WESTERN STATE COLORADO UNIVERSITY ALUMNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2014
BRINGING HOME OLYMPIC GOLD, P.6 MEET WESTERN’S 14TH PRESIDENT, P.5 PLUS, LEARN HOW YOU CAN GIVE A SCHOLARSHIP, P. 27
From the President
Fellow Mountaineers, What an extraordinary year it has been! As we fast approach commencement and wrap up another academic year, it is a good time to reflect upon our accomplishments and the opportunities that lie in front of us. This year has been marked by transition. Certainly, the most exciting news is that Western has a new President. Most of you by now have heard that Dr. Greg Salsbury will become Western’s 14th President. He brings strong business acumen and a marketing expertise that I know will help elevate Western to new heights. The selection process was extensive and exhaustive, and the fact that Dr. Salsbury rose to the top is a testament to his talents and capabilities. I would like to thank those of you who participated in the process either by serving on the search committee or providing feedback to our Trustees. Your engagement was vital to the success of this search. We all look forward to welcoming Dr. Salsbury to campus this spring and supporting and working with him in achieving great success for Western over the next several years. In addition to this leadership change, Western is in between strategic plans. To bridge the gap, we created an action plan for the current year. I am extremely proud of the efforts put forth by the faculty and staff over the past nine months to make this interim year a very productive one. Some accomplishments coming from the action plan include: • • • •
Our Board spent considerable time this fall discussing and creating a set of values that will guide future strategic planning efforts and management decisions for years to come. We have established enrollment goals and developed service and marketing plans that will guide our efforts and help us achieve long-term, sustainable growth. A process to solicit and assess campus initiatives was developed that will help us prioritize needs against Board values, our role and mission and our future strategic plan. We have launched a School of Business and will be hiring a dean who will work with the faculty to develop a vision for the School, support and enhance current offerings and develop new programs that elevate Western’s reputation and service to our students.
These endeavors have helped set the stage for future success at Western. And I expect they will be central to the discussions as we develop our next strategic plan. It has been a pleasure serving as Interim President over the past nine months. I have learned a lot and am extremely grateful 2
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for all the support I have received from the Trustees, faculty, staff, and students and from all the alumni I have met along the way. I look forward to continuing to serve Western and helping us fulfill our potential. Sincerely,
Brad Baca Interim President Western State Colorado University
In This Issue
SPRING 2014, VOLUME 12, NO. 2 The Westerner is published twice each year for alumni and friends of Western by Western State Colorado University, 600 N. Adams, Gunnison, CO 81231.
READERS MAY SUBMIT NEWS ITEMS TO: TONYA VAN HEE
2 Intro 6 Profile Stories 14 Campus News/Foundation News 24 Athletics 27 News from the Alumni Association 28 Class Notes
Director of Alumni Relations tvanhee@western.edu 970-943-2493
BRAD BACA Interim President bbaca@western.edu 970-943-2114
BRIAN BARKER Director of Marketing and Media Relations bbarker@western.edu 970-943-3038
TOM BURGGRAF Executive Director, Western State Foundation tburggraf@western.edu 970-641-2237
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GARRETT FINKE Director of Sports Information gfinke@western.edu 970-943-2831
CRESTED BUTTE PUBLISHING & CREATIVE Layout, Design and Printing
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ALUMNI BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bruce Bartleson (Emeritus Faculty) Corbin Bennetts (Student Rep) Laurel (Butcher) Becker (’07) Shannon Bounds (’92) Ann (Clements) Eckman (‘89) Howard Fishman (’69) Paul Giberson (’01) Karen McCrary (’70, ’71) Elena Oster (’09, ’13) Vicki (Figgie) Wheeler (’86) Photos taken by: Greg Smith, Enrollment Communications Strategist Stories in this issue of the Westerner were written by Brian Barker, Director of Marketing & Media Relations, Western State Colorado University and Greg Smith, Enrollment Communications Strategist, Western State Colorado University.
