News University of Northern Colorado

Video: UNC Professor Addresses Hearing Loss, Prevention at CDC

Mon, 03 Jul 2017 06:00:00 GMT

University of Northern Colorado Professor Deanna Meinke addressed the global hearing loss epidemic as a featured expert at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel discussion June 20. Miss the livestream? View the hourlong video recording here. Meinke's 12-minute presentation starts at the 13-minute mark, and she answers audience questions beginning at the 47:50 mark.

UNC Group to Conduct Research During 290-Mile River Expedition in Canadian Arctic

Thu, 25 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

University of Northern Colorado Professor Jimmy Dunn is leading a group that includes students on a 290-mile river expedition of the Canadian Arctic.

They will conduct research to gauge how far north spruce trees are growing since Dunn's first visit to the area 40 years ago. When finished, Dunn says the project will become part of the literature that assesses whether temperatures in the north are increasing.

The eight-member team will spend 21 days collecting seeds and marking the locations where they collect them. Upon their return, they'll analyze the collected seeds in the lab and run tests to determine if they're capable of sprouting.

The group will paddle in inflatable canoes every day, camp each night in remote wilderness, and cook their own food, which they will have to ration throughout the trip.

On Thursday, Dunn and the team packed their vehicle, a GMC Yukon, with equipment, including eight, 40-pound, heavy-duty kayaks, and supplies, many of which they made, to ensure that they will fit. They have to pay attention to weight, too, because they have to get to their starting point on the Coppermine River by departing June 12 on a floatplane from Yellowknife in Canada's Northwest Territories. The aircraft has a limit of 2,100 pounds.

The expedition, which took two years to plan, will begin at the Coppermine River from Rocknest Lake and end at the mouth of the river at Coronation Gulf in the Canadian Northwest Territories and Nunavut Territory.

Joining Dunn on the expedition are: Don Cleason, Denise Rettedal, Emily Doerner, Rusbel Contreras Jr., Gretl Galgon and Léo Sinigaglia.

Of Note
Support from UNC's Hewit Institute and a $5,500 anonymous gift made through the UNC Foundation helped fund the expedition in its entirety. Students will share their experiences during presentations at Colorado high schools this fall.

UNC Helping Build a Model for Healthier K-12 School Children

Tue, 16 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

A Colorado Health Foundation-funded project being led by the University of Northern Colorado aims to get K-12 students healthier and more active in their classrooms throughout the school day.

School of Sport and Exercise Science graduate students recently visited one of the 20 participating schools that UNC has been advising as part of the project. The students observed classrooms at Tozer Elementary School in Windsor to record the physical activity of the children (who wore activity trackers to monitor their exercise levels) and to note how often teachers implement physical activity into lessons during the school day.

Ann Kuhn and Mike Capps, graduate students assisting with gathering data for the project, said they enjoyed the opportunity to work on the project that's beginning to gain momentum.

The research-based collaborative, directed by UNC Associate Professor Russell Carson, aims to put research into practice to inform development of programming. Schools are mandated by the state to incorporate health and wellness programs but sometimes struggle to implement them.

"The project provides a unique blend of research and teaching for faculty and graduate students," Carson said. "At the same time, it provides a service for K-12 schools who need assistance implementing health and wellness programs."

Project partners include neighboring northern Colorado school districts, Wellness Training Specialists, the Red Hawk Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center at the University of Colorado-Denver, Colorado State University, the University of Denver, and Children's Hospital Colorado.

Carson, who prepares students for the observation, said the statewide research collaboration was jump-started after a fall 2015 presentation as part of UNC's Schulze Interdisciplinary Speaker Series that addressed the importance of health and wellness in schools.

"I think the biggest thing is the chance to be a part of a collaborative group that has a real chance for impact on teachers, schools, parents, families," said Jaimie McMullen, assistant professor of Sports and Exercise Science, who helped organize a conference at UNC in March that brought together wellness coordinators from K-12 school districts. "We have a huge group here that's working on it, but there also other universities and other organizations we're also working with."

About the Project

The project contributes to the "Advancing Innovation and Dissemination of Evidence-Based Action in Schools (IDEAS) for Health" initiative. It was inspired by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Whole Community, Whole School, Whole Child" model, a 10-component approach that emphasizes partnering with the community and parents on everything from the physical environment in schools to students' mental health to schools' social-emotional climate.

UNC's contribution to IDEAS is funded by a two-year, $700,814 grant from the Colorado Health Foundation.

- Monique Becker (CSU's Jeff Dodge contributed to this story).

Summer at UNC: Classes, Community Events, Camps and More

Thu, 11 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

The University of Northern Colorado this summer will offer more than 300 classes and a variety of community events along with academic, arts, music and sports camps for all ages with upwards of 13,000 people expected to attend.

Classes over six-, eight- and 12-week sessions began May 15. Registration is still open. Visit www.unco.edu/summer for details.

Community Events

The 83rd season of Little Theatre of the Rockies, featuring five shows, opening with Baby on June 8: littletheatrerockies.com/
Concerts Under the Stars, outdoor performances with free and paid seating at 8 p.m. July 9, 11, 16, 18, 23 and 25 at the Garden Theatre: goo.gl/pkOFxu (PDF)
See the online calendar for more events: calendar.unco.edu

Academic Camps

The Young Child Program (ages 4-9), Summer Enrichment Program (grades 5-10), and Leadership Enrichment Program (grades 11 and 12), July 9-22: www.unco.edu/sep
Frontiers of Science for rising high school juniors and seniors, June 18-July 29: www.fsiunc.org/
Center for Integrated Arts summer institute June 13-15: arts.unco.edu/art/center-arts-education/

Sports Camps

Individual and team camps are offered for youth of all ages by UNC's NCAA Division I coaching staff in football, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's volleyball, baseball, women's softball, soccer, swimming and wrestling. More information: goo.gl/gH1Sr0

