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Obama nominates Distinguished Professor for National Science Board
University of Colorado Boulder Distinguished Professor Carl Lineberger has been nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Science Board. The nomination has been sent to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.
The National Science Board's duties include establishing the policies of the National Science Foundation and serving as an advisory board to the president and Congress on issues involving science and engineering.
Lineberger also is a fellow of JILA, a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
"The nomination of Carl Lineberger to this prestigious board is a great honor for him and for the university," said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. "He is the third CU faculty member in the last three years to receive a prestigious White House nomination or appointment, which underscores CU-Boulder's national reach in scientific research and public policy."
Last September, CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor and JILA Fellow Carl Wieman was confirmed as associate director for science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Former Boulder Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson in September 2008 was nominated by President George W. Bush and subsequently appointed to serve on the National Science Board.
Outstanding Staffer 'a lifeline for first-generation students'
Photo courtesy of the Pre-Collegiate Development Program |
| Benavidez |
Josephine Benavidez, director of the Pre-Collegiate Development Program (PCDP) at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, has received the 2011 UCCS Outstanding Staff Award.
The award acknowledges outstanding achievements and contributions of a UCCS staff member who exemplifies excellence in service to the campus and community.
"Josephine has changed more lives than most people do in a lifetime," said Barbara Gaddis, executive director, First Year Experience and Student Retention. "She has been a lifeline for first-generation students, providing them with the information they need to transition to college."
Miss B, as she is known by many of her students, said she is honored to be singled out for her contributions. "I was overwhelmed, surprised and honored beyond words. What I do here isn't a job, it's my life work. My passion."
Benavidez first came to UCCS in 1993 as a master's student in communication. After instructing classes for PCDP in the summer of 1997, she was asked to step in as interim director. Since her arrival, the program has grown from 75 to 699 first-generation students enrolled. Of those, 96 percent enroll in a four-year university.
PCDP is a system-wide, institutionally funded academic program for first-generation middle and high school students. The program is designed to motivate and prepare students in pursuit of their higher educational goals.
PCDP is structured to ensure that students are academically prepared to enroll and be successful at UCCS or other CU campuses, or other postsecondary institution.
Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak will present Benavidez with the award, as well as a $1,000 prize, at the Campus Awards Ceremony on May 3
— Philip Denman
Duening to lead new program at UCCS College of Business
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| Duening |
Tom Duening, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and El Pomar Chair of Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, will lead a new program at the College of Business that will offer a minor in entrepreneurship.
"We are motivated by the belief that entrepreneurship is the next-generation social force," said Venkat Reddy, dean of the College of Business. "The more entrepreneurs we create, the stronger the force becomes."
Startup companies in the United States are creating an average of 3 million jobs annually, according to Duening. In contrast, large companies are decreasing their U.S. workforces.
"If we want to dig out of this lingering jobs recession, we have to train, encourage, and assist startup ventures in our community and country," Duening said.
The new minor can be paired with any UCCS major and includes core business courses as well as courses specific to the development of entrepreneurs. The program will begin in fall 2011.
Duening will teach an initial course, New Venture Creation, to introduce students to opportunity identification, evaluation, and feasibility. Students who continue in the program will learn issues surrounding venture creation, including funds needed for launch, growth, and exit. Students will prepare business plans and will present their plans to groups of seasoned investors.
The new minor in entrepreneurship is unique in Colorado Springs and is part of a larger effort undertaken by the Center for Entrepreneurship to build southern Colorado.
Duening joined UCCS in 2009. Previously, he directed entrepreneurial programs at Arizona State University, launched the Arizona Technology Investor Forum and directed the University of Houston's Entrepreneur and Venture Development Center and was assistant dean for administration and executive programs in the UH College of Business. He also served as president of U.S. Learning Systems and vice president for content development for Edgia, Inc. He is the author of 12 books, including "Technology Entrepreneurship."
— Tom Hutton
Dean to return to faculty in physics and energy science
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Tom Christensen, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, recently announced plans to return to the faculty in June 2012.
Christensen will return to teaching and research as a professor in the department of physics and energy science. "After considerable reflection, I have decided that next academic year will be my last year as dean," Christensen said in a March 16 memo. "It is time for me to return to the faculty and get back to the things that brought me to UCCS in the first place."
Christensen was named dean in January 2005 and previously served as interim dean and associate dean. He joined UCCS in August 1989 as an assistant professor.
"Tom Christensen has done an outstanding job as dean of our largest college," said Peg Bacon, provost. "His successors will have big shoes to fill."
As dean, Christensen was in charge as the college experienced a 22 percent increase in student credit hours (2005-2010) and added new degrees including a doctoral degree in applied science, a bachelor of arts in women's and ethnic studies, a bachelor of science in biology, and a bachelor of science and a bachelor of arts in biochemistry. During his tenure, the department of mathematics moved to the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; the college launched a cooperative venture with the College of Education to encourage more science and math students to pursue teaching certification; a new Science & Engineering Building was constructed; and Centennial Hall was remodeled and the Heller Center for Arts and Humanities opened.
Bacon said search plans are under development and will likely begin in early 2012. The search committee will be chaired by Teri Switzer, dean of the Kraemer Family Library.
— Tom Hutton
Landscape architecture faculty make strong showing at national conference
The department of landscape architecture at the University of Colorado Denver had a strong presence at the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (CELA) conference in Los Angeles March 30-April 2.
Lois Brink, professor, and Bambi Yost, Ph.D. student in design and planning and also an assistant professor at Iowa State, participated in a panel titled "Drawing on Children's Ideas of Nature." Joseph Juhász, professor emeritus of architecture; Joern Langhorst, assistant professor of landscape architecture; Austin Allen of Louisiana State University (formerly chair and associate professor of landscape architecture); and Susan Gunn, Ph.D. student in design and planning, presented a panel titled "Framing Place Change: Film, Design and Planning in the Post-Apocalyptic Landscape." Individual presentations included Langhorst's "The Ruins of Nature and Culture: Urban Voids as Contested Terrains and Critical Infrastructure"; Kathleen Kambic, instructor in landscape architecture studies, "Hydrologic Currency: Reclaiming the Fundamental Armature of Cities"; Yost, "Benefits of Gardening for Denver Latino and Latina Youth"; and Joni Palmer, lecturer in landscape architecture, "The Importance of the 'Slow Read' - as a Method of Inquiry and Way of Knowing."
Dropping names ...
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| Clark |
Robert Sclafani, program director of cell biology in the University of Colorado Cancer Center at the Anschutz Medical Campus, was elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology. Sclafani is one of 78 microbiologists elected in February. He joins medical school faculty Kay and Randy Holmes, Mike Vasil, David Talmage (now retired), Ed Janoff and Mark Johnston as a Fellow. Election to fellowship indicates recognition by one's peers of distinction in microbiology. ... Lynn Clark, communications manager for the University of Colorado Cancer Center, has been elected to a second term on the National Cancer Institute Public Affairs and Marketing Network's steering committee. She serves as social media chair. ... Paul Ballantyne, professor in the department of economics at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, will be recognized April 28 for 44 years of service to the university. He is one of the longest-serving faculty members at UCCS, having joined in 1967, only two years after UCCS was founded. He and others with 25 or more years of service will be honored by Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak at a reception April 28 at the University Center Overlook.
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