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The Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation will host an event on April 5 to celebrate its “Cord of Honor Inaugural Class,” a group of nine prominent alumni who have had trailblazing media careers after working in student media at CSU.
The event will be held from 6-9 p.m. in the Lory Student Center, Ballroom A.
The inaugural members of the class are:
Linda Carpio Shapley
Elizabeth Spayd
David Freed
Charles D’Agata
Jim Sheeler (posthumous inauguration)
Larry Steward (posthumous inauguration)
Virginia Singarayar
David McSwane
Eugene Daniels
Graduating CSU students who have worked in student media for at least a semester wear an orange cord at commencement to recognize their service to the Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation, which operates The Rocky Mountain Collegian, KCSU and CTV.
“The inaugural class of the Orange Cord is nothing short of outstanding,” said Melissa Brandon, Ph.D. (’01, ’23), chair of the Orange Cord Alumni Association at Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation. “The Alumni Association proudly honors these accomplished, unique and diverse CSU and RMSMC graduates, and we hope you’ll join us in celebrating their career accomplishments.”
Tickets for the event are $15 for students and $40 for non-students, and include a buffet dinner, dessert and soft drinks. There will be a cash bar for wine and beer. Tickets can be purchased online through Eventbrite.
More information about each member of the class is available online at rmsmc.com/alumni.
Miami and the entire southeast coast of Florida are famous for tourism, expansive beaches lined with condominium complexes, diverse cultures and a vibrant nightlife. The region also is home to countless hot topics, including politics, migration issues, crime, environmental destruction and hurricane hazards.
That means that there is no shortage of story material for journalists like Miami Herald investigative reporter Sarah Blaskey. She spent the last six years at the Herald writing about vice, corruption, immigration and politics. She is, to say the least, passionate about finding facts, confirming accuracy, and helping people understand their world.
“I have been talking about the importance of journalism since I was 19 and working at my school paper in Madison, Wisconsin. It is an exciting field and with a job in journalism, every day offers a unique challenge. Young people need to know that journalism is more important now than ever. It is not dying, but instead changing, with constant innovation that creates a lot of opportunity for young people,” Blaskey said.
Within just a few years after college, Blaskey’s reporting earned numerous high profile national awards for investigative, political and feature reporting. She also was lead author of the book, “The Grifter’s Club: Trump, Mar-a-Lago, and the Selling of the Presidency,” released in August 2020.
A discussion with Pulitzer-winner Sarah Blaskey | Wednesday, Feb. 28
The Miami Herald’s Sarah Blaskey will speak at 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 28, in the Behavioral Sciences Building, Room 103. Her talk is open to the university community.
Blaskey’s connection to CSU resulted from her coverage of the 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida. A team from the Herald followed the story from the morning happened, and Blaskey led the team’s investigative coverage. As a result, she met Journalism and Media Communication alumnus Mike Stratton.
Stratton is a native of Durango, Colorado, who attended CSU from 1973-77. He is former ASCSU student body president, an inaugural member of the CSU Media Hall of Fame, a long-time supporter of the JMC Department and a sought-after political strategist. For decades he has been a national leader in the Democratic party. His long list of accomplishments includes key roles in dozens of presidential, legislative and gubernatorial campaigns, as well as national leadership positions in the Carter and Clinton administrations.
Tragically, Stratton’s wife Cassie was one of 98 residents who died when Champlain Towers condominium collapsed in 2021. He was on the phone with Cassie when the structure of the building’s foundation began to disintegrate, so he was personally drawn into Blaskey’s reporting. After many months of investigations and news coverage, Stratton developed a deep appreciation of Blaskey’s passion for finding the truth.
As a CSU JMC alumnus who understands the need for that sort of journalistic passion, Stratton in 2023 donated $200,000 to create a CSU scholarship endowment.
The fund is focused on creating a scholarship pathway between Durango and CSU. Funds will be directed to Durango area high school students who want to pursue CSU degrees in Journalism and Media Communication.
Once the scholarship was created, Stratton began connecting community leaders in Durango with CSU. He recognized that Blaskey, who was just 31 years old when she won the Pulitzer Prize, would be an outstanding role model for students interested in journalism, so he invited her to speak both at CSU and Durango High School.
“From my point of view, the purpose of this visit is to get young people involved and active in journalism. I’m especially interested in seeing that happen in Durango and at CSU,” Stratton explained. “Getting to know Sarah as she worked on the Surfside story, then seeing her win a Pulitzer Prize at the age of 31 demonstrated to me that she has unlimited potential both as a journalist and as an advocate for the profession.”
Journalism and Media Communication faculty are looking forward to what they believe is critical link to CSU’s thematic year of Democracy and Civic Engagement.
“We believe that there is nothing more important to democracy than the journalistic process and open dialogue that is protected by the First Amendment,” said Marilee Long, chair of JMC. “This visit is an outstanding opportunity for our students to make that connection.”
“With a Pulitzer Prize, a Polk Award and Webby awards, Blaskey is one of the important journalists of her generation,” said Assistant Professor Mike Humphrey. “She has done it by blending old fashioned, fearless investigative reporting with storytelling that shows the human cost when powerful people and institutions become corrupt or negligent, or both.”
Colorado State University is all about student success – it’s part of our land-grant mission, fosters the next generation of leaders and fuels our energy as we lead into the future.
And when it comes to creating opportunities and supporting students as they strive for success, we would be lost if not for the amazing teachers who know a good education, great teaching, and student success all go hand in hand. That’s why on March 26, we’re celebrating the best of the best at the annual Best Teacher Awards.