Music Camps

The 14th annual UNC Jazz Camp (middle, high school and college) offers skills training from UNC and guest faculty July 9-14: arts.unco.edu/music/jazz-camp
The Drum Major/Marching Percussion Camp (ages 13-18) provides instruction in the fundamentals of conducting and leading others June 9-11: commandthefield.com/
The Colorado Piano Festival offers master classes, competitions and concerts for and by pianists ages 7-28 July 28-30: arts.unco.edu/music/festivals-workshops/co-piano-festival/

A complete list of UNC's summer academic, arts, music and sports camps is at: goo.gl/Z17zmC (PDF)

New Student Orientation

Throughout the summer, 14 orientation sessions for new freshmen, transfer students and parents will be held: www.unco.edu/orientation/

Facility Rentals

The university offers affordable options for private gatherings such as family reunions, weddings and wedding anniversary parties. Indoor conference facilities and meeting rooms, beautiful outdoor wedding or party venues, catering services, dining rooms, convenience food outlets and a recreation center are among the amenities available. Details at: www.unco.edu/uc/events/

Some of the groups using UNC's conference facilities this summer include the Colorado Square Dance Festival June 9-11, Colorado Girls State (government simulation program for high schoolers) June 11-17, the National Conference on Interpreting Education June 22-25 and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes July 4-9.

For more on summer conferences and events, visit www.unco.edu/summerconf/

Stories of the Class of 2017: Ready to Make a Difference

Tue, 09 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Whether they're headed to the Peace Corps, starting a career or pursuing an advanced degree, UNC graduates are ready to make a difference wherever they go.

Jacqueline Zurmuhlen: Creating a Sustainable World

When Jacqueline Zurmuhlen arrives in Iceland at the end of May with her bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Environmental Studies, she hopes it will be the next step in her journey to make the country - and eventually, the rest of the world - a better place to live in.

Zurmuhlen fell in love with Iceland during a 2015 visit to the country. It was the final leg of a backpacking trip through Europe that she took between transferring from a community college in Arizona and starting at UNC.

"I realized that I felt really connected to the land, the culture and the people, and everything they stood for," she said. Read the full story.

Evan Bo: Peace Corps in Togo

Evan Bo worked in multiple locations around campus while earning his UNC bachelor's degree in Theatre Arts and Dance - Acting with magna cum laude honors, and those experiences may have influenced where his education will continue.

After graduating, Bo will spend a few weeks at home in Arizona before he leaves for Togo, Africa, where he'll be working with the Peace Corps.

"I just wanted to do something bigger than myself," he said.

Bo started out building sets for the College of Performing and Visual Arts, but also spent time working in the Honors Program office, the Provost's office and even UNC President Kay Norton's office. Read the full story.

Niloofar Ramezani: Award-Winning Statistician

Niloofar Ramezani, who received her doctorate in Applied Statistics and Research Methods, has no regrets that she left a full-scholarship master's program in Sweden in 2010 to attend UNC, which was recommended to her by one of her professors while she was an undergraduate at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran.

She started the program in the Swedish school, which she said mostly repeated what she had already learned as an undergraduate, while she applied and waited for her visa to study at UNC.

Ramezani said previous schools she attended were large and students didn't have the connection with the staff and faculty at them like she did at UNC. Read the full story.

Jon'te Dotson: Leading by Example

The life of a walk-on on any NCAA athletic team is hardly glamorous. Between the dirty, gritty work on scout teams in practice and the fact that they have to pay their way through school via student loans or an outside job, walk-ons rarely receive publicity outside of the locker room.

Those facts alone are enough to make anyone think twice about accepting a walk-on spot on a team, but Jon'te Dotson was no ordinary walk-on.

The lone senior on UNC's 2016 basketball team played more minutes than any other walk-on in the Division I era. Dotson saw action in 65 games. Read the full story.

Cat Hildebrand: Writing Her Way

After leaving her abusive biological parents, Cat Hildebrand, who graduated magnum cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English, went to live with some close friends, who were glad to take her into their home before she could be placed in the foster care system.

Growing up, school was an escape for her; a place where she could go to be with friends and be somewhere where she could get her work done.

"I was pressured as a child to succeed for the sake of succeeding," Hildebrand said. "As an adult, I now want to be successful and work hard for myself."

She said her education matters to her and has helped her discover what she wants to do and to see the world from multiple perspectives. Read the full story.

Everardo Reyes: Discovering ‘Music Deserts'

Everardo Reyes, who received his bachelor's degree in Sociology cum laude, discovered UNC while he was living with his wife in Japan, where they both were teaching non-credit classes at a local community center. She taught art and he taught music.

When he started looking at ways to start earning a bachelor's degree before they returned to the United States, he came across information about the online degree in sociology offered through UNC's Extended Campus.

Despite some reservations - he would be the first in his family to attend college - he applied and was accepted into the online program.

"I was nervous to take an online class and it turned out to be one of the best things I've done," Reyes said. Read the full story.

Luke Endicott: A Biomedical Sciences Masters at 20

It's so surprise that Luke Endicott earned his master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from UNC a full half-year before he turns 21; he's known that he wants to be a physician all his life.

"I've always known that I wanted to be a doctor," Endicott said. "People hate when I say that, especially my advisors, because they tell me you can't say that, that that's the answer the medical schools want to hear and that everyone says that."

But with Endicott, it's the truth.

"I'd always buy anatomy textbooks and read them when I was growing up in Arizona," he said. "I thought the body was so cool and the best thing ever and I wanted to learn all about it because it's so unique. And the more I learned about it, the more.I loved learning about it." Read the full story.

Benjamin Gardner: ‘Seeing' the Music

Although Benjamin Gardner earned his Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance and has played the instrument for 14 years, originally his career interest was focused elsewhere; in a

kitchen to be exact, where Gardner dreamed of being a chef.

While in pursuit of his dream career, Gardner worked in a restaurant kitchen, where it didn't take long for him to realize that being a chef was not what he was meant to do.

Gardner said with the help of a teacher in high school and his professors at UNC, he eventually started "seeing" things in the music he played: the harmonies, structures and the vague emotion behind the music that made it personal for everyone. Read the full story.

Will McShane: Getting into Greeley's Growth

Will McShane first came to Greeley as a freshman not knowing a lot about a city that he would eventually know more about than he bargained for.

