72 Colorado kids competed against 3,000 middle and high school students from around the nation at the National History Day contest this month at the University of Maryland near Washington, D.C.  To qualify students won at the state contest on May 5 at the University of Colorado Denver.  CLAS and the History Department were sponsors of the regional contest, with the theme REVOLUTION, REACTION, REFORM. 

Second place for Senior Group Performance at the National Competition went to students from Fairview High School--Kali Barnes, Charlie Beckman, Rohith Chintalapally, Jessica Halee and Jack McClellan--for their project entitled “The Salk Vaccine Field Trial."

DPS teacher, Barbara Allen, won the national Patricia A. Behring Teacher of the Year Award at the National History Day competition, presented June 14. Barbara Allen is a forty-year Denver Public Schools teacher, currently teaching middle school at Denver School of the Arts, and has touched the lives of thousands of students by mentoring History Day projects.

In addition to experiencing History Day, students also enjoyed the sights of Washington, D.C., a visit with Senator Michael Bennet and tour of the Capitol.  It was a great adventure for all.

The University of Colorado Denver Promoting Undergraduate Licensure in Science Education (PULSE) Noyce Scholarship Program (P-NSP) is proud to announce its awarding of 6 full scholarships to outstanding candidates pursing their goals of becoming secondary science educators. The first cohort of the PULSE Noyce Scholarship Program at the University of Colorado Denver is Douglas Green, Kaitlin McGrath, Emma McCourt, Rebecca Reilly, Hannah Tystad, and Eileen Yakish.

Funded by a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation, CU Denver’s PULSE Program recruits undergraduate or post-baccalaureate science majors with academic talent and financial need and prepares them in an exemplary manner to pursue a secondary (grades 7-12) science teaching career in settings that have the greatest need for excellent teachers: high-needs local school districts. PULSE Noyce Scholars are eligible to receive awards for up to two years in the amount of $12,000/year. In addition, scholars receive direct mentoring and support throughout their academic career and into their first year of teaching to help ensure high quality educators have the tools to remain and advance in the field. Recruitment targets the highest performing STEM students at the University of Colorado Denver, and special efforts are being made to recruit from underrepresented populations in STEM education, as well as students with disabilities. PULSE Noyce Scholars will be licensed through the Urban Community Teacher Education Program, part of the School of Education and Human Development at CU Denver.

The PULSE Noyce Scholarship Program is a collaborative effort involving faculty from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Education and Human Development, including principle investigator Doris Kimbrough (Chemistry) and co-principle investigators Bryan Wee (Geography and Environmental Sciences and SEHD), Robert (Bud) Talbot (SEHD), Laurel Hartley and Leo P Bruederle (Integrative Biology).

For more information on CU Denver’s PULSE Noyce Scholarship Program, please contact the program manager at: diane.santorico@ucdenver.edu (303-556-5613).

Stephen John Hartnett (P.I.), Lisa B. Keranen (Co-P.I.), and Patrick S. W. Dodge (Co-P.I.), of the Department of Communication and International College of Beijing, have received a $10,000 grant from the Waterhouse Family Institute (affiliated with Villanova University), to support their research project “The Dilemmas and Opportunities of U.S.-Chinese Communication in An Age of Globalization.” The grant will support work conducted in Hong Kong, Lhasa, and Beijing regarding modes of public debate about the evolving U.S.-China relationship.

The Geography and Environmental Sciences department participated for the second year in a row in the Colfax Marathon relay race last month.  The team consisted of two faculty members, Fred Chambers and Rafael Moreno, and three students, Page Carpenter, Isaac Rivera, and Rachael Miesen, and finished 15th out of 43 teams in The Government Cup Coed Division. Geography would like to extend a challenge to all other CLAS departments to compete with them next year, and any faculty interested in recruiting a team for their department can contact Tracy Jacobs in the Dean’s Office for more information/assistance. 

Please be advised that the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) Clicks Copy Service has been replaced with a new vendor, Ricoh Copy Services, effective March 8, 2012.  Be aware, when using Ricoh’s services you must use a university Procurement Card for jobs equal to or under $5,000, or a university purchase order for jobs over $5,000, as they do not accept university speedtypes.

Alternatively, if you wish to use a university speedtype, you may use the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus Printing Services, on the Anschutz Medical Campus.  If you have questions regarding these services, please contact the Customer Service Manager, David Feist, at 303-724-2660 or David.Feist@ucdenver.edu.

The monthly pay date that normally falls on the last working day of each month will be shifted to Monday, July 02, 2012, per State of Colorado directive to all state agencies. Employees are responsible for reviewing their financial obligations to accommodate this change. The university is not responsible for any overdraft charges or fees incurred by employeesas a result of this change in pay date.

An Open Letter to College Freshmen: How to Think Straight About College
Psychology Today Blog, May 29

In his regular blog professor Mitch Handelsman, of psychology, explains to students why embracing their current “position” as a job rather than a “stepping stone” will get them in the right mindset for developing skills and behaviors future employers value.

Lisa Keranen, associate professor of communication, organized "Medicine, Health, and Publics," a preconference devoted to understanding how publics interface with biomedical and health research and practice, on May 24-25, 2012, at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, which was held in conjunction with the biennial meeting of the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA). Keranen will be editing a forthcoming special issue of the Journal of Medical Humanities featuring revisions of the most promising research presented at the conference.

Noel: Colorado museum welcomes return of the Galloping Geese
The Denver Post, May 20

Tom Noel, professor of history, encourages RTD FasTrack officials to look to transportation innovations of the past, particularly the Galloping Goose fleet -- headed to a permanent home at the Colorado Railroad Museum this month -- to get inspiration for moving forward with Denver’s mass transit system.

Global warning threatens pine forests, forcing federal officials to shift strategy
The Washington Post, May 14

This comprehensive overview of changes to western pine forests, resulting from climate change and other factors, credits Diana Tomback, biology professor, with discovering whitebark pine’s reliance on the Clark’s nutcracker, and quotes her predictions on the future of the species.