Each year, students, faculty, and alumni nominate teachers who’ve inspired them and made an impact in their lives. This year, the recipients of the Best Teacher Awards represent five colleges, six departments, and have been collectively teaching at CSU for 56 years. But the recipients of the 2024 Best Teacher Awards do so much more than just teach – they guide students on their academic journeys, create a love for learning, and shape the future. We think that’s worth celebrating.
Organized by the Colorado State University Alumni Association, event tickets are available – $5 for students, $15 for Alumni Association members, and $20 for nonmembers. Tickets include a plated dinner and dessert.
Ramadan Abdunabi, Ph.D. (M.C.S., ’10; Ph.D., ’13)
College of Business, Department of Computer Information Systems
Holding an M.C.S. and Ph.D. in computer science from Colorado State University, Dr. Ramadan Abdunabi became a CSU faculty in 2015. He is passionate about teaching as a means to elevate both himself and the world. He aims to inspire students to explore their purpose and potential by teaching beyond knowledge transmission alone. Dr. Abdunabi emphasizes real-world experience and mentors students in field projects and internships. His promotion of inclusive education guarantees students with diverse abilities, backgrounds, and learning styles have equal access to quality education. Dr. Abdunabi’s research focuses on software engineering and computer security, particularly in creating efficient, secure resource access to sensitive data. Additionally, Dr. Abdunabi explores the use of technology as an intervention to enhance teaching and learning methodologies.
“Professor Abdunabi’s unwavering commitment to CSU and its students resonates through his multifaceted dedication. He consistently pioneers innovative teaching methodologies, ensuring an expectational standard of education that captivates and engages students. It was invigorating to be part of a classroom environment where collaboration and dialogue were encouraged.”
– Neethu Choudary, graduate student (’25)
Lorie Barker, OTD, OTR, CHT (B.S., ’98)
College of Health and Human Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy
Lorie Barker graduated from Colorado State University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy. She has more than 25 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist, with an emphasis in upper extremity rehabilitation, and is currently working in a dynamic outpatient clinic specializing in the management of upper extremity conditions. Barker served in the military for more than 10 years as a first-line provider and neuromusculoskeletal evaluator where she gained extensive experience in managing traumatic upper extremity injuries. As a teacher and guest lecturer, Barker is invested in helping nurture the future of occupational therapy.
“Even in those 8 a.m. classes, Dr. Barker is extremely engaging and strives to ensure we understand the material and know how to apply it. She has motivated me to push myself harder to learn more, and I am thankful to have such a knowledgeable and caring professor.”
College of Natural Sciences, Department of Biology
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Shane Kanatous first became enamored with the ocean and marine life while watching the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau as a child. That love turned into a dream of becoming a marine biologist/physiologist, which led him to pursue a degree in marine science at Southampton College of Long Island University. Dr. Kanatous received his Ph.D. in exercise and skeletal muscle physiology from Texas A&M University, before joining the faculty at Colorado State University. As a teacher, Dr. Kanatous stresses to his students to do whatever it takes to achieve your dream and enjoy the journey getting there.
“Dr. Kanatous always encourages you to ask questions, and he encourages you to push through your comfort zone because he wants you to grow and become the best version of yourself. Volunteering in his lab has given me more confidence to accept challenges and grow as a researcher.”
– Catalina Mazariegos, senior (’24)
Traci Kinkel, Ph.D. (B.S., ’03)
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology
Traci Kinkel graduated from CSU with a Bachelor of Science in microbiology in 2003. She then went on to earn her Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology, focusing on molecular microbiology, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, in 2008. In the fall semester of 2019, Dr. Kinkel returned to CSU as instructor for the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology. Dr. Kinkel enjoys sharing her passion about all things related to bacteria with her students. Being able to educate and inspire Rams on their path forward has been an exceptionally rewarding experience.
“Dr. Traci Kinkel is one of, if not the most influential scientists I know. I have gained so much confidence due to her guidance and encouragement because she fosters a community in which diversity is welcomed and embraced. She’s taught me passion is a huge component of being a successful scientist.”
– Olivia Lawson, freshman (’27)
Rosa Nam, Ph.D.
College of Liberal Arts, Department of English
Dr. Rosa Nam teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in English education including young adult literature. Her research centers on critical literacy, contemporary diverse adolescent literature, and book censorship. Her censorship research has been funded by the National Council of Teachers of English Intellectual Freedom Center. She is also a 2022-2024 Literacy Research Association STAR fellow. Before joining CSU, Dr. Nam worked with pre-service and in-service teachers and was a high school English teacher in Texas. Dr. Nam strives to build community in her classes and help her students embrace and leverage their strengths for meaningful learning.
“Dr. Nam goes above and beyond to ensure that every student gets what they need out of the class and teaches with equity and respect. Dr. Nam’s class is the one I look forward to in my day because I know I will truly be learning.”
– Ella Kobleur, junior (’25)
Samuel M. Tham, Ph.D.
College of Liberal Arts, Department of Journalism and Media Communication
Dr. Samuel M. Tham is a first-generation college student who earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and his M.A. from the University of Missouri. Before teaching, Tham founded an online gaming company and worked in advertising. His return to academia came from his passion for teaching – an important trait he learned from his father, Richard, who was also a teacher. Tham strives to bridge the gap between industry experience and skills with theoretical concept to his students and believes in the need to show kindness, to build critical thinking skills, and to have students demand more of themselves in their lives.
“Since my classwork is 100% online, I was pessimistic about the opportunity to form meaningful connections with my peers, but because of Dr. Tham, I was able to foster meaningful connections and make lifelong friends. His mentorship has been a source of inspiration, offering valuable feedback and providing profound insights.”
An elk grazes in Rocky Mountain National Park (Photo courtesy Pixabay) .