That's because his Honors Program research project ended up being about the city's growth.

McShane said upon arriving in Greeley, he kept hearing rumors and stories about the city, including its rapid growth rate between 1950 and 2000, when its population quadrupled from 20,000 to almost 77,000.

Such a large increase in a short amount of time made him want to understand why Greeley expanded west in the second half of the 20th century and how the expansion affected the population. Read the full story.

Remembering Erika Miller

Erika Miller was only six months away from receiving her bachelor's degree in Sociology from the University of Northern Colorado when she was killed in a November 1996 car accident. Wanting her memory to live on, her parents established a scholarship in Erika's name that's been helping sociology majors ever since.

So when department faculty realized that this year would have been the 20th anniversary of Erika's graduation if she'd lived, they received permission to award a rare posthumous degree.

During the Sociology Department's spring awards celebration, Provost Robbyn Wacker presented a posthumous degree for Erika to her parents, ... Read the full story.

UNC Students Help City of Fort Collins With Safe Routes to School Program

Mon, 08 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

A UNC class worked with the City of Fort Collins to help improve bike safety education as part of the national Safe Routes to School (SRTS) education programs.

Seven students in Professor Mary Dinger's Master of Public Health class evaluated Preston Middle School's three-day education program covering bike safety. It includes hands-on bike training, classroom instruction, and a pre-and post-knowledge test that is given to students to measure change when implementing a SRTS program.

The students entered and analyzed data from 2,372 existing knowledge tests from previous SRTS programs. The analysis of previous data revealed that the original fill-in-the-blank format wasn't effective.

"The fill-in-the-blank responses were frequently difficult to read, so we couldn't evaluate what students actually learned from the SRTS intervention," MPH student Dayna DeHerrera said.

To better assess the change in knowledge both before and after the SRTS intervention, the MPH students improved the format of the knowledge test from a fill-in-the-blank test to 10-multiple choice questions and added demographic questions.

They also recommended that the City of Fort Collins implement a matching procedure. This would include creating testing packets with the pre-and-post knowledge tests and giving each student a unique number identifier to reliably analyze change in pre- and post-test scores and measure knowledge gained after the completion of the SRTS program.

"The most important finding from this evaluation was how important matching is to assess change between the pre- and post-test, and explaining the results to people who do not have an evaluation background," DeHerrera added.

The evaluation team found that the students significantly increased their knowledge following the SRTS program, with an increase of 1.89 points from the pre-test to the post-test.

The students indicate that further evaluation will help test the overall effectiveness of the program, as well as piloting the new knowledge test at other schools involved in the SRTS program for comparison.

The group presented the new survey tool and evaluation procedures to the City of Fort Collins before presenting findings at UNC's Research Day this spring. Their research was recognized as one of five finalists for the Graduate Student Research Excellence Award in Social Sciences. The team who collaborated on the evaluation of the program included Hope Adams, Evelyn Audley, Dayna DeHerrera, Hannah Mortimer, Allison Preza, Michelle Thornton and Grace Turner.

"Working with the City of Fort Collins gave us a chance to conduct a real-life evaluation and experience practice-based learning, which is very beneficial for our future careers," DeHerrera said.

Story by Katherine Phillips for Colorado School of Public Health, a collaborative of UNC, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado.

UNC's Spring/Summer 2017 Graduating Class: By the Numbers

Thu, 04 May 2017 06:00:00 GMT

UNC's Office of Institutional Reporting and Analysis Services loves to crunch numbers about UNC, and here's some interesting data the IRAS staff came up with about the year's spring/summer graduating class, from numbers of grads, to where they call home, to their most popular majors.

About 1,000 spring graduates received their undergraduate degrees from UNC on May 6. An additional 300 students expected to complete degree requirements this summer were eligible to participate in the spring ceremony because UNC doesn't offer a summer commencement ceremony.

About 300 spring graduates received advanced degrees during the Graduate School Commencement Ceremony on May 5. Approximately 290 graduate students expected to complete advanced degree requirements this summer were eligible to participate in the spring ceremony.

About the Class of Spring/Summer 2017

No. of students graduating: 2,043
No. of students earning bachelor's degrees: 1,432
No. of bachelor degree recipients who attended commencement: 1,175
No. of students earning graduate degrees: 609 (474 master's, 93 doctorates, 42 certificate/specialists)
No. of graduate degree recipients who attended commencement: 372
Age range: Undergrad: 20-60; Grad: 20-66
Average age: Undergrad: 24; Grad: 33
Graduate's average GPA: Undergrad: 3.21; Grad: 3.82
Most popular majors (by degrees awarded): Undergrad: Business Administration, Sport and Exercise Science, Nursing, Psychology, Criminal Justice. Grad: Education, Special Education, Educational Leadership, Music, Speech-Language Pathology.
International Countries Represented: 18 (Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic), Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Libya, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom)
States/Territories Represented: 46 (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
Colorado Counties Represented: 50 (Adams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Archuleta, Baca, Boulder, Broomfield, Chaffee, Cheyenne, Conejos, Crowley, Custer, Delta, Denver, Douglas, Eagle, El Paso, Elbert, Fremont, Garfield, Grand, Gunnison, Jefferson, Kit Carson, La Plata, Lake, Larimer, Las Animas, Lincoln, Logan, Mesa, Moffat, Montezuma, Montrose, Morgan, Otero, Park, Phillips, Pitkin, Prowers, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, Rio Grande, Routt, Saguache, Summit, Teller, Washington, Weld, Yuma)

Tentative as of May 4, 2017. Degrees yet to be conferred for spring/summer 2017.