p.24 One member of the great horned owl family that lives near Taylor Hall and Savage Library sitting atop a lamp post. WESTERNER
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Alumni Relations
Hello Alumni and Friends— I’ve just gotten back from an incredible Western weekend in Grand Junction where our wrestling team won the RMAC/regional tournament and took home a host of awards. While there, my son kept saying, “I’ll bet all the other teams and fans here are sick of hearing about Western.” Ha. Yes, they probably were. We won all but one of the awards. Our crowd – even though not the home crowd – was by far the biggest crowd at the tournament. We blanketed half the gym in red. What does this say about us as Mountaineers? We are a group who is proud of our University. Proud of all it offers. Proud of all it stands for. You can get a degree just about anywhere these days – if all you want is a degree, you can get that online. What sets us apart, and may I say Western does this better than any other school I know, is the whole experience--the co-curricular and extracurricular, in addition to an outstanding educational experience. That’s what makes us Western. That’s what makes us proud to be Mountaineers. That’s why we were the school everyone was “sick” of hearing about. And that makes me smile. Another thing that makes me smile? Western’s annual alumni ski weekend. We held our annual event up at Crested 4
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Butte and alumni came from far and wide. Our Après Ski party had over a hundred in attendance. We gave away prizes and toasted to the good old days. If you’ve never made it back for ski weekend, think about putting it on your list of things to do. We host it every year during President’s weekend and we always have a great time. In this issue of the Westerner, we are profiling some more of our remarkable alumni. From an Olympic ski coach to an alumnus assisting combat vets with their return to society, we’ve got some pretty great stories to share. We also have exciting news regarding the hiring of our new President, Dr. Greg Salsbury. We are all eager for him to begin and to continue moving Western forward in new and exciting directions. If you know of an alum who you think would be a great profile for our magazine, please let me know. We are always seeking those amazing people and stories that without your help, we would never know about. I hope you enjoy this issue of the Westerner. As my Associate, Jesse Cruz, always says…It’s a great day to be a Mountaineer! Tonya Van Hee Western Alumni Relations Director Class of ‘91
ANNOUNCING WESTERN’S 14TH PRESIDENT The Board of Trustees of Western State Colorado University has selected Dr. Gregory Salsbury to be the school’s 14th president. Salsbury brings 37 years of professional experience, including executive management of a multi-billion dollar business, teaching engagements at eight institutions of higher learning, nearly two-dozen publications, several master’s degrees and a PhD in organizational communications from the University of Southern California. “While Dr. Salsbury has an impressive past and an effective command of the present, our appointment of him to lead this great institution was made for his vision and enthusiasm about the future of Western State Colorado University,” says Todd Wheeler, chairman of Western’s Board of Trustees. “Dr. Salsbury demonstrates a passion for leading the institution toward a unified vision of success, which is balanced throughout the enterprise, and a steadfast commitment to improving student outcomes, while holding the institution accountable to our values: quality, achievement, innovation, fiscal responsibility and growth.” “Western is a remarkable institution, with equally remarkable people behind her,” Salsbury says. “The deep level of commitment of the multiple stakeholders – the foundation, board of trustees, faculty, staff, administration, alumni and community – was evident in the extraordinarily thorough duediligence process. I am both honored and thrilled to be joining the team and look forward to contributing.” Salsbury has worked for the Jackson National Life Insurance Company since 1997. He has functioned as Jackson National Life’s Executive Vice President of Distribution and Head of Sales for Banks and Wirehouses. Earlier in his
Dr. Gregory Salsbury addresses the campus during the interview process.
career Salsbury was an instructor at several institutions, including: University of Southern California, California State University, Fullerton, University of California Los Angeles, Santa Barbara City College, and St. Mary’s College in Moraga. Salsbury holds a PhD in Organizational Communication from the University of Southern California, a master of arts in Communication Management from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, a master of arts in Communication from the University of Illinois, and a bachelor of science degree in Speech Communication and Psychology from Southern Illinois University. An 18-member presidential search committee, including university faculty and staff, a Western student, Western alumni, business owners and elected officials from the Gunnison Valley, and members of the Board of Trustees, began meeting in August 2013 to consider potential candidates. In December, the committee interviewed nine people who had applied for the position and recommended four candidates to the Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees interviewed the candidates in person in January and then selected two to visit campus. Salsbury and David Morgan visited Gunnison in late January, where both candidates met with Western faculty, staff, alumni and community members. The Board of Trustees officially appointed Salsbury as president during its Feb. 12 meeting. Wheeler says he’s proud of the inclusive search process. “A special thank you to all the students, faculty, staff and community members who participated in this search,” he says. “So many people committed their time, intelligence and hard work to make this process effective, transparent, open and very successful. Go Mountaineers!” WESTERNER
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Sasha Rearick talks with one of his Olympic athletes, Gold medalist, Ted Ligety.