Every year, multiple videos go viral of “idiot” tourists forgetting that wildlife are indeed wild when they watch the elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park.
And the next year, it invariably happens again.
“Right now, I’m seeing plenty of videos from Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, basically showing the elk rut – and a lot of times, the images usually involve your typical idiot tourist getting too close to an elk and the videographer trying to capture something terrible happening,” said Katie Abrams, an associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Communication at Colorado State University. “I think people see these videos and say, ‘I would never be that tourist.’ But when they actually find themselves in that space with those creatures and those landscapes, they end up getting too close and becoming ‘that tourist’ anyway.”
The question is: How do you effectively communicate the right thing to do? Abrams is working on finding an answer. She’s worked on projects in national parks across the country aimed at creating successful social-marketing approaches to limit human-wildlife interactions.
With the Estes Park elk rut now underway and expected to last into mid-October, SOURCE caught up with Abrams and Joel Berger – CSU’s Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair of Wildlife Conservation – to discuss bugling season, how to be a good tourist and how scientists can better communicate the importance of keeping a safe distance from wild animals.
What is the elk rut?
In some ways, watching the elk rut in Rocky Mountain National Park isn’t that different from what can be observed when certain members of the human world go out on a Friday night.
“Male elk (called bulls) do everything they can to monopolize and gain access to females,” Berger said. “Think of a bar scene in which some loud and perhaps even rowdy ‘dudes’ do everything they can to get the attention of females and take one (or more) home. That is what the elk rut is about.”
A key component is bugling, which is when elk vocalize with high-pitched roars. Berger explained that this isn’t done just to attract females but also to potentially dissuade other males.
“However, by and large the antlers of males are used to dominate other males,” Berger said. “Fights are rare but spectacular when they occur.”
How do you communicate that it’s not worth getting hurt over a good selfie?
Berger said that elk tend to congregate where they feel safe and have easy access to food – which is why they don’t have qualms about getting close to human populations in tourist communities like Estes Park year-round. However, during mating season, these animals are concerned about much more than food.
“The elk are so focused on mating that it can be really dangerous for people,” Abrams said.
That’s why tourists are encouraged to stay at least 25 yards away from elk at all times as well as to avoid flash photography or any other activity that might disturb the animals. Berger said people should avoid getting in between male and female elk – and especially to stay away from the former during rutting season.
However, Abrams said her research has shown that simply telling people what isn’t allowed isn’t the most effective form of communication.
“What we’ve learned is that if you’re going to tell people what not to do, tell them what to do as well,” Abrams said, “because people are going to break the rules if you don’t give them an alternative path forward to achieving their goals.”
She said science communicators need to acknowledge the desires people have to take great photos and see nature in action, and that during events like the elk rut, it’s more important than ever to share how tourists can do these things safely.
“We need to teach people to follow the rules so they don’t get hurt and so that the wildlife are not disturbed,” Abrams said. “But, you also have to show how it’s in their benefit to do so.”
Show others how to be good Coloradans
The phrase “if you see something, say something” might be a cliche … but it’s been repeated a lot for a reason.
“In the work I’ve led in promoting positive interactions with wildlife and beyond, we’ve seen it’s really important for people to speak up when they know better than the other tourists around them,” Abrams said. “So if you see other people getting too close, harassing, calling out to the elk – things like that – you could really make a difference and save some really major harm to somebody if you speak up.”
“… You always think or hope ‘it’s not my role to do that,’ but you can actually be a really powerful voice.”
Don’t forget how lucky you are to be this close to nature
While Rocky Mountain National Park might basically be in Fort Collins’ backyard, Berger and Abrams said it’s important not to forget how rare it is to see what we might take for granted in the fall.
“The elk rut is spectacular and only a few places in the world offer the quality opportunities that we have in and around Estes Park,” Berger said.
Abrams added: “It’s incredibly understandable why people want to visit places like Colorado where there are immense opportunities to see wildlife and play in nature. I think it’s important to remember that you can have a great experience and still get excellent photos while being a good steward to these places we love so much.”
Robert Sakata, president of Sakata Farms in Brighton, Colorado, checks the soil. Photo by Matthew Ross, Center for Science Communication
Soil health movement takes root in Colorado
story by Rhea Maze
published Sept. 28, 2023
Growing up in southeastern Colorado, near an area among the hardest hit by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, James Pritchett remembers hearing stories of “Black Sunday.”
On April 14, 1935, drought combined with over-plowed land culminated in one of largest dust storms of the era, one that blotted out the sun and swept through seven states. In Baca County, Colorado, alone, this dark chapter in agricultural history reduced its wheat production from 237,000 acres to only 150 acres of farmable land and forced over 40% of its residents to leave.
“Over decades, we’ve learned how to better take care of the land and to improve the soil so that we wouldn’t face this kind of ecological disaster again,” said Pritchett, dean of Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “But amidst climate change and other modern challenges, there is more urgency now for us to pay closer attention to ecological systems in the soil.”
A fresh focus on soil
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 Researchers in CSU’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences are partnering with the new Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources (STAR) program to help Colorado farmers and ranchers improve their land for future generations. The Center for Science Communication is sharing the stories of their soil-health journeys in a new film series called “Hold Our Ground.”
Professor Emeritus Jim Ippolito and Research Scientist Megan Machmuller are part of the CSU research team collaborating with STAR. Their work includes installing soil moisture sensors, testing soil and water quality, and using cutting-edge tools to monitor greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon sequestration. The program is also collecting data on management techniques, yields, inputs and other economic and social factors.
“It is so exciting to see the willingness of Colorado farmers and ranchers to work together with all these different people and to see everyone coming to the table to find common ground,” Ippolito said. “We’ve caught the soil health wave and there’s so much energy behind it by so many different entities — we are all working together to get things done.”