UNC Awards Posthumous Degree

Fri, 28 Apr 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Provost Robbyn Wacker, left, presents a degree to the parents of Erika Miller. Miller was studying Sociology and was planning to become a teacher before she died in a traffic accident in 1996 just six months shy of her scheduled graduation. Her parents, Bill and Carol Miller, pictured, attended the reception where the degree was presented Thursday, April 27, in the High Plains Room of Nottingham Field. The MIllers established a scholarship in Erika's memory, and it's awarded annually to a Sociology student with similar interests to Erika's. This year's recipient, Talon Scovill, is pictured below with the Millers and Sociology faculty member Diane Schott. For more information, visit http://www.unco.edu/humanities-social-sciences/pdf/spring-2017-hss-newsletter.pdf

Photos by Barry LaPoint / UNC

UNC Summer Camps Offer Variety for Youth of All Ages

Wed, 26 Apr 2017 06:00:00 GMT

While many kids look forward to a break from school during the summer, many others look forward to advanced learning opportunities available at the University of Northern Colorado's many residential camps for youth.

UNC's oldest summer camp for youth is the Frontiers of Science Institute, administered through the university's Math and Science Teaching Institute. The camp starts its 58th session June 18.

FSI is a six-week residential program for high school sophomores and juniors with a high aptitude and interest in science. By immersing students in learning-for-the-thrill-of-learning hands-on science experiences, FSI helps students identify and explore their interests so they can set and begin to realize their personal, educational and professional goals.

UNC's Center for the Education and Study of the Gifted, Talented, Creative Learners is the oldest program of its type in the Rocky Mountain region and has been providing summer enrichment programming for high-ability learners for 34 years.

The center offers two-week learning sessions in July that are tailored specifically for gifted, talented or creative youth in three different age groups: ages 4-9 (Young Child Program), fifth- through 10th-grade (Summer Enrichment Program) and 11th- and 12-grade Leadership Enrichment Program). Sessions for the two older age groups are residential.

All sessions incorporate stimulating academic experiences and fun social activities developed by UNC's specialists in gifted education.

Not all of UNC's summer camps for kids are academically oriented. Camps for up-and-coming jazz musicians and athletes also are offered.

Students in middle school, high school and college will be on campus July 9-14 for the annual UNC Jazz Camp, offered by the School of Music's Jazz Studies program. Participants study and perform with UNC faculty and special guest artists.

There's also UNC's Drum Major/Marching Percussion Group Camp June 9-11 for middle and high school students to learn conducting and leadership skills or advanced drumline skills.

Finally, UNC's Athletics programs are offering their traditional full slate of summer camps during June and July with coaches and athletes from the football, men's and women's basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, swimming and wrestling teams helping youth in a variety of age groups develop their skills.

One of the things the camps all have in common is their commitment to providing a valuable and memorable experience. Another is that they often serve as an excellent recruitment tool.

More Information

Earth Week Recap: Visualizing Carbon Emissions

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Students in UNC's School of Theatre Arts & Dance constructed a "carbon cube" out of PVC pipe and displayed it outside of Ross Hall during Earth Week to help campus understand the scale of carbon emissions.

The 14-foot cube represents one-seventh of a metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions.

The average American produces enough carbon dioxide annually to fill 112 of these cubes.

Since 2010, UNC has saved almost 10,000 metric tons of CO2 — almost 70,000 of these cubes — through energy and water conservation, which includes projects funded through its student-led Leadership for Environmental Action Fund (Student LEAF).

UNC, in partnership with McKinstry, has also embarked on a major energy-improvement project across 18 campus buildings. Along with a behavioral education campaign, the project is expected to reduce carbon emissions by just under 6,000 metric tons and yield $550,000 in annual savings through reduced utility and operational costs.

Alumnus Remembers Deceased Friend with Donation of Their Jazz Recordings to UNC's Music Library

Thu, 20 Apr 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Thirty-nine years ago, armed with a second-hand reel-to-reel tape deck, two future Bears went to work recording the sounds of Greeley jazz. Tom Cunniffe ('89) and Eric Sherrow ('86) were best friends in high school, and in the spring of 1978 they began a recording project that would become their UNC legacy.

"Eric was my best friend through high school and college, and for several years we worked together as co-owners of Allegro Recording Service," Cunniffe said. "Eric and I both loved to make live recordings and one of our earliest sets of UNC recordings was also one of our largest endeavors; the complete 1978 UNC/Greeley Jazz Festival."

Cunniffe and Sherrow were still in high school when a student teacher introduced the pair to the UNC School of Music and music library. The introduction opened years of recording opportunities for the young music enthusiasts eager to capture the sounds of campus.

"After my initial exposure to the UNC School of Music, I started spending much of my spare time at the Music Library and around Frasier Hall," Cunniffe recounted. "One day in June 1979, the conductor of UNC's Wind Ensemble, Eugene Corporon, approached me and asked if Eric and I could record the summer band concerts at Garden Theatre. Even though the first concert was to take place the following night, we gladly accepted the position and continued to record the summer band performances for the next few years."

The pair was welcomed by other members of the School of Music faculty. Cunniffe remembers Gene Aitken, then director of jazz studies, and Greg Heimbecker, chief sound engineer, supporting the students' recordings—even when professional companies had been hired to officially record the concerts. And from 1978 to 1983, Cunniffe and Sherrow expanded their collection of live UNC recordings, capturing guest artists, summer concerts and the annual jazz festival.

While their collection came together in their early years, the duo's interests started to part once they enrolled in college. Sherrow began to focus more time on his journalism studies and the two ultimately dissolved their recording company. Each kept personal copies of their favorite recordings, and Cunniffe carried on making new recordings through the 1995 performance season.

Over the years they kept in touch less frequently and it was not until Cunniffe received his copy of Fall/Winter 2012 Northern Vision (now UNC Magazine) that he realized Sherrow had unexpectedly passed away.

In 2016, Cunniffe returned to Greeley for the annual jazz festival and reached out to Sherrow's mother to reconnect.

"I visited his mother, who still lives at the same house where Eric grew up," Cunniffe said. "Mrs. Sherrow escorted me to Eric's old bedroom and opened the closet door, where I discovered five boxes of master reels, including the complete 1978 jazz festival, the 1980 summer band concerts and excerpts from the 1981 jazz festival."

Cunniffe agreed to take care of Sherrow's old tapes, adding them to his own collection and additional recordings from UNC. He then reached out to his old stomping grounds, the Skinner Music Library, to find the collection a home.

