTO COURTESY HAWAII COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
The 2021 Benezet Award recipient is Kelvin Taketa ’76 who has had a long career in the nonprofit sector. He is a national, state, and local leader in philanthropy, environmental preservation and protection, conservation, aquaculture, and education. He started The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii, helping to preserve 42,000 acres of habitat. He led government relations, communications, membership, and development at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and founded its Asia/Pacific region work. During his tenure as CEO and president of the Hawaii Community Foundation from 1998 to 2017, the foundation created the Fresh Water initiative, substantially reduced homeless families statewide, and worked on public education reform. Taketa founded a private equity firm aimed at increasing aquaculture production. The NonProfit Times named him one of the 50 most powerful and influential people in philanthropy and nonprofits three times. In 2017, Historic Hawaii named Taketa Kama’aina of the Year, an honor given to a Hawaii resident. He serves on several boards, including Feeding America, Elemental Excelerator, the Hawaii Leadership Forum, Hawaiian Electric Company, the Stupski Foundation, and the Center for Effective Philanthropy. His nominator stated, “The communities we see today (in Hawaii) would be less if Kelvin were not here making a difference.” He earned a law degree from the University of California Hastings College of Law.
TH E LLOY D E . WO R N E R AWA R D The Lloyd E. Worner Award recognizes outstanding loyalty, service, and generosity to the college as evidenced by continuing concern and support for students and the quality of teaching and learning, as well as the general well-being and future excellence of the institution. These attributes characterize the contributions of Lloyd E. Worner, Class of 1942, who served as a faculty member, dean, and ultimately as president of Colorado College from 1964 to 1981. The 2021 Worner Award recipient is Karen Rechnitzer Pope ’70, P’04, an art historian who joined the faculty at Baylor University in 2000. She was a senior lecturer and member of the Allbritton Art Institute. She retired in 2015. In 1995, she developed Art inSight Inc., Adventures in Art History to share her passion for art history with adults through study tours and visits to art sites and museums in the U.S. and abroad. Her publications include study guides, art reviews, and a book — “Homage to the Creative Spirit: Paintings by Jenness Cortez.” She was a Boettcher Scholar at Colorado College and earned a B.A. magna cum laude in art. She also earned an M.A. in art history from Ohio State University in 1973, and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Texas at Austin in 1981. Pope has served as permanent class secretary for the class of 1970 and as trustee from 2010 to 2016. She endowed a scholarship in art history to assist students with deep financial need.
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One of the most important functions of the Colorado College Alumni Association Council is to recognize the contributions of distinguished alumni, faculty members, and staff to the betterment of society and to the enhancement of the college and its mission. This year, the college honors the following people with these awards, which will be presented during Homecoming and Family Weekend:
THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE AWARD The Spirit of Adventure Award recognizes an alumnus/a who exemplifies the unique CC experience through a life of intellectual, social, or physical adventure. These attributes are characterized by the late Robert M. Ormes 1926, a Colorado College English professor from 1952 to 1973 and the inaugural award recipient, who was known as an adventurer of the mind, body, and the spirit. The 2021 Spirit of Adventure Award recipient is Jake Norton ’96, a world-famous climber, mountaineering guide, photographer, photojournalist, filmmaker, philanthropist, environmentalist, and motivational speaker. At CC, he designed his major in South Asian history and philosophy and graduated with honors. Norton began climbing at age 12 and has climbed the world’s most challenging mountains, including Everest, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, and Rainier. He was on the expedition that discovered George Mallory’s remains on Everest in 1999. In 2014, he was appointed ambassador to the U.N. Mountain Partnership, where he works to ensure mountains, mountain people, cultures, and ecosystems are recognized in international development goals. In 2011, he started Challenge 21 in partnership with Water for People to raise funds to combat developmental crises in water and sanitation. His 2013 film “The Water Tower” focuses on Mount Kenya and climate change; “Holy (un)Holy River” (2016) documents the criticality of the Ganges watershed. He has been involved in fundraising, reconstruction, and rehabilitation efforts in the aftermath of Nepal’s earthquake since 2015, and he works with dZi Foundation and Nepal Rising to help with Nepal’s COVID-19 wave. His inspirational talks have stimulated interest in mountain issues around the world. Norton has owned MountainWorld Productions since 1999.
THE GRESHAM RILE Y AWARD The Gresham Riley Award recognizes faculty and staff of the college who have made a significant difference to the college community through outstanding service, commitment, and accomplishment. The continuing concern for and support of students and alumni demonstrated by such individuals ensures the college’s general well-being and future excellence. These accomplishments exemplify the contributions made by Gresham Riley, the 10th president of Colorado College from 1981 to 1992.
The 2021 Riley Award recipient is Magdalena “Maggie” Santos ’86, director of Campus Safety and Emergency Management at the college since 2015. She earned a B.A. in Spanish Education at CC, graduated from the Colorado Springs Police Department Training Academy, completed credits for an M.A. in education at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and furthered her education through the Center for Creative Leadership and the Rocky Mountain Command College. Before becoming director of Campus Safety, she served the Colorado Springs Police Department for nearly 25 years following a five-year teaching career in Falcon School District. Using the motto “professional, ethical, responsive, and kind,” she has worked in concert with the Colorado Springs police and fire departments to improve relationships, communications, and response for students, neighbors, and community partners — a blended model that has received national recognition for the college. Santos also serves as COVID-19 emergency manager on campus and helped coordinate donations to Penrose Hospital. She believes that policing is not above the community; rather, it is from the community, and she has exemplified that belief through her work.
