Scholarships

Scholar learns that ‘language links us all’

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 16:46:45 +0000

Scholar learns that ‘language links us all’ Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/05/2024 - 10:46

Doug McPherson

Political science undergrad Cooper Baldwin wins prestigious U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to learn ‘one of the most critical languages for future United States policy’

Cooper Baldwin, a junior from San Antonio, Texas, majoring in political science and journalism, has been named a recipient of the 2024 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State.

The scholarship allows American college and university students to learn languages that are key to America's engagement with the world.

Baldwin is the only CU �鶹ӰԺ student to receive the CLS in the last two years. Just 500 undergraduate and graduate students in the United States are chosen each year from an application pool of more than 5,000 students, according to the Department of State.

Cooper Baldwin, a junior majoring in political science and journalism, received a 2024 Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State and studied Russian over the summer.

As a CLS recipient, Baldwin chose to study Russian (over Arabic and Chinese) and spent the summer learning the basics of the language online from what he calls “an awesome instructional team” based in Chișinău, Moldova. Russian was the language he’s most interested in learning, he says, and he wanted to get the basics down before he applied to go to a Russian-speaking country next summer and study the language in more detail.

“In my opinion, Russian is one of the most critical languages for future United States policy facilitators, executors and diplomats to learn,” Baldwin says. “Not only is it primarily spoken in many Eastern European countries, it’s the cornerstone of many languages and dialects worldwide. So, with such a broad reach, the choice seemed obvious to me.”

He says his initial curiosity about Russian stems, in part, from the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: “The invasion … stoked a connection to that part of the world. To be honest, the invasion seemed entirely surreal to me, and the onset of a full, unprovoked invasion of a sovereign country rattled the conceptions I had about the relative peaceful nature of nations worldwide. I’ve never lived in a world without Russian aggression and a tense atmosphere from the Kremlin toward the United States.”

'A patriot above all'

Baldwin—who is interested in international relations, geopolitical relations, history and national security—calls himself “a patriot above all” who wants to give back to the United States.

“I believe the CLS program is the perfect way to do that. To learn a language critical to the U.S.'s national security and economic interests nationwide will allow me to pursue this commitment and philosophy fervently, which I intend to do.”

He calls his career goals “big and numerous” and says that working on political campaigns boosted his interest in politics and government.

“To those who know me, it's no secret that I’m thoroughly committed to entering the field of politics, campaigns or government when I graduate from CU. I intend on using my studies and experiences to seek a role in the federal government.”

He hopes to work in the Department of State, Homeland Security, intelligence services, civil military service or policy administration.

I want to live a life of service to the country that has given me so much. I know it is my birthright to be an American, but I see it as an incredible and awe-inspiring privilege to say I am.”

“I want to live a life of service to the country that has given me so much. I know it is my birthright to be an American, but I see it as an incredible and awe-inspiring privilege to say I am.”

Baldwin says that for as long as he can remember, he’s had a “deep interest” in language and linguistics.

“They’ve been an intellectual love of mine,” he says. “I taught myself to read at age 4 because I was so deeply invested in language and its capability for beautiful, complex expression. I find it incredibly interesting that people worldwide have such different ways of expressing themselves. Language links us all.”

He credits his middle school Spanish teacher in San Antonio for bolstering his interest in languages, and adds that she encouraged him to excel in class.

“My teacher never told me to slow down, to stay on pace with the class, to stop answering all the questions she asked,” he says. “She always gave me more material to push my studies further and took time … to give me additional practice with the language. The CLS program was the perfect opportunity to pursue language at the rapid pace I’m capable of, and it challenged me every day. I absolutely loved that.”

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Political science undergrad Cooper Baldwin wins prestigious U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to learn ‘one of the most critical languages for future United States policy.'

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College of Arts and Sciences names 2024 Van Ek Scholars

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 22:16:08 +0000

College of Arts and Sciences names 2024 Van Ek Scholars Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/17/2024 - 16:16

Twenty-three students receive one of college's highest honors, recognized for academic achievement and depth of service

The College of Arts and Sciences has awarded the Jacob Van Ek Scholarship—one of the college’s highest honors—to 23 exceptional undergraduates.

The award is named for Jacob Van Ek (1896-1999), who arrived at CU as a young assistant professor shortly after earning his doctorate in 1925 at what is now known as Iowa State University. Within three years, he was a full professor and, by 1929, he was dean of the College of Liberal Arts, serving until 1959.

