October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. 

Each week this month, ITS is sharing topics to help the community understand the risks associated with sharing personal and organizational information, and keeping that data secure.

This week’s topic: Smishing. 

Smishing, or SMS phishing, is the act of committing text message fraud to try to lure victims into revealing account information or installing malware. Similar to phishing, cybercriminals use smishing, the fraudulent attempt to steal credit card details or other sensitive information, by disguising as a trustworthy organization or reputable person in a text message.

With smishing, cybercriminals use a text message to try to get potential victims to give out personal information. The text message, which typically contains a link to a fake website that looks identical to the legitimate site, asks the recipient to enter personal information. Fake information is often used to make the texts appear to be from a legitimate organization or business.
 
Smishing has grown in popularity with cybercriminals now that smartphones are widely used, as it enables them to steal sensitive financial and personal information without having to break through the security defenses of a computer or network. Public awareness about phishing, smishing, and other attacks continues to grow, as many incidents are reported on in the news.
 
So be aware of messages that may appear to be legitimate. Verify the message with the organization. Most will not message you in this format. The pandemic has led to many more actors portraying themselves as medical organizations, government agencies, or financial institutions.

Please contact ITSSecurity@coloradocollege.edu if you have any questions.

Get your flu shot at the on-campus flu shot clinic on Saturday, Oct. 16. 

All members of the CC community are strongly encouraged to get a flu shot. Colorado College’s Student Health Center partners will be offering an on-campus flu shot clinic for students, staff, faculty, and dependents over age 2 tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 16, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Cornerstone Arts Center Main Space. Please bring a PAPER COPY of your insurance card. No appointment necessary.

If you’re not able to come to the clinic, you can schedule a flu shot at the Student Health Center.

Sent on behalf of the Academic Events Committee:

The Academic Events Committee Requests Your Nominations for Honorary Degrees

We are looking for nominations for honorary degree recipients to be honored in the 2022 Commencement ceremony. Honorary degrees are awarded to individuals who have rendered distinguished service to society or made extraordinary achievements in their own profession. Nominations can be added to the pool of candidates at any time, however only those received prior to the end of Block 2 can be considered for the 2022 ceremony. 
 
Information about how to nominate a candidate can be found here.

Introducing The Arts at CC

October is Arts Month in the Pikes Peak Region!

“CC’s commitment to academic engagement with the arts is one of the things that excited me most about joining this community,” says Colorado College President L. Song Richardson. “As we think about how we can do what we do better, we have an incredible opportunity to stand as a model for the role of the arts in the liberal arts experience.”

Introducing The Arts at CC, a renaming of the existing Office of Performing Arts. 

More than just an office, The Arts at CC seeks to make the arts an integral part of all members of our community. It will amplify the important work being done with the arts within the academic mission of the college and find new ways to collaborate across campus for greater impact and access.

Colorado College has a longstanding tradition of excellence in the arts. We provide robust curricular offerings through our visual, performance, literary, and media arts departments as well as offer rich and diverse programming in formal and informal spaces across campus. Our alliance with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center brings these opportunities for connection and engagement to a whole new level.

For the past three years, Associate Professor Ryan Raul Bañagale has served as chair of the FAC Performing Arts Implementation Committee and then as director of the performing arts for the college. He has accepted President Richardson’s invitation to serve as the director of The Arts at CC until 2024.  

“Thinking about the long arc of the arts and arts collaborations at Colorado College, I’m incredibly honored to play a small role in whatever comes next,” affirms Bañagale. “We would not be at this point without the efforts of countless contributors over many years — both as creators and thought leaders.”

During the 2021-22 academic year, The Arts at CC will undertake a full accounting of all the artistic endeavors of the college. Faculty, students, and staff will have numerous opportunities to participate in this process and the community is encouraged to reach out directly to highlight particular endeavors or priorities by emailing thearts@coloradocollege.edu. Additionally, the existing CC Arts Council will continue to develop creative and collaborative programming for both our campus and our community.

To stay up to date on all the arts programming endeavors at CC, follow “theartsatcc” on Instagram and Facebook.

The President’s Leadership Awards Program recognizes colleagues who make an impact as strong leaders, innovative role models, and positive collaborators. 

