Drew Babb, No. 15, made his long-awaited Pioneers debut during DU's season opener against Ohio State. Photo: John Babb/DU Athletics

Drew Babb is champing at the bit to return his life to a state of normalcy. So far, his lacrosse career at the University of Denver could best be described as one big pain in the neck. And unfortunately, it was far from a laughing matter.

After defeating Hodgkin’s lymphoma and undergoing hip surgery due to issues arising from his cancer treatments, Babb completed a long journey last week when he made his long-awaited Pioneers debut during DU’s season opener against Ohio State. Babb, who missed what should have been his first two collegiate seasons due to illness and injury, finally will make his home debut this weekend, as the Pioneers play Michigan on Saturday and Robert Morris on Sunday in the DU Face-Off Classic at Peter Barton Stadium.

“When times get tough, when it’s a hard practice or I’m winded, I think back to how lucky I am to be playing now versus the last two years sitting on the sideline,” Babb says. “It definitely puts things in perspective. I got all my treatment at Children’s Hospital, so every day before practice I say a quick prayer for all those guys. I’m done with it, but all those kids are still going through it. I can get through a tough practice if they are still going through all that stuff.”

Babb graduated from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., just a short drive from the DU campus. He was eager to continue his athletic career essentially in his backyard.

But the last half of Babb’s high school senior year, during the spring of 2009, was marked by a troublesome ache and swelling in his neck. Also a standout basketball player, Babb first noticed the problem during hoops season. It continued throughout lacrosse season, and following a series of inconclusive tests, his diagnosis was confirmed that July.

It was a daunting situation for a kid who had not yet turned 18. But Babb was determined to attack the illness the same way he attacked opposing defenses.

“Honestly, it didn’t ever freak me out too much,” Babb says. “The doctors at Children’s Hospital did a great job of explaining everything, giving me the whole plan about everything that was going to happen. Even though the signs had showed a while ago, we still caught it pretty early.”

Babb immediately began chemotherapy, getting treatments on consecutive Fridays for several months. Once the treatments were completed, another issue arose in his left hip.

Babb was diagnosed with avascular necrosis (AVN), a debilitating condition of the joints borne of many causes, including steroid use. Babb had been prescribed a steroid to deal with the effects of chemotherapy. Although he was able to rehabilitate the AVN in his left hip, Babb soon developed the condition more seriously in his right hip.

This time he required surgery, which ultimately robbed Babb of what should have been his comeback season last year as DU made its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four. At this point, the first doubts about whether he would be able to continue his career began to materialize.

“He and I talked a lot about that at first, about understanding the toughness and that he had to take it small steps at a time when he was first going through chemo,” says head coach Bill Tierney. “There was a lot of doubt. We talked about the future and the possibility of him being a student-assistant coach, putting lacrosse in perspective with real life. He’s got an amazing family. His dad, John, and his mom, Pam, are just great, great people. We talked a lot about being thankful about the things that are really important. And if lacrosse happens to re-emerge, good for all of us.”

Throughout the ordeal, Babb won the respect of his teammates not only for his courageous attitude, but also for failing to miss a single team practice, save for the occasions when he was getting treatment.

Finally cleared to start practicing in fall 2011, Babb gradually grew stronger in anticipation of the 2012 campaign. Tierney moved Babb from midfield to defense, in part to relieve some stress on his hips, but also to shore up the Pioneers’ inexperienced back line.

“For the most part, I think on my good days when my legs are feeling good and my hips are feeling good, I’m pretty much back to how I was before,” Babb says. “The biggest thing for me is that I’m still learning how to play defense. That’s still very new to me. But I think physically, on days I’m fresh or good-weather days, I’m back to as good as where I was before.”

Among his many acts of service to DU, Doug Scrivner makes weekly flights from his California home to teach corporate governance risk and compliance at the Sturm College of Law. Photo courtesy of Snavely and Associates

The University of Denver has announced the recipients of the 2012 Founders Day Awards, which recognize accomplishments of alumni, faculty and staff. The 2012 awards will be handed out at a gala reception March 8 at the Seawell Grand Ballroom in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

The Evans Award — the University’s highest alumni honor — will be presented to Doug Scrivner (JD ’77). Helping DU grow over the past 40 years, Scrivner sits on various University committees and makes weekly flights from his California home to teach corporate governance risk and compliance at the Sturm College of Law. He was an adviser on the law school’s recent strategic planning exercise, has been a leader on several DU fundraising campaigns and served on the search committee that led to the appointment of Martin Katz as dean of Sturm. In addition, he developed the concept and provided initial funding for the Ved Nanda Center for International Law.