At left, Michael Vicenti, irrigator with the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm and Ranch Enterprise in Towaoc, Colorado, examines a handful of soil. At right, a late summer potato harvest from Elliott Farms in Monte Vista, Colorado. Photos by Eric Forbes, Center for Science Communication
The future of food and water
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 For the CSU team, working directly with Colorado farmers and ranchers has been a rewarding co-learning experience. “They truly care,” Machmuller said. “And many of them are already doing very innovative and exciting things for soil health.”
Access to advanced analytical tools in metagenomics and metabolomics, which look at what microorganisms are in the soil and how they function, sharpen the STAR research team’s ability to detect soil changes and enhance their understanding of soil health. But their work goes beyond high-tech metrics. “Our research is really taking a holistic approach,” Machmuller said. “We are trying to understand the ecological, economic and social benefits of soil health practices.”
To complement the science, the “Hold Our Ground” film series seeks to engage both agricultural producers and the public in the importance of soil health through visual storytelling. “Soil health is integral to CSU’s land-grant mission,” said Ippolito. “And we have the world-class scientists needed to lead this effort, as well as the communicators who can tell the story.”
Storytelling as a catalyst for change
At left, Mike Peterson, owner of Pasture Perfect Premium Beef in Sedgwick, Colorado, uses a soil probe. Photo by Eric Forbes, Center for Science Communication. At right, Nancy Roberts, owner of Arrowpoint Cattle, checks on a few of her Highland cattle that are wearing virtual fence collars. Photo by Matthew Ross, Center for Science Communication
The “Hold Our Ground” film series highlights the soil-enhancing, relationship-building work taking place with STAR farmers and ranchers across the state.
“This program took so much time, energy, effort, research and listening sessions to understand all of the challenges, barriers, opportunities and what the farmers and ranchers here in Colorado need,” Machmuller said. “Those critical conversations brought everyone to the table and it is so exciting to be off and running. The most meaningful science is done this way — it is all about relationships.”
The Center for Science Communication’s film crew traveled all around Colorado to connect with the people behind the food. Through documenting their ideas and progressive soil health practices, the series aims to further the soil health movement.
“As a powerful visual medium, we hope that these films will help Colorado producers visualize the potential of incorporating new soil health practices into their own operations,” said the series’ producer and director, Jaime Jacobsen, an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Communication and director of the Center for Science Communication. “We believe these films can play a key role in demonstrating conservation practices and sharing that knowledge.”
Read more of The Future of Ag is Now
This special report from SOURCE explores the breadth of multidisciplinary, agricultural work happening at CSU — a place where researchers, students and food producers are all collaborating to shape the future of agriculture.
Colorado State University and the CSU Alumni Association annually recognize outstanding alumni who have excelled in their time after graduation and are making significant contributions to their professions, communities and alma mater.
The 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients represent success, achievement, pride, and service. Their steadfast commitment to their calling and the impact they’ve made in the world embodies what it means to be a stalwart Ram.
Featured below are the recipients of the top four Distinguished Alumni Awards – the William E. Morgan Alumni Achievement Award, the Charles A. Lory Public Service Award, the Jim and Nadine Henry Award, and the Distinguished Graduate of the Last Decade Award – along with award recipients from CSU Athletics and each of the eight colleges.
Congratulations to these outstanding honorees who will be celebrated on Oct. 12, 2023 during the Distinguished Alumni Awards as part of Homecoming and Family Weekend.
Click or tap here to learn more about the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards, including recipient bios, event registration info and more. And for further Homecoming and Family Weekend details, visit, homecoming.colostate.edu.
William E. Morgan Alumni Achievement Award
Jim Benemann (B.S., technical journalism, ’78)
The Emmy-award-winning journalist, Jim Benemann, has worked as a reporter and news anchor around the country and on five continents. A Chicago native, his career in TV news began after he graduated from CSU and went to work as a reporter in Davenport, Iowa. His first on-air job in Denver came in 1981, as the inaugural Boulder County reporter for Channel 9 KUSA. Station owner Gannett then offered to send Jim, then 25 years old, to Washington, D.C., to help open a new national news bureau there. After returning to Denver, he reported on weekend sports and morning news at 9News before becoming a co-anchor for Denver’s CBS4 KCNC-TV in 1989.
While most of his career has been in Colorado, he also served as one of the main news anchors at Portland’s KGW-TV from 1994 to 1997. But a call from KUSA brought him back to Denver, as that station was looking to replace longtime anchor, Ed Sardella, with a familiar presence. Jim’s tenure with 9News spanned six years before he moved back to CBS4 in 2002, where he became the face of the station’s primetime news broadcasts and began co-anchoring that station’s nightly news with Karen Leigh in 2008. When he retired at the end of 2022, he had more than four decades on the air and 36 years in the Denver TV market.
During Jim’s career, he earned a reputation for being an outstanding journalist and an exceptional communicator. His passion for his work and his commitment to this community made him one of the most respected broadcasters in Colorado. Jim’s anchoring and reporting background has included major assignments on local, national, and international stories, including walking through French villages with World War II veterans for the 40th anniversary of D-Day, reporting from Vietnamese jungles in the aftermath of the war there, and covering the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Jim received eight Emmy awards for his work, most recently for a story about the marijuana industry in Colorado. He also has volunteered to emcee hundreds of events for nonprofit organizations, including CSU. In retirement, Jim is traveling with his wife, Karen, and checking off items on their “bucket list,” in addition to spending more time with their growing family, which includes eight adult children and five grandchildren.