SASHA REARICK: FROM WESTERN COACH TO OLYMPIC COACH Sasha Rearick, a 1999 graduate of Western, has worked tirelessly for more than 10 years to earn the right to coach the U.S. Olympic Men’s Alpine Ski Team. Rearick, who graduated from Western with a double major in business and kinesiology, coached Western’s downhill ski team during his junior and senior year before earning an internship at the U.S .Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He traveled to Sochi, Russia this year and is responsible for coaching the entire U.S. Men’s Alpine Team, including the downhill, giant slalom, slalom and super G athletes. Rearick grew up in New York City and attended high school in Maine so he could compete in ski racing. “I knew I wanted to go out west to college,” Rearick says, “I knew Western had a ski team at the time and offered a great education with small classes, so I sent in my application.” Sasha says the close relationships he developed with professors made Western feel like a private college. “I learned from professors who had both PhDs and practical experience in the real world,” he says, “I was able to work closely with these professors, and they helped launch me into the career I have today.” Rearick was diagnosed as dyslexic at a young age, and Western’s small faculty to student ratio appealed to him. Former Western Learning Assistance Center Director Jan Edwards told the Gunnison Times in 2008, “He was one of the most outstanding students I’ve ever worked with.” She called Sasha, “Incredibly responsible, very driven and academically gifted.” Some of his favorite memories from Western include skiing 6
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at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, playing rugby, mountain biking in Moab, and ice climbing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. “I learned a ton outside of the classroom,” he says, “when you do things like skiing and climbing and playing rugby, you learn a lot about teamwork and camaraderie.” After Rearick’s internship at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, he was hired as a ski coach at the Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont. He met his wife, Katrin, while working at the school and, after three years, they moved to Park City, Utah, where he was hired as a Europa Cup coach on the U.S. Ski Team. Rearick quickly moved up through the ski team ranks, becoming an assistant coach on the World Cup team, then a development coach, a technical coach, and then head coach of the U.S. Men’s Alpine Team in 2008. While Rearick has traveled the world coaching some of the best skiers in the business, his Western education and experience living in Gunnison has stuck with him. “Skiing and competition is at the heart of Western, and I think the people that come to the Gunnison Valley have tremendous passion,” he says, “I hope to share that passion and continue with that message and teaching people what they’re capable of doing.” At the Sochi Olympics, Sasha’s athletes garnered three medals, including gold, silver and bronze. Bode Miller won a bronze medal in the men’s Super G, Andrew “the Wombat” Weibrecht earned a silver also in the men’s Super G and Ted Ligety came home with the Gold in the Giant Slalom. Rearick and his wife, Katrin, have two children, Tasman and Zali, and live in Park City, Utah.
