Deans Notes - January 20, 2022

Researchers are correct to caution the use of census data to determine whether victim services leaders are providing services equitably, said Brenden Beck, Assistant Professor of Sociology. A better way to determine parity, he said, is to compare how many victims of crime there were in each race in Colorado to the number of victims of each race served by providers of each race.

Victims of crimes in Colorado get vastly different level of services depending on race, report finds
The Colorado Sun, Dec. 10

Associate Professor of Anthropology and National Geographic Explorer Jamie Hodgkins is the lead author of a study gaining worldwide attention, published in the journal Scientific Reports, “An infant burial from Arma Veirana in northwestern Italy provides insights into funerary practices and female personhood in early Mesolithic Europe.” Hodgkins and her team analyzed the remains of an infant discovered in a cave in northwestern Italy in 2017. The study included radiocarbon dating of the bones, DNA and protein analysis, and microscopic examination of the teeth revealing that the baby, who has been nicknamed Neve, was a girl who died some 10,000 years ago at about two months of age. Neve’s remains, however, are exceptional because they survived more than 10,000 years in the ground and still contained enough DNA for the scientists to analyze.

Earliest modern female human infant burial found in Europe
National Geographic, Dec. 14

Mesolithic...

Meditation done at an intense level may bring a significant boost to the inner workings of the human immune system. One expert not involved with the study said the findings, while unsurprising, are encouraging. "Many previous studies have discussed the positive associations of meditative practices on psychological and physical health," said Alex Presciutti, a Clinical Psychology PhD candidate.

Could Meditation Strengthen Your Immune System?
US News and World Report, Dec. 23

Gregory Simon, an Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Sciences, has tracked several fire recoveries. It’s an interest rooted in his own family’s weathering of the Oakland firestorm of 1991, when he was a teenager and many homes on their block burned down, though theirs was spared. “The households that have (robust savings) will probably be OK,” Simon said, “but it’s the people who don’t have a savings account of sufficient amount that will be finding this to be more difficult. They most likely will be compensated later, but it’ll be really difficult.”

What does it take to recover from a Colorado disaster? These people have experience — and some tips
The Denver Post, Jan. 9

The Environmental Stewardship of Indigenous Lands (ESIL) Certificate Program has joined the Native Food, Energy and Water Systems (FEWS) Alliance with the shared vision to build a highly skilled Native American Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce, and to address insufficient access to food, energy and water in Indigenous communities. The Native FEWS Alliance strives to become a transformative force in education, bringing into being innovative pathways to STEM careers that engage local communities and are based on Indigenous ways of living and learning.

To reach their goals, the Native FEWS Alliance, bolstered by a 7-million-dollar National Science Foundation INCLUDES grant, will leverage the strength and potential of each partnering program and expanding the Alliance’s collective capacity with a tight network of exchanges and collaborations.

As a partner in this Alliance, the ESIL Program will develop a nation-wide certificate program preparing students for liaison work between tribal and...

Professor of Psychology and CU President’s Teaching Scholar Mitch Handelsman won the 2021 Ethics Educator Award from the American Psychological Association Ethics Committee. The award recognizes "outstanding contributions to ethics education and psychology."

Vance Harris, Geography and Environmental Sciences 2020 alum, had his first research publication in the journal Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, “Small-Area Estimation for the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey: Creating a Fine-Scale Land Cover and Ownership Layer to Support County-Level Population Estimates concerning utilizing Small Area Estimation to compensate for poor response rates in surveying the social component of private land/forest ownerships.” This work comes from a pilot study and should produce follow-up manuscripts later this year.

English Professor Wayne Miller received a $10,000 National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship to support his collaborative translation of the short story collection Sellers Of Chaos by the Albanian writer Moikom Zeqo. 

Assistant Professor of Health and Behavioral Sciences Ivan Ramirez recently published “Deconstructing the spatial effects of El Niño and vulnerability on cholera rates in Peru: Wavelet and GIS Analyses” in Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology. This retrospective research yields new insights about epidemic cholera during the 1990s in Latin America, which first emerged in Peru, and was linked to the air-sea phenomenon, El Nino. Overall, the research is important for understanding climate change impacts on disease, which can vary across time (stronger to weaker connections), due to varying levels of climate extremes and hazards, and social vulnerability that varies across populations and places. The publication was coauthored with Jieun Lee from University of Northern Colorado.

The CoorsTek Denver Metro Regional Science & Engineering Fair prepares the next generation of STEM professionals by fostering an enthusiasm for science and inquiry. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DMRSEF has been transitioned to a virtual format again this year. DMRSEF Judges volunteer their time, enthusiasm, and expertise to help our student researchers get the most out of their fair experience. Anyone with a high school degree or above and a love for all things STEM is encouraged to sign up. Judges engage directly with students and their projects: asking questions, guiding discussions, and ultimately selecting the winners of the fair. Year over year, students report that the top reason they participate is the opportunity to meet and receive feedback from  STEM professionals. Help us embrace this year's theme and show students This is what a scientist looks like! Check out this presentation from the 2021-2022 Judge Kickoff / Info Session to...

1:30pm to 2:30pm
Virtual

These informational sessions are designed to assist managers, supervisors, HR Business Partners, Payroll Liaisons, and Administrators, in navigating the complexity of employee leave. Learn more at the human resources website.

12:00 Noon
Virtual

The National Endowment for the Humanities Office of Digital Humanities is delighted to be able to continue offering free virtual workshops for institutions across the United States during the 2021-2022 academic year. During these virtual workshops, NEH program staff will ‘visit’ your institution to explain how the NEH supports digital research, teaching, and publication, to discuss the application process for NEH grants, and to get to know your community.   

10:00am - 12:00pm
Virtual

Learn more about discrimination and sexual misconduct, what 15 classes are protected from discrimination, how to report sexual misconduct, and more in this in-depth training from the Office of Equity.

11:00am – 12:00 noon

Join Chancellor Michelle Marks and other CU Denver leaders for the February Virtual Town Hall. Learn about some of the plans in store for this semester, including our work in equity and inclusion, our continuing progress on the 2030 Strategic Plan, the university’s ongoing response to COVID-19, and more. Please submit questions for Chancellor Marks and our panelists ahead of time. You can also ask questions live through the Q&A function on Zoom. Register to receive zoom link.

Wednesday, February 2 from 9:00am to 11:00am
Wednesday, February 9 from 9:00am to 11:00am
Wednesday, February 16 from 9:00am to 11:00am
Must attend all sessions

This interactive and dynamic course empowers individuals with clear discernment to avoid distractions and to accomplish the goals that matter most in their professional and personal lives. The University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus Learning & Development unit is responsible for the design and delivery of professional development programs for all university faculty and staff.