The following students are this year’s Jakob Van Ek Scholar Award recipients:

Emily Aguirre, English/Spanish
Simon Bantugan, Geology
Seleny Banuelas, BFA Ceramics/BA Spanish
Aaron Barrios, Physics/Astronomy/Math
Mariana Bastias, English/Psychology and Neuroscience
Auburn Berry, Integrative Physiology
Blanca Cerda, Neuroscience
Rachel Coppock, Anthropology
Sarah Coronna, Anthropology
Adriana Espinoza, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Samantha Haygood, Philosophy and Sociology
Lucas Hendricks, Chinese
Taylor Johnson, Philosophy
Emma Judge, Biochemistry
Samantha Lane, Sociology
Isabella (Bella) Malherbe, Art History
Grant Mannino, Psychology and Neuroscience
Miles Moore, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Rumi Natanzi, Ethnic Studies
Callie Noar, Integrative Physiology
Alexandra Plocki, Physics
Hayley Thomas, International Affairs
Grace Tuzizila, Integrative Physiology

Twenty-three students receive one of college's highest honors, recognized for academic achievement and depth of service.

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New scholarship celebrates, supports ‘ANDers’

Anonymous — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 17:32:01 +0000

New scholarship celebrates, supports ‘ANDers’ Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 12/21/2023 - 10:32

Students who are passionate about 'ANDing' are encouraged to apply for the ANDer Scholarship by March 15

The College of Arts and Sciences uses “AND” as a verb, and new scholarship aims to support students who do, too.

“ANDing” takes the conjunction and makes it a verb, says Erika Randall, associate dean for student success and the college’s pre-eminent ANDing campaigner. “ANDing can be about cooking and mothering and evolutionary biology and race car driving—all of these things create the uniquenesses that are us,” she says, adding:

“In the College of Arts and Sciences, we want to bring attention and excitement to stories of people intentionally bringing together disparate interests, research, creativity, identities, hobbies and more. That alchemy is the creative engine stored within the ANDer Scholarship, and I'm fascinated to see what we discover about the humans who apply. I'm thrilled that the college is supporting ANDers in this way.”

Randall notes that when people are passionate about their interests and pursuing self-understanding, they’re happier. “ANDing and arts and sciences make room for tolerance, humility and acceptance. When students and faculty AND, they are more well-rounded, combine disparate interests and create synergistic connections across ways of thinking.”

The ANDer Scholarship in the College of Arts and Sciences is designed for students who:

Are incoming first-year, transfer or current undergraduates enrolled full-time with a declared major in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Experience ANDing as a verb.
Complete the CU �鶹ӰԺ General Scholarship Application.
Submit the scholarship application by the March 15 deadline on the Academic Works scholarship site.

As the scholarship description notes, ANDing emphasizes the connections that enliven university scholarship and creative expression. By ANDing, new ideas are sparked and space for multiple paths, voices and human stories are created. For example,

“I want to study biochemistry, and I’m also really into technical theatre and community outreach.”
“I’m going to be a philosophy major, I write poetry and I want to minor in geography.”
“I’m committed to social justice and plan to double-major in Spanish and integrative physiology with a minor in women and gender studies.”

Students applying for the scholarship will be asked to complete a short response to this prompt: “The ‘&’ between Arts & Sciences is a symbol that represents the many intersectional identities, disciplines and imaginations of the college. Please share with us how you embody the ampersand symbol, the ways you AND as a verb and how you enliven research and creative expression through the alchemy of ANDing.”

The scholarship award is $3,000 annually, and the College of Arts and Sciences plans to award approximately 25 in 2024.

Students who are passionate about 'ANDing' are encouraged to apply for the ANDer Scholarship by March 15.

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Nature was his classroom

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 19:44:51 +0000

Nature was his classroom Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/12/2023 - 13:44

Rachel Sauer

New scholarship in the CU �鶹ӰԺ Department of Environmental Studies honors Joey Herrin’s non-traditional educational path and love for the natural world

Somewhere in the space between “We are gathered here today” and “I do,” in a rainbow scatter of June wildflowers at the foot of Crested Butte mountain, a moose emerged from the pine and aspen rimming the summer meadow.

It took one or two thinking-about-charging steps and then stopped, gazing silently at the bride and groom, at the astonished wedding party, at the assembled guests. For several quiet seconds, it watched, then turned and faded back into the forest.

“Did you just see…? Did that really…?” everyone asked each other. “Surely it must mean something?” Immediately following the ceremony, the wedding planner Googled the significance of a moose showing up at a summer-day mountain wedding, and learned it was a sign of strength and courage.

That would have greater significance five weeks later, but in the moment of “I do” it was the perfect wedding-day benediction for a man who grew tree-like from the earth with a quiet watchfulness, knowing the flow of streams and the flight of birds.

Joseph “Joey” Herrin wasn’t religious, but he drew depths of spiritual meaning from the nature of which he felt so much a part. In remembrances following his July 28, 2021, death at age 32—five weeks after his wedding day—the people who love him most said that they knew Joey best, that he was his truest self, when he was heading for the horizon on a dirt trail, miles from the nearest anywhere.

Throughout his life, Joey Herrin was most at home in nature.