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ALUMNI ASSOCIATION COUNCIL
Colorado College Alumni Association Student Leadership Scholarship Awardees The Alumni Association Council created and continues to support the Colorado College Alumni Association Student Leadership Scholarship. This loan-reducing scholarship for sophomores and juniors recognizes student leaders and encourages them to stay involved with CC after graduation. This year’s recipients are Maddie Ross ’22, Grace Wade-Stein ’23, and Zaria Taylor ’22.
Maddie Ross ’22 • Major: Neuroscience • Minors: Molecular Biology and Classics • Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Favorite CC Memory: Summer 2019. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend a block abroad in Italy — my first time outside of the country! Exploring the cobblestone streets, museums, and ancient ruins with the classics and philosophy dream team (Associate Professor Sanjaya Thakur, Classics; Assistant Professor Richard Fernando Buxton, Classics; Professor Marcia Dobson, Classics; and Professor John Riker, Philosophy) was unforgettable. Favorite Class Thus Far: The Ruins of Modernity course with Assistant Professor of History Jake Smith expanded my local and global perspective and gave much-needed energy during quarantine regarding the importance of community and collaborative problem-solving.
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After you graduate, how will you use the skills you’ve learned so far to be an advocate for CC among your classmates and other alumni? I would engage with the Alumni and Student Engagement Committee to harness alumni support and advise students during the daunting task of navigating postgraduate opportunities. The Block Plan has taught me to always ask questions, which through continued relationship building, I intend to do to support ongoing student and faculty needs. Among my personal alumni community, I will foster advocacy out of reflection on our own student experiences. After you graduate, how do you plan to use your experiences at CC to give back to CC with your time, talent, and treasure? I was drawn to Colorado College because it promotes a culture of breaking bread and giving back time. As a graduate student, I look forward to forging continued and new connections with the college. I intend to provide mentorship to students navigating the Block Plan through TigerLink, volunteering to speak on Collaborative for Community Engagement or psychology panels, and engaging with Bonner students. Growing up in the Springs, I spent much of my childhood on campus. When I come back to visit my family, I will be eager to see campus.
Grace Wade-Stein ’23 • Major: History-Political Science • Hometown: Louisville, Colorado
Favorite CC Memory: My favorite CC memory is talking and laughing on the roof of Shove Chapel with friends I met during Winter Start Orientation. Favorite Class Thus Far: My favorite class has been Creative Writing: The Moving Line, which was one of the first classes that I took online. I loved practicing art as mindfulness and found it to be very grounding during the early days of the pandemic. After you graduate, how will you use the skills you’ve learned so far to be an advocate for CC among your classmates and other alumni? After graduation, I will use the leadership and communication skills that result from my academic and extracurricular experiences to advocate for CC by
encouraging fellow classmates and alumni to express their gratitude for the opportunities that CC provided them by giving back to the school and the community it fosters. I will urge them to help send other students to CC so that they may also benefit from all the school has to offer; I will motivate them to use their expertise as students and resources as alumni to further improve the school for future generations of students. After you graduate, how do you plan to use your experiences at CC to give back to CC with your time, talent, and treasure? As a recipient of financial aid, the school’s grants and scholarships were the only reason that I was able to fulfill my dream of attending CC. I will return the favor by donating my time, talent, and treasure to ensure that as many students as possible are able to attend this fine institution. I intend to apply my resources to issues of equity and accessibility so that everyone who wants to be part of the CC community can be; I will give back to the school by ensuring that its students are those who are most passionate about attending.
Zaria Taylor ’22 • Major: Sociology • Minor: Spanish • Hometown: Newark, New Jersey
Favorite CC Memory: One of my favorite CC memories was when I performed on stage for the first time as a student choreographer during Fall 2019 and for the first time choreographed my own piece and used my leadership, people, and organizational skills to bring my artistic vision onto the stage. Favorite Class Thus Far: My favorite class thus far is Biology of Animals with Professor of Organismal Biology and Ecology Brian Linkhart. After you graduate, how will you use the skills you’ve learned so far to be an advocate for CC among your classmates and other alumni? My leadership skills, people skills, and sense of gratitude will provide me the
confidence and discipline needed to handle difficult tasks. I will show my fellow classmates and alumni how we can give more gratitude and appreciation for the hard work that has been done for our community. My people skills will help me assess and understand the needs of CC classmates and alumni. My leadership skills will help me leverage other people’s strengths to amplify the characteristics that can benefit our community and find innovative ways to make it better. After you graduate, how do you plan to use your experiences at CC to give back to CC with your time, talent, and treasure? As a choreographer and entrepreneur, I aspire to add value to CC’s performing arts department to provide support for students who dream of starting businesses. I want to provide funding to allow for greater diversity of dance and music and collaborate with faculty, staff, and students on new ways to introduce dance beyond Dance Workshop and adjunct classes. As an entrepreneur, I would like to serve students who are curious and committed to creating opportunities for others in their communities by coaching them with the necessary tools and mindset to build a strong foundation and thrive even though they anticipate challenges.
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CC Mobile Arts
Cranks Up New Truck is Built to Take Arts on the Road
ABOVE: During the May First Friday event downtown, the CC Mobile Arts launched its initiative to bring the arts to the greater community. During the launch artists led classes, performed on the van’s portable stage and sound system, and held poetry workshops with the audience. CC Mobile Arts program assistant Mitra Ghaffari ’17 is pictured on stage. Photo by Jennifer Coombes
By Brenda Gillen
CC Mobile Arts launched this spring to enable the campus community to take the arts on the road. Program Director Naomi Pueo Wood purchased a 2021 E-350 Cutaway Ford truck and equipped it with a PA system, projection, lighting, stage, and solar panels. Wood anticipates the 16-foot vehicle facilitating pop-up shows, workshops, exhibitions, storytelling, and more. An abundance of ideas is emerging
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in Wood’s conversations with faculty, students, and members of the local arts community. “Each conversation led to more ways that it would be an incredible resource for teaching and for improving the quality of life in the city. My goal is to highlight ways for weaving Block Plan teaching, community engagement, and creative expression through a hands-on teaching and learning experience,” Wood says. Wood is the National Endowment for the Humanities distinguished teaching professor and associate professor and chair of the Spanish and Portuguese
Mobile Arts creator and CC Professor Naomi Pueo Wood.