PLRM GRADUATE, CHANCE CHASE, FORGES OIL & GAS CAREER Chance Chase (Business, class of 2010) didn’t end up in Gunnison the way most Mountaineers do. It was 2008, and Chance was living in Florida, wearing shorts and flip-flops. He’d just graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida with a degree in psychology. “That is, of course, when the economy tanked,” Chase says. “I quickly realized that it would take me another eight years to make a living, the family business was calling, and I decided to get serious about my career and my future. I needed a business degree.” Chase’s family business, where he is now a vice president, is Mack Energy Corporation, an oil and gas business based in Chase’s hometown of Artesia, New Mexico. “Western’s new Professional Land & Resource Management program was exactly what I needed, and I was thrilled to have found it,” Chase says. Within months of applying, Chase had moved from Florida to Gunnison and started his first of two years in the PLRM program. “I wasn’t a traditional student at Western, but I quickly found that I fit in here better than I did in Florida. I developed amazing relationships with my professors, and I got along better with my fellow students,” he says. Chase grew up around the oil and gas industry. Mack Energy Corporation and its affiliates employ over 900 people. The company’s portfolio of oil and gas properties covers West Texas, New Mexico and Wyoming. Mack’s affiliated companies do everything from providing services to the oil and gas industry to growing three percent of the world’s pecans. Chase says Western’s Professional Land & Resource Management Program prepared him for a career. “My professors were fantastic. We had guest speakers who helped us better understand the industry and were able to attend industry conferences that helped launch our professional lives. In my graduating PLRM class, every person who wanted a job had one, and the two who didn’t wanted to travel after they graduated.” But it wasn’t just the PLRM classes that helped prepare Chase for his career. “Having grown up around oil and gas, Western’s diverse student body provided my first real opportunity to more liberal thinking. I really enjoyed my environmental studies classes. I didn’t always agree with my professors or classmates, but they helped me see the world in a different way and I really enjoyed the debates we had.” It was that diversity of thought that helped Chase bring new ideas to his family business at Mack Energy when he graduated in 2010. Chase has risen to the rank of vice president and says he works to educate people about how Mack Energy is working to protect the environment and its employees. Chase is also on the board of the Chase Foundation, which has donated more than $9 million to the Artesia community.
Chase says Western is still an important part of his life. He’s played a role in the hiring of two other Western graduates at Mack Energy Corporation. 2009 PLRM graduate Matt Buckles now works at Mack Energy, along with 2010 Business graduate Reid Edwards. “I travel all over the place for work, and the oil and gas industry is full of Western grads,” Chase says. Chase’s commitment to Western continues with his appointment to the Western State Colorado University Foundation’s Board of Directors. “I love being a part of the Foundation because we get to give kids the opportunity to go to college, and a lot of those students wouldn’t have been able to go without the help of the Foundation,” Chase says. “It’s an honor to help create more future Mountaineers.” WESTERNER
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ELVA DRYER RELISHES HER RETURN TO WESTERN AND THE GUNNISON VALLEY The world knows Elva Dryer as a great American distance runner, a two-time Olympian, 13-time All-American and 16time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion, who went on to make her mark on the Elite road-running circuit. She’s been inducted into the Western State Colorado University Mountaineers Sports Hall of Fame, the RMAC Hall of Fame, the Colorado Running Hall of Fame, Colorado Sportsman Hall of Fame, the National Cross Country Hall of Fame and the Division II Track and Field Hall of Fame. She and another former Mountaineer, Shane Carwin, were honored as members of the Division II 40th Anniversary Tribute Team at the NCAA Convention in January. Carwin and Dryer were two of 48 former student athletes honored. The 40th Anniversary Tribute Team highlights one male and one female from each of the division’s 23 current conferences, plus two at-large nominees. Western State Colorado University was one of only three schools, out of more than 300 current and former NCAA Division II institutions, with two student athletes on the Tribute Team. (Please see inset for more on Shane Carwin.) At Western these days, Elva is the kind, smiling lady – sometimes spotted with a 3-year-old cherub in tow – students, staff and faculty encounter when they want to reserve a room for an event at the Aspinall-Wilson and University centers. Dryer graduated from Western in 1996 with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in psychology. She recalls being ready to leave the Gunnison Valley. And she did, racing around the world and drawing acclaim. She and her coach, who is also her husband, Russ Dryer (’91 – Kinesiology), immersed their lives in the running world. For a time, they spent winters in Albuquerque, where she could train at a lower altitude along the river or climb into the hills. They would rent a house each summer for training 8