The Ammi Hyde Award for Recent Graduate Achievement will go to Erik Myhren (MA ’03). Myhren, an elementary school teacher in Denver for the past 14 years, introduced the sport of lacrosse to inner-city kids several years ago, and a handful of them fell in love. The story is so powerful that it became the subject of the award-winning documentary City Lax: An Urban Lacrosse Story. Myhren also founded Connect the Kids, a nonprofit that introduces disadvantaged Denver kids to enrichment programs in areas ranging from arts and academics to sports and life skills.

Emmit McHenry (BA ’66) will receive the Randolph P. McDonough Award for Service to Alumni. McHenry’s many DU volunteer activities have included serving as president of the Alumni Association, mentoring staff and alumni, and serving on the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Alumni Board.

The Distinguished Service to the University Award will be presented to Cathy Grieve (MA ’72, PhD ’79), DU’s executive director of conferences, events and special programs. Formerly a faculty member in the communications department, then director of the Office of Special Community Programs, Grieve—who has worked at DU for more than 30 years—now oversees everything from Convocation to the upcoming presidential debate.

Leslie Howard (EMBA ’03) is the recipient of the Community Service Award. Howard and her husband, Gary, started the Gary and Leslie Howard Family Foundation, which provides scholarships to students who want to study business at the University of Denver or Colorado State University. The Howards also organize and run the annual Miracle on Ice hockey camp on the DU campus, serving children who live in Denver’s housing projects.

Daphne Preuss (BS ’85) will receive the Professional Achievement Award. Preuss, a former professor of molecular genetics and cell biology at the University of Chicago, is CEO and co-founder of Chromatin Inc. in Chicago. Among other things, the company is using proprietary technology to develop specialized types of sorghum that can be turned into high-energy biofuels to run vehicles and power plants.

The program is intended for professionals who already have a foundational, educational or professional background in public relations and marketing but want to learn how to integrate cutting-edge new media and Internet marketing technologies and strategies into their existing communication practice or workplace.

“Though many communications practitioners are implementing social and new media strategies in their workplace, we believe that a formalized education in this field will help with strategy effectiveness, efficiency and ROI,” says Academic Director Amy Kelsall.

According to a University College infographic about trends in the new media and Internet marketing industry, jobs in these fields are growing exponentially, with social media marketing positions up 307 percent since 2009 and use of email marketing expected to increase 60 percent in 2012.

With these industry trends in mind, Kelsall says the new specialty program will prepare graduates with the knowledge and skills they need for careers in social media, email and mobile marketing, digital media marketing and more.

University College instructors all work in the fields they teach, and each program has an advisory board of community professionals who help University College keep a pulse on marketplace trends, advise on new course content and occasionally locate instructors. The college also cultivates partnerships with companies, organizations and professional associations to offer internships that help students gain real-world experience outside of the classroom.

“We emphasize cutting-edge topics and technology that are grounded in theory and very applied,” Kelsall says. “Students take lessons from every class that they can put to use the next day.”

The new media and Internet marketing specialty is one of a handful of graduate programs currently offered in this field nationwide, although Kelsall expects more programs to pop up.

“We are proud to be ahead of the curve,” Kelsall says.

The master’s degree requires 48 credit hours (12 classes), including three professional foundation courses, four specialty courses, three further study courses to be determined by the student, a graduate research and writing class, and a capstone project. The graduate certificate of advanced study requires 24 credit hours (four specialty classes and two further study options to be determined by the student) and can count toward a degree.

Spring quarter classes begin March 26 and are offered online and on campus. Registration is open through March 16. For more information, visit the new media and Internet marketing program website.