"We have the second largest collection in the state," said Stephen Luttmann, UNC's music librarian. "And these enhanced UNC's collection, as many were not in our collection until Tom."

According to Luttmann, the size of UNC's collection is matched by its accessibility as most of the collection is housed on site and in general circulation. That accessibility was an appeal to Cunniffe when he donated the original reel-to-reel recordings to the library and made CD copies of his and Sherrow's recordings for patrons and fellow alumni to enjoy, including the complete 1978 jazz festival recording.

"We will always welcome anyone to listen to [the recordings]," Luttmann said. "They can ask for the CDs at the circulation desk and look them up in the general catalog."

Although available for onsite use, patrons may not remove the recordings from the premises because they are, according to Luttmann, "one-of kind pieces" much like the men who made them.

"While this collection is far from complete, it offers a cross-section of UNC performances form 1978-1995," said Cunniffe. "Almost all of the 1978-1981 recordings were engineered by Eric Sherrow. May this set of recordings provide a worthy memorial to this fine and gentle man."

- Lyndsey Crum

Editor's Note: Eric Sherrow passed away in August 2012 and is survived by his wife Ester Hoff Sherrow and mother Lee Sherrow. Tom Cunniffe is the founder and editor of Jazz History Online.

Trailblazers from Colorado’s Political Scene Visit Center for Urban Education Classes

Wed, 15 Mar 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Students in classes offered at UNC's Center for Urban Education in Denver recently benefited from the insights of two trailblazers from the state's political scene: former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter and former state legislator Polly Baca.

During discussions with students enrolled in the center's Mexican American Students in Education class and its Multiculturalism in the United States class, Ritter and Baca shared their perspectives on how they supported Mexican American students and families and the Mexican American community while they were in office by identifying the assets of Mexican American leaders. They also discussed how they worked to remove barriers that impeded Mexican American access to a more inclusive and participatory role in Colorado.

"I have had this passion for human rights and civil rights since I was a little girl," said Baca, who grew up in Greeley before embarking on a political career that would include serving in both the Colorado House of Representatives (1975-78) and the Colorado Senate (1979-1986), making her the first Latina in the United States to serve in both chambers of her state legislature.

Her many other roles during her long career included serving as vice chair of the National Democratic Party (1981-1989) and co-chairing two National Democratic Conventions (1980 and 1984). She's currently the president and CEO of a consulting firm.

Before serving as Colorado's governor from 2007-2011, Ritter held a position in the United States Attorney's office and was Denver's district attorney from 1993-2005. As DA, he created one of the nation's first drug courts and worked extensively on the prosecution of sexual abuse and domestic violence cases.

He currently is director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University.

"I have always asked that we invest in protective factors for people rather than supporting the attitude of getting tough about risk factors," Ritter told the students. "I encourage people to be critical thinkers and consider the bigger picture."

The Center for Urban Education, located in the UNC Denver Center at Lowry, offers a bachelor's degree program that prepares students to be elementary, special education or early childhood teachers in contemporary schools and provides the opportunity for students to immediately apply what they learn in their college courses. Throughout the four-year program, students spend weekday mornings in K-12 classrooms as part of apprenticeships that are supervised by veteran teachers.

UNC Shrinks Carbon Footprint with Variety of Initiatives

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Brightly colored umbrellas over tables on patios outside several buildings on the University of Northern Colorado's Greeley campus don't just provide shade; they also contain the solar panels that power electrical outlets that students use to charge their electronic devices.

Throughout campus, many old-school water fountains have been replaced with state-of the art water stations that filter water and count the number of plastic bottles that are being saved every time a bottle is filled at one.

The high-tech umbrellas and water stations are among the initiatives that have been paid for fully or in part by UNC's Student LEAF, or Student Leadership for Environmental Action Fund.

The umbrellas, which are an attempt to teach students the benefits and possibilities of solar energy, also can be found outside the Tobey-Kendel Dining Hall, Arlington Park Apartments and some of the school's residence halls.

Since their installation during the 2013-14 academic year, more than 30 of the new water stations around campus have saved hundreds of thousands of plastic bottles.

The Student LEAF, and an accompanying fee of $1 per credit hour up to 10 credits, was proposed in 2012 by students in the university's Environmental and Sustainability Studies program as a way to empower students in helping move the campus community toward a more sustainable culture. The student body voted to support the student-run organization in April 2012.

The fee generates about $170,000 annually. Any campus community member can suggest a project or initiative for funding.

One of the first projects the fund supported was improvements to sprinkler systems on the 260-acre UNC campus that resulted in water savings of 30 percent.

Other projects funded by the Student LEAF to help lower the university's carbon footprint included additional recycling stations (made from recycled plastic milk jugs) throughout campus, improvements in the Campus Recreation Center's air flow system to reduce energy use and increase occupant comfort and solar-powered trash compactors.

The Student LEAF also helped fund the first year of operation of a student-run vegetable farm north of Greeley in 2015. The farm is being used by the Environmental and Sustainability Studies program as part of a growing trend in higher education across the U.S. that incorporates experiential education with programs on sustainable food systems and agroecology.

The Student LEAF also sponsors and coordinates Earth Week activities on campus each April.

UNC took another big step in reducing its carbon footprint in April 2016 when it partnered with McKinstry, a national company with offices in 15 cities that focuses on energy and operation efficiency in existing and new buildings.

Ashley Brasovan, an associate account executive for McKinstry, said that since July UNC has saved approximately $50,871 in utility costs and projects that annual savings will be nearly $550,000.

The savings in utility and operational costs - and reduction in the school's carbon footprint - are being realized through improvements to buildings' lighting, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems. In addition to making the buildings more energy-efficient, improvements like replacing nearly 20,000 CFL bulbs with LED ones and equipment improvements that provide more consistent cooling and heating temperatures also enhance the learning environment.

The effort also includes student, faculty and staff participation in McKinstry's three-year behavior-focused energy awareness and operational efficiency program called "powerED."

McKinstry estimates that getting members of the campus community engaged in energy, water and waste conservation efforts can contribute approximately $200,000 annually in savings.