Department. The NEH professorship revolves every three years to a tenured humanities faculty member. Wood is making use of a long-standing NEH grant to fund CC Mobile Arts. In 1991 CC was awarded a NEH challenge grant of $250,000 to establish an endowed professorship focused on teaching excellence. To meet the challenge, CC had to raise an additional $750,000.
TOP: Chicago artist Lisa Villanueva ran an activism painting workshop during the event. Photo by Jennifer Coombes BOTTOM: One side of the truck features art by local artist Rosario Weston. Photo by Brenda Gillen
Artwork featuring two Colorado Springs-based artists, Rosario Weston and Kevin Johnson, was printed on vinyl and wrapped onto the vehicle’s sides. Stella Biehl ’22, a neuroscience major and studio art minor, is the visor artist and helps market the project. Weston’s “Enraptured by the Arts” composition evolved around the concept that love for arts can become a vehicle for achieving greater understanding, compassion, and connectivity. “I think this project is going to reinforce awareness that there are underserved pockets in our community that don’t have exposure to dance, theatre, poetry, and painting. Then there’s the other realization that art really does connect human beings,” Weston says.
Combined with NEH funds, that created a $1 million endowed fund to support the college’s first distinguished teaching professorship. “The heart of the NEH professorship is an interdisciplinary team-teaching arrangement that links a senior or associate professor with a less experienced faculty member, providing an opportunity for the junior faculty to learn how to teach most effectively under the Block Plan,” says Wood. CC Mobile Arts is expected to facilitate collaboration, and it may even spur creative efforts to retain new faculty. “How do we make the city a place where people want to live and stay? For me as a queer person, I’ve been looking for queer art spaces and queer dance spaces. So, let’s make the things happen that we want. And there’s energy among CC faculty to do that,” Wood says. Some of that energy was on display at a May 7 unveiling event in downtown Colorado Springs. People of all ages came to see the new vehicle, create art and poetry, and enjoy performances by artivist Lisa Villanueva, spoken word poet Ashley Cornelius, and dancers from the Latisha Hardy performance group and school.
My goal is to highlight ways for weaving Block Plan teaching, community engagement, and creative expression through a hands-on teaching and learning experience. Dimitri Klebe, an astrophysicist and co-founder of Solmirus (the company contracted to do the build out), has interactive exhibits that include the Mobile Earth + Space Observatory, a “science center on wheels.” A CC visiting professor of astronomy and physics, Klebe is the engineer responsible for the CC Mobile Arts stage and other components. Not only did he have the technical expertise to design and custom build the wooden stage, but he also has a background in performance. “My dad was an opera singer, and he started Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma, California. And it’s still going today. I grew up in that theatre watching plays and shows,” Klebe recalls. One of the challenges he faced was making the stage as big as possible. “To get the bigger stage — it measures 14 feet, 4 inches by 6 feet, 5 inches — we had to have wings
that then ultimately fold it out from that,” he says. “I was very pleased with how the stage came out.” Klebe and his colleague Bryan Costanza also built a structure to house the speakers and solar panels, and they configured lighting. The arts mobile will be used for film screenings at Acacia Park and other outdoor spaces and participated in the Colorado Springs Juneteenth Festival, Pride events, the COS150 Downtown celebration marking the city’s sesquicentennial, and First Friday events. Wood will be incorporating it into her First-Year Program at CC this fall. FYP provides new students with a critical introduction to liberal arts learning on the Block Plan. She’s also looking forward to faculty proposals to incorporate the mobile arts truck into their block classes. As the program gets on the road, support from across campus has been vital. A Changemaker: Faculty and Student Collaboration Grant from Creativity & Innovation at CC is providing funds for three paid student positions this summer in programming, digital media, and marketing. Jane Hatfield ’22 is one of two research and programming assistants. An integrated design and architecture major on the pre-med track, they find the role is a perfect marriage of their love of art and science. “Art has been a huge focus of my time at CC and in my personal life. I’m in charge of setting up community relationships and finding artists and partners that we want to collaborate with. There’s so much flexibility with it,” Hatfield says. Hatfield started the Girls Skate Club, and a collaborative skate and art event is one of many potential opportunities. “Our whole goal is to bridge the gap between the disparate parts of Colorado Springs. I see the truck as a perfect opportunity to create living events that will establish a stronger connection between CC and the Springs,” Hatfield says. “Getting the arts out to people is something I’m really passionate about, and from a directorial stance, literally just planning how to put all the pieces in the same place, so then magic can happen.” Wood would like to travel to Cañon City, Greeley, and other communities where students and local artists can take part in collaborative events and work with folks who inspire them. As the driver getting CC Mobile Arts started on its journey, Wood envisions that in two years this campus and community resource will transition from her leadership to a more collaborative model to continue rolling along.
