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The Growth of a Budding Industry

As the dean of library services at Colorado State University-Pueblo and one of just five people at that leadership level, Rhonda Gonzales ’89 often is asked to participate in campus-wide initiatives. Three years ago, the initiative on the table was related to cannabis — and thanks to Colorado’s status as a legal state (both for medical and recreational cannabis), it was a big one. During the summer of 2016, Rick Kreminski, then-provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at CSU-Pueblo, wrote a proposal to the state legislature to create the Institute for Cannabis Research at the university. The legislature approved an initial appropriation of $900,000 and increased its support…

Issue: Winter 2019

In Memoriam: Nick Mystrom ’94

Nick Mystrom ’94 died unexpectedly on Sept. 25 at age 48. He was raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and graduated from Colorado College with a degree in economics. He was a standout athlete and the all-time leading scorer in CC football history. Nick went on to play professional football. After his playing career, he became a real estate developer and a passionate philanthropist. Shortly after completing his first successful real estate project, Nick loaded the back of his pickup truck with frozen turkeys and drove to a poor part of Denver. Standing in the back of his truck, he handed out turkeys for Thanksgiving to all who asked. He started the Karma Club, whose…

Issue: Winter 2019

Triplets Get Into the Swim of Things Together

The Thumann triplets — Cade, Cole, and Caitlin — arrived together at Colorado College as a family. They added a second one by joining the Tigers’ swimming and diving program. “Choosing to go to the same school was one of the best decisions that I have made,” says Cade Thumann ’22. “We have the same…

Issue: Winter 2019

New Turf at Stewart Field Sees Action

The grass-to-turf renovation of Stewart Field became a reality when the women’s soccer team kicked off the first game ever played under the lights on CC’s historic field on Oct. 4, followed by the men’s soccer team a week later. The new surface on Stewart Field matches its neighbor, Washburn Field, which received new turf over…

Issue: Winter 2019

Soccer Greats Inspire While Addressing the Realities of Women in Professional Sport

The CC women’s soccer team isn’t unfamiliar with advice — from their coaches and teammates, professors and peers alike. But in October, they received inspiration from two unlikely sources. Pro athletes Brandi Chastain and Shamila Kohestani visited campus to discuss the role of women in professional sports, specifically in Afghanistan and other developing countries, as…

Issue: Winter 2019

Block Plan 2020

The Block Plan 2020 celebration will mark the 50th anniversary of Colorado College’s innovative one-class-at-a-time academic schedule — the Block Plan. Block Plan 2020 involves a year of celebratory events, including a series of interconnected projects aimed at capturing the vitality of the Block Plan. A film, book, podcast, exhibits, and other commemorative programming will illustrate the impact of the Block Plan, and will look at taking it into the next 50 years — and beyond. Submit Your Block Plan Story Share a story of your time at CC on the Block Plan! A few questions that might help you come up with ideas: Can you share an example of…

Issue: Winter 2019

Tigers Crossing Paths: CC Connections

While attending a women’s weekend in Averill in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, Nicki Steel ’69 and Samantha Elliman Bonz ’95 discovered they were both CC grads. They had a great time discovering commonalities with a love of CC, Colorado, art, and math, and Steel was able to share stories of how the Block Plan got started.

Issue: Winter 2019

Polly Nordstrand Receives Grant from Warhol Foundation

Polly Nordstrand, curator of Southwest Art at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, has been awarded a Curatorial Research Fellowship by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The $45,000 grant will support Nordstrand’s research for the development of an upcoming exhibition, “Queer Indigenous Visualities,” scheduled to open at the Fine Arts Center in September 2021. Nordstrand will drive the curation of the exhibition designed to provide a corrective to historical considerations of Native American art that have ignored the significant contributions of queer artists. “As an academic museum, the FAC is committed to presenting new scholarship to our public,” says Nordstrand. “The exhibition will be…

Issue: Winter 2019

Tracy Santa to Serve as Fulbright Specialist

Tracy Santa, who served as director of Colorado College’s Writing Program and Writing Center from 2005 to 2018, has been appointed a Fulbright Specialist. Fulbright Specialists serve a three-year term and work in collaboration with host institutions in more than 150 countries; Santa will serve from 2019-22. As a Fulbright Specialist, Santa will focus on developing writing and academic support centers in colleges and universities around the world, as well as on faculty and institutional integration of writing across the curriculum. While a faculty member at the American University of Bulgaria (1997-2000), Santa co-founded the European Writing Center Association. He served on the EWCA board from 2000-08 and has continued…

Issue: Winter 2019

Dwanna McKay Named Elder of the Year

Dwanna McKay, assistant professor of Indigenous Studies in Colorado College’s Race, Ethnicity, and Migration Studies program, recently was honored as Elder of the Year at the 10th Annual Garden of the Gods Rock Ledge Ranch Powwow. McKay, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation whose research focuses on social inequality and Indigenous identity, says she…