As we near the close of Block 8 and the end of another academic year, this final Crown newsletter offers a fitting mix of celebration, reflection, and looking ahead. It is a moment to recognize the extraordinary work of teaching at Colorado College—not only in the classroom itself, but also in the wider culture of inquiry, experimentation, and collegial exchange that helps sustain it. In that spirit, we are especially pleased to celebrate this year’s recipients of the Dean of Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards, whose work reminds us of the care, creativity, and intellectual generosity that animate our shared educational project.

This issue also points toward summer and beyond. We are excited to invite faculty to participate in our Crown Educator Development Day on May 14. Titled Generative Futures and Shared Inquiry, we’ll gather to set the course for future work in Critical Language Inquiry and Critical AI Literacy, as it emerges from our recent $1.5 million Mellon Foundation grant. Relatedly, two summer reading groups will help us continue to establish a shared foundation for such work. Together, these opportunities ask us to think across disciplines about how language, meaning, knowledge, and emerging technologies shape our teaching and scholarship. At the same time, we are beginning to imagine next year’s Crown programming and welcome your ideas for workshops and conversations that can help meet the real questions and possibilities emerging across campus.

And because pedagogical life is made not only of big ideas but also of daily classroom realities, we close with a practical reflection on one such familiar challenge: students arriving late. Thank you for all the ways you have contributed to the life of teaching and learning this year. I hope this final issue carries you through Block 8 and sends you into summer with a sense of pride in what we have built together and anticipation for what comes next.

Sincerely,

Ryan Raul Bañagale

Director, Crown Center for Teaching

Please join us in celebrating this year’s recipients of the Dean of Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards: Liliana Carrizo (Music), Meredith Course (Molecular Biology), Christopher Hunt (Religion), Christina Leza (Anthropology), Cory Scott (Mathematics and Computer Science), and Pallavi Sriram (Theatre and Dance). These awards recognize sustained excellence in teaching and the transformative impact faculty have on students, and this year’s honorees reflect so much of what we value at CC: intellectual generosity, creative pedagogy, deep care for students, and a commitment to teaching as a vital form of shared inquiry. We are grateful for the many ways their work strengthens our classrooms and enriches the broader life of the College.

Thursday, May 14, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Tim Fuller Event Space, Tutt Library 201
Registration

We invite faculty into a day of interactive, cross-disciplinary conversation about the many languages through which we teach, interpret, and make meaning. As the first major gathering of our new Mellon-supported initiative, we will use this space to think together about language not only as words on a page but also as the broader set of forms through which knowledge is shaped, communicated, and contested across the College. We will also consider how those practices matter within and beyond the growing presence of AI in higher education.

Through shared inquiry, collaborative reflection, and hands-on workshopping, participants will work on concrete teaching examples and help define the emerging contours of Critical Language Inquiry and Critical AI Literacy at CC. Participants will leave with new ideas for their teaching and stronger connections with colleagues across disciplines. Faculty will receive a $200 stipend and become eligible to apply for future Generative Futures course development grants. Breakfast, lunch, and end-of-day reception included!

Registration 

Colorado College faculty are invited to participate in one of two Summer 2026 reading groups launching our Mellon Humanities for All Time initiative, Generative Futures: Critical Language Inquiry in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Open to faculty across all disciplines, these groups will help build a shared foundation for campus-wide work in Critical Language Inquiry and Critical AI Literacy by exploring how language, power, knowledge, translation, and emerging GenAI tools intersect with teaching, learning, and scholarship.

Faculty may participate in either group, each of which includes shared reading, two in-person meetings with a Zoom option, and a reflection with teaching ideas. Participants who meet the expectations will receive a $500 stipend, along with books and accessible digital materials. Reading group participation also serves as one pathway to eligibility for future Generative Futures course development Course Development grants. Please indicate your interest via this registration link by Monday, May 11.

What should the Crown Center be thinking about next year? We are now gathering ideas for 2026-27 workshops and programs, and welcome your suggestions. Whether there is a teaching challenge you want to explore, a pedagogical practice you would like to share, or a campus conversation you think we need to have, your ideas help shape Crown programming. Please reach out to Associate Director Jessica Hunter at Jhunter@coloradocollege.edu to suggest topic ideas and/or workshop leaders (including self-nominations).

The Mentoring Alliance Program (MAP) seeks two tenured professors to serve as mentors for our incoming tenure-track cohort. MAP supports a campus-wide culture of mentorship at Colorado College, helping foster belonging, professional growth, and well-being across career stages.

Each mentor will work with 4 or 5 new faculty from across divisions, helping orient them to CC, build community, and create space for shared questions, ideas, and support. Details about expectations and compensation are available on the Crown website. To apply, please email a brief statement of interest explaining why you would be a strong mentor to MAP Faculty Fellow Corina McKendry at cmckendry@coloradocollege.edu by Friday, May 8.

The Crown Center for Teaching’s Instructional Coaching Program seeks two new instructional coaches for the 2026 – 27 academic year. The program is designed to support CC educators’ anti-oppressive pedagogical development, including classroom environment, assessment, instructional practices, critical consciousness, and discourse. 

Instructional coaches serve as pedagogical thought partners, supporting one to two colleagues through coaching cycles that may include pre-observation conversations, classroom observations using the Inclusive Pedagogies Observation Protocol, post-observation debriefs, and support with syllabi, assignments, and assessment design. More information about expectations, training, and compensation is available on the Crown website.