About the award: Named for the eighth president of the University, Dr. William E. Morgan, this award is the highest honor given by the Alumni Association and is reserved for individuals who have excelled at the national or international level. The purpose of this award is to recognize a graduate who has attained extraordinary distinction and success in their field of endeavor and whose achievements have brought credit to CSU and benefited their fellow citizens.
Charles A. Lory Public Service Award
Mike Liggett (B.S., psychology, ’73)
Mike Liggett has been a trial attorney in Colorado for 46 years. He has represented clients statewide and has argued two cases before the Colorado Supreme Court. In 1964, Mike’s family relocated to Fort Collins, where he graduated from Fort Collins High School. While attending CSU as a first-generation student, he had the good fortune to become friends with philosophy professor Holmes Rolston III, Ph.D., who was a big influence on Mike’s view of the world and being a lifelong learner. He also met and later married Ann Stephenson (B.A., ’74) before moving to the Pacific Northwest to attend the Seattle University School of Law in Washington.
In 1977, Ann and Mike returned to Fort Collins where he opened a law firm. Business was good enough to allow Ann to stay home when their two children, Sarah and Morgan, were born. Once their kids were both in school, Ann put her English degree to work as a literacy teacher at Eyestone Elementary School in Wellington, Colorado. Woven throughout Mike’s law career was a vision of civic engagement based on the Platonic proposition that a functioning democracy needs an educated and healthy citizenry. During the past 25 years, he has served on the boards of directors of several organizations including the Board of Education for the Poudre School District, the Poudre River Library District, the Health District of Northern Larimer County, and currently, the Poudre River Library Trust.
Despite his busy schedule, Mike found time to periodically teach continuing legal education classes and be a guest speaker at CSU law classes. Over the years, Ann and Mike have supported programs across the campus that aligned with their passions, including the arts. Ann’s health began to deteriorate in 2018, and Mike retired in August of that year to care for her. She passed away Dec. 31, 2018.
In the past three decades, Mike has fly-fished most of the major rivers in the Western United States. In 2021, he helped form a discussion group composed of current and former civic leaders who have breakfast once a month and explore divisive issues. He now works part time facilitating court-mandated mediations and, on several occasions, he has also served as a special prosecutor for the 8th Judicial District in Northern Colorado.
About the award: This award is named for Dr. Charles A. Lory, the fifth president of the University, whose leadership helped the institution attain a vital balance of teaching, research, and service. It is given to alumni who have demonstrated exceptional and sustained leadership in their community, professional field, or personal commitments and have given a significant contribution of time and talent to the University.
Jim and Nadine Henry Award
Neyla (B.A., speech and theatre arts, ’79) and Mark Driscoll (B.S., management, ’76; M.S., business, ’88)
Neyla (Allen) and Mark Driscoll met in high school in La Junta, Colorado, where he was the quarterback of the football team and she was a cheerleader. Mark was recruited to play for CSU, and Neyla followed him to Fort Collins a year later. He was the quarterback for the Rams from 1972-75 and still holds the University’s oldest passing record of throwing six touchdown passes on Oct. 19, 1974, in a 66-17 win over the University of Nevada. Neyla and Mark were married in 1975, and after graduation, Mark tried out for the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, but neither team kept him on their rosters, so he and Neyla returned to Fort Collins. Mark had the opportunity to be a Rams assistant football coach for four seasons between 1976 and 1979. Although he enjoyed coaching, Mark’s interest in business and in using his degree was his long-term goal. In 1979, Mark accepted a position with First National Bank, one of the state’s leading financial institutions.
The couple’s three children were born in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After they were in school, Neyla served as a piano accompanist, music assistant, and choreographer for the Poudre School District for more than 15 years. She learned to tap dance in her teens and performed with several dance groups, including The Big Noise, a tap company based in Boulder. In the early 1990s, she became a faculty member at Canyon Concert Ballet, which offers dance training and performances, and worked for many years with children in the Centennial Children’s Chorus as a drama coach and choreographer.
Mark became president of First National Bank in 1994. He stepped away from his banking career from 2003 to 2006 to serve as the athletics director for CSU Athletics, before returning to his previous position as Colorado market president of First National Bank (now FNBO). Mark also served as a Rams football color commentator, providing expert analysis and background information on radio broadcasts for the Colorado State Sports Network, between 2015 and 2021. Over his working career, Mark served on numerous nonprofit and community boards.
After 37 years with First National Bank, Mark retired in January 2020. The couple enjoys traveling and spending time with their five grandchildren. Mark remains an active part of the Fort Collins community, currently serving on the board of the Food Bank for Larimer County, as an adviser to the Noel Barrett Shuler Foundation, and as co-chair for the Neighbor to Neighbor capital campaign. For more than 50 years, following the Rams and being a part of the CSU family has been an important part of Neyla and Mark’s life together.
About the award: This award is given in honor of Jim (’40) and Nadine (Hartshorn) (’41) Henry of Longmont, Colorado, to alumni who exemplify extraordinary service to the University and its academic, athletics, and alumni programs. This award is presented annually to alumni who represent the highest goals of the Alumni Association and the University and who have given significant support and service to both.
Distinguished Graduate of the Last Decade Award
Nigel Daniels (B.A., political science, ’14)
Nigel Daniels is a Denver native raised by a single mother, his maternal grandmother, and a network of community supporters. When Nigel was a child, his mother, Cora, prioritized health, safety, and shelter and always emphasized the importance of education. She enrolled him in Denver Kids Inc., a nonprofit organization that equips students with educational counseling, life skills, and mentors to help them balance the pressures of life, graduate from high school, and pursue postsecondary opportunities. Nigel now serves as a board member for Denver Kids Inc.
