Around the Block

Randy Stiles Elected to EDUCAUSE Board of Directors

Randy Stiles, vice president for information management at Colorado College, has been elected to the board of EDUCAUSE, the association for information technology in higher education. Stiles, who oversees the college’s office of institutional research and planning and its information technology services, will serve a four-year term that begins this month.

Stiles’ service to EDUCAUSE includes conference presentations, several papers and prepublication reviews of studies, and consulting for the 2008 Core Data Survey revision. He also has served as a board member and chair of the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges and is an experienced peer reviewer and team leader for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Stiles is an American Council on Education Fellow and holds a B.S. and M.S. in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois, an MBA from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University.

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association and the foremost community of IT leaders and professionals committed to advancing higher education. Its programs and services are focused on analysis, advocacy, community building, professional development and knowledge creation.

Board of Trustees Meeting Actions

The CC Board of Trustees met September 23-25 at the El Pomar Foundation’s Penrose House and conducted the following business.

Swore in newly elected alumni trustee Karen Pope ’70 and young alumni trustee Isabel Werner ’08 (new pilot category).

Voted to approve:

A bequest acceptance policy.
A resolution formally establishing the presidential search committee and its charge.

The trustees met with over 80 faculty, staff, and students to hear their thoughts on the college’s priorities and challenges and the desired experience and qualities of the 13^th president. Representatives of the presidential search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel, were on hand to listen as well. In addition, the trustees participated in substantive discussion sessions on diversity and on the liberal arts in the digital age, the latter led by Susan Ashley and David Weddle; attended a reception with local alumni and community members; and dined with the new faculty members and their mentors.

Recent Grad, Two Geology Faculty Members Present Research at Convention

Two Colorado College geology professors and a recent geology graduate will present their research at the 2010 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.
Robert Jacobson ’10 will present “The Last Glacial Maximum Climate in the Southernmost Rocky Mountains”; Associate Professor Henry Fricke will present “Paleoelevation of the North American Cordillera from the late Cretaceous to Late Eocene: An Integrated Climate Model-Oxygen Isotope Approach”; and Professor Eric Leonard will present “The Post-Laramide Rocky Mountain Surface on the Front Ranges of Colorado–Its Character and Possible Causes of its Deformation.”
Approximately 6,000 scientists are expected to attend the Denver meeting, which runs from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3.

80 Years Later, Original Shove Dedication Program Presented to CC

On Oct. 17, 1930, eight-year-old Bob Funk attended the cornerstone dedication at Shove Memorial Chapel with his mother and two brothers. Funk’s great-uncle, Horace Mitchell, was the grand master of the Masonic Lodge and, as such, was to lay the cornerstone.
Almost exactly 80 years later, on Sept. 10, 2010, Funk returned to CC and presented the original programs to Chaplain Bruce Coriell,

The dedication programs were in excellent condition, despite the turns Funk’s life had taken. He moved to New Jersey, enlisted in the Army, and served in Italy. After the war, Funk worked for duPont before enrolling in Rutgers University in 1951. He later asked a dean at Rutgers to recommend a smaller school, and the dean, learning that Funk was from Colorado Springs, told him CC was one of the best schools in the country. Funk transferred and graduated from Colorado College in 1954 at age 32.

Funk attends St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Denver, as does CC Trustee Bill Campbell ’67. When Funk learned Campbell was a CC alum, he asked Campbell to help him return the programs to the college. Campbell helped arrange the September visit to CC, the first time Funk had been back in decades. Funk and Campbell met with President Dick Celeste, toured the Cornerstone Arts Center, and visited Cutler Hall (where both rang the tower bell).

Funk and Campbell also went to Shove Memorial Chapel, where Funk gave the two programs to Coriell, and was presented with a book about the chapel. Funk also reviewed a collection of historical photos of the chapel ceremonies, and was able to find his mother, brothers, and himself in the front row of the guests.

Funk also recalled his impressions of the ceremony to augment the chapel’s records, including the fact that there were two dedication ceremonies. In the morning faculty members led a dedication of the four stones imported from England that are now in the lower part of the front wall of Pilgrim Chapel, located in southeast corner of Shove Chapel. The stones came from a parish church in Gatton, where a Shove ancestor served as parish priest in the 1600s; Winchester Cathedral, which inspired the architect’s design for Shove; Christ Church at Oxford; and King’s College in Cambridge.