When the final buzzer went off, the Crimson and Gold faithful stormed the floor of Magness in front of the ESPN2 cameras. Photo: Rich Clarkson & Associates

It seemed fitting that the University of Denver campus was covered in more than a foot of snow when the ESPN2 trucks
assembled on Feb. 4 to cover the Pioneer men’s basketball game versus Middle Tennessee that afternoon.

People often associate the Mile High City with snow, and DU has long been tied to sports that happen outdoors and among
the elements of winter.

The University’s 21 NCAA skiing titles and seven NCAA hockey titles do nothing to discredit the narrative.

However, when “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” showed up at Magness Arena there was no hockey or skiing involved.

The scene was lively, especially considering the snow and the cold. DU students were primed for the game, with banners
hanging from the fraternity houses along the campus green that welcomed ESPN’s coverage, sumo wrestlers skiing in front of
the Driscoll Student Center, and the smell of charcoal filling the air.

Prior to game time, some 500 Pioneer students joined the crowd of 6,066 to fill Magness Arena as DU hosted the Blue Raiders and, for the first time, ESPN2 cameras.

This time it was the men’s basketball team getting the national spotlight, and head coach Joe Scott’s Crimson and Gold didn’t let the opportunity go to waste. Led by sophomore forward Chris Udofia’s career-high 27 points, the Pioneers put a 75–60 thumping on Middle Tennessee, handing the Blue Raiders their first Sun Belt Conference loss of the season.

Scott and his squad couldn’t help but be happy with the 15-point win, but for the Denver fans waiting to storm the court, the
wait was almost unbearable. When the final buzzer went off, the Crimson and Gold faithful stormed the floor of Magness in front of the ESPN2 cameras.

After beating Florida International 77–63 on Feb. 11, the Pioneers headed into their final three games as a member of the
Sun Belt Conference, all at Magness Arena, after already capturing 18 regular-season wins, DU’s most ever as an NCAA Division I team. Denver joins the Western Athletic Conference in the 2012–13 season.

Katy Van Lieshout is the top student in her major’s junior class and has earned a hat trick of appearances on the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List for her 3.98 cumulative GPA. Photo: Wayne Armstrong

Many students struggle to maintain good grades, but Katy Van Lieshout makes it look like a breeze. The 20-year-old women’s soccer defender is the top student in her major’s junior class. She was DU’s Freshman Scholar-Athlete in 2009 and has earned a hat trick of appearances on the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List for her 3.98 cumulative GPA. In 2011, she was the second woman in DU history to make the Capital One Academic All-America Women’s Soccer First Team.

Van Lieshout says she always has held herself to high standards. She was an honor student and captain of the varsity soccer team at Boulder High School. She also traveled nationally with a Denver-based club team and says she spent countless hours doing homework in the car with a headlamp while her parents drove her to practice and games.

In her downtime, the engineering major and Boulder, Colo., native gets her kicks by snowboarding, practicing photography, hanging out with friends and family — and helping peers with their math homework.

“I really like to teach people and help people figure stuff out,” Van Lieshout says. “If I understand something and can help explain it so they can figure it out, it’s really rewarding.”

Van Lieshout’s soccer schedule includes practice four mornings a week, games every weekend and frequent travel during the season. During the off season, she trains about eight hours each week during the winter and 20 hours a week in the spring, and she is a mentor with DU’s Society of Women Engineers.

She also is a member of the DU Engineering Club, which helped her land an internship with a rescue robotics project on campus last summer.

So what’s the secret behind Van Lieshout’s success? Diligence, time management and being proactive, she says.

“In comparison with other students, Kathryn Van Lieshout has been by far the best student in my classroom,” says Yun-Bo Yi, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. “Katy is the epitome of a student-athlete — not only does she excel in athletics, but she has also developed into a truly outstanding student.”

Moving forward, Van Lieshout’s goal is to enjoy every minute of her final year on the soccer team, after which she’ll retire her cleats to pursue a career in biomechanics or renewable energy.

“Soccer has been fun and I’ve loved it, but it’s physically demanding and I think it’ll be time to focus on work and engineering for a while,” she says.

Chelsey was a tireless advocate for this magazine and its readers, and she leaves big shoes to fill. Under her watch the magazine won award after award after award, including 19 gold medals from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Chelsey herself received more than 40 awards for her work as a writer, editor and art director, including first-place prizes from the National Federation of Press Women in 2011 for profile writing and magazine editing.