The source of Nigel’s inspiration to attend law school came from watching his mother navigate the state’s complicated social services and judicial system to advocate for his younger brother, who had several emotional and mental challenges. Unfortunately, in 2010, when Nigel was a 17-year-old high school senior, his mother suffered a heart attack and passed away. With support of his community, Nigel moved forward and received the Daniels Fund Scholarship, which enabled him to attend Colorado State University as a first-generation student. During his time on campus, Nigel traveled twice to Samburu, Kenya, to participate in service projects, helped increase membership in the pre-law club by 25 percent, assisted in the startup of the pre-law minor, and was elected president of ASCSU in 2013.
After graduation, Nigel worked in Washington, D.C., as a special assistant to U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and later as a political assistant in Colorado on Bennet’s 2016 re-election campaign. That experience prepared him to serve for nearly seven years as a special aide to Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock and then as a senior adviser to the mayor. Working on the mayor’s team exposed Nigel to a broader spectrum of the Denver Metro area and permitted him to work on some of the city’s most complex challenges, such as homelessness.
In 2022, Nigel received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. He currently works as a law clerk and policy adviser with Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where one of his clients is CSU. Nigel fundamentally believes in providing a voice to the voiceless and expanding access to education, which inspired him to serve on the boards for the Global Livingston Institute and the Urban Peak homeless youth shelter in Denver.
About the award: The purpose of the GOLD award is to recognize a CSU graduate from the past 10 years for accomplishments made in the areas of career, service, and/or volunteer efforts that have brought honor to the individual and the University.
Artificial intelligence has become a common tool in daily life. We use it to search for information online, unlock our phones through facial recognition, navigate streets with real-time traffic data and find entertainment tailored to our tastes. Alexa and Siri are not only household names, they are helping to run our households.
Colorado State University scientists and educators are working to develop “trustworthy” AI to solve grand challenges and train the next generation on how to use this powerful tool to benefit society.
If it talks like a human and sees like a human… it can still be far from human
CSU has been teaching classes on AI since the mid-1980s. Since then, the Department of Computer Science has expanded its courses to include new specializations and has made new research advances.
Professor and Department Head Bruce Draper started his career in the study of computer vision, or trying to get computers to be able to see and interpret what they are seeing. Self-driving cars use computer vision to avoid hitting other objects. These systems also have the potential to save lives by improving medical diagnoses, Draper said.
Draper is exploring how to marry computer vision and AI to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives.
“As we age, we all become less proficient at any number of things,” he said. “AI can potentially help us live independently and happily for longer.”
Nikhil Krishnaswamy, an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, uses computers to study human language. His area of research, called natural language processing, is what allows us to interact easily with chatbots – sometimes without even knowing it.
While chatbots may sound convincing, Krishnaswamy said AI is a long way from being able to behave like a human. “General artificial intelligence” is still the domain of science fiction.
“The only human-level general intelligence that we are aware of is the human brain,” he said. “Right now, we have very large, very sophisticated, but often quite limited AI models that are good at specific things and not good at anything else.”
Krishnaswamy is involved in the Institute for Student-AI Teaming, which is working to build AI that will help students with STEM learning at the middle school level.
Finding patterns to solve problems
Accurately forecasting the weather is a notoriously difficult challenge, and the longer the range, the more difficult it becomes. Climate is another complex system that encompasses the entire planet.AI is a useful tool for parsing enormous amounts of data from these systems and detecting patterns that people could easily overlook.
Scientists are hopeful that AI can help humanity solve wicked problems like climate change.
University Distinguished Professor Keith Paustian in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences is leading a team of CSU researchers as part of an institute funded by the National Science Foundation and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture that will use AI to find the best methods for climate-smart land management.
The large swaths of agricultural and forest lands in the U.S. offer an opportunity for carbon storage to reduce the impacts of climate change. The knowledge-guided machine learning models the institute will develop will be based on greenhouse gas emission models developed over decades at CSU.
Opportunities and concerns
AI’s implications for higher ed are complicated, but CSU is trying to be as thoughtful as possible in its approach, according to Director of Academic Integrity Joseph Brown.
The Institute for Learning and Teaching has assembled an “AI Survival Tookit” to help guide faculty on how they might handle AI in their classrooms.
“At TILT, the focus has been on equipping our faculty with what they need to understand this issue and to begin thinking about how they might use this technology in their courses,” Brown said. “There certainly is not an expectation that faculty have to use this, but we do want to equip people if they are interested in beginning that journey.”
The University also has held two public forums exploring the multifaceted topic of AI and higher education.
University researchers are studying how AI might change the course of learning, including Journalism and Media Communication Professor Rosa Martey, who has started confidentially interviewing students about how they use generative AI to complete assignments.
Caveats and open questions
Students who rely on chatbots to do their homework may be in store for disappointment. Even the most advanced systems, with access to the entire Internet, can produce very wrong results.
“New AI models like ChatGPT are incredibly eloquent because having read everything, they know grammar perfectly and they have an incredible vocabulary,” Draper said. “That doesn’t make them smart. The problem is if we believe them because they’re eloquent.”
AI shares some other human flaws. Large language models amplify bias when they are trained on biased, human-generated data – which is concerning because of the perception that technology is neutral.
CSU is involved in several National Science Foundation-funded AI Institutes
*Also funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture “We can’t assume that the data used by generative AI or deep learning is itself not a product of preexisting social inequalities,” Sociology Professor Patrick Mahoney said.
Mahoney wonders about social impacts that may result from increasing interaction with AI.
“When you interact with human beings and they are not all-knowing, will you then want to default to interacting with Siri because of the experience you’ve had with that technology?” Mahoney said.
Draper and others believe the promise of AI and its potential benefits to humanity outweigh the concerns, as long as we are careful in how it is developed.