At the time of his death from job-related injuries, he was less than a year from completing his environmental studies bachelor’s degree at the �鶹ӰԺ, which was posthumously awarded to him. Recently, his parents, Amy Herrin and David Herrin, established the Joseph “Joey” Herrin Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund in the CU �鶹ӰԺ Department of Environmental Studies to honor his hard work and love for what he was learning.

The undergraduate scholarship is intended to support environmental studies students, especially focusing on non-traditional students who, like Joey, might not have followed a linear path to their university education.

“We want to honor Joey’s efforts to go (to CU),” says Amy Herrin. “He was so close to graduating, and they gave him a full degree and felt he had really earned it and deserved it. We are forever grateful for that.

“It’s different for older, non-traditional students. We knew how hard Joey had to work to go to school. He carried a full load of classes each semester while working an average of 32 hours a week to be eligible for benefits. We wanted to honor his accomplishments as well as help out people in the future who might need it.”

Noticing nature’s details

But before he was a man with enough life experience to understand who he was and what he wanted, Joey Herrin was a shy, quiet kid growing up in Austin, Texas, who nevertheless managed to run his parents in circles. “He was a real non-conformist, a true independent thinker” Amy says.

He was a noticer, though—from dog paw prints in the park to tiny insects crawling across leaves or a fallen feather beneath a sheltered nest. Along with his parents and his older brother, Alex, Joey went camping in the hilly expanses outside Austin and rock-climbing in Bull Creek Park.

When he was 7, the family bought some land near Johnson City, Texas, on the Pedernales River and built a small house. If there were only one place on Earth that Joey would claim as home, it was there, quiet in the dappled sunlight beside the river, observing nesting herons, watching armadillos, foxes and deer move past.

“Stewardship has always been a really important part of our family culture,” Amy says. “It wasn’t always an easy lesson with two boys, but we emphasized that you take care of your stuff, your health, friendships and the people around you. You take care of this world.”

Through middle school and high school, Joey participated in Colorado Outdoor Wilderness Adventures in Lake George, Colorado, and spent a semester in Patagonia with the National Outdoor Leadership School.

School was definitely not his thing, and when he graduated, he was done—ready to try life on a different path. He set out across the United States as a WWOOFer, working on organic farms from California to Vermont through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF).

During the growing season, he worked at places like Montezuma Canyon Ranch & Vineyards south of Monticello, Utah, another place that came to feel like home. In his three years as a WWOOFer, he gained an even greater sense of stewardship for the Earth and an understanding of his place in the currents of life. Between jobs, he visited more than 40 national parks.

“He just had a confidence about the world and himself, that he could handle whatever came up,” Amy says. “The theme for his memorial was the Tolkien quote that ‘not all who wander are lost.’ He was definitely that person, he just wanted to explore as much of the country as he could, and logistics didn’t deter him, he would figure it out. He could get a job doing anything, he wasn’t shy about it because all jobs earn money, no job was beneath him, he just really had this trust in himself.”

Back in Austin, he met a woman named Erin Black, who would become the love of his life and eventually his wife, and who loved him for so many reasons that it’s almost impossible to pick even a few: “He once rescued a turtle crossing the road in Texas, he would feed and pet the cows behind our apartment, every dog would cuddle him at Romero’s Dog Bar, once he even pulled off the road to free a goat stuck in a fence, and bought me fresh flowers every week and plants when I was sad,” Erin says.

From the time he was very young and through his whole life, Joey Herrin loved animals.

“What I loved most about Joey was his kind, nurturing soul. Every single animal he interacted with was drawn to him. He was so gentle and quiet but had a powerful, calming presence. He supported me and the work I did with students and took care of me when I was struggling to teach during the pandemic. His smile lit up the room and my heart. He showed me the most beautiful places in the world and taught me how to be a better person who takes care of the environment.”

They explored together before deciding that Colorado was the place they’d been moving toward all along.

‘He did it his way’

After moving to Colorado, Erin got a job as a teacher and Joey found work in the City of Arvada Parks Department, eventually becoming the only year-round, full-time “seasonal” employee in the department. However, he began to chafe at the limitations of his career path.

“He had enough life experience by that point to know he didn’t want to be in parks maintenance for the rest of his life,” Amy says. “I was visiting Erin and Joey in Lafayette, sitting at the kitchen table, talking about the future. We asked him, ‘What is it that you want to do?’ and he said, ‘I want to make a difference.’ He decided that he was ready to go to college.”

Joey started out at Front Range Community College, “and I’m so proud of how committed he was,” Amy says. “I’d warned him that you don’t get to take the really fun classes in your major until a couple of years in, plus school hadn’t really been his thing before that point. But he really worked hard in community college and was never self-conscious about the fact that he was older than his classmates.”

After two years, he transferred to CU �鶹ӰԺ and pursued his studies with energy and commitment. His coworkers reported that as they began the workday at 6:30 a.m., he often arrived eager to share something he had read or studied that morning before work.

