Creativity & Innovation Leadership Change

Dear CC Community,

It is with gratitude and appreciation that I am letting our community know that Dez Stone Menendez ’00 has resigned her position as director of innovation to pursue other interests. Over the past six and half years, Dez created and implemented a vision for creativity and innovation at Colorado College that has been impactful and she and her team have expanded the parameters of innovation programs within higher education.

In keeping with CC’s history of challenging educational norms, Dez designed Creativity & Innovation at CC to take a more radical, unique, and holistic approach to innovation than many of our peer institutions. Rather than building a stand-alone program, Dez implemented a broader, integrated vision to design new and creative programs.

Creativity and innovation have been sewn into the fabric of Colorado College since our founding in 1874 and will continue to be a connective tissue through all that we do. Please join me in thanking Dez for pushing us forward and wishing her good luck on her next adventure.

Sincerely,

L. Song Richardson

President
View this email online
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

Around the Block – Exciting Things Afoot

Presenting: “Mike on the Mic,” a podcast series featuring Mike Edmonds
ID: bald, smiling black man wearing glasses in a button down shirt and blue plaid blazer, with the Mike on the Mike logo, which includes a microphone and gold box
This week, CC launched Mike on the Mic, a podcast series featuring Mike Edmonds, senior vice president, in the months leading up to his retirement after 30 years of service at CC. Edmonds hosts faculty members and local leaders for conversations about topics that matter. 

In the first episode of Mike on the Mic, Edmonds is joined by Margaret Sabin and David Steinbruner – two pillars of healthcare in Colorado Springs – for a conversation about mental health and its effects on our college community. Sabin is the past president of Children’s Hospital Colorado Springs and former president and CEO of Penrose Hospital. Steinbruner is the chief medical officer at UCHealth Memorial Hospital and an emergency room physician.

Over three decades of service to Colorado College, Edmonds changed the landscape of CC and illustrated the power of inclusive leadership. As acting co-president with Robert Moore from July 2020-June 2021, he was the first Black leader in CC history to serve as president. He was dean of students/vice president for Student Life from 1991-2020, and currently serves as senior vice president. Edmonds served and mentored countless students through his many years leading Student Life, holding especially strong relationships with varsity student-athletes and teams.

A decorated public speaker, Edmonds has been a coach and mentor with CC’s speech and debate team and used his communications expertise as a community change agent, serving on many boards of directors throughout Colorado Springs. Above all, Edmonds has demonstrated steadfast care and concern for students as his guiding principle and made an indelible impact on the CC community.

Black History Month
ID: profile of a beared black man with mustach and glasses, wearing a black suit coat, against a black background

Cornel West
Cornel West is a social justice advocate and an elite scholar of African American studies. West’s written contributions to academia have and continue to inspire conversations about race and injustice, lighting a path for other brilliant activist scholars to follow. His passion and vocalism add value to higher education and is an example of how one voice can mobilize revolutionary change, evoke new meaning, and spark awareness about racial issues plaguing society today. 
This Black History Month, we highlight West and his contributions: reminding us that our words have power, whether written or communicated; and to take time to reflect on how we choose to use our words and how our contributions will forever impact history.
Take a look at the Black History Month event and resource page for more opportunities to learn, and for more information regarding happenings on campus and around town.

“In The Heights” Opens at the Fine Arts Center March 3
ID: graphic image of a shadow male dancing with a sunset and a bridge in the background
From the creator and star of “Hamilton” comes Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Tony Award-winning musical, a love-letter to the community in upper Manhattan where he still lives. “In The Heights” tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams, and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

Directed by Elise Santora, who won the Henry Award for outstanding actress for her work on stage at the FAC in “Anna in the Tropics,” and choreographed by Julio Agustin, “In The Heights” boasts a production team and cast comprised of people of color. “These stories are everyone’s stories,” said Santora. “It’s parents trying to put their child through college; it’s an independent, fierce woman fighting for her business. It’s about created family, a better life, and what home really looks like. I want the audience to be soaked in that community feeling.”

Student Rush Tickets

Students can purchase tickets the day of the performance at the FAC front desk for $15 (Students receive a free rush ticket one hour before the performance). Tickets subject to availability, and must be purchased in person with a CC Gold Card.

CC Staff & Faculty

CC staff and faculty can purchase tickets the day of the performance at the FAC front desk for $25. Tickets subject to availability, and must be purchased in person with a CC Gold Card.