Later that afternoon, the Masons led the program to dedicate the cornerstone, which was laid at the northwest corner of Shove Memorial Chapel. It is readily visible on the left as one enters Shove from the main, western-facing entrance. Coriell says, however, that until a few years ago, the cornerstone was obscured by heavy evergreen foliage.

Shove Memorial Chapel was completed the following year, and dedicated on Nov. 24, 1931.

Christine Siddoway Awarded $145,260 from NSF for Research in Antarctica

Student researcher Maggie Cowling '11 and Christine Siddoway

Colorado College Geology Professor Christine Siddoway has been awarded a $145,260 grant from the National Science Foundation for geological research in West Antarctica. The grant, which begins this year, will enable Siddoway to continue her work examining “the transformation of a vast quantity of oceanic mud into lovely rose-colored granite that constitutes the continental crust of East Gondwanaland.” The process she is studying, in collaboration with University of Maryland researchers, is “analogous to distillation of clear, concentrated alcohol (grappa or single malt) from a dark, thick mash of grapes or grains.” Siddoway’s research also involves Colorado College students, on campus and off.

The work is part of an integrated research program that uses multiple approaches to explore the tectonic and climate evolution of West Antarctica. This is Siddoway’s second NSF-Polar Programs grant this year. She also was awarded $49,545 in June, which supports CC undergraduates who undertake “virtual geology” research on Antarctica while learning advanced GIS techniques in CC’s Keck GIS Learning Commons and the Antarctic Geospatial Information Center (agic.umn.edu). Colorado College alumni, parents, and friends took part in Antarctic explorations this year, as well, when Siddoway led a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula during the 2009-10 winter break.

Square Dance Rounds Out Block 1

The beautiful Block 1 weather inspired a group of CC faculty, staff, and students to do some square dancing right in front of Tutt Science Building. The caller, Gregg Anderson, got everyone organized and dancing like a pro in no time (even though some in the group professed to have two left legs). After 90 minutes of dancing, all dancers received A’s for the knowledge they acquired pertaining to left-hand stars, promenades, and do-sa-dos. Kudos to Emily Chan for organizing the event.

CC Gets $85,000 for Max Kade House ADA-Required Improvements

Colorado College has received an $85,000 grant from the Max Kade Foundation to support ADA-required renovations to the Max Kade House.

Renovations to the house, slated for next summer, include an ADA-accessible kitchen, shower, and lavatory, an exterior ramp, and improved signage. The grant will enable the college undertake the necessary improvements so that the Max Kade House is fully ADA-accessible and usable to people with disabilities.

The Max Kade House, the focal point for an active German cultural program, was inaugurated in 1964 as a residence for Colorado College students interested in German language and culture. Dr. Max Kade was present for the house’s opening ceremony, as his foundation made it possible for the college to purchase the century-old residence.

The Max Kade House also includes a garden house annex for small group screenings, meetings and study groups, and a garden for outdoor activities.

What’s Cooking at the Community Kitchen? A Major Renovation

Colorado College’s Community Kitchen, one of the oldest student-run community kitchens in the nation, underwent a renovation this summer. Gay Victoria, director of the Center for Service and Learning, reports that the changes include:

Moving the dishwashing operation out of the kitchen and into side hallway, and adding a rinse station and stainless steel countertops and backsplash
Two new freezers and two refrigerators for storing food
An under-the-counter commercial dishwasher
New slip-resistant flooring in the dishwashing and kitchen areas
The removal of all upper cabinets and the installation of stainless steel shelving
A new warming oven to keep hot foods hot until served
A cold salad server to keep salads on ice until served
A new commercial microwave for warming
New hanging pot racks to keep pots organized
A commercial can opener
Two new commercial food disposals
New commercial faucets in the kitchen
A new hand-washing sink in the kitchen
A new paint job, and lots of new trays, plastic glasses, coffee cups, and bowls

Check out all the changes next time you are helping at the Community Kitchen!

Why it is Good to be Good? Ask John Riker

John Riker, CC professor of philosophy, has published a new book that looks at ethics and moral issues.

Yet talk about irony: He says there were many obstacles in the writing of “Why it is Good to be Good,” including the fact that his computer and all the backups were stolen just as he completed the first draft.

In the book, Riker shows how modernity’s reigning concept of the self undermines moral life and lays the basis for the epidemic of cheating that is devastating social and economic institutions. The aim of the book is to provide a compelling answer to the question of why persons living in modern society should want to adopt an ethical way of being in the world.

Riker says “Why it is Good to be Good” is written for an intelligent lay audience and should be of interest in a world “in which a few too many people think that it is in their best interest to cheat if they don’t get caught.”