Even though he hadn’t previously loved school, he’d always loved to read, which was an advantage as he pursued his environmental studies degree. Part of his time at CU �鶹ӰԺ coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a challenge, especially when dissecting a starfish at home in the kitchen.

He was excited to attend in-person classes for what would be his last semester and was very proud when he earned straight A’s. His dream career was to work for the CU �鶹ӰԺ Mountain Research Station near Nederland, Colorado, or the National Park Service, so he aimed his academic trajectory toward that goal.

In the months following his death, Amy joined a support group in Austin and one week group members were asked to bring a song that represents their loved one who died. At that point, she had been watching animated movies, so she thought about the version of “My Way” from the musical “Sing.”

“I’d never paid attention to the lyrics before, but it’s about reflections at the end of somebody’s life,” she says. “To me, it was absolutely Joey. He didn’t walk a traditional path, and he wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes, but the life he lived was his own. He did it his way.”

Did you enjoy this article? Subcribe to our newsletter. Passionate about environmental studies? S upport the Joseph 'Joey' Herrin Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund.

New scholarship in the CU �鶹ӰԺ Department of Environmental Studies honors Joey Herrin’s non-traditional educational path and love for the natural world.

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Twenty-six students are named 2023 Van Ek Scholars

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 21:12:59 +0000

Twenty-six students are named 2023 Van Ek Scholars Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/26/2023 - 15:12

The award is given to students for academic achievement and service; it is considered one of the College of Arts & Sciences’ highest honors

The College of Arts and Sciences has awarded the Jacob Van Ek Scholarship—one of the college’s highest honors—to 26 exceptional undergraduates.

These students were nominated by faculty at the �鶹ӰԺ for their superior academic achievement and service to the university, the Denver and �鶹ӰԺ communities, or larger national and international communities. The five-person Van Ek Scholars Award committee selected the winners, who receive a $230 award and a certificate of recognition.

Students studying on campus in unique places.

The following students are this year’s Jakob Van Ek Scholar Award recipients:

Abigail Matthews, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Eswari Duggirala, Ethnic Studies and Psychology
Caitlyn Mendik, Biochemistry
Joseph Lim, Integrated Physiology
Rose Rivera, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Emily Reynolds, Anthropology and Linguistics
Ben O’Meara, Psychology
Jordan Lee, Geography and Linguistics
Wendy Acevedo, Integrated Physiology
Kaitlyn Shirley, History
James Kim, Sociology/LCE
Emmeline Nettles, International Affairs and Chinese
Keely Olson, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Ella Baca, Women and Gender Studies
Shane Ball, Economics and History
Wessie Simmons, Theater and Dance
Gigi Saad, Program in Jewish Studies
Jackson Avery, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
Paloma Siegel, Geography
Veronica Feather, French and Italian and International Affairs
Cassie Parrisher, Political Science
MacKenzie Dean, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
Abby Hartley, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
Em Fox, Anthropology
Nick Nemeth, Art and Art History

The award is given to students for academic achievement and service; it is considered one of the College of Arts & Sciences’ highest honors.

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Buffs All In, CU �鶹ӰԺ's inaugural giving day, is March 8

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 19:45:42 +0000

Buffs All In, CU �鶹ӰԺ's inaugural giving day, is March 8 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/03/2023 - 12:45

Buffs All In is CU �鶹ӰԺ’s inaugural giving day on March 8, 2023.

If you’re all in for shaping future leaders, fostering innovation and helping humanity, then get ready to team up with fellow Forever Buffs to support CU �鶹ӰԺ’s people, programs and trailblazing spirit. Gifts at every level will make all the difference.

A lot can happen in one day. Are you all in?

Here’s how to pitch in:

Dean’s Fund

As the intellectual core of the university, CU’s College of Arts and Sciences generates new knowledge in more than 60 fields, working to solve some of the world’s most critical problems while enriching our culture and self-understanding.

The College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Fund has one purpose: funding the most urgent and pressing needs of the college. It is A&S’s most flexible and far-reaching fund that allows the dean use as needs arise. These funds allow the dean to quickly respond in crucial situations, and even a small amount can make a difference.

Funds go towards student support, student research, A&S programming, faculty development and acquisition, building improvements and/or emerging A&S initiatives. By supporting the deans fund, you are helping provide flexibility to the College, and broadly supporting all things A&S.

College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship Fund

Every year, the �鶹ӰԺ and the College of Arts & Sciences disburse millions of dollars in scholarship and fellowship aid to students. A large portion of these monies come from gift funds; given by alumni and donors. Scholarships are awarded by the dean’s office and by many of the departments based on academic merit, financial need, extracurricular activities, leadership experience or other considerations

Our college is the largest and most wide-ranging unit at CU �鶹ӰԺ. It also boasts the largest roster of scholarship opportunities-a number which grows every year. We have approximately 500 scholarships, fellowships and awards that serve everyone from classics majors to PhD candidates—and everyone in between! When you make a donation to support A&S scholarships, you support the success of under-resourced students at the College of Arts and Sciences

College of Arts & Sciences Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fund

This newly established fund will provide support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programming and initiatives in the college.