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Douglas “Doug” Harding Mitchell will be inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 6, 2021, in Hamilton, Ontario. Although Doug went to CC on a hockey scholarship, he ended up playing football as well. He also played with the B.C. Lions before joining the legal profession. He served as Canadian Football League commissioner from 1984-1988 and created and served as chairman of the annual BLG Awards (Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards, formerly known as the Borden Ladner Gervais) honoring Canadian collegiate athletes. The Mitchell Bowl, which is one of the Vanier Cup semi-final contests, bears his name. In 2004, Doug was appointed to the Order of Canada and, three years later, he was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence.
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For two years Lynne Johnson has been helping to spread joy through a weekly column called “Chasing the Light,” which is published in “Midweek” in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “Chasing the Light” is an interfaith collaboration; each week a guest writer submits a short first-person perspective piece. Lynne drew inspiration for this project from a daily column published in the paper by the late Rev. Paul Osumi and a spiritual column in the New Delhi Times. She appreciated how both columns provided a welcome respite from what is often somber news. Lynne is always looking for new writers for “Chasing the Light” so, if you are interested, please contact her at cometkupono@gmail.com.
Tom in the Berkshire Botanical Garden Library selecting photos for inclusion in the exhibition. Photo by Gillian Culff.
Fine arts photographer Tom Zetterstrom will exhibit 36 gelatin silver photographs from his Portraits of American Trees portfolio at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, Leonhardt Galleries, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Sept.17-Oct. 31.
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Zetterstrom’s photographs are represented in the collections of 44 museums nationally, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, the Library of Congress, as well as numerous corporate and private collections. “Zetterstrom’s portraits of trees partake in a tradition whose roots lie deep in 19th-century photography and painting,” writes Charles S. Moffett, former director of the Phillips Collection. “[His] images reflect moods and ideas that are at least indirectly related to British and American romantic traditions. He has both built a bridge to the past and created a body of work that fully reflects a particular late 20th-century sensibility.” Zetterstrom is the recipient of the 2011 national Arbor Day Foundation’s Public Awareness of Trees Award for his photographic work and as a tree preservationist. In a series of talks titled “Whose Woods These Are,” Zetterstrom will describe projects that have effected positive change to protect native plants and trees in natural and in community forests. Additionally, he will give three gallery talks about the art and horticulture of black-and-white tree photography.
Jane Lubchenco was appointed deputy director for climate and the environment in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, working to find climate change solutions that will help improve the environment, economy, and health of all. Jane is a well-known marine scientist, holding posts at Oregon State University and as the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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David Herbert received a Sacramento Business Journal Most Admired CEO Award. David is president and CEO of Sutter Independent Physicians, “an Independent Practice Association of over 500 of the best private practice physicians in the greater Sacramento Valley and foothills area.” Sutter offers primary care for children, adults, and families, as well as advanced specialty care. David’s expertise in infectious diseases proved critical and serendipitous to Sutter when the pandemic hit, and he enjoys bringing his ideas to the administration side of medicine.
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In recognition of a lifetime of work furthering the arts, Sue Simpson Gallagher was a recipient of the 2020 Governor’s Arts Award, run by the Wyoming Arts Council. Her service as a curator and arts advocate is widely regarded throughout Wyoming and beyond.
Michelle Talarico, co-owner of the Picnic Basket Catering Collective, was named the recipient of the 2021 Athena Award, which honors businesswomen for professional excellence, community service, and mentorship of other women. It is hosted by the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Corporation. Michelle also serves on the boards of several area groups, including the Colorado Springs Leadership Institute, the Greenberg Center for Learning and Tolerance, the Pikes Peak Hospice Foundation, Colorado Springs Conservatory, the Children’s Literacy Center, and Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado.
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Jennifer “Jeni” Arndt was elected mayor of Fort Collins, Colorado, on April 6. Jeni was previously a member of the 73rd Colorado General Assembly and served as chair of the Agriculture, Livestock, and Water and Statutory Revision committees. She also was involved with the Transportation and Local Government Committee. She won 63% of the vote, and her blowout victory was a decisive finale for an unusually competitive mayoral race. Though the race is officially nonpartisan, the results also represent a political departure for Fort Collins: The city hasn’t had a registered Democrat as mayor since the 1990s.
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Lowe J. Billingsley was appointed senior vice president of operations for Argonaut Gold Inc. Previously, Lowe was the mine manager of the Stillwater East Mining Complex for Sibanye-Stillwater and also had senior leadership roles at AngloGold Ashanti.
Rev. Kristin Johnston Largen was appointed as the next president of Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Previously, Kristin was a professor of systematic theology at United Lutheran Seminary. She teaches in the area of systematic theology with a focus on comparative theology with Buddhism and Hinduism and works in 21st-century theology, specifically with feminist and liberation theologies. Kristin is also associate dean of religious and spiritual life and college chaplain at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She is editor of Dialog: A Journal of Theology, and recently published the book “A Christian Exploration of Women’s Bodies and Rebirth in Shin Buddhism” (Rowman and Littlefield).
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Mark Stevens is a volunteer running coach at the San Quentin State Prison, which houses the only death row in the state of California. The program is called the San Quentin 1,000 Mile Club. Mark ran high school track and has experience coaching high school track and cross country. Mark helps train club members to complete a prison marathon by year’s end. He has also written letters in support of certain individuals suitable for parole. Mark has a local running club in the Bay Area where paroled inmates are welcome to join. He finds this work very personally rewarding.
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Daniel Fellman was named new senior rabbi by Temple Sinai in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Daniel has been the senior rabbi at Temple Concord in Syracuse, New York, for more than a decade. He formerly served as assistant and associate rabbi at Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He serves on the board of Interfaith Works and the City/County Human Rights Commission, as well as the board of the Jewish Federation, the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation, and the University Hill Corporation in Syracuse.