"The program is to help people get more in the swing of things," said Kirk Leichliter, vice president of facilities management for UNC and co-chair of the UNC Sustainability Council.

UNC implemented an energy conservation program in the 1980s that has focused on installing water-saving plumbing fixtures and energy-saving lighting systems and equipment, while also installing energy-efficient heating and cooling systems when funds were available.

The university instituted a recycling program in 2002 that annually diverts more than 200 tons of paper, plastic, glass and metal from local landfills. Each year, more than 200,000 pounds of food waste from the school's largest dining facility is turned into compost, and two other dining facilities will join the food-to-compost program soon.

In addition to contracting with the city of Greeley's public transportation department to provide free shuttle bus service throughout campus and to the largest off-campus student housing complex, a fleet of 100 cruiser-style bicycles is available for students to use for free to travel around campus.

"The University of Northern Colorado takes a multi-faceted and committed approach to sustainability, from energy conservation and eco-efficient landscaping, to student activities and coursework," said UNC President Kay Norton. "Our sustainability plan addresses sustainability at UNC in the very broadest sense—not simply how we can be good stewards of the environment, but how we can be a truly sustainable community."

- Monique Becker, Senior Journalism Major

‘Raymond’s Folly’ Becomes Billion Dollar Success Story

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Raymond Pierson smelled opportunity.

It took only a few whiffs during a UNC field trip in 1980 to convince him to act.

His UNC professors, Lee Shropshire and Bill Nesse, made a habit of taking budding geologists to a site outside of Loveland that Pierson's class was visiting that day in 1980. The outcropping there was significant for a couple of reasons. Namely, it exposed the Niobrara Formation, a mineral-rich deposit in the Denver basin stretching across the northeast corner of Colorado and into parts of neighboring states.

Students could literally smell the hydrocarbons from the exposed section known as the Codell at the base of the Niobrara.

Pierson did more than take notes about the sediment and large fossils he observed that day. An experienced oil and gas worker before he arrived at UNC, the undergraduate at the time took samples and then decided to write a research paper for a special study under Professor Nesse.

The study would become the catalyst for the big project Pierson imagined. Just six months after he submitted it to Professor Nesse on Dec. 9, 1980, it would become a signature part of his career.

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Pierson came to UNC from New Mexico. There, he cut his teeth in the oil and gas business after three tours in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam serving in the Navy.

Gazing at the barren expanse of land where the pumps were working in New Mexico, Pierson puzzled over how geologists knew where to explore underground.

"It was the most amazing thing I came across in my life," Pierson said. "I asked myself at the time, 'how can they possibly figure out where to drill? They can't see all the way down there.'"

A colleague urged him to take a geology class. He did and became more intrigued. His University of New Mexico instructor, sensing his desire to learn more, recommended he further his studies at UNC.

Nesse, now retired, recalls Pierson as a "delightful" student with undying curiosity. He routinely peppered Nesse with questions. Pierson was passionate about learning as much as he could about geology so he could return, armed with an education, to the oil and gas business.

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It took some convincing, and some fits and starts, but upon graduation from UNC Pierson eventually persuaded a company to take a core sample to analyze the subsurface.

One of the petrophysicists Pierson worked with before the core sample was taken asked him what they should call the project file for record-keeping purposes. When Pierson shrugged, his colleague suggested "Raymond's Folly," quipping "there ain't nothing there, and I'm not sure why you're pursuing this."

His remark couldn't have been more wrong. The core sample would reveal the presence of hydrocarbons in an area that Pierson's well log analysis found equaled 1,728 square miles (the size of eight townships long and six townships wide).

"Today, there are thousands of producing oil and gas wells in the Codell," Pierson said. "This reservoir has produced billions of dollars of product and has helped Weld County (responsible for 89 percent of the state's oil production in 2015) to be a very prosperous region of Colorado."

Academic papers have been written about the discovery, and his peers have credited him as the geologist who discovered the Codell Sandstone Oil and Gas production. Pierson laments, however, that those papers omit citing UNC as the birthplace since his study originated as part of the special study under Nesse.

When Pierson earned his Earth-Sciences-Geology degree in 1980, UNC didn't have a specific program aimed at developing geologists for the oil and gas industry. Today, UNC offers a master's degree program in Environmental Geosciences, which provides specialized training in applied sciences related to water, minerals, energy and environmental management.

"There are still big discoveries yet to be made," Pierson says. "The students today are going to be the ones making those discoveries."

Students in UNC Program Recognized by State Grow With Their Research

Fri, 27 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

The walls and center of the large room in the University of Northern Colorado's University Center were lined with tables where students waited nervously for faculty, family members and other students to ask them to expound on the displays that represented their research projects.

The students were there for fall semester's UNIV 101 Research Night, the culmination of a semester-long course designed to help first-year students make the transition from high school to college.

Recognized by the Colorado Department of Higher Education as a high-quality program moving the needle on student completion, University 101, as the three-credit course is formally titled, with an informative yet rigorous introduction to the college atmosphere and its demands.

Topics range from how to address professors, to adapting to larger class sizes, to time management and how to take good class notes.

Angela Vaughan, director of the first-year curriculum and instruction, said that students who participate in the research night learn how to use research skills to evaluate information from sources, and to improve their written and verbal communication skills. Both are a part of the course's main objectives.

Carlee Gray, a freshman pre-Nursing major, said that students were given an outline to use for their research project.

"I will definitely use that in the future," Gray said. .

Alondra Vazquez, a freshman pre-Nursing major who researched the effects of food advertising on children, said she took the course because she heard that students who took the course were more likely to be accepted into UNC's Nursing program, which has more applications than openings.

"Our University 101 instructors believe that each one of these students belongs here at UNC and has something valuable to offer," Vaughan said. "We hope the experience helps students to feel the same way."

- Monique Becker, Senior Journalism Major

Freshman Human Services major Hannah Schuster, left, shares her findings on how music therapy benefits those with autism with a fellow student.

December Grad Took a Long and Winding Path to Realizing Her Dream

Mon, 23 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

Recent UNC doctoral graduate Chelsie Hess lived in 18 different homes, attended 10 different schools and was raised by a succession of family members before she was 15.