The book has just been released by Jason Aronson, an imprint of Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

“This is the book I have been wanting to write for my entire 40 years at CC,” he says. “Sometimes it takes a long time and many adventures of ideas to finally be able to think and say what you most want to.” The book began seven years ago when he was the Kohut Professor at the University of Chicago. During that year he presented his ideas both at the university and at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. “The response was so positive and strong that I set out to write the book.”

Riker also is the author of “Ethics and the Discovery of the Unconscious,” “Human Excellence and an Ecological Conception of the Psyche,” and “The Art of Ethical Thinking.”

Get to Know: Jason Newton

In November 2007 Jason Newton pulled three college girls from a burning car in Sherwood, Ore., after a drunk driver, going 65 mph down the wrong side of the street, crashed head-on into their vehicle. Arriving at the scene as the students were trapped in the car by flames, Newton yelled to them to get down, then struck the left rear window until it shattered. He broke out the glass pieces, told the closest woman to wrap her arms around him, and dragged her out.

The flames grew so hot Newton and another officer could approach the car for only a few seconds at a time. The tires popped from the heat and the seams on Newton’s trousers melted. Three of the George Fox University students were saved. It was later learned that the fourth student, whom the officers were unable to rescue, had been killed on impact.

Newton, CC’s new campus resource officer, sat through an hour-long interview for an Around the Block profile and never mentioned the incident – or the fact that he and another officer were named as national Hero Cops in 2008 for their actions.

“I’m not big into awards, but I have passion for what I do,” he said later.

Newton is a Colorado Springs police officer who is serving as a liaison between the college and the police department. He’s been with the CSPD for three years, where he has focused on narcotic investigations; prior to that he served as a cop for four years in Oregon. A native of Wisconsin, he is a 2003 graduate of Western Oregon University, where he studied criminal justice, minored in psychology, and ran track.

Newton will be patrolling CC and the neighborhood by foot, bike, and car. His goal is to build trust and relationships on the college campus and nearby neighborhoods.

“This is an experimental position for the fall semester,” says Ron Smith, director of campus safety, noting there is no cost to the college for the pilot program. Newton is the CSPD’s officer dedicated to CC, and serves as a liaison between the college, the surrounding neighborhood, and the police department. “This provides supplemental campus patrol and more coverage in the neighborhoods. It’s helping the city by reducing calls for service from this area,” Smith says.

Newton and John Lauer, director of residential life and housing, currently are visiting with representatives from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where a similar program is in place. UW-Madison has a community police officer assigned to the campus, as well as a campus security staff. Newton and Lauer are learning how the relationships work between residential life, campus security, and the community police officer. UW-Madison has been fine-tuning their program for 12 years, and their experience should prove instructive for CC, Lauer says.

“This goes back to the community policing model,” Newton says. “I hope to serve as a resource for students, faculty, and staff, as well as the CC neighbors. I want to build trust and communication, and have people feel free to come to me.

“I want them to be able to ask me about anything – if they have a problem at home, or questions about the community. I want to be a mentor and a friend,” he says.

Newton is no stranger to the CC: His fiancée, Andrea Weatherford, is a 2002 Colorado College graduate who introduced him to CC hockey, and he’s been a dedicated fan ever since. (They plan to get married in mid-September.) He’s also familiar with the college – and its neighbors. During the last several years Student Life and Residential Life have asked the CSPD to send an officer meet with students and discuss such things as the importance of being good neighbors on- and off-campus, how to host safe parties, and personal safety.

“Whenever they needed a volunteer to talk at CC, I would jump on it. I’d go whenever there was an opportunity to talk with the students,” Newton says. The collaborative effort between CC and the local police department paid off: Last year a student who felt comfortable with Newton called him saying “We need help with this party – it’s gotten out of control.” Later, when an irate neighbor also called Newton, he was able to say, “Yes, we know about the party – the students have already called and asked for our assistance.” The neighbor, says Newton, was very surprised.

“When this job came up, I saw it as a tremendous opportunity. I’m really excited about it and I want to put myself in the community. I want to be a part of as many things as I can,” Newton says.

Apparently that won’t be a problem. Newton went to each of the first-year residence halls during orientation, introducing himself and getting to know the students. He happened to visit Slocum Hall when some students were baking banana bread, and was promptly invited to have some. He ended up spending about 30 minutes in the kitchenette there, surrounded by students. “It was great,” he says. “And the banana bread was great, too.”