State of the Rockies 2023 Poll Shows Widespread Support for Conservation 
ID: two white backpackers standing on a hill looking off into a valley
By Alexa Gromko

Colorado College’s 13th annual State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll shows strong support for conservation policies among Westerners despite inflation, drought, water shortages, and overcrowding.

The poll, which surveyed the views of voters in eight Mountain West states, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana, Nevada, Idaho, and Arizona, found that the majority (70 to 90 percent) support conservation goals like protecting wildlife habitats and migration routes, ensuring healthier forests, preventing light pollution that blocks out stars, and safeguarding drinking water.

The poll surveyed at least 400 registered voters in each of eight Western states for a total of 3,413-voter sample, which included an over-sample of Black and Native American voters. The survey was conducted between January 5-22, 2023, and the effective margin of error is +2.4%. The full survey and individual state surveys are available on the State of the Rockies webpage.

Charlie Blumenstein Internship

ID: info graphic in gold with a photo of a rivr through the trees, and the words
The Charlie Blumenstein Stewardship Assistant position allows one Colorado College student to spend a summer dedicated to water and wildlife conservation.
The selected intern will spend the summer at The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Carpenter Ranch in Hayden, Colorado (near Steamboat, Colorado). This experience offers the opportunity to engage with visitors, work alongside the ranch manager in maintaining the property, and gain a better understanding of how Carpenter Ranch supports researchers, Colorado water rights, and much more. 
Deadline for submission is March 17, so make sure to apply now! Posting and application details can be found in Handshake. Once posted, all applications must be completed on The Nature Conservancy’s Careers page (search “Blumenstein”). Contact the Career Center with questions.

Sociology and Film Departments Collaborate to Screen “Framing Agnes”
ID: movie poster for Framing Agnes
By Grace C. Smith

Cayce Hughes, assistant professor of sociology, hosted trans filmmaker Chase Joynt and sociologist Kristen Schilt to screen their film “Framing Agnes,” at Cornerstone Arts Center on Dec. 12. The film, which had premiered at Sundance this past year, is about a woman named Agnes, who approached the UCLA Medical Center in the late 1950s seeking sex-reassignment surgery, and how this event would go on to define the medical and social scientific understanding of transgender people well into the 1990s.

For Hughes, the master class and film had powerful ties. “We focused on the social construction of deviance and the ways that power shapes this process. ‘Framing Agnes’ is a window into the ways that powerful institutions, including medicine and social science, play a role in constructing categories around transgender identity that affect trans lives in profound ways. At the same time, the film centers trans folks’ responses and resistance to these mechanisms of social control, highlighting their agency in the face of constraint. That tension and interplay between individuals and institutions is at the heart of sociological inquiry, so I think the film checks so many relevant boxes.”

As students wrapped up the class and watched the film, Hughes shared, “I hope students are inspired by the possibilities of trans-disciplinary (pun intended) collaboration. One of the most exciting things about learning in a liberal arts setting like CC is the opportunity to be exposed to different ways of approaching a topic or question, to learn different methodological and theoretical approaches, and to explore how different disciplines challenge and complement one another.”

Photo of the Week

Nate Watson ’26 working at a WSO Priddy Experience with Habitat for Humanity  in Woodland Park on Jan. 26. 
Photo by Lonnie Timmons III 
You are receiving this email because you are a member of the Colorado College community. Thank you for the important work you do each day. View this email online
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

Today at CC Digest for Students

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

Today at CC Digest

A Daily Digest for Colorado College

ADEI Updates and More!
ADEI Updates! Read All About It! 

Black History is American History

Virtual Event ✊🏾

Ernest Crim III is a Black History Application Specialist who uses Black History to empower and educate families and train educators on how to best reach their students in a culturally compliant manner. Mr. Crim is a former high school educator of 12 years, who now teaches Black History to the world through social media with a reach of nearly 500,000. Additionally, he is the CEO of Crim’s Cultural Consulting LLC, an international speaker, an author of two bestsellers and a passionate progressive education activist, who has been featured on PBS, CBS, NBC & Newsweek amongst various other outlets. To Ernest, his purpose is to creatively strategize how we can use our glorious past to create a better future, entrenched in equitable practices. 

Mr. Crim will facilitate an engaging VIRTUAL conversation on February 28th at 3:30 PM MST. The conversation will focus on past and present-day occurrences that show how Black History is repeating itself. Topics include affirmative action, policing, black history bands, and more. Mr. Crim will provide a vivid account using his own lived experience to provide a captivating and insightful dialogue that illuminates how Black History is, in fact, American History! 