But that lack of stability didn't stop her from achieving her dream of a career helping children.

"I grew up in a home with parents that suffered from mental illness, substance abuse and poverty," explained Hess, who graduated in December 2016 with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.

Hess was 16 and living with her parents in Wyoming when she was removed by the local child protective services agency. Although her grandfather became her legal guardian, Hess lived independently as an emancipated minor.

"I got up every day by myself at my apartment and worked full-time, but I had to call my grandpa to call the school and excuse me when I was sick," Hess said.

Her grandfather, who started mailing her college information when she was 10, instilled in her the importance of education. She enrolled at the University of Wyoming after graduating from high school.

The transition to college as a first-generation college student was difficult for her, she said.

She credits the emotional support that she received as a McNair Scholar from her mentors for making it possible for her to earn her bachelors' degree in psychology.

Hess said she came to UNC for her master's degree in School Counseling because of the school's affordability, proximity to her grandfather and the cooperation she saw between the university and the Greeley community.

While at UNC, Hess was involved with the McNair Scholars program, volunteering as a reviewer of McNair Scholars' research work and serving on graduate student panels to share her story. She said that it was important that she give back to a program that gave her so much.

When it came time to pick a program for her doctorate, Hess said the decision to stay at UNC was easy given her familiarity with and confidence in the faculty and her mentors: Teresa McDevitt, her advisor; and Eugene Sheehan, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and her supervisor as a graduate assistant during her six years at UNC.

As she neared the completion of her doctorate coursework, it was time for another decision: what to do next.

Since her advisor had been encouraging her to move out of her comfort zone as a doctoral student, she applied for and was offered a tenure-track faculty position at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, even though she hadn't yet defended her dissertation.

Shortly before she started teaching child development courses at CMU's in August, Hess gave birth to her son, William Deuell, who's named after her grandfather, who passed away in May.

Hess returned to UNC in October to successfully defend her doctoral dissertation, and again in December to walk in the Graduate School Commencement Ceremony, accompanied by her husband, Andrew, and their son.

Hess' research and volunteer work focuses on serving children in poverty.

"The biggest blessing for a child is to have somebody that they can believe in," Hess said. "The children we see thriving and overcoming poverty are the ones who have at least one mentor in their life that loves them unconditionally."

- Monique Becker, Senior Journalism Major

UNC Professor Uses Knowledge of Geology to Start Whiskey Distillery

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 06:00:00 GMT

When Joe Elkins, an associate professor of Earth Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado, started his undergraduate student career, he had no idea that he'd end up with a Ph.D. in geology, or that his training as a geologist would one day play a role in his decision to start his own whiskey distillery.

After brief stints as a sports journalism, criminal justice and history major, Elkins took an introductory geology course that fulfilled a Liberal Arts Core requirement. It also struck a chord.

With encouragement from the course's professor, he changed his major a final time, earning a bachelor's degree in geology before earning a master's in secondary science education and his doctorate in geology.

Elkins, who's been combining his passion for geology and teaching it at UNC since 2008, was living in Fort Collins a couple of years ago when he realized that the home-brewed beer he was taking to gatherings in the community "tasted like crap."

He decided to try his hand at distilling whiskey, and being a hands-on type of guy who loves to learn, he started from scratch, literally.

He planted some corn in his front yard. He took classes at local craft studios to learn how to blow his own glass bottles and make paper for the bottles' labels. He researched the history of whiskey distilling, and how to build a still and safely use it to make whiskey.

It all came together and Elkins started taking his whiskey to gatherings and giving it as gifts. When he realized that people were enjoying it and he was good at making it, he decided to open a distillery.

Having done his research about the product and where to make it, Elkins decided to locate Elkins Distilling Co. in Estes Park, in part because the geology of the area provides access to clean surface water, one of the ingredients of a good whiskey.

According to Elkins, the surface water in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park runs across crystalline bedrock and enters the town's water treatment facilities free of contamination from minerals and other dissolved elements.

That, Elkins said, makes the water relatively easy to work with and workers at his distillery just have to filter chlorine out of it before using it in the distilling process.

Elkins Distilling Co. opened Fourth of July weekend and had about a hundred people a day visiting during the rest of the summer without doing much advertising.

The distillery includes a tasting room where whiskey using corn mostly from fields north of Greeley is sold in individual sipping shots and craft cocktails, and by the bottle.

Elkins laughingly said the best part of running his distillery was being his own boss.

"On the one hand," he said. "The distillery benefits because I'm put into a place to communicate and teach employees how to effectively do a task."

One UNC student is benefiting from Elkins' new venture. Heather Heinz, a senior Industrial Chemistry major, is serving an internship with Elkins while working on her research project for UNC's Honors program.

But she's not just helping Elkins with his research.

"I think that students end up carrying on the research of their professors most of the time, and it's not like that at all with Joe," said Heinz, who's studying ways to speed up the fermentation process.

Elkins, who's a strong proponent of interdisciplinary education, also said that he's now better able to connect science with economics for students in his classes, noting that building the company from the ground up took a large financial investment.

Elkins plans to continue teaching. He said that his research on the different aspects of distilling was invigorating and that he feels a renewed passion for science after creating his own whiskey.

"I started out identifying with geology," Elkins said. "But now I feel that I more strongly identify with a scientist than a geologist."

- Monique Becker, Senior Journalism Major

Of Note

Elkins was an invited speaker in April at the American Distilling Institute's national conference, presenting on the distribution of whiskey distillers in the pre-industrial era and how the prevalence of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey could have been influenced by the geochemistry of natural waters and the temperatures of fermentation.

He also spoke at the Geological Society of America's conference in March on the geological constraints of Tennessee whiskey distilleries during the pre-industrial era.

Before this year, Elkins spent his summers working as a professional rafting guide. He's certified as a wilderness EMT and as a whitewater rescue technician.

UNC Expert Interviewed About Ex-Slave Clara Brown

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 06:00:00 GMT

UNC Professor George Junne appears in an award-winning documentary that will be nationally televised to offer his expertise about the film's subject, ex-slave Clara Brown.