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in Gunnison. Then, for a half-dozen years, they stayed south when not traveling the race circuit. Northern New Mexico had drawn other competitive runners to its varied terrain, and they found good support and companionship to pair with the training options. Dryer says she found mixed advantages to training in the Gunnison Valley. There is no limit of trails for variety of both terrain and scenery, and the low oxygen of high altitude helps build endurance. However, she found Gunnison difficult to travel from much of the year, running in the winter was problematic, and its altitude of 7,700 feet – and higher – wasn’t best for all her training. “I got better results training lower for speed. Up here was best for the base building and endurance work,” she explains. But Colorado – if not extra oxygen – was in the blood of the next youngest of eight children reared on a ranch near Durango. And she remembered how Western and legendary track coach Duane Vandenbusche had embraced her when she arrived on campus in 1990. “I came to Western not knowing much about the college and the Gunnison Valley,” says the woman who didn’t run competitively until age 16 and quickly rose to prominence among high school distance runners. “I was recruited by others. But Coach Vandenbusche convinced me that Western was the right place for me. As an incoming freshman, I was worth something at Western. I would be valued. I would be a key part of the team.” That sense of relationship to the people and the place kept Dryer at Western, even as she had to take a year (1991-92) off to recover from an overtraining injury and preserve a year of NCAA competitive eligibility. She returned in 1992 to success in the 800- 1,500- and 3,000-meter distances. By her senior year
in 1996, she was also making her mark at 5,000 meters, pushed on by Russ, who was also a cross-country standout at Western. Similar connections prompted her to return to Western in 2009. A bad cold had forced her to drop out after nearly 19 miles in the marathon competition during the 2008 Olympic Trials. She had fought to reach her marathon best at 2:31:48, in Chicago in 2006. She had proved that women do, indeed, close an endurance gap with men as they age. But her race times were slowing by the 2008 trials. She sought the next phase in her life. “I guess you have to leave to appreciate this place,” she says. “… There’s something about this place that just lets you do your thing and be who you are. ... I think of the quaintness of having all easily accessible – including the people. There are fewer distractions, no shopping malls or traffic. We don’t have those stressors.” A year after returning to her alma mater, Dryer gave birth to Marina, now 3 and growing quickly. Dryer speaks about the convenience of working just six minutes from her northside home and hardly a jog from her daughter at Tenderfoot preschool. She talks of still loving to run, but doing so now for her physical and mental health, not for any particular goals. Dryer did run in the Twin Cities Marathon last fall, prompting a long story in Runner’s World and several reports elsewhere about her first race in the Masters division. She finished at 2:44:23, third among the Masters women. But mostly, she’s now focused on being mom for Marina and a good friend to students, whom she also loves to watch grow. “There’s never a day I don’t want to come to work,” Dryer says, adding that she’s teaching Marina to love Western, too. “I work with great people, and there are great students on our campus. I think a lot of good things are happening at Western.”
SHANE CARWIN – NCAA DIV II 40TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE TEAM Carwin was the 1999 NCAA Division II Heavyweight champion and a three-time All-American wrestler for the Mountaineers. He still holds Western records for career falls, season falls and quickest fall. Carwin was also a two-time football All-American and was listed among the top linebackers for the 1998 NFL Draft by ESPN Analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. He holds the Mountaineer record for season tackles and is the only Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference defensive player to earn the overall Player of the Year Award. He was also named to the conference all-century team in 2009. Carwin graduated from Western State in 1999 with a degree in environmental technology and earned a second bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Colorado Mines. Carwin has had an illustrious career competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the Ultimate Fighting League (UFC). In 2010, Carwin defeated Frank Mir to become the UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion of the World. He holds a 12-2 record as a professional MMA fighter and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011, the RMAC Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
Both Carwin and Dryer were selected to have videos made of their Division II experience. You can find both videos at www.vimeo.com/clarksoncreative. WESTERNER
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Paul (2nd from end on the right) with Huts for Vets in mountains near Aspen.
