The Feminist and Gender Studies Department at Colorado College is very proud to announce that  Heidi R. Lewis has been elected the next President of the National Women’s Studies Association (2023-2025)! Established in 1977, the National Women’s Studies Association works to promote and support “the production and dissemination of knowledge about women and gender through teaching, learning, research, and service in academic and other settings.”

As a boundary-spanning feminist scholar dedicated to collaborative and transformative leadership, Professor Lewis is committed to centering communities that have been systemically subjugated and oppressed. Furthermore, her commitment to catalyzing change is grounded in an understanding of the past and present as much as it is focused on visualizing the future. As President of the NWSA, her work will be necessarily collaborative and grounded in a spirit of patience. Indeed, as one of her favorite quotes from the late Toni Cade Bambara reminds us, “not all speed is movement.” 

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By Julia Fennell ’21

Like any college or university in 2023, CC is facing the challenges that come with AI and other emerging technologies. However, CC has an advantage. Students here are already taught how to be global citizens, how to have hard conversations while standing up for what’s right, and how to work to create a more just world. These lessons trickle into every aspect of CC life, including the discussions and use of AI. From philosophy to computer science classes, CC faculty, staff, and students are facing the difficult questions surrounding this technology head on, using advanced research and their liberal arts education.

“The faculty, students, and staff of Colorado College are perfectly situated to wrestle with the implications of generative AI,” says Dr. Emily Chan, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Psychology. “We are a place where learning, research, innovation, ethics, and dialogue intersect. The experts in our interdisciplinary community can lead conversations and projects that interrogate and explore both the foundations and future of AI. As an institution that strives to foster the ethical creation of knowledge, we can rise to this challenge without trepidation and without acquiescing to the inertia of educational technology. We can ask the hard questions as we explore. Colorado College is made for this challenge and opportunity.”

Read the whole story on The Peak.

What does your job entail?  
As Principal Voice Instructor at CC, I wear several hats. I assign new voice students to either the group voice class or to a private voice lesson studio. I teach two group adjunct classes: the group voice class and a Diction for Singers class. I also teach my own studio of private voice lessons. Each block, we have voice area events that I coordinate. On top of that, I am responsible for directing the Music Department’s musical each year. This year we produced The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee!

Where did you work before CC and what were you doing?
I am still an active professional performing artist, most recently in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts production of A Little Night Music. For the winter season, I will be performing a Holiday Pops concert with the Fresno Philharmonic and will be playing Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Central City Opera. I will be Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods with Theatreworks in the spring and Ruth in Pirates of Penzance with Central City Opera in the summer of 2024. I also have an active teaching life outside of CC as Lecturer in Voice at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and have private voice students who are not affiliated with any specific institution. 

Tell us a little about your background.
I came to music late in life – I didn’t have my first voice lesson until my second year of college.  Before that, I was very focused on academics and athletics, earning a Navy ROTC scholarship that I used for my first year of college until I decided to pursue my love of music. When I switched tracks to Music Education, I used an academic scholarship and transferred to my state school in Maine, beginning my journey to become a performer and teacher.

What do you like to do when not working?  
I LOVE walking in this beautiful place where we live. I like being out in the sunshine, the snow, the rain, the wind – there is something so humbling about being hit in the face with a fierce gust of wind or warmed by our often-glowing sun. I also love books, especially fiction – reading them, listening to them – it is not unusual for me to have a Kindle book, an audio book, and a tangible book going at the same time.

Wild card: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a variety of things at different phases of my life – at one point first female President of the United States, at another point a farmer. I feel lucky to have found myself in a career that is both my job and my passion.

Have you ever wondered how a college budget works? Or how a college budget can be sustainable?

Come learn and ask questions with Lori Seager, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer on Wednesday, Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. in the Timothy Fuller Event Space.

Register for the event. 

By Julia Fennell ’21

The Colorado College Science Outreach Club partnered with three local elementary schools to give students the opportunity to participate in unique and interesting science experiments, helping cultivate a love of science from a young age. CC Science Outreach conducts age-appropriate experiments in many disciplines of science once a week with students at Adams Elementary School, Midland Elementary School, and Trailblazer Elementary School in Colorado Springs.

“The purpose is to share our passion for science with the youth and provide opportunities for kids to gain exposure to various scientific disciplines from a young age,” say co-chairs Caitlin Kim ’24, Marcilla Kollie ’25, Will Gerash ’24, Patrick Hecht ’24, and Charlotte Agliata ’25.

Over 80 CC students are members of the CC Science Outreach club, with 10 to 20 students going to each school every week. Club members brainstorm and plan novel science experiment ideas and then volunteer to lead each experiment. The students coordinate with the elementary schools’ program heads to schedule and arrange details of the experiment. The sessions are held during after-school enrichment programs for students in first through fifth grades.

All CC students are encouraged to join the club, regardless of their science background or major. Science Outreach club members go to the elementary schools to conduct experiments every Friday from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., with the exception of fourth week.

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Elf opens Nov. 30 and runs through Dec. 31 on the mainstage at the FAC. Tickets are selling quickly so make sure you get your tickets now. 

Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh realities that his father is on the naughty list and his half-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. 

This modern-day holiday classic is sure to make everyone embrace their inner elf. After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear. 

Student Rush Tickets
Students can purchase rush tickets the day of the performance at the FAC front desk for $15 (CC students receive a FREE rush ticket 1 hour before the performance). Tickets subject to availability; Must purchase in person and present a Gold Card.

CC Staff and Faculty
CC Staff and faculty can purchase rush tickets the day of the performance at the FAC front desk for $30. Tickets subject to availability; Must purchase in person and present a Gold Card.

Get your tickets today!