Funds may be used for, but are not limited to, special events and partnerships that foster community or bring awareness to DEI, student support through scholarships or stipends, and/or additional support to programs within the College that are focused on DEI. Funds are not intended to support additional staff or salary. The fund manager will decide which fundable opportunities are of the greatest need.

DEI Initiatives:

Student Peer Mentorship
Partnering with Be Well: Assuring Healthy Buffs Series
Cultural Celebrations: (Pride Month, Transgender Day of Remembrance, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Black History Month, Juneteenth)

Matching challenge

Scott and Linda Flanders have generously issued a challenge gift of $25,000 if 100 gifts are made to the College of Arts and Sciences on (or by) March 8.

Learn more and join Buffs All In here

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Buffalo Bicycle Classic goes virtual

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 16:33:12 +0000

Buffalo Bicycle Classic goes virtual Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/05/2020 - 10:33

The annual bicycle race that provides scholarships to arts and sciences students is moving to a do-it-yourself ride format due to COVID-19

The Buffalo Bicycle Classic (BBC) has always been more than just a bike ride; it is the largest scholarship fundraising ride in the state of Colorado. Due to the many constraints posed by COVID-19, the BBC will move to a do-it-yourself virtual ride this year.

“As the threat posed by COVID-19 has evolved, it became clear to us that it would be very difficult to host a large in-person ride that would be safe for our riders, volunteers, and the community, so we made the difficult decision to move to a do-it-yourself format this year,” says Jenny Anderson, Buffalo Bicycle Classic Ride Manager.

“Without our signature event this year, we face an unprecedented challenge in fundraising to support our scholars.”

The BBC was created in 2003 to raise scholarship funds for Colorado high school graduates to attend the �鶹ӰԺ. BBC Scholars are some of Colorado’s brightest, with each graduating with a 4.0+ high school GPA. These students have also demonstrated strong financial need in order to attend college.

Without our signature event this year, we face an unprecedented challenge in fundraising to support our scholars."

Over the last 18 years, the BBC has raised over $3.3 million in direct support of student scholarships at CU �鶹ӰԺ and over 375 recipients have graduated from CU, including 17 this past spring semester.

“At this point, we are shifting focus towards our fundraising efforts for our scholars. Our scholars are among CU's best and have an incredible graduation rate of 95%. This year, more than ever, our scholars and their families need our support,” said Paul Beale, Faculty Director of the Buffalo Bicycle Classic.

Originally scheduled for Sunday, September 13, BBC riders are invited to explore the event’s modified routes. The planning committee is encouraging small groups of 10 or fewer to ride with their Buffalo Bicycle Classic merchandise or bib between Sept. 6 and Sept. 20. Riders will benefit from partnerships with stores, coffee shops and restaurants along the routes.

Through a new partnership between CU �鶹ӰԺ and the Colorado Department of Higher Education, donations and registration fees will be matched 1:1 by the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative doubling the impact of registration fees and additional donations.

“Because of the scholarship, I was able to utilize my time differently since I didn't have that financial burden,” said Jasmine Tran, Buffalo Bicycle Classic scholar and first-generation college student, graduated from CU �鶹ӰԺ this spring with degrees in integrated physiology and sociology.

“I got to do a lot of community service work like tutor students throughout the �鶹ӰԺ community, attending and working at different hospitals, too. I was able to find my passion.”

The annual bicycle race that provides scholarships to arts and sciences students is moving to a do-it-yourself ride format due to COVID-19

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Addison Scholarship winner says award comes at just the right time

Anonymous — Thu, 21 May 2020 16:22:19 +0000

Addison Scholarship winner says award comes at just the right time Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/21/2020 - 10:22

Tim Grassley

For Raven Hopgood, an incoming art practices major, the award validates her dedication to pursuing the arts

When Raven Hopgood answered her phone and heard she won a scholarship that covers all of the �鶹ӰԺ’s tuition to study art and art history, she worried it was a prank call.

“I almost didn't pick up, because I've been getting so many spam calls recently. I think I just wanted a distraction from math homework. And, at first, I thought it was a total prank call. I was like, ‘No way. This can't be real. Who is this?’”

Raven Hopgood

The caller was Jeanne Quinn, chair of the Department of Art and Art History in the College of Arts and Sciences, who delivered the news that Hopgood had won the prestigious Addison Scholarship. Only one award is given each year to a high-achieving student who wants to study the arts and is from rural or underserved communities in Colorado.

“I felt like I was calling someone to let them know they had won the lottery,” says Quinn. “At first, I think she didn’t quite believe me, and then she was over the moon.”