Previous winners of the President’s Leadership Awards were nominated by faculty or staff colleagues.

Check out examples of winning nominations to help inspire you in drafting a stand-out submission. Tips include telling a detailed story about the person or group and how they demonstrated the qualities of the award namesake, the college’s leadership philosophy, and CC’s antiracism efforts. 

Now is the time to honor individuals or groups who have made a difference in your life and the lives of others at CC.

Submit nominations now through the end of Block 3. The deadline to submit nominations is November 19, 2021. As part of our strategic initiative to foster workplace excellence, it’s important to recognize those who are making a difference. 
 
Nominate a deserving colleague or team of individuals, based on the following criteria:

• Brian Young Community Service Award: This awardee demonstrates a continued pattern of voluntary service to the college and exceeding their job duties, as demonstrated by former Vice President for Information Technology Brian Young. The awardee must have been employed by the college for five years or more. Submit a nomination.
• Victor Nelson-Cisneros Diversity and Inclusion Award: This awardee exemplifies the qualities of former Associate Dean of the College Victor Nelson-Cisneros in supporting diversity and inclusion on campus. Submit a nomination.
• Glenn Brooks Innovation and Courage Award: This awardee displays the courage and innovative qualities of former Dean of the College/Dean of the Faculty Glenn Brooks, who was one of the founders of the Block Plan. Submit a nomination.
• Jane Cauvel Cultivating Collaboration and Community-building Award: This awardee cultivates collaboration on campus and is a community-builder, as exemplified by Jane Cauvel, professor of philosophy emerita, and the college’s first ombudsperson. Submit a nomination.

Winners each year will receive: $2,500 cash prize, a feature on the President’s Leadership Awards website, and a leadership trophy to display for a full year. Winners will be announced in Block 5. 
 
The individuals who submit winning nominations will also be recognized.
 
Thank you for helping to recognize CC’s exceptional leaders, and to honor the individuals who strive to make our college great. 

For questions about the awards program or the nomination process, please contact Lyrae Williams.

Mark your calendar for Monday, Oct. 25, at 11:15 a.m. and start Block 3 together, virtually, with the campus community and our First Mondays speaker.
 

Carl Wieman, professor of physics at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford, has pioneered the use of experimental techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies in the sciences. He joins us as the featured First Mondays speaker to present “Better College Teaching and Learning Through Research.”
 
This First Mondays event will take place via Zoom. Please register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Dear Staff, Faculty, and Students,

After a beautiful weekend of alumni, family, students, friends, staff, and faculty uniting and reuniting during Homecoming and Family Weekend, my heart is full. Thank you so much for the planning and work required to make Homecoming and Family Weekend such an enormous success. 

You created a welcoming environment and meaningful opportunities to connect. You helped our guests make wonderful memories at this special place. I am deeply grateful to you all. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Song

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. 

We annually post topics to help the community understand the risks associated with sharing personal and organizational information, and keeping that data secure.

This week’s topic is “What is Doxxing?”

Doxxing is the act of revealing identifying information about someone or an organization online, such as their real name, home address, workplace, phone, financial, and personal information. That information is then circulated to the public — without the victim’s permission.

Originating in the 1990s, rival hackers would decide to “drop docs” on somebody else, who had previously only been known as a username or alias, revealing their identity to law enforcement.

The definition of doxxing has expanded beyond the hacker world community and now refers to personal information exposure. Doxxing has become a tool in the culture wars, with attackers doxxing those who have different views politically or personally. These are done for multiple reasons such as cyber bullying, extortion, harassment, or retaliation. Doxxers aim to escalate their conflict with targets, revealing information which could include:

• Home addresses
• Workplace details
• Personal phone numbers
• Social security numbers
• Bank account or credit card information
• Private correspondence
• Criminal history
• Personal photos
• Embarrassing personal details
• Organizational data

Individuals can protect themselves by reflecting on the personal information they share online. The four “R’s” should be considered:

• Restrict access to what you share
• Review what has been shared
• Remove what is not necessary
• Revise on a regular basis

Please contact ITSSecurity@coloradocollege.edu if you feel you’ve been a victim of doxxing for more information.