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Amairani Alamillo earned a master’s degree in counseling and human services. Prior, she worked in Colorado College’s Butler Center for five years. Amairani will continue her passion for working with underserved communities by providing therapy services to children, individuals, and families in the foster care system, as well as juvenile sex offenders.
Ryan Haygood won a University of Colorado Boulder law alumni award for Distinguished Achievement — Special Recognition for Outstanding Leadership in Civil Rights. Ryan is a nationally respected civil rights lawyer and is president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Under Ryan’s leadership, the institute’s advocacy led to the historic restoration of the vote to 83,000 people on parole and probation, a right New Jersey previously denied since 1844. Ryan is a trustee of the college.
Kate Aitchison’s art was featured at the gallery at the Block Island Airport, a partnership between the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. Kate’s art focuses on print media, incorporating her handmade paper. The exhibit was on display through June 21. Kate also teaches printmaking at CC as a block visitor.
Doron JéPaul Mitchell (right) stars in the film “Testament,” a new streaming theatrical production from Brooklyn-based theatre company Via Brooklyn. “An original play with music, ‘Testament’ is a compelling re-imagining of four oft-forgotten Bible characters told through the lens and sounds of modernday America.” The film was originally meant to be a stage production but was filmed for streaming due to COVID-19. Clips from the film can be seen on the Via Brooklyn website: viabrooklyn.org.
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Harrison Raine wrote an article on March 22 titled “We Need to Act Now to Fight Wildfires” about the 2021 fire season in the Southwest for Writers on the Range, a nonprofit dedicated to spurring lively conversation about the West. Along with being a recent graduate of CC, Harrison has been a hotshot crew member since 2016, fighting fires all season across the West.
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Virginia “Ginny” Skiff Brutschy died peacefully in Monterey, California, on July 1, 2016, after a brief illness. Ginny enjoyed sailing, attending opera and symphony performances in San Francisco, and traveling the world. She is survived by sons Mason S. Brutschy and Lance F. Brutschy and three grandchildren.
Melissa Evans Lovelady died last fall in Los Angeles, California. She attended the Medical School of Technology at Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and, after receiving her state and national licenses, worked in hematology research at UCLA. She enjoyed traveling to places like the Arctic, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Chinn passed away on Feb. 10, 2021, in Pueblo, Colorado, in the presence of family and a long-time caregiver. She taught journalism and algebra at Pueblo’s Centennial High School. She also taught at Southern Colorado State College and retired as an assistant professor at the University of Southern Colorado.
Katherine “Kay” Sanders Kitchen passed away peacefully at her home in Keswick, Virginia, on April 11, 2021. She taught elementary school before starting a family. Kay was a lifeguard and swimming instructor at The Broadmoor hotel and on Catalina Island in California. She participated in water ballet at Stanford University and enjoyed water aerobics into her nineties.
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Charles “Carky” Rubens II passed away peacefully on April 29, 2021, in Scarsdale, New York. Carky served in the Army and then began his advertising career at Life magazine. He was advertising sales director at places like Time, Dreyfus Corporation, Sports Illustrated, and Money magazine. He was also an alumni trustee at CC. One of his four children, Peter Rubens ’81, attended CC as did his wife, Mary Crawford Rubens ’53.
Jack Stuart Ellenberger passed away in New York, New York, on Nov. 21, 2020. With a 40-plus-year career, Jack was a member of the American Association of Law Libraries Hall of Fame. He served in the U.S. Air Force before becoming the law librarian at the U.S. Department of Health and many law firms.
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Judy Seitz Richmond died on March 5, 2021, in South Portland, Maine. Judy worked at General Engineering Laboratories of American Machine and Foundry Co. before co-founding Cycle Imports with her husband. She then became an emergency medical technician and electronic technician. Judy loved cycling, hiking, and traveling. She is survived by her son and daughter.
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Melvin Roy Stephens passed away in Colorado Springs on April 18, 2020. He studied business administration at CC.
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Courtney “CoCo” Strang passed away after a brief illness on Jan. 13, 2021, in Newport News, Virginia. Coco worked as the activities director and social worker at a large nursing home in Maryland and was a master gardener. She is survived by her husband, Robert C. Strang ’52, three sons, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Joanne Hailer Engleson the wife of Gerald L. Engleson ’54, died on Sept. 7, 2020, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Joanne is also survived by three children, seven grandchildren, and five greatgrandchildren. She was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority at CC. She later did some teaching, was a tour guide in Washington, D.C., and, along with her husband, conducted tours to Israel.
Milton Nichols of Grand Junction, Colorado, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2021. Milton served in the U.S. Army from 1954-56 and went on to be a commercial real estate broker and developer in Saint Paul, Minnesota, for over 30 years. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Margaret, two sons, and a grandson.
Elaine DuPuy Harder died on Feb. 1, 2021, in Junction City, Kansas. Elaine was an equestrian, rancher, farmer, and conservationist. She owned and operated the Sun Rock Ranch for over 40 years. At CC, she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority and an avid tennis player.
Miriam Joan Barrett Hazard passed away in her sleep at home in Colorado Springs on Dec. 1, 2020, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Joan is survived by her husband of 62 years, Gibson (Gib) DeKalb Hazard Jr. ’58, and their five children. She earned a bronze life master status in duplicate bridge and once won the ladies tennis singles at the Garden of the Gods Club.
Jane Snodgrass Houston passed away on Sept. 24, 2020, in Denver, Colorado. Jane worked for the Broomfield Star in advertising and then joined the public relations team at Tracey-Locke before starting her own public relations business. She was a master gardener and is survived by her husband, two daughters, and four grandchildren.