To be considered for the award, applicants must be admitted to CU �鶹ӰԺ, demonstrate financial need, have attended a rural school district as defined by Colorado, and show interest or talent for visual art. Quinn, who was a part of the selection committee, says Hopgood distinguished herself, particularly through her thoughtful reflections.

“Her application essays showed the ability to see the world from multiple points of view,” says Quinn. “She demonstrated empathy and the ability to understand the complexity of issues. Also, she created the festival introduction for the Mountainfilm festival in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020, which showed her skill and dedication to creative work.”

The scholarship was founded by Mark (Geog'60) and Polly Addison (Art'58), who are long-time supporters of CU �鶹ӰԺ’s Department of Art and Art History and avid art collectors. For years, they opened their home to faculty and students interested in seeing their collection. Although they retired and moved away from �鶹ӰԺ, they remain involved with the department.

“Mark is passionate about creating opportunities for all kinds of students to come to CU and study art,” says Quinn. “He is especially passionate about supporting students from rural Colorado, and wants students from all kinds of backgrounds to be able to devote themselves, in their studies and in their work life, to the work of creating and studying art.”

Hopgood appreciates CU �鶹ӰԺ’s attention to rural communities through the Addison Award.

“A lot of times rural communities are understandably overlooked, because we’re small and we’re way out there,” says Hopgood. “When I heard it was a scholarship for rural students, that was really cool to me because it showed that people are reaching out to those smaller communities.”

Hopgood spent her childhood in Telluride, Colorado, and her family moved to nearby Ridgway before she started high school. The nearby wilderness in the San Juan Mountains inspires her art, and she says she was fortunate to be in supportive artistic towns that host music, art and film festivals.

“The whole community here is a pretty artistic one,” says Hopgood. “There was a new coffee shop that opened up, and (the owner) reached out. I painted a mural on the inside of the door there. I have a friend that makes music and I did his speakers.”

When Hopgood began exploring universities, CU �鶹ӰԺ was a top choice. Despite being accepted to all six of the universities to which she applied, she felt confident in her choice to enroll at CU �鶹ӰԺ for the community’s love of the outdoors.

She was less certain, though, about her choice of an art major.

I felt like I was calling someone to let them know they had won the lottery"

“In this time when the market’s crashing and no one knows what’s going to happen with the economy, I was kind of stressing,” says Hopgood. “Is art a smart choice right now? It's hands-down what I want to do and what I love. But I was wishy-washy and thought, I don't know, maybe a business major? But then I got this.”

For Hopgood, the Addison Scholarship validated her desire to strengthen her ability as an artist. She now plans to pursue an art practices major, and hopes to earn a bachelor of fine arts.

“It was cool to feel like my hard work throughout high school paid off,” she says. “Probably one of the greatest gifts in this time is debt-free higher education. This is definitely a push forward to absolutely do art and dive into it.”

Hopgood is eager for her classes to begin this fall. She hopes her semester will have opportunities to learn from CU �鶹ӰԺ’s faculty, take art-history classes, and soak up as much as she can about her craft. She is grateful to the couple who helped make her pursuit of art possible.

“I want to say thank you to Mark and Polly Addison. I researched them and what they do for the art community and found out that they’re such cool people.”

“I hope I get to meet them.”

For Raven Hopgood, an incoming art practices major, the award validates her dedication to pursuing the arts.

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Physics alum had luck to spare—and family hopes to share

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 21:21:41 +0000

Physics alum had luck to spare—and family hopes to share Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/12/2020 - 15:21

Clay Bonnyman Evans

Herbert E. Bowman scholarship designed for CU �鶹ӰԺ physics undergrads

Luck plays a role in every human life, and fortunately for Herb Bowman, almost all his was of the good kind, and it started early.

Take the time when the future graduate of the �鶹ӰԺ (Phys’51) and pivotal figure in the U.S. Cold War nuclear arms industry was conducting a youthful chemistry experiment while growing up in Grand Junction.

“He blew out the windows in the backyard shed, but had gone inside for a snack,” says his daughter, Lisa Schrader, a minister who works with the homeless community in Denver. “He led an amazing life, and, you know, things just fell into his path, changing his life in a different direction. His whole life was like that: lucky.”

Herb Bowman

Bowman died on May 5, 2019, at age 90. In fulfillment their father’s request to share some of his good fortune with future CU �鶹ӰԺ students, Schrader and her brother, Gary Bowman, former long-time owner of �鶹ӰԺ Roofing, recently established the Herbert E. Bowman Endowed Scholarship Fund.

The scholarship(s) will be awarded to third- and fourth-year undergraduate physics students based on merit and need, Schrader says.

“This was his dream 20 years ago. Dad said, ‘Take what’s left of my money and give it to CU,’” she says. “He wanted it to be for third- and fourth-year students because, by then, he felt they would be serious students in the Physics Department.”