PAUL ANDERSEN: FINDING OPPORTUNITIES AT WESTERN
BY PAUL ANDERSEN, ALUMNUS 1976 I was on a chairlift at Snowmass Ski Area in 1968, taking a run with my father. We had been discussing my options for college when a friendly ski instructor we were riding with listened in. “Have you considered Western?” he asked. That fortunate connection resulted in me stepping off a Frontier turboprop at the Gunnison airport in the fall of 1969, ready for my freshman year. For this transplant from suburban Chicago, Gunnison required a major adjustment. It wasn’t just the bone-chilling 50-below that I saw more than once on the Gunnison National Bank thermometer, it was living in a rural western ranching town that colored my life. Western not only introduced me to higher education, it immersed me in the rugged beauty of the Gunnison Country, a landscape that suited my dreams of skiing, hiking and biking in the Elk Range of Central Colorado. Like many of my peers, I spent more time than I should have skiing Crested Butte Mountain, but through my time at Western I came to appreciate this small, gem of a school and what it gave me in terms of practical career skills and memorable life experiences.
GRASSROOTS JOURNALISM
During my journalism studies at Western I developed a friendship with Joanne Williams, then editor at the Gunnison Country Times. In the fall of 1977 Joanne offered me a job 10
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reporting on the AMAX mining issue in Crested Butte, a sevenyear environmental battle over a proposal to extract 300 million tons of molybdenum ore from Red Lady Bowl. I opened a branch office for the Times in Crested Butte, referring to myself as a “foreign correspondent.” I later joined the staff of the Crested Butte Chronicle, where I multitasked as editor, reporter, photographer, bill collector, paper boy and snow shoveler. I left Crested Butte in 1984 and spent three blissful months bike touring across Europe. Returning that fall, the application I had submitted to the Aspen Times led to a job interview. I rode my bicycle over the Elk Range, landed the job, and spent the next ten years exploring Aspen as a reporter. My beats included the world of ideas through the Aspen Institute where I reported on executive seminars and policy discussions, which brought in global thought leaders. My head swam with intellectual stimulation. Meanwhile, mountain biking, hiking, and telemark skiing – all discovered in Gunnison and Crested Butte – became my chief modes for crisscrossing the Elk Range in all seasons.
VETERANS IN THE WILDERNESS
Fast forward 25 years. I continue writing a weekly column for the Aspen Times, feature articles for magazines, and books of regional history, inspired of course by Western history professor Duane Vandenbusche. My wife and I have a 21-year-old son, and we live in a log home in the Frying Pan Valley, near Basalt.
Today I lead my own seminar – Nature & Society – for the Aspen Institute. Last year, I began reading about veterans’ issues and was shocked to discover a current suicide rate of 22 veterans per day – one every 65 minutes. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, substance abuse and domestic violence are fomenting a national crisis among our service people. In January 2013, I founded Huts For Vets, a non-profit based in Aspen, whose mission is to a take combat veterans into the wilderness for therapeutic healing at the 10th Mountain Division ski huts. The Huts For Vets methodology is inspired by my love for wilderness and by the intellectual content of seminars at the Aspen Institute, which underwrote my first veterans’ program last June. Under a combination of wilderness and ideas, our veteran participants explore both the wilderness and the writings of Thoreau, Edward Abbey, Viktor Frankl, Shakespeare, Rod Nash and more. These conversations open deeper channels to personal stories that lead to tears, laughter, camaraderie and healing. “Being in this wilderness has helped me understand the value, quality and significance of these wild places,” summed up an Army sergeant named Chris, who served in Iraq. “The men here have taught me that I must improve myself in order to enjoy the freedoms that we all fought for.” “This was my first time in the wilds,” said another Iraq vet, a Marine named Dan, “and it was with the best group of
veterans I’ve ever been with. Huts For Vets and my fellow warriors saved my life over the last four days together. Finding healing from all the things we’ve experienced could not have happened in a better place.” There are tens of thousands of veterans, men and women, who are in freefall as they struggle to reenter civilian life. They are adrift without their military mission and alone without their comrades-at-arms. In addition to a high suicide rate veterans suffer an 88% dropout rate their freshman year, even though they’re paid to attend school through the GI Bill. With that statistic in mind, my Huts For Vets team and I have proposed a program that could help put Western on the map as a leader in creating a veteranfriendly college experience. Meetings in January 2014 with Interim President Brad Baca, Dean of Students Gary Pierson, and other enthusiastic staff, affirmed that a Huts For Vets component added to the Western orientation could bond incoming veteran students as a cohort. Through this bond, veterans entering Western could provide mutual support as qualified listeners, helping one another adjust to higher education. This approach has huge potential for lowering the dropout rate and attracting veterans to Western. Western gave me an enriching life experience. Giving back to Western – and to veterans in need – links us in a moral common cause. For more information on Huts For Vets, see www. hutsforvets.org. Or contact Paul Andersen: andersen@rof.net. WESTERNER