“I wouldn’t have worked my whole life on AI if I did not think it was a good thing,” Draper said. “But it is disruptive, and as in all cases of disruption, you have to think about both the benefits and the costs. I think there will be more benefits than costs, but I do admit there are costs.”
Artificial intelligence isn’t science fiction anymore. This special report from SOURCE explores the importance of artificial intelligence research and what you really need to know about the potential and impact of this empowering, disruptive and complicated technology. read more
AI-generated image based on prompts “diverse group of college students sitting in classroom writing” and “students sitting in classroom of the future writing,” blended in Photoshop. Credit: Microsoft Bing Image Creator, prompted by Everett Hogrefe and Jayme DeLoss
What does AI mean for higher ed? It’s complicated
story by Jayme DeLoss
published Aug. 31, 2023
How will AI affect the way we learn and the way we interact with one another, and how can it be used in the classroom to benefit students? These are questions educators everywhere are grappling with – along with concerns about students relying too heavily on tools like generative AI. In the face-off between artificial intelligence and academic integrity, which “AI” will come out ahead, or is it possible to have both?
As CSU’s director of academic integrity, Joseph Brown has spent a lot of time thinking about how AI will impact higher education.
“Students are beginning to integrate AI into every facet of their lives, and of course, that includes how they learn,” he said. “The conversation among higher education institutions is moving toward, ‘How can we harness what is clearly a monumental technology to accentuate and improve student learning?’”
Brown is based in The Institute for Learning and Teaching, called TILT for short, which has put together an “AI Survival Tookit” to help guide faculty on how they might handle AI in their classrooms. It provides information on the issue and tips for how to talk to students about it.
Brown said many students may be uncertain about when it’s OK to use generative AI technology for class, which is why he recommends that faculty set expectations around AI use at the beginning of the semester.
“If we’re clear about what our expectations are, I’m hopeful that the majority of our students will step back from using it in inappropriate ways,” he said.
While making sure student work is authentic is important to the University’s mission, policing student assignments generated by programs like ChatGPT has proven difficult.
“The output from GPT-4, the most advanced version, is undetectable by plagiarism detection software,” Brown said. “However, there are common-sense things that we have noticed when students use it in their writing, such as so-called hallucinations, or moments where the program gives you content that we know is demonstrably false.”
Brown said norms and expectations for how student work should be completed are changing with this new technology, and he expects they will be very different in just a few years.
“What we need to do is figure out how we can coexist with this technology without losing the core value of academic integrity.”
Same old problem, shiny new technology
The ethical questions raised by AI are not new, observes Matt Hickey, professor, University Distinguished Teaching Scholar and associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Health and Human Sciences. In fact, he points out, the technology isn’t even new. Artificial intelligence has been around in some form since the 1950s. “The issue of integrity about passing off work that’s not my intellectual property is not new,” Hickey said. “That’s an eternal challenge for higher education. ChatGPT makes it a bit more interesting, but it’s the same old problem wearing a new outfit of shiny technology.”
Hickey, who has moderated two installations of the Provost’s Ethics Colloquium on the subject over the past year, suggests that the way we respond to the questions and problems brought about by AI also doesn’t need to be completely novel. “The ethics perhaps don’t need to be radically modified.”
“The issue of integrity about passing off work that’s not my intellectual property is not new. That’s an eternal challenge for higher education. ChatGPT makes it a bit more interesting, but it’s the same old problem wearing a new outfit of shiny technology.”
— University Distinguished Teaching Scholar Matt Hickey
But he recognizes that the educational mission is becoming trickier in the presence of generative AI tools – and not because of cheating or plagiarism.
“There’s so much information out there, and we don’t want to just consume it,” Hickey said. “If we’re going to do well both in class and as professionals, we have to be discerning readers and interpreters, and then we have to be able to synthesize it and put it in context. We can’t simply regurgitate something that an AI device happened to share.”
CSU has been sensible in its approach to AI in the classroom, Hickey said, by offering resources and guidelines to faculty instead of asserting policies that would challenge academic freedom.
Hickey notes that technology has changed considerably in his 26 years on campus. “We’ve adapted to technology as ways to foster better learning environments for students,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we can continue to do so with ChatGPT.”
Janice Nerger, CSU’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, added: “I am excited about the future of AI, despite the potential challenges. Think of all the technology shifts over the past century alone and how they have revolutionized how we teach and learn, indeed, how they have revolutionized the world. For better or worse, humankind has learned to adapt and mitigate the consequences of emerging technologies. We are obligated as educators to embrace and implement new technologies in an informed and cautious manner while making sure our students are prepared for careers where AI will be an inevitable factor of how they live and work.”
Identity in the era of AI
Rosa Martey, a professor of Journalism and Media Communication, studies identity and social interaction in digital spaces. Martey said generative AI could go in both exciting and disturbing directions.
“I’m trying to be excited about this because the idea of having computers that can interact with us using regular language has been part of our imaginings of what technological systems would eventually be able to do for a very long time,” she said. “For things like games and other places where you know you’re talking to a computer, but it’s more fun and engaging when it sounds like a human, it’s going to be amazing.” But she has reservations, especially about programs like ChatGPT and others that can generate accurate-sounding information that might be false.
“If you think of it as a search engine, you will be in big trouble because it is not looking up information,” she said. “It is predicting what text is most likely, in terms of mathematical probabilities, to be seen as the right thing to say in response to a specific query.” Martey said it’s important to differentiate between ChatGPT and other systems that may also undermine fundamentals. Decades ago, calculators and spellcheck were viewed as potential threats to education.
“Generative AI is different because it is creating output that is meant to replace the person’s act of creation,” she said. “Other tools, like spellcheck and Photoshop, are editors, in a sense. They’re helping you refine what you’ve created.”