Register NOW by clicking the button below!

 

Zoom Registration

Introducing: The ACE (antiracism community engagement) Grant
Check it out!


The ADEI leadership team recognizes the need to support and promote educational opportunities outside of the team’s current capacity. There are many programs, activities, and events that embody antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) that are of professional development value. Department budget constraints should not deprive those interested in furthering our mission and personal growth, so we have decided to introduce an ADEI grant program to help support and offset some of the financial costs associated with participating, attending, or creating ADEI programming.  

The process is simple. Complete the attached form describing your funding needs and purpose at least three weeks before the due date of the activity. The ADEI leadership team will then review your request evaluating alignment with the four pillars (courageous conversations & bold action, thriving communities, student, transformations, and elevating CC’s profile)—using an antiracist lens, promoting mental wellness, and making things sustainable. You will be notified via email within one week about the status of your award. The grant will run until all funds have been exhausted, at which time we will notify the campus of the acceptance period ending. Our goal is to make the ACE grant an annual opportunity for staff, faculty, and students alike to get involved and stay engaged, furthering our commitment for as long as funds allow. To complete your application use the button below.
ACE Grant Form

Connect with Diverse Minds Across CC

We are looking to check the temperature about a couple of unique opportunities and ways to engage the CC community in conversations about ADEI-related topics. We encourage you to take 5 minutes and complete this interest survey to offer insight into how we can best support professional development by mobilizing innovative strategies across our institution.

Click Here to Complete Survey

ADEI Consulting Form

Looking for customized support and/or collaborative resources…fill out our ADEI Consulting Request Form!
ADEI Consulting Request Form

Introducing the ADEI Stewardship Certificate!

Investing in Knowledge.  Building Skills.  Changing Attitudes.

Overseen by the ADEI Leadership Team, and signed by the College President, the ADEI Stewardship Certificate celebrates your commitment to continuous learning and unlearning practices that foster a deeper understanding of antiracism, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A series of events designated as ADEI Stewardship eligible throughout the school year will be presented.  These events include but are not limited to The Dismantling Hate Series, The Antiracist Book Club, Butler Center Workshops, Crown Center Development Series and others. Sign in at any six designated events to begin working on yours today.
For More Info
View this email online
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

Creativity & Innovation Block 5 Updates and Opportunities
Creativity & Innovation’s most recent Innovator in Residence, Shodekeh Talifero, performs at New York’s Kennedy Center on Friday, February 24th at 6 pm ET.

MILLENNIUM STAGE (IN-PERSON AND LIVESTREAM) 

Dominic Shodekeh Talifero: Ideations of Hope

This 60-minute concert testimonial and master performance follow Dominic Shodekeh Talifero’s personal and professional journey through time. 

Friday, February 24th at 6 pm ET

Tickets and livestream information can be found here.

Creative Mondays are Back!


Mondays
3:00-4:30
Worner, Room 212

Creative Mondays are a weekly gathering where students, staff, and faculty can drop by and be creative. We provide abundant supplies for card-making, collage, painting, knitting, etc. Stop in at any point and stay as long as you like. 

Block 5

Student Seed Innovation Grant Applications


Due February 22nd


If you plan to submit a Student Seed Innovation Grant (SSIG) application in Block 5, applications are due by midnight on February 22nd.
Email innovation@coloradocollege.edu with questions about the SSIG program or to schedule an informational meeting. This next SSIG application round is Block 7.

Support CC at the UCCS Lion’s Den Pitch Night on March 16th at 5 pm

Website Building Workshop Hosted by the Career Center on Thursday, February 23rd

The Career Center is collaborating with Lilly Chen, a 2019 graduate of Colorado College, to host a Website Building Workshop on Thursday, February 23rd, from 1:00-3:00 pm. Learn how to build and deploy your website on a MacBook. No coding experience is necessary to participate. However, this workshop is only compatible with MacBooks. Attendees must bring their MacBook and install Visual Studio before the workshop.

Visit this link to learn more about the workshop and/or sign up.

The Visual Studio download is available here. 