Bowman started life with distinction when, as a baby, he became the only child ever to live in a railroad car in the labor camp at the west end of Moffatt Tunnel west of �鶹ӰԺ, where his father Estill Bowman helped finish the tunnel through the Continental Divide and his mother Helen served as camp cook.

By the time Herb was in first grade, the family had moved to the Western Slope, where Bowman not only began to develop an interest in math and science but also excelled on the football field and basketball court. He was also known as something of a merry prankster at Grand Junction High School, where, for example, he stuffed all the bells with toilet paper—a stunt that nearly got him banned from the graduation ceremonies in 1946.

Lacking resources to attend college, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Ninety-eight percent of his training class was sent to fight the war in Korea while Herb and three others were sent to New Mexico to guard a top-secret project there. His family addressed letters to a P.O. box in Santa Fe, but in truth Bowman had been assigned to protect the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II had been developed.

After his Army hitch was up, Bowman earned an associate degree in science from then two-year Mesa College in 1949 and enrolled at CU �鶹ӰԺ to study chemistry.

“He never saw organic chemistry coming until it hit him squarely between the eyes,” Schrader writes in a biography of her father. “For the first time in Herb’s life he came up against scientific principles that made absolutely no sense to him.”

A “fun-loving guy,” according to his daughter, Bowman and a few buddies pushed hijinks to the next level at CU, where they built a working still (to make liquor) in an unused chemistry lab. “My dad said years later that the professor knew what they were up to,” Schrader says with a laugh.

Fortunately for Bowman, his battles with “orgo” just brought more good luck. With just three semesters left to graduation, he switched his major to physics, where the chair was pushing for CU �鶹ӰԺ to become a “hunting ground” for the newly formed U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

Sure enough, the AEC came knocking in Bowman’s senior year. The agency hired Bowman to work on “Project Apple” with Dow Chemical in Michigan. Just before he was to report to work, he received a telegram assigning him to Los Alamos and another year on “the mesa.” This time he knew what was happening behind the fences that he had protected in the Army.

“By the late spring of 1952, Herb was back living in �鶹ӰԺ and commuting to the Rocky Flats (nuclear weapon trigger plant),” Schrader writes. “He was the 10^th person hired for Project Apple, a true Rocky Flats pioneer.”

Over his long career at the 2,000-employee facility he served as production control manager, quality manager, manufacturing manager, assistant general manager and finally the general manager of the entire facility. He also met the love of his life, Beverly Wolf, who worked in the personnel department, and they married in 1953.

This was his dream 20 years ago. Dad said, ‘Take what’s left of my money and give it to CU'"

Schrader recalls tension and concern in the 1970s, when anti-nuclear protestors routinely picketed the plant.

“It was a contentious place. There were union strikes and a lot of protesting. My brother and I had to go live with our grandparents in Denver a couple of times when the union strikes got really bad,” she says.

When Rockwell International took over management of Rocky Flats in 1975, Bowman chose to stay with Dow, working at facilities in Texas and Ohio.

Schrader marvels at how her father managed to face the stress of his career at Rocky Flats without ever being able to share what he did at work with his family.

“The hardest part was that he could never say anything about what he did at Rocky Flats due to the top-secret nature of the facility,” Schrader recalls. “We never knew anything. He might have had a bad week yet he couldn’t tell my mother anything. … My own husband, we talk every night about what happens in our day. To not be able to share that must have been so difficult for him.”

Only after the plant closed in the 1989 did Bowman begin to speak about his experiences, both with his family and in public. Herb was always aware of the gravity and potential consequences of the work that was done at Rocky Flats but saw America’s nuclear arsenal as “necessary” post-World War II and as an outcome of the Cold War.

“It was our hope and desire that someday Rocky Flats would be gone and the need for nuclear weapons would no longer be necessary,” Bowman told the Daily Camera in 2015.

“It was our dream that there would be a world without weapons, especially nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons just don’t have a place in our world.”

Herbert E. Bowman scholarship designed for CU �鶹ӰԺ physics undergrads

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Born in poverty, alumna became icon of finance

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 20:59:29 +0000

Born in poverty, alumna became icon of finance Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/16/2019 - 13:59

Laura Hiserodt

In her honor, her husband, a marketing exec who helped make Orville Redenbacher a household name, makes $2.5 million gift for scholarships at CU �鶹ӰԺ

Venita VanCaspel lived through the Great Depression in Oklahoma and worked several jobs while in college, and scholarships were invaluable to getting her degree in economics from the �鶹ӰԺ in 1948. Because of a significant gift from her husband, future generations of CU �鶹ӰԺ students can look forward to similar support.

VanCaspel’s husband, Lyttleton “Lyt” Harris, will donate $2.5 million to fund a scholarship program for CU �鶹ӰԺ economics students in honor of his late wife, who passed away in 2011. Harris signed paperwork to establish the endowment, a planned gift, this fall.