The half-hour film is scheduled to air on PBS's To the Contrary between Dec. 30 and Jan. 6.

The documentary tells the story of Brown, a philanthropist who made her fortune running a laundry business for miners in Colorado after being freed as a slave in Kentucky in 1856.

"She was not a businessperson, so how in the world did she do this," Junne says in the trailer promoting the film.

Brown devoted her life in search of her family separated and sold as slaves.

"She would ask every wagon train of black people or single black people that came to town if they knew of her daughter," Junne says, "and she kept on trying and kept on trying. And so finally she was able to find a clue."

A statue of Brown, featuring her next to a slave cabin, now stands at the National Museum of African American History that opened in September in Washington, D.C.

Using her own funds, Denver filmmaker Patricia McInroy created the documentary.

"The historical story of Clara Brown is one of hope and, as human beings, I think we could all use more hope," McInroy says. "She never gave up hope and was open to people from a wide variety of colors and religions. It would be wonderful to see us all try to carry those ideals forward."

The film is the winner of PBS's To The Contrary: All About Women - Women's History U.S. Category.

Tune in

Scheduled dates and times the show will be broadcast:

Colorado Public Televison, 12.1

Wednesday, Jan. 4,12:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 5, 5:30 a.m.

Rocky Mountain PBS, Channel 6

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 12:30 a.m., KTSC

Check here for more dates and times the show is broadcast: http://www.pbs.org/to-the-contrary/airdates

UNC Magazine: Degree in Hand, Sex Trafficking Survivor Will Spend More Time Helping Other Women Also Become Survivors

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 06:00:00 GMT

UNC to Celebrate International Education Week Nov. 14-18

Fri, 28 Oct 2016 06:00:00 GMT

UNC's Center for International Education is joining colleges and universities around the United States in celebrating International Education Week Nov. 14-18. The week includes informative sessions and social events for students who want to learn about studying abroad and world cultures, and will be highlighted by a keynote address by UNC Associate Professor Tamara Yakaboski.

Yakaboski, who has traveled to more than 20 countries, will address the importance of international education and how, through her experience, it has empowered students' intercultural development and encouraged campus internationalization.

All of the week's events will be held in the University Center and are free for UNC students, faculty and staff.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14

"Intercultural Interactions: Facilitating Student Engagement"
10:10-11 a.m., Spruce A
Elaine Steneck, director of UNC's Intensive English Program, will share information about facilitating intercultural competence and supporting international and domestic student engagement on campus. Brunch provided.

"Cultural Awareness"
12:20-1:10 p.m., Spruce A
Erich Strehl, director of Greeley's Global Refugee Center, will present information about refugee populations in Greeley and fostering cultural awareness and connections. Lunch will be provided.

Partners of the Americas Presentation
2:30-3:20 p.m., Spruce A
Paired for over 50 years with Minas Gerais, a mountainous state in central Brazil, representatives of this non-profit, totally volunteer international group will share experiences, ideas and information about the organization. Learn how to be involved in an organization that will expand your view of the world and the way you see yourself.

Swag Your Ramen
5-6:30 p.m., Fireside Lounge
Enjoy all-you-can-eat ramen noodles while you learn how to flavor them with a variety of vegetables, sauces and spices from all over the world. Come hungry and bring friends.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15

Coffee & Tea around the World
10 a.m.-1 p.m., Lower Level
Take a break from studying to stop by and taste and learn about coffee and teas from all over the world prepared by UNC international students.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16

Faculty-Led Study Abroad Information Tables
10 a.m.-noon, Lower Level
UNC professors offering faculty-led study abroad opportunities will provide information about their programs. Programs typically focus on a particular topic, language or an interdisciplinary understanding of an issue and use field trips and cultural activities to enhance learning. Upcoming locations include China, France, Belize and more!

"The Value of an Outside Perspective"
12:20-10 p.m., Spruce A
UNC Professor Nancy Matchett, Ph.D., will present on her experience as a 20-year-old undergraduate who spent a term behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany in 1988. Emphasis points include the value of education: understanding oneself and the world; grades: feedback rather than credentials; and global connection: a sense of common humanity. Lunch will be provided.

Culture Night: Spain
6-7:15 p.m., Columbine B
Spanish exchange student Lucia Dorado Martel will share information about her home country, including bullfighting, traditional dance and Spanish cuisine.

International Trivia Round at Trivia Night
8-10 p.m., Ballrooms
Join the Center for Peer Education for Trivia night, including one round of international food trivia.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Study Abroad Information Session
12:30-1:30 p.m., Spruce C
Learn about Study Abroad opportunities for UNC students. Lunch provided.

Keynote Address: Tamara Yakaboski, Ph.D.
5-6:30 p.m., Pikes Peak Ballroom
Tamara Yakaboski, UNC associate professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership, will address the importance of international education and how, through her experience, it has empowered students' intercultural development and encouraged campus internationalization.

As the granddaughter of Polish farming immigrants, Yakaboski started her own international education with teaching English as second language in Poland and then South Korea before graduate school. Her own travel experiences have taken her to over 20 countries including researching higher education in India and the Netherlands. Her commitment to internationalizing her curriculum is visible through her teaching graduate seminars on international higher education and study abroad courses to Kenya and Mexico. Currently, she has a contract to write a book titled "Internationalizing Your Student Affairs Practice: Global advice for U.S. professionals" and continues to publish research about international student's experiences on US campuses.

Heavy appetizers and beverages will be provided.

ALL WEEK
CIE Globetrotter Photo Contest
8 a.m.-5 p.m., Lower Level
Check out UNC Bears' photographs from abroad. These highlighted photos are recent winners from the Center for International Education's Globetrotter Photo Contest, showing different students' perspectives from their time abroad.

Free Group Fitness Classes
Various Times, Campus Recreation Center
The Rec Center is celebrating International Education Week by offering free group fitness classes that include Cycle Circuit, Zumba, Power Pump, Ride & Relax, Yoga and more. See the schedule on this PDF.