View this email online | Opt out using TrueRemove®
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

A Reminder for Block 5 In the Loop

Sent on behalf of Staff Council:

See you next week at the Block 5 In the Loop all-staff meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 8:30 a.m.
Meet in Celeste Theatre inside Cornerstone Arts Center; the program will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. Stay afterward for breakfast and conversation in Cornerstone Main Space.
Those wishing to join the meeting via Zoom may register using this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Feel free to swing by the main space after 9:30 a.m. for a grab-and-go breakfast.
Submit good news, kudos, and questions to be answered during the question-and-answer period. You must submit your items by noon tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 17.
View this email online
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

Reminder to Submit for the Just World Awards

Dear Campus Community,

This is a reminder that nominations for the Just World Awards are open and being accepted through March 3. These five awards recognize CC alumni, students, staff, faculty, and retirees who are dedicated to actions and principles that create a more just and equitable world.
Read more about each award and submit your nominations.
The Just World Awards are named for five inspiring members of the CC community who exemplify change-making actions, qualities, and characteristics that help build a world with more equitable access to health, safety, education, and opportunity:
  • Mike Edmonds Igniting Students’ Potential Award
  • Margaret Liu Health Justice Award
  • Ken Salazar Stewardship Award
  • Adrienne Seward Bold and Courageous Actions Award
  • Val Veirs Environmental Justice Award
Just World Award winners will receive a physical award and $3,000. The winners will be announced at Honors Convocation in May.
ID: Bald black man with black glasses, wearing a white pattern button-down shirt and dark blue plaid blazer, looking directly at the camer and smiling

Mike Edmonds
ID: Asian woman with long hair and bangs, wearing a pattern jacket over a black turtleneck, looking directly into the camera

Dr. Margaret A. Liu ’77
ID: bald white man with silver glasses, wearing a suit and tie, the american flag behind him, looking into the camera and smiling

Ken Salazar ’77
ID: middle aged woman of color with short dark hair, wearing a red shirt with white flowers, arms leaning on a desk, looks like she's listening to someone

Adrienne Lanier Seward
ID: white man with short white hair, moustache and beard, wearing sunglasses and a blue sweatshirt, with a boat on the water behind him

Val Veirs
View this email online
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

Announcing New FAC Director

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

As we embark on a new semester, we are excited to announce that Nicole Herden is the new executive director of the Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.
Nicole is a seasoned arts leader who brings a wealth of experience to the FAC, serving most recently as the executive director of the Museum of Nebraska Art, in affiliation with the University of Nebraska. Since joining the Museum of Nebraska Art, Nicole led the organization through a period of exceptional transition and growth, including overseeing a capital campaign that has cultivated $28 million. Additional demonstrated successes include conducting extensive community outreach and redesigning the museum’s approach to staff and facility management.

“I am thrilled to join the incredible team at the Fine Arts Center as the institution and region are both poised for tremendous growth,” says Nicole. “I am looking forward to cultivating a dynamic and inclusive institution that is relevant not only to the art world but also to the lives of everyone who lives in the Pikes Peak region.”

Over the past decade, Nicole has held curatorial roles at the Boise Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, and the Arizona State University Art Museum. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Arizona, a Master of Fine Arts from Boise State University, and a Master of Arts from Arizona State University.

We are thrilled to have an art advocate with strong university ties guide and inspire a fine arts center that has been a cornerstone of the Pikes Peak region for more than 100 years. We look forward to Nicole building upon that history and creating a vision for its future as a destination of world-class visual and performing arts and arts education in the Rocky Mountain region.

In her role as executive director, Nicole will serve as a key constituent in CC strategic planning, advocating for the FAC as a unique entity within CC, and overseeing the growth of 50 staff members and another 50 temporary employees.

We both want to thank the international search firm, WittKieffer, who met with candidates for this position, and extend special gratitude to Colorado Springs community leaders Thayer Tutt, Blake Wilson, and Susan Edmondson, who served on the search committee led by Dean of Faculty Emily Chan.

“I was glad to be part of a board-based, inclusive search process that yielded a superb candidate with great experience,” Thayer Tutt of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Foundation shared about our search.

We also want to thank the CC faculty, staff, and students who contributed their time and effort to this critical search. Nicole will assume her position on July 31, but will begin transitioning through a series of visits to CC in the coming months. Please join us in welcoming Nicole to our community.
Sincerely,

Mike Edmonds

Senior Vice President

Manya Whitaker

Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff

View this email online
14 E. W. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO | 80903 US
This email was sent to commsemailarchive@coloradocollege.edu.
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
powered by emma

Congrats to Leadership Award Winners