One of my first tasks as managing editor is to dig into the results of our most recent reader survey. According to the respondents, we’re doing a lot of things right, but we could do some things even better.

Almost 80 percent of those who responded said they read every issue or most issues of the magazine, and nearly 90 percent said they were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the job we do. You read us to keep up-to-date on campus news and events, to learn what your former classmates are up to and to stay connected to your alma mater.

But you requested additions too. An iPad version was chief among those. Currently you can find a link to a tablet-friendly PDF version of the magazine at www.du.edu/magazine (click on the e-version logo), but we’re working on an enhanced, interactive version that will be more fun to read and easier to access. We’re also working on adding an events calendar, more coverage of faculty and staff, and more news about our awesome Pioneer athletics teams. In addition, we want to keep you aware of all the cultural offerings at DU, including Newman Center concerts, art exhibits and theater performances.

Have more suggestions? Please email me at gglasgow@du.edu or call me at 303-871-2776 and let me know. I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Regarding the 1950s memories you asked readers to share in your winter issue: Who remembers the “student riot” at the Bizad campus one spring between 1954 and ’56? Daily, students parked in time-limited parking on the block-long curb across from the Bizad building. A meter maid chalked tires to catch overtime parkers, and a particularly nasty motorcycle cop wrote the tickets. Students those days had as much creativity as today, and at set times daily, the car in front would move around the block while everyone else moved up one space, hoping to obliterate the telltale chalk mark. This displeased the city fathers, and enforcement increased. One day, a shower of water balloons fell on the motorcycle patrolman, who pulled his gun (as I recall) to the catcalls of students on the fourth-floor library deck. Classes emptied, and soon a crowd jeered from in front of the building while the cop threatened and glowered. Red-faced deans came out to quell the disturbance, but with limited success. The Denver Post sent a photographer to document the “riot,” but things quickly settled down. The University powers-that-be were scandalized by the affair, but as student riots go, it was small potatoes, about on par with the “panty raids” that occurred in other institutions as well as at DU. Students today are considerably less restricted than we were then, but I doubt they have nearly as much fun resisting authority.

Roy Wilson (BSBA ’56)

Sequim, Wash.

Affordable education

I am in total agreement with Don Burgess about “building a better DU.” I am a proud and extremely grateful Women’s College graduate. I could not afford to assist any of my four children in attending DU. I have one child who graduated two years ago from out of state, two who graduated in December (one in state and one out of state), and one graduating in May (in state). Sadly, our family could have easily had a DU family tradition, but we could ill afford it. Please be a “pioneer” in making quality education affordable; until this happens at DU (and other universities/colleges), our nation will continue to slip in global educational and economic ratings.

Estella Rummelein (BA ’03)

Centennial, Colo.

What a waste

DU hosting the first presidential debate of 2012, at a cost of $1.65 million? Ridiculously self-centered, foolish and a waste of money. There are many worthwhile uses of this large amount of money. Shame on both Chancellor Coombe and Mayor Hancock! And “Straight Shooter,” your fluff piece on a consistently right-wing senator from a solidly Republican state, was a waste of time, especially given the Republican leadership’s main aim to remove Obama. The Republican damage to our country and their refusal to govern with the Democrats is much more of a story. The University has become a corporate-controlled Republican school in terms of its views, planning and massive investments in corporate-supported areas. Human service programs appear to be more of an appendage than an important part of DU.

Walter Beck (MSW ’55)

Saco, Maine

Peace Corps lessons

I received the winter 2011 issue of the University of Denver Magazine and was pleased to see your article about the Peace Corps. There is just one correction to be made: I, not Kevin Dixon, was the first Peace Corps volunteer from DU. I graduated from DU with a major in Latin American studies in June 1961 and joined the Peace Corps in August 1961. I applied while at DU and remember when the FBI interviewed Arthur Campa (my adviser), they asked him, “What is Sylvia Boecker running away from?” Dr. Campa answered, “Sylvia is not running away from anything, she is running toward something.”

