BIPOC Women Leaders on Progress, Barriers

More Women of Color in Leadership, But: ‘We Should Speak Frankly About the Barriers That Still Exist’

Photo by Lonnie Timmons III
The leadership at Colorado College has changed dramatically throughout the years, and now, in the 2021-22 academic year, the college has never had as many female-identifying, Black, Indigenous, People of Color voices as it currently does. As the CC community takes a moment to acknowledge how far it’s come, the BIPOC women in leadership roles know that there’s still a long way to go.
With a unique administrative faculty perspective, Claire Oberon Garcia — professor of English, former dean of the faculty and acting provost — knows that in order for the discrepancies in leadership representation roles to diminish in higher education, “we should speak frankly about the barriers that still exist.”
As things look up for higher education and Colorado College in the lens of BIPOC women assuming significantly more leadership roles, it’s important for the college and its antiracism commitment to hear what these women know must happen for this change to continue — with longevity — toward a more equitable future. Colorado College has come a long way and there’s pride to be had in the current leadership representation, but the work certainly continues.

State of the Rockies: Conservation in the West Vintage Poster Contest Winners Announced

The winners of the State of the Rockies Project’s Conservation in the West student vintage poster contest have been announced. Congratulations to Isabel DeVito ’24 (first place), Charlie Bragg ’23 (second place), and Sophie Dua ’23 (third place), and to Casey Millhone ’22, Natasha Yskamp Long ’22, and Sofie Miller ’23 (honorable mentions). For the contest, students created a vintage-style poster of a national park, monument, or forest in the Rocky Mountain region that included a contemporary conservation message.

First Place: Isabel DeVito ’24

I interned for the National Park Service near Flagstaff, Arizona in 2021, and spent weekends hiking and camping in the Coconino National Forest. I chose this view of ponderosa pine forest below the San Francisco Peaks to illustrate wildfires, perhaps the most serious impact of climate change on public lands in the Rocky Mountain West. Coconino and many forests are experiencing prolonged drought and higher incidence of severe wildfires. These impacts threaten not only biodiversity and protected species, but millions of visitors’ ability to recreate. The public supports transitioning away from fossil fuels and making our public lands a net-zero source of carbon emissions. The State of the Rockies survey found that 72% of Arizonans support prioritizing recreation and conservation over fossil fuel extraction. “Keep It In the Ground” is a national campaign by NGOs to advocate for the cessation of all new oil, gas, and coal development on public lands.

Second Place: Charlie Bragg ’23

I chose Arches National Park as my subject. I’ve visited several times and am awed by both the beauty and complexity of the area. It’s an important site because it’s so well-known and easily accessible, and therefore busier and more prone to destruction. By suggesting respect and preservation of the land, I hope to remind and enforce the idea of leaving no trace. Since climate change has become a politicized issue, it is important to stress that preservation and conservation are supported by “everybody.” Furthermore, by presenting this as common knowledge, people should feel more obliged to partake in the effort. While issues like drought, use of public land, and Indigenous rights are in the Utah climate change conversation, a simple reminder to respect the land and leave no trace can go a long way for the over one million annual visitors of the park, especially the new ones.

Third Place: Sophie Dua ’23

As highlighted in the 2021 Conservation in the West Survey, climate change is seen as one of the most serious problems facing the Rocky Mountain region, and support for reducing human contributions to climate change is high. Because of these attitudes, I chose to center the message of this poster around bringing awareness to some of the ramifications of a warming climate, as well as encouraging a feeling of responsibility to join the fight against climate change. What better way to present this than through Glacier National Park? Glacier has not only seen a dramatic increase in tourism since the pandemic, but also has one of the most tangible examples of the impact of climate change: rapidly melting glaciers. The future of Glacier is ever so tied to the future of climate change, and how we might all take steps to minimize its consequences.

Celebrate Black History Month with the FAC

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College honors a rich culture and history by showcasing Black artists and Black voices in a variety of events and programs, both virtual and in-person. Join us for theatre performances, to art exhibitions and spoken word.

Featuring:

Classics Professor Awarded Coveted Fellowship in Athens

Photo by Eileen Broderick
Colorado College Associate Professor of Classics and Judson Bemis Professor in the Humanities Sanjaya Thakur has been selected as an Elizabeth A. Whitehead Distinguished Scholar at the American School for Classical Studies, Athens, for the 2022-23 academic year.
The ASCSA is the oldest American overseas research center for advanced inquiry in the fine arts and humanities. Its mission is to advance knowledge of Greece and all aspects of Greek culture, from antiquity to the present, by training young scholars, sponsoring and promoting archaeological fieldwork, providing resources for scholarly work, and disseminating the results of that research. Thakur joins the list of eminent professors of classics and archaeology who have held the highly coveted position, but is one of the few liberal arts college faculty members to ever hold the fellowship.
Thakur regularly teaches courses on both Greek and Roman sports and sports history at Colorado College and the classes have won him acclaim among students. While in residence, Thakur will be working on several related academic projects, the first on athletics in Homer’s “Odyssey” and the second, a study of depictions of boxers on ancient Greek vases.

Year-Long Series Addressing Anti-Asian Racism Continues

The year-long “Forever Foreign” series is bringing notable scholars, authors, and films to campus and to the attention of the community and will culminate with keynote lectures by two Pulitzer prize-winning Asian-American writers and public intellectuals — Viet Thanh Nguyen and Ayad Akhtar in Block 7.

You’re invited to join reading groups to discuss these authors’ books during Block 6. A limited number of copies of the books will be available for those who register in advance and multiple copies will be on reserve in Tutt Library. Register for the reading groups here.

Next week, Deepa Iyer, human rights lawyer and activist, presents, “From Silos to Solidarities: Post 9/11 and Beyond,” Monday, Jan. 31, 3-4:30 p.m. on Zoom.

Later this block, join Zareena Grewal, associate professor of religion, American studies, and ethnic studies at Yale University, for “Islam is a Foreign Country: Race, Religion, and U.S. Empire,” Thursday, Feb. 3, 5 p.m. also on Zoom.

Summer Research Symposium on Feb. 8

We know that climate change disproportionately affects the Arctic, but little is known about how warming influences critical processes such as pollination and plant reproduction in this vast region. As part of the Summer Collaborative Research Program, Lucy Zicarelli ’21, Caroline Brose ’22, and Alex Jennings ’22 worked at Toolik Field Station in Alaska with Professor Roxaneh Khorsand to quantify the effects of warming on the plant-pollinator network. They used passive warming experiments to test how plants and pollinators respond to increased temperatures and early snowmelt.
Come celebrate and learn about this and other collaborative research projects that CC faculty and students worked on last summer at the Summer Research Symposium on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m. in Cornerstone Arts Center. A short oral presentation in Celeste Theatre will begin the event followed by poster presentations in the main space of Cornerstone.

Photo of the Week

Photo by Lonnie Timmons III 
Maggie Anderson ’25 plays piano for her fellow WSO participants after they performed service work at Concrete Couch project Concrete Coyote on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. 

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