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Robert Lee Arko passed away on Aug. 1, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia. Robert worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and later joined the police force in Coral Gables, Florida. He served in the U.S. Army as a military police officer before establishing his own security firm, Arko Executive Services.
Kristine Heyer Browne died on March 22, 2021, in Tingley, Iowa. She taught elementary school and then earned her degree as a licensed practical nurse. Kristen then earned her associate’s degree in counseling and later became a certified interior decorator. She was also an avid gardener, knitter, quilter, and antique enthusiast.
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Barbara “Barbe” Jensen Dwyer died on Feb. 13, 2021, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, after living courageously with cancer for 10 years. She embraced memories of her friends at CC, hockey games, socials at The Broadmoor, and the stunning views of Pikes Peak. She taught grade school in Denver and Minneapolis. Barbe is survived by five children and 11 grandchildren.
Glenn Francis Driscoll breathed his last breath in Seattle, Washington, on Nov. 8, 2020. Glenn served in the Army in Germany from 1945-46 and he was a teacher, director of counseling, and principal at Widefield School District in Colorado. After retiring, he focused on teaching teachers, volunteering, and exploring Colorado’s geologic and human history with his closest buddies.
Nancy Morris Whitaker passed away at home on March 19, 2021, in North Platte, Nebraska. She worked as a social worker at the Denver Department of Welfare. Nancy was honored at the 10th annual Women of Achievement awards for her community service, including forming a senior center, after-school day camp for kids, and a La Leche League chapter. She was the first lady of North Platte from 1996-2004 when her husband served as mayor.
Jerome “Jerry” Berryman Woods Jr. passed away on March 21, 2021, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Jerry played football and coached at CC. He returned regularly for the annual alumni football game until he was declared “The Oldest Tiger Returning to the Lair.” He was a banker and is survived by his children, grandchildren, and partner Elizabeth Speir ’72.
’67 Carol Smith Fisher passed away on April 22, 2020, in Urbana, Illinois. Carol was the director of development at the University of Illinois before retiring. She earned both an MFA and an MA at the university. She was a Gamma Phi Beta at CC.
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Jo Ann M. Flower passed away on March 26, 2020, in Harbor, Florida. Jo Ann worked as a legal assistant before retiring. She was an Alpha Phi at CC.
Sheldon Donald Ruda passed away on Sept. 22, 2017, in Rochester, New York. Sheldon is survived by his wife, Patricia, and a community of friends. He studied chemistry and volunteered at KRCC while at CC.
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John McClellan Dale of Aurora, Colorado, passed away April 3, 2021. John worked in many capacities during his long career in the Aurora Public schools, including teacher, reading specialist, administrator, tutor for homebound children, and countless volunteer positions. He is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
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Dana “Dan” Edgar Ketchum Jr. passed away on Feb. 22, 2021, in Simi Valley, California. Dan was in the Army in the ’60s and worked as director of marketing for Arnold Magnetics Corporation. He was a Phi Gamma Delta at CC.
Melinda Ann Wells McKnight passed away on March 30, 2021, at her home in Lawrence, Kansas. Melinda worked as a research associate at the Center for Research on Learning at the University of Kansas. Before that, she taught second and fourth grade, GED courses, and she proofread and edited scientific journals for Allen Press in Lawrence, Kansas.
Rev. Mary Elizabeth Bishop passed away on March 12, 2021, in Durham, North Carolina. Mary Beth was ordained through the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. She worked for many years supporting Duke University Public Safety training. Mary Beth was a talented ceramics artist and opened her own home studio where she taught members of her community.
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David Thorp Van Ness died of COVID19 on Jan. 7, 2021, in Colorado Springs. David was an avid Denver Broncos fan and also enjoyed skiing and playing bridge. In 2016, David was voted small business champion by the Colorado Springs Small Business Development Center for his work at Old Colorado City Associates Ltd. and Compass Computer Solutions.
Donald “Don” DeWitt died on April 13, 2021, in Eugene, Oregon. Don taught at Shasta High School in Redding, California, and English at South Eugene High School in Oregon until retiring in 1998. He was a lifelong runner and ran every distance recording over 24,000 miles (roughly the Earth’s circumference) after his initial diagnosis with heart disease in 2003.
On April 13, 2021, Charles “Charlie” Matteson passed away in Colorado Springs. Charlie married Georgia H. Matteson ’69 in the CC chapel in 1969. Charlie spent his early career in the backwoods of Alaska and Colorado mapping drainages and scouting mineral deposits for the U.S. Geological Survey and was the former CEO and president of the Comfort Zone.
Marian McMath Edwards Bateman died peacefully at her home on Feb. 23, 2021, in Ojai, California. She had valiantly endured stage 4 breast cancer for 12 years. Marian was an active member of the Peace Coalition and United Farm Workers and was executive director of the University of Austin YWCA 1981-84. She was an avid traveler and had a marvelous singing voice.
Captain George Olando Love (Ret.) died on Jan. 24, 2021, in Denver, Colorado. George played football at CC and joined the Denver Fire Department, where he was a founding member of the Colorado Black Professional Firefighters Association, Denver chapter. He led the effort to place a statue at Station 10 honoring the contributions and service of Black Firefighters past, present, and future.
In Memoriam
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erry Freeman, former curator of visual resources in the Art Department, died on March 27, 2021, peacefully at her home in Colorado Springs. Terry spent 27 years at CC and supported and mentored generations of students in their study and research, sharing her love of art and art history. She also supported faculty and the Art Department with programming and in many other ways. Before coming to CC, Terry graduated with a bachelor’s in art history from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She attended the University of Denver and earned her master’s degree in art history.