My assignment was the Philippines, where I taught English and Spanish for two years in Ibajay, Aklan, on the island of Panay. I agree with the other volunteers that the Peace Corps changed my life. I eventually became a lawyer and have been working in immigration law since 1977. Most of my clients are from the Philippines.

Sylvia Boecker (BA ’61)

Williamsburg, Va.

Thanks for the article about Theresa Munanga and her Peace Corps experience in Kenya. My teenage daughter spent a month in Kenya this summer as an intern for Bold Leaders, a group headquartered in Denver that works with teens to develop leadership skills here and in other countries, including Kenya. My daughter has shared a lot about her time in Nairobi and the rural Mount Kenya area, volunteering with several groups and living with a host family with no electricity or plumbing. I was so excited to read that Theresa wrote a book — I immediately purchased a copy for my daughter as a holiday gift. My daughter wants to go back to Kenya and is interested in the Peace Corps when she is done with college. The book will be perfect for her! And I hope I get to borrow the book to read, too. Congratulations, Theresa, on volunteering with the Peace Corps and writing a book about your experiences and insights.

Melissa (Goldman) Turner (BA ’79, MBA ’83)

Denver

Barbara and Andy Taylor. Photo courtesy of Enterprise Holdings

University of Denver alumni Andy and Barbara Taylor have given $5 million to DU’s Daniels College of Business. The gift—which will be added to the already-established Taylor Scholarship endowment of $1 million—will provide scholarships to foster diversity among undergraduate students. The University has matched the new gift, bringing the total Taylor Scholarship fund to $11 million.

Andy Taylor (BSBA ’70), chairman and CEO of Enterprise Holdings — parent company of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car brands — and his wife, Barbara (Broadhurst) Taylor (attd. 1969–70), are longtime Daniels supporters. Enterprise Holdings has provided internship opportunities for Daniels students, supported service projects and sponsored events. In May 2011, Andy Taylor gave a Daniels College of Business Voices of Experience keynote, and in 2007, he spoke at DU’s Alumni Symposium.

“Barbara and I believe it’s our responsibility to ensure that Daniels continues to provide opportunities to the best and brightest students, regardless of need or background,” Andy Taylor says. “These scholarships will open doors for students who otherwise couldn’t afford a DU education.”

Taylor joined Enterprise—which was founded in 1957 by his father, Jack Taylor—at the age of 16. He began his career by washing cars during summer and holiday vacations and learning the business from the ground up. Following graduation from DU, he worked for three years for RLM Leasing, a Ford Motor Co. affiliate in San Francisco. Taylor then returned to Enterprise, which, at the time, operated a fleet of only 5,000 cars. In 1976, he became the general manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s St. Louis regional operations, and in 1980, Taylor was named president and chief operating officer.

Daniels Dean Christine Riordan notes that the Taylors’ gift will help Daniels recruit top students from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their financial need, and help many deserving students achieve their educational goals.

“The Taylors’ gift will not only help educate the next generation of ethical business leaders, but will help Daniels further develop as a community of choice where ideas, diversity and strong relationships enhance lives,” Riordan says. “Andy and Barbara share our belief that providing tomorrow’s business leaders an ethics-based business education is important.”

With annual revenues exceeding $14 billion and more than 70,000 employees, Enterprise Holdings operates more than 1 million cars and trucks, making it the largest car rental service provider in the world measured by revenue, employees and fleet.

Enterprise Holdings currently is ranked No. 16 on Forbes’ list of the top 500 private companies in America.

Last fall Matt Lyons and Rebecca Gross gave DU its first-ever national championship in cycling when they won the short-track division of the USA Cycling 2011 Collegiate Mountain Bike National. Photo: Wayne Armstrong

The University of Denver’s Club Cycling program has always been a speedy group, but in 2011 it slipped into a new — and much faster — gear.

One reason? Some say there are two. And the likelihood of them ever meeting was — well, unlikely.

Rebecca Gross grew up in the ’80s in New Jersey — a little girl riding her bike around the block dodging traffic in the suburbs. On the other side of the country, Matt Lyons was racing his bike through the lush greenery of Oregon’s woods during the ’90s.

Last year their bike paths met in the cycling club.