Martey is concerned that generative AI programs will reduce students’ motivation to take intellectual risks and learn to use their own judgment. She worries that if students rely on ChatGPT, they will miss out on opportunities to develop their own voice.
She added that educators will have to rethink the work they give students in order to instill critical thinking skills.
“It’s going to take some thoughtful reflection on why we assign what we assign, how much we assign and where we can make adjustments,” Martey said. “Maybe there are ways other than writing to make sure students have the opportunity to think and practice and try out ideas, because ultimately these are very important foundations of learning.”
Artificial intelligence isn’t science fiction anymore. This special report from SOURCE explores the importance of artificial intelligence research and what you really need to know about the potential and impact of this empowering, disruptive and complicated technology. read more
Jesse Grace, a faculty member in the Department of Journalism and Media Communication, shoots footage for the documentary “CO-Existing with Wildfire.”
CSU journalism faculty produce Rocky Mountain PBS doc on wildfires
story by Joe Giordano
published July 31, 2023
Two Colorado State University faculty members have created a Rocky Mountain PBS documentary on the state of Colorado’s efforts in battling wildfires. The documentary — “CO-Existing with Wildfire” — was produced by Jesse Grace and Steven Weiss, faculty members in CSU’s Department of Journalism and Media Communication. The 30-minute documentary is now available to watch on Rocky Mountain PBS.
Watch the documentary
To watch “CO-Existing with Wildfire,” visit video.rmpbs.org/video/co-existing-with-wildfire-047qy7. Produced in conjunction with the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Colorado State Forest Service, and CSU, the film covers the state’s expansive fire mitigation efforts.
Grace, who served as the documentary’s director, explained that unlike other films that cover the aftermath of wildfires, “CO-Existing with Wildfire” examines the efforts being made to better understand and mitigate wildfires.
“There is nothing we can do to eliminate more big wildfires from happening,” Grace said. “These forests haven’t burned in a long time, and they’re going to burn. We’re hoping people understand that officials are doing a lot, and that everyone has a responsibility to protect the land when they’re out recreating.”
The documentary came together over the course of two years, with the filmmakers traveling across the state. During the filming, the filmmakers covered the Marshall Fire in Boulder County, the most destructive fire in Colorado history. The filmmakers interviewed top fire officials as well as leaders such as U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (left) and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet are among the people featured in the documentary.
The filmmakers also interviewed CSU faculty member Camille Stevens-Rumann, an assistant professor of forest and rangeland stewardship and assistant director of ecological research and monitoring at the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute.
“There is an immense amount of research and work being done on wildfires,” Weiss said. “And the other thing we realized is just the overall effort from the state perspective. We were surprised by the number of fires that are happening. There are multiple fires every single day in the mountains.”
As part of this, the filmmakers said the documentary can be used as an educational resource in classrooms. Additionally, several CSU journalism students assisted in the production of the film. Weiss explained that CSU has a history of working with the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media to produce films, which give students experience.
“This was an opportunity for our students,” Weiss said. “This wasn’t just Jesse’s and my project, this was part of something bigger.”
JTNDY2VudGVyJTNFJTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZwbGF5ZXIudmltZW8uY29tJTJGdmlkZW8lMkY3OTg5MDU0MTElM0ZoJTNENjMxOTJhNmJiMCUyMiUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTIyMTAwMCUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjU2MiUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMGFsbG93JTNEJTIyYXV0b3BsYXklM0IlMjBmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNCJTIwcGljdHVyZS1pbi1waWN0dXJlJTIyJTIwYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuJTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNFJTNDJTJGY2VudGVyJTNFJTBBJTNDcCUzRSUzQyUyRnAlM0U= Student documentary filmmakers from Tree Stump Films will get a chance to showcase their work to the Rocky Mountain region and beyond this August on Rocky Mountain PBS. RMPBS will broadcast four documentary films by Colorado State University students who are part of Tree Stump Films, a department within Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation.
“As an experienced PBS film producer, I have impressed upon our students the boost in credibility a PBS film credit will give to Tree Stump Films, Rocky Mountain Student Media – and especially their own personal reels as they look to make the jump from college to professional filmmaking,” said Tree Stump Films Adviser Frank Boring.
How to watch
When: 7:30 p.m. (MST) Thursday, Aug. 24, (debut) and 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, (encore).
Where: Rocky Mountain PBS (check local cable, satellite or over-the-air listings).
The featured films, which will be shown as part of RMPBS’s Arts and Culture Showcase, will include:
“Reclamation:” A Native American student reclaims her indigenous identity through beadwork.
“Becoming Kaz:” A CSU student reflects on his gender transformation via storytelling and visual art.
“DIY Fort Collins:” See the creation of an inclusive DIY Fort Collins music space.
“A Complex Life:” Abe embraces his complex thoughts on prestige via music and skateboarding.
“The student producers were overwhelmed with the positive response from the Fort Collins and CSU community at our first showing of these films at the Lyric Cinema,” said Irl Paulalengan, a student director. “We are beyond excited to share these stories with the greater audience through Rocky Mountain PBS. I hope our viewers will experience the PBS high broadcast standard with our documentaries.”
About Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation
Rocky Mountain Student Media Corporation is a not-for-profit company that employs students to produce media for the Colorado State University and Fort Collins communities. Located on the CSU campus, RMSMC employs nearly 300 students annually to produce independent student media each school year on a variety of platforms, including Tree Stump Films, The Rocky Mountain Collegian and Collegian.com, KCSU-FM 90.5 radio, Collegian Television (CTV) and CSU TV11, College Avenue Magazine, and Student Video Productions. Learn more about us at RMSMC.com.