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ilbert Johns, professor emeritus of psychology, died on May 5, at age 89 in Chicago. Gilbert came to Colorado College in 1962 and retired in 1996. During his tenure at CC, Gilbert was tirelessly dedicated to the liberal arts and sciences. An expert in his field of behavioral psychology and experimental psychology, Gilbert was passionate about life and learning. His curiosity drove him on an endless quest for an expansive knowledge base from which he asked probing questions, diving deeply into a wide range of topics. A generalist, he exemplified the best of the liberal arts, co-teaching a variety of classes, including Freedom and Authority. A lover of spirited conversations, gregarious, strongly opinionated, known to be uncompromising upon occasion, charming, astute, and witty, Gilbert delighted in his students, friends, and community. Colorado College was both a village and a world in which Gilbert taught, worked, and lived with extraordinary energy. And for a time, generations of students, faculty, staff, and Colorado Springs community members got to experience the gift of who he was in the world.
Upon graduating, she worked at the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs as an assistant curator. While at CC, Terry was critical in helping make the transition from slides to digital format teaching. She loved gardening, sewing, genealogy, painting, and answering obscure “Jeopardy” questions. Being present for her family, friends, and church community was an important source of happiness for her. She is survived by her husband John, her four children ChristiAnn Davis, Drew Freeman, Derek Freeman, and Daryl Freeman, and her 12 grandchildren.
and encouraged the best in them, not letting anyone give up easily. He had clear visions of possibilities and paths forward, even when it wasn’t as clear for a student in the moment. Gilbert’s drive inspired those around him; former students shared that his “gentle pushing” led them to their careers. This drive also helped lead to him to co-founding the Colorado Opera Festival and directing it in 1970, which produced “Così fan Tutte,” and “Turandot,” among others until 1985. He inspired creativity in his role as dean of Summer Session for 15 years, championing the arts (especially music) on campus, and wrote a weekly column for The Gazette critiquing local theatre and arts. Gilbert found great joy in experiencing life and engaging the senses — in cooking and tasting gourmet food, savoring a Chicago hotdog at a beloved Cubs game; in reading, listening to music, discovering new trivia, and exploring Europe. Gilbert stood firmly on the earth, embracing the fullness of who he was, his boldness and beauty of spirit, both of which he shared with us in all that he did.
Gilbert had high expectations of himself and his students. He was deeply committed to his students,
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In Memoriam
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illiam “Will” S. Smith ’74 passed away on April 7, 2021, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Will was vice chairman of the board in charge of natural gas contracts, land, and legal work at the family business, Service Drilling Company. He ice-skated in singles and pairs with his sister, Susan Smith Burghart ’77, until college when he became a professional ice-skating judge. U.S. Figure Skating will honor Will as a 50-year judge and a former vice president.
A dedicated philanthropist and longtime supporter of Colorado College, Will was passionate about supporting CC students through scholarships. In recent years, his philanthropy inspired hundreds
Clyde W. Smith of Santa Monica, California, passed away on Nov. 25, 2020. Clyde was an Emmy-winning director of photography who shot music videos with the likes of Weird Al Yankovic and Jeff Foxworthy. He also filmed award show sequences including the opening to the Oscar ceremonies with Billy Crystal.
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Paul Douglas Estlund passed away on March 19, 2021, in Aurora, Colorado. Paul served in the U.S. Air Force in both Belgium and Colorado Springs. He worked in the Animal Pharmaceutical Industry as a sales representative and later started his own company selling home care medical equipment.
Deborah “Deb” Jeanne Chaloud passed away after a brief and brave struggle with cancer on Aug. 3, 2020, in Henderson, Nevada. Deb worked at Lockheed Martin in the environmental safety and health division and then at the Environmental Protection Agency. She was a naturally gifted seamstress who enjoyed creating clothing and cross stitch in her spare time.
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Craig Buckham died on Feb. 13, 2021, from a hard-fought battle with lung cancer in Seattle, Washington. Craig worked at Boeing Flight Controls for 38 years. Craig received a Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and also earned his wings as a private pilot.
to make scholarship gifts of their own through two challenges. Together with his sister Susie, Will in 2007 also supported the Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center. In 2019, Will received the Lloyd E. Worner Award, an honor that recognizes outstanding loyalty, service, and generosity to the college. Will also was a benefactor to many nonprofit organizations and community projects in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, including the “Gathering Place,” Tulsa’s transformative riverfront park. Will has made an indelible impact on his community and CC.
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Barbara Brennan Ritter died on Aug. 25, 2014, in Sun City, Arizona. Barbara was a widely influential teacher for over 25 years and an accomplished artist and painter. She is survived by four children and four grandchildren. She enjoyed dancing, bridge, traveling, fashion, genealogy, and mostly time spent with family and friends.
Dr. Patricia Rodriguez Hernandez passed away peacefully in El Paso, Texas, on March 7, 2021. Patricia played basketball at CC. She began her career working at a women’s battered shelter. For years, Patricia worked in the Clint, El Paso, and Socorro school districts as a teacher, coach, and diagnostician. Dr. Kurt M. Miller, DVM, of Wilmette, Illinois, died on April 1, 2021. Kurt opened the first veterinary hospital in Winnetka in 2007. Kurt could fish anywhere, and there was not a lake, stream, river, or pond that did not draw him in with some kind of a rod and reel or fly. Francis “Joyce” Smith Krenzin of Rockwall, Texas, passed away on Feb. 4, 2021, after suffering a stroke. Joyce taught English at Ysleta High School in the El Paso area and then at Pikes Peak Community College. She enjoyed the American Southwest and pursued a master’s degree in Southwest Studies at CC.