Registration

The Creative Courage Cohort offers faculty members a structured, year-long program to cultivate creative thinking in the classroom. The program begins with a two-day immersive experience on August 13-14, during which participants learn evidence-based theories, frameworks, and methodologies for creative problem-solving. Attendance at both immersion days is required, as these sessions form the foundational scaffolding upon which the remainder of the program builds. Following the immersion, cohort members reconvene for workshops, structured discussions, and applied exercises held on the third Thursday of Blocks 1-3 and 5-7. Support is tailored to each faculty member’s disciplinary context and pedagogical objectives, ensuring meaningful, transferable outcomes. Upon successful completion of the program, participants are awarded a stipend of up to $4,000. 

The International Block and Intensive Learning and Teaching Association (IBILTA) is seeking abstracts for its online conference taking place September 29-30. IBILTA began as a conversation among faculty at block- and intensive-based institutions in Australia, North America, and China. The organization seeks to: advance scholarship and practice in block- and intensive-mode pedagogy, education, and research; share and disseminate knowledge; and build networks and promote greater collaboration among the association’s members, its various stakeholders, and alliance partners. 

Connect to a community partner to co-create community-engaged classroom projects for a fall 2026 course through the PEAK Project. Submit an Educator Interest Form by the end of Block 8, Sunday, May 17.  

Thursday, April 30, 4:30-6 p.m., Bemis Great Hall and Lounge 
Join us for snacks, drinks, entertainment, and more!

It isn’t just a Block 8 problem. Students who show up late pose all sorts of challenges.  Math Professor and Center for Learning & Teaching Director at Denison College, Lew Ludwig shares that “what finally solved my tardiness problem wasn’t technology—it was a five-minute warm-up, a single die, and a little backward design.” Read more in his Mathematical Association of America post, “There and Back Again: The Die is Cast.”

14 E. Cache La Poudre St.
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Radio Rahim

Join broadcast journalist Radio Rahim for the Abbott Lecture, “Three Sided Stories,” on Wednesday, April 29, from 6-8 p.m. in Kathryn Mohrman Theatre.

This lecture is formatted as a conversation between Associate Professor Jamal Ratchford and Radio Rahim in ways that center Rahim’s rich life journey and humane fight as a human being and premier boxing journalist of the 21st century.

Light refreshments will be served. Clear bags are recommended.

This lecture is co-sponsored by the W. Lewis and Helen R. Abbott Memorial Lecture in the Social Sciences; the Journalism Institute; Race, Ethnicities & Migration Studies; and the steering committee for sport studies at Colorado College. The W. Lewis and Helen R. Abbott Memorial Lecture is financed by a fund that was established in honor of W. Lewis Abbott, a distinguished scholar, teacher, and social advocate who was professor of economics and sociology at Colorado College from 1920 until his death in 1949.  

What does it take to help students truly thrive in a rapidly changing, tech-driven world? At the inaugural Human Advantage Summit, presented by Shining Mountain Waldorf School at the Boulder Theater, educators, parents, and thought leaders gathered to explore just that.

Colorado College President Manya Whitaker offered a compelling vision for the future of education, highlighting the importance of curiosity, confidence, and belonging in helping students flourish—not just succeed. The evening centered on a powerful idea: In an increasingly digital world, our most essential skills remain deeply human, including creativity, empathy, and courageous thinking.

Saturday, May 2, 3 p.m., Colorado College’s Packard Performance Hall
Sunday, May 3, 4:30 p.m., University of Denver’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts

Six Concertos.  
Three Commissions.  
Two Schools.
Period Instruments.

Colorado College’s Collegium Musicum and University of Denver’s Early Music Ensembles are teaming up for the first time to present The Brandenburg Project! This groundbreaking collaboration features all six of J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, juxtaposing them with three newly-commissioned works for period instruments. The Brandenburg Project is committed to historically-informed performance. As such, the students have spent the past year immersing themselves in the study of Baroque instruments and techniques.  Performing historical repertoire on period instruments requires a different approach to tuning, articulation, and ensemble playing, stretching students in exciting new ways while connecting them with the past. 

Bach’s beloved concertos are uniquely paired with three world premieres by emerging composers Carlos Bandera, Seare Farhat, and Manar Hashmi, who were selected through an international competition that drew nearly four dozen submissions. The composers worked with musicology professors Lidia Chang (Colorado College) and Zoe Weiss (University of Denver) to learn more about period instruments and Baroque technique. They then composed works specifically for The Brandenburg Project.  “We are delighted with how deeply each composer engaged with these instruments and with the music of J.S. Bach,” says Weiss. “Drawing inspiration from specific instrumentations, compositional procedures, and even direct quotation, the commissions speak to both the serious and silly sides of Baroque music.” Sure to be a joyful celebration of music, old and new, both performances are free and open to the public. 

Mary-Kate Laibhen ’28

By Julia Fennell ’21

Mary-Kate Laibhen ’28 was recently accepted into the Break Through Tech’s AI Program, where she will learn the skills she needs to pursue her goal of a career in machine learning and cybersecurity.

“Through this program, I hope to build meaningful connections and gain experience working in larger, more diverse teams,” says Laibhen, a Computer Science major. “I also want to deepen my understanding of AI and machine learning and continue developing my technical skills.”

READ THE FULL STORY »

Jagged Little Pill opens at the FAC on April 30 and runs through May 24. The Healys seem like a picture-perfect suburban family—but cracks beneath the surface reveal deeper truths. As tensions rise, they must choose between maintaining the status quo or confronting hard realities about themselves and their world. Featuring the music of Alanis Morissette, this Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical is a powerful, heartfelt story of love, resilience, and growth.

Faculty and staff get two $30 tickets and two free drink tickets for opening night. Reserve your tickets today!  

Senior Talia Cardin ’26 stands with her exhibit, “Der Tsirkus Dame: The Circus Lady” at First Friday on March 6 at the FAC. Photo by Jamie Cotten / Colorado College