New Student Orientation Begins Tomorrow!

It’s that time of year again — I’m thrilled to welcome a new group of students to Colorado College!

The Class of 2022 has 548 students, selected from a record-breaking 8,552 applications. We also welcome 36 transfer students. Our new students hail from 45 states, the District of Columbia, and 18 foreign countries.

Move-in starts tomorrow morning, and we’ll celebrate with students and their families and supporters before the first-years leave for 5-day Priddy trips, where they’ll get to participate in service work for local communities, bond with other incoming students, and explore the culture and beauty of Colorado.

You can find the NSO schedule here.

Congratulations and a warm welcome to our new Tigers!

Professor Jacobs Recognizes World Elephant Day

Professor Bob Jacobs’ (Psychology) article “What Elephants’ Unique Brain Structures Suggest about their Mental Abilities” recognized World Elephant Day, which was Sunday, August 12.

Professor Jacobs collaborated with neurobiologist Paul Manger of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, anthropologist Chet Sherwood of Columbia University, and neuroscientist Patrick Hof of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Their research provides insight into the remarkable cognitive capabilities of elephants; Bob describes elephants as “essentially contemplative animals.”

FAC Hosts Military Artistic Healing Program

The Fine Arts Center is a wonderful addition to CC. I am inspired by the FAC’s thoughtful and accessible programming, as well as the staff’s commitment to connecting with all visitors, from our CC students to members of the wider Colorado Springs community.

For almost a decade, the FAC has been hosting Military and Family Artistic Healing Programs. Participants create a positive space for healing through their own artistic process and have found these programs provide relief from PTSD and other trauma.

Veterans, like Tommy Darbe, have attested to this transformative process. When asked about his experience, Darbe said, “You do things like sling paint onto canvas, and yelling out all of your emotions, your anger, and your rage. It’s a release. It’s a positive release. And in the process, I even discovered that I have some marginal talent!”

Mr. Darbe is pictured below with one of his watercolors. Read more here.

Christopher Dunn ’87 Wins Roberto Reis Best Book Award

Congratulations to alumnus Christopher Dunn ’87, who won this year’s Roberto Reis Best Book Award for his book Contracultura: Alternative Arts and Social Transformation in Alternative Brazil.

The Roberto Reis Best Book Award is awarded annually to two books published in English that contribute to a greater understanding of Brazilian culture and history. Dunn’s book explores the Brazilian counterculture movement that blossomed during the 1960s and 1970s in response to an oppressive military regime.

Christopher graduated from CC with a history major and is now a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Tulane University.

Professors Bertrand and Herrera Publish Book

Professor Ralph Bertrand (Molecular Biology) and CC Visiting Scholar Jene Herrera are celebrating the release of their newly-published book, “Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations,” which incorporates population genetics, anthropology, climatology, and folklore. The book offers a comprehensive approach to the dynamic field of population genetics, and is accessible to a range of audiences, from those interested in the subject to experts in the field.

Professor Bertrand will begin this academic year co-teaching a two-block course for first-years, entitled “Viruses: The Biology and Mathematical Modeling of Epidemics” with Professor David Brown (Mathematics and Computer Science).