Seth Andrew Bossung died in an avalanche while skiing on The Nose slope of South Lookout Peak near Silverton, Colorado, on Feb. 1, 2021. Seth was an architect and managed projects for Eagle County’s energy efficiency department. Seth is survived by his wife and two children.
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Dorothy Rice Thorne Brown passed away on March 24, 2016, in Huntsville, Alabama.
Dr. Walter John “Jay” Miller III, D.O., of Riverside, Illinois, passed away on April 13, 2009. Jay completed his residency in 2006 at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. He was a 1997 graduate of Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine and a member of the American College of Surgeons. He earned his fellowship at the Society of Surgical Oncology and the National Cancer Institute. He is survived by his wife, Mary Jo Miller, two daughters, and his in-laws.
In Memoriam
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oAnn Jacoby, former director of Tutt Library between 2017-2020, died on April 3, 2021, in Washington, North Carolina. She was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer at the end of February. She was only 54.
JoAnn was a gifted librarian and lived a rich and full life. She authored a book, various chapters in conference proceedings and books, journal articles, and presented at several national and international meetings. She was curious and adventurous, loving to explore as she traveled this country and world in depth — from sailing the Ionian Sea to hiking lava fields in the Galapagos to visiting the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt to kayaking in Alaska. She even discovered a species new to science, a cave-adapted springtail from Belize, Trogolaphysa jacobyi.
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arl Lester Roberts Jr., professor emeritus of psychology, died in Colorado Springs on April 2, 2021, after a short illness. He was 94. Carl was at CC from 1957 to 1992 and played a key role, along with other faculty, in forming the Psychology Department with a behaviorist focus. He was department chairman from 1958 to 1977. Carl was known for passionately engaging students and colleagues in healthy debate, and he empowered generations of committed behaviorist psychologists, teachers, and researchers around the world. Carl played on the faculty hockey team, was on the softball team, and acted in several plays at Colorado College. He was a fanatic fly fisherman, tying his own flies and fishing the world over. He also was an artist specializing in watercolors and applied the solitude and beauty of fly-fishing to his practice of painting. After macular degeneration robbed him
Before coming to CC, JoAnn was on the staff at the University of Illinois as an assistant librarian at the Illinois Natural History Survey Library. Her roles there varied from anthropology and sociology subject specialist, assistant professor, associate professor, head of research and information services, associate university librarian for user services and associate dean of libraries. JoAnn was generous with her time and empowered students as a supportive mentor, leader, and supervisor. She listened intently and created dynamics that broke down traditional patterning often found among hierarchical leadership. She had the rare ability of being able to be fully dedicated to her work and equally committed to life outside work. She invited us to remember our lives are multidimensional and it’s important to have space for these dimensions, too.
of these hobbies precious to him, he did not let it stop him from volunteering with the Sand Creek Library and many other social and environmental causes. Both he and his wife, Shirley, had long commitments with the El Paso County Democrats. Carl also served on the board of directors with Trout Unlimited and the Pikes Peak Library District. One of the many generous gifts Carl left the college includes The Carl L. and Shirley L. Roberts Endowed Scholarship he created. This scholarship is used to provide scholarships to Colorado College students who have deep financial need and/or who are part of the first generation in their family to attend a four-year college or university and have demonstrated financial need. Carl was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley, and is survived by his daughter, Barbara, of Fruita, Colorado.
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G I T ER C C YEAR AT SHOWDOW S I H T N I A G A L I N PREVA
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fter totaling the points across all games in the third annual Division III SCAC Esports Showdown, CC Tigers Esports came out on top, becoming back-to-back champions. According to Esports Coordinator Josh Lauer ’19, the 2021 SCAC Esports Showdown consisted of eight colleges mainly from the Division III athletics conference, the SCAC. This year, due to COVID restrictions, all finals matches were played online instead of in person. Colorado College was pitted against Concordia University, University of St. Thomas, Schreiner University, Austin College, Hendrix University, Trinity University, and Southwestern University. The SCAC Esports Showdown is treated like a track event, where colleges play in four separate games and total their points across their placements to determine an overall winner. This year, the colleges competed in League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Super Smash Brothers. Lauer says CC unfortunately got out early in League of Legends, placing sixth overall, and lost a nail-biter of a match against Southwestern University, netting fourth place in Super Smash Bros. CC pulled through and came from behind one game to three against Concordia University in Rocket League, getting first place after beating them 4-3 in the best of seven set. CC dominated in Overwatch and took first place after beating Southwestern University 4-2 in the best of seven set.
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STUDENTS SU P P O RTING
STUDENTS
In 2020, 15 CC students started the Mutual Aid Fund to create a network of solidarity and support within the CC community. This grassroots fundraising initiative helps students pay for groceries, rent, medical bills, and other expenses. Thank you to the hundreds of donors who have given to CC Mutual Aid, and supported our community with your gifts, volunteerism, and engagement. You are making a difference in the lives of CC students!
Through one-time and recurring gifts, you can join students and other donors who help to ensure equitable access to a CC education. www.coloradocollege.edu/bulletin Make a gift at crowdfund.coloradocollege.edu/ccmutualaid
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Bulletin
14 E. Cache La Poudre St. Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3294
Members of the Colorado College community gather at Stewart House to bid farewell and thank you to Acting Co-Presidents Mike Edmonds and Robert G. Moore and welcome incoming President L. Song Richardson. Moore, outgoing Board of Trustees Chair Susie Burghart ’77, and Edmonds attended the festivities. Photo by Josh Birndorf ’20