“Rebecca brings a lot of experience to the team,” says Lyons, the club’s president and a sophomore management major. “Riders usually peak around age 28, and she’s reaching her peak. She’s really good.”

Actually, Gross, who’s earning her master’s in sports psychology, is a tad older: 31.

“They call me the team grandma,” Gross says with a laugh. “I’m only 31; it’s not that old. Matt just turned 20, so he’s just a baby.”

But youth is clearly working for Lyons. And if anything, that extra three years has been a plus for Gross. Last fall the two gave DU its first-ever national championship in cycling when they won the short-track division of the USA Cycling 2011 Collegiate Mountain Bike National. Both riders smoked their competition, and strangely, they both won their respective races by exactly 28 seconds. Gross also took second in the event’s cross-country race, as did DU’s Sam Chovan.

Gross and Lyons knew going in they had the goods to win. During the 2011 season, Gross garnered eight first-place finishes in short track and cross-country events throughout Colorado, and Lyons took first in four other road races around Colorado and Wyoming last spring. What’s more, both won the Rocky Mountain Collegiate Cycling Conference in cyclocross.

“We definitely felt like we had a chance to win,” Lyons says. “I thought for sure that Rebecca could win.”

The club began humbly a few years ago when four guys got together wearing yellow shirts with “DU” spelled out in red duct tape on the front. Today, the club has about 30 members (at times membership has reached 60), who train by riding up to 60 miles on weekends. DU covers the team’s travel expenses.

The national championship win has fueled the cycling club’s desire to improve even more, says two-year team member Joe Teynor, a graduate student in accounting.

“Many of us are stoked about it,” Teynor says. “It really is a team sport, and I think [Lyons and Gross] winning is making the team work hard to do better.

"A lot of my international studies work (at DU) has carried over into economic justice, civic justice and caring for nonprofits," says alumna Joanne Kron. Photo: Wayne Armstrong

Joanne Kron (BA ’03, MA ’03) recently was named executive director of ProgressNow Colorado, a 200,000-member progressive political advocacy organization. Prior, Kron worked for the Denver-based Gill Action Fund, which promotes equality for all people, regardless of sexual orientation.

Q: What do you believe Coloradans are most concerned about this election year?

A: Jobs and the economy. I think people in Colorado felt the pinch during the economic downturn and now Colorado is doing very well—adding jobs, reducing the unemployment rate—much quicker than we are seeing in other states around the U.S. But it’s still a big concern that people have.

Q: What about education?

A: Education is one of those items that I feel really expands beyond political party. It continues to not receive the attention that it should, both at the Legislature and on the ballot. We just aren’t voting in support of education and improving education. Education is one of the things I am really focused on, partly as the result of the experiences I had at DU. Volunteers in Partnership at DU gave me the opportunity to go back to the Denver Center for International Studies [a Denver public school], from which I graduated, and make sure that students were thinking about what they were going to be doing after they graduated from high school, and that college was on that list.

Q: What are some of the goals for ProgressNow Colorado this year in terms of holding public leaders accountable?

A: We are taking a look at what is happening in the Legislature and what bills are being promoted that focus on job growth and the economy. We are also taking a look at the bills that really don’t align with that. We’re making sure that ProgressNow Colorado members are aware of what is happening at the Legislature and then also asking our membership to engage where appropriate.

Q: In the past, the press could be counted on to be political watchdogs. What is ProgressNow’s role in challenging misinformation, and how does it compare to the role of today’s mainstream press?

A: I have a strong appreciation for members of the mainstream press. Reporters are expected to produce stories, post online and be on social media. It’s hard to be able to get every aspect of every story. Our job is to make sure that our viewpoint and the general progressive viewpoint [gets] in those stories. A majority of our work is done online, communicating with our members and with people throughout the state through social-media outlets.

Q: How did your studies at the University of Denver lead you to a career in working for progressive organizations like Gill Action and ProgressNow Colorado?

A: I have always been progressive politically and very interested in how politics work. A lot of my international studies work [at DU] has carried over into economic justice, civic justice and caring for those nonprofits. The Josef Korbel School of International Studies offers opportunities to learn experientially, preparing students to develop arguments and understand policy: how it’s created, how it has changed and how individuals can play a role in that. Those skills have definitely carried through.