Lyttleton "Lyt" Harris pauses in front of Old Main on campus this year. CU �鶹ӰԺ photo by Glenn Asakawa. At the top of the page is an image of him with the late Venita Van Caspel. Photo courtesy of Lyt Harris.

VanCaspel faced many obstacles growing up in Sayre, Okla., during the dust bowl. She excelled in school, graduated valedictorian of her high school class and went on to become the first in her family to attend college.

Knowing she would have to earn scholarships and get jobs during school to pay her tuition, she had a respect for and interest in finance, an interest that prompted her to major in economics at CU �鶹ӰԺ.

“What was interesting is that she was one of the first women to major in economics at CU. And in most of her classes, she was the only female,” Harris said in a recent interview. “She did very well. She ended up graduating with honors.”

And the honors kept coming. In 1987, Venita won CU’s coveted George Norlin Award, which recognizes outstanding alumni, and she later served for more than a decade on the CU Economics Department’s advisory board.

After graduation, VanCaspel became a successful stockbroker in Houston, Texas, despite the challenges of working in a male-dominated field. To overcome that gender obstacle, she built a client base for herself by giving talks at women’s club luncheons.

VanCaspel launched her own stock brokerage firm, VanCaspel and Company Inc., in the early 1970s. It eventually became the largest independently owned brokerage firm in Texas.

VanCaspel was an accomplished public speaker, which led her to become an author and TV show host. Her first book, Money Dynamics: How to Build Financial Independence, was published in 1975.

During her career, she wrote six books on finance and money and investing, two of which were on The New York Times bestseller list.

“Because of the books, PBS got interested in her, and contracted with her to do weekly television shows called ‘The Money Makers,’” said Harris, adding that she had these weekly shows on PBS for seven years.

In 1984, VanCaspel was a recipient of the prestigious Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans, which recognizes those who rise to the top of their professions despite humble beginnings.

Harris himself also enjoyed a storied career. In the 1970s, Harris was a marketing executive with Hunt-Wesson Foods when he noticed a “most unusual” jar of popcorn in the gourmet foods department of a Chicago department store while there on a business trip. Labels on the jars “looked like they had been printed on a mimeograph machine,” and they featured the image of a man with a bow tie who happened to be a popcorn geneticist and grower from Valparaiso, Indiana.

I realized that the kids in college today are going to be the future of our country. And somebody needs to step forward to help those in need through scholarships so that they don't end up owing thousands of dollars in student loan debt after they graduate.”

Several jars of Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn were purchased and sent to Hunt-Wesson's labs for testing. When the test came back with glowing results, the Hunt-Wesson marketing team met with Redenbacher, and Harris recalled that the conversation went this way:

“You're the expert in growing this wonderful strain of popcorn. We're the consumer product marketing experts. Why don't we get together, and we will make you the Colonel Sanders of the popcorn business,” Harris said.

"And that's exactly what we did. Within three years after introducing the product nationally, it became the #1 brand of popcorn on the market, and it still enjoys that status today."

Harris was also instrumental in the launch of what was at one time a most unusual product: disposable diapers. He introduced the first disposable diapers in the United States while working as a manager in new product development at Scott Paper Company, and today disposables account for over 95% of the diaper market.

In 1982, he became CEO of Southwest Management and Marketing Company in Houston, where he later met VanCaspel at an art installation. They had an “instant connection” and married in 1987 in Harris’ home town, Baton Rouge. Harris noted that they were married for 24 years before she passed away “and never had an argument.”

Together, they loved travel and philanthropy, which included establishing a scholarship program for Northwood University, a private business school in Michigan.

“We were both very pleased” with the scholarship program, he said. After she passed away, “I started thinking about, well, what am I going to do with our estate, and how am I going to put it to the best use. And education came back to mind, and I said, ‘Well, why don't I do that?’”

Harris believes in the importance of education and aiding those, like VanCaspel, who are eager to learn but can’t afford tuition.

“I realized that the kids in college today are going to be the future of our country. And somebody needs to step forward to help those in need through scholarships so that they don't end up owing thousands of dollars in student loan debt after they graduate.”

Harris will donate the majority of their estate, split evenly, to four colleges: Louisiana State University, University of Mississippi, Northwood University and CU �鶹ӰԺ.

“I decided to expand the program and to go to my universities, LSU and Ole Miss, and to come to CU where Venita graduated to honor her.”

Harris’s donation will impact thousands of economics students’ lives for many years. He figures that each of his four endowments should generate about $125,000 for scholarships annually.

“That’s half a million dollars I'll be giving away in scholarships every year through four universities,” Harris said, smiling. “We're talking about 20 or 30 recipients at each school every year forever.”

Lyttleton ‘Lyt’ Harris establishes planned gift of $2.5 million for scholarships benefitting students who follow in the steps of his wife, the late Venita VanCaspel.

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