Deans Notes - April 13, 2023

"Fire is a perfectly normal thing in Colorado," said Brain Buma, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology. "It's been here for tens of thousands of years, and it will be... our forests are quite adapted to those fires.” But Mother Nature's job is getting harder. "The fires that we're getting now are resulting in conditions that the forest just can't handle," Buma said.

Study: Colorado forests are not recovering post-fire like they used to
9News, April 3

In Denver’s early days, there were few rules about what had to go where in the city. “You could be living right next door to a place that was vulcanizing tires, for example, or a smelter or where you're rendering fat from chickens or cows,” said Mandy Rees, a Lecturer and PhD student in the Geography and Environmental Sciences department who’s studying the city’s zoning history.

Gov. Jared Polis thinks density is the magic bullet for high housing costs. Is he right?
CPR, March 31

“The listing of whitebark pine provides authority, coordination, additional funding sources, and soon, a roadmap for restoration,” says Diana Tomback, Professor of Integrative Biology and Policy and Outreach Coordinator for the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation.

Whitebark Pine Tree Gets Endangered Species Act Protection
All About Birds, April 5

The CLAS Staff Council is pleased to welcome staff who started working for the college in the academic years 2022 and 2023! Some joined the college from other positions at CU, while others are new to CU. Join us in extending a friendly welcome to all staff who joined the college this academic year and last:

CLAS Dean’s Office: Aman Tewolde, Linux Systems Administrator; Stephanie Puello, Graduate Academic Services Coordinator 

CLAS Advising: Jordan Coulter, Academic Services Professional; Phoebe Isaacson, Academic Services Professional; Bailey Pixton, Academic Services Professional; Shanice McTeer, Academic Services Professional 

Biology: Hannah Baird, Laboratory Support

Chemistry: Michelle Batalla Portillo, Administrative Assistant; Vashita Jain, Professional Research Assistant 

Economics: Kristine Kohlmeyer, Professional Research Assistant  

English: Corey Addison-Taylor, Writing Consultant; Emilio Marquez, Administrative Assistant; Rachel Schwabauer, Professional Writing Consultant; Janine Gastineau, Professional Writing Consultant; Sarah Pepe, Professional Writing Consultant; Jennifer Lloyd, Professional Writing Consultant; Mary Ann Mace, Writing Consultant;...

Be a part of enhancing staff recognition, professional development, and impact within CLAS and CU Denver. Nominate yourself or others for Staff Council April 10-21 and vote April 26-May 5. Email CLAS.StaffCouncil@ucdenver.edu with any questions and visit our website for more information.

The Education through Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (EURēCA!) Program - which connects CU Denver undergraduates with faculty mentors eager to engage them in learning beyond the classroom - is currently accepting faculty proposals for AY’23-24 Student Assistant positions. These entry-level positions are full funded and supported by the Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities. The priority deadline is June 9th, and you can find more information at their website.

Associate Professors of English Sarah Hagelin and Gillian Silverman’s co-authored book The New Female Antihero: The Disruptive Women of Twenty-First-Century US Television (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2022) has won the Susan Koppelman Award for the Best Anthology, Multi-Authored, or Edited Book in Feminist Studies. The Award is given by the Popular Culture Association to one book published in the last three years and "recognizes groundbreaking feminist work in popular culture."

Nicky Beer, English Associate Professor, recently won a Guggenheim Fellowship in Poetry—one of just eight US poets who received the honor this year. Guggenheim Fellowships are highly prestigious and awarded "on the basis of prior achievement and exceptional promise.

The Denver Public Library is honoring History alum David Duffield with the Eleanor Gehers Award for his outstanding work with the Western History and Genealogy Department for collecting archives as part of the Colorado LGBTQ project for The Center on Colfax. This partnership has added 28 collections to the Western History Collection. This year's award ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 25. 

Associate Professor of History Gabriel Finkelstein’s essay "Paris or Berlin? Claude Bernard’s rivalry with Emil du Bois-Reymond" has been published in a special issue of History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences devoted to re-appraising Claude Bernard’s legacy. Finkelstein says, “I am honored to be the sole American scholar contributing to the issue. Bernard is something of a national hero in France: he was the first scientist in France to be awarded a state funeral, and his statue stands in the courtyard of the Collège de France, the country’s most prestigious academic institution.”

9:00 – 11:00 am
Student Commons Building ACAD 1500

The Dean will be hosting an additional CLAS Town Hall in April to talk about CLAS budget and academic strategic planning. Meetings will be held both in-person and by Zoom.

Information will be sent with Confirmation Email upon Registration

In this workshop, we explore ways we can approach faculty mentoring from an EDI lens using the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) web-based tools and resources, along with other supplemental materials. This webinar will be available for participation via Zoom only. As the CFDA Faculty Fellow for the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), Ivan J. Ramírez, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Health & Behavioral Sciences, is developing workshops/webinars that introduce faculty to the NCFDD resources as well as assembling resources that support the university’s 2030 goal to be the first equity-serving institution. This webinar supports the university’s goal to be an equity-serving institution by 2030 and also support CLAS’s DEI Strategic Plan.  

5:00 – 7:00 pm
Student Commons Building, Room 2600

The CU Denver chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society and "CU at the Capitol" Legislative Interns present the 2023 Colorado Legislative Roundup: A Bipartisan Discussion of Education Politics and Policies in Colorado.

5:00 PM - Reception
5:30-6:45 PM - Presentation and Discussion
6:45-7:00 PM - Mingle

This event features:

• Catered Reception
• Presentations by State Legislators and Aides
• Audience Questions and Discussion
• Meet & Mix with State Powerholders
• CU Denver Legislative Interns Reflect on Lessons Learned at the Capitol

9:00 am
Tivoli Quad

Commencement honors the achievement of one's academic goals and the beginning of the next vocational commitment. Tickets are not required for either commencement ceremony. Please note that seating is first-come, first-served. Celebrate our graduates and their accomplishments by volunteering at spring commencement. Review additional celebration details at ucdenver.edu/commencement.