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STUDENT, FRANCESCA PAVILLARD-CAIN Francesca Pavillard-Cain, a business and Spanish double-major at Western, stood atop an intimidating peak in Chamonix, France this winter, reflecting on how she’d ended up competing on the world stage as a freeride skier. Pavillard-Cain grew up on a pair of skis in Crested Butte and chose Western because of its proximity to big mountains and its quality academics. She was one of the first members of Western’s Mountain Sports program and now, as a senior, she’s competing in the Swatch Freeride World Tour. “Standing on that peak and inspecting the line I was going to ski, I realized I was competing in a whole different league,” Pavillard-Cain says. “It was exciting, and kind of scary.” The Swatch Freeride World Tour is a chance for the best big mountain skiers in the world to compete against each other at challenging venues like Chamonix, Courmayeur, Fieberbrunn Kitzbuheler Alpen, Revelstoke, Snowbird and Verbier. Athletes have to qualify for the tour and Pavillard-Cain was selected. Pavillard-Cain’s first competition in Chamonix could have gone better. “I had a bit of crash,” she says, “and it was pretty discouraging. But it may have been what I needed, because when I stepped into my skis to compete at the next event in Austria, I was calm and confident and ready to compete.” Pavillard-Cain placed second at Fieberbrunn Kitzbuheler Aplen, Austria. “The amazing thing is that I’m traveling the world skiing and able to work on my senior capstone classes so I can graduate on time,” she says. “My professors here have been awesome, but I have to admit that juggling the skiing and traveling schedule and the academics is tough. Western is a really good school and it’s challenging.” But Pavillard-Cain says her professors have kept her motivated and have been there to support her and her academic goals. “When you have someone who is invested in your education, you’re not going to slack off. Western doesn’t have big lecture halls, you’re not a number here, and I love that.” 12
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STUDENT, CHRISTIAN SCHWIEGERATH Western State Colorado University senior Christian Schwiegerath, who was crowned Miss Colorado United States in April of 2013, says she’s laser-focused on her studies in Business and Professional Land & Resource Management. “It’s a tremendous honor to have been selected Miss Colorado United States and these days I’m frequently on the road at charity events,” Schwiegerath says, “it always feels great to come back home to Gunnison and focus on my studies here at Western.” Schwiegerath graduated from Highlands Ranch High School in the Denver area and chose Western because of its mountain location and unique Professional Land & Resource Management program within the business department. “PLRM graduates find good, high paying jobs right out of college, and that’s important to me,” she says, “plus, it’s really interesting!” During Schwiegerath’s sophomore year, her mother became sick and Schwiegerath had to take a break from Western and return to Denver to be with her family. While back in Denver, she attended classes at a large public university. “It didn’t fit me,” she says, “the classes were huge and I felt like a number. It made me really miss the personal attention and small classes at Western.” When the time was right, she returned to Western to finish her degree. “At the same time, I decided to try out for Miss Colorado,” Schwiegerath says, “I wanted to do something for myself, and it sounded like a lot of fun.” Schwiegerath was crowned Miss Colorado United States in April of 2013. Since then, she’s been busy taking classes at Western and volunteering at charity events across the state. “It’s been a great opportunity to give back to some great causes,” she says, “and I’m proud to tell people about how wonderful Western is when I travel.” Schwiegerath says she isn’t the stereotypical Western student. “I’m not a skier and don’t kayak or rock climb,” she says, “but there is so much to do here if you’re not into those things. I love to go to football and basketball games, I spent some time as a cheerleader, and there are tons of intramurals and other activities to keep you busy. Finally, you don’t have to be a skier to appreciate how beautiful it is here in the mountains.” When she graduates, Schwiegerath, plans to work in the land management field. “But I’ll always be looking for ways to give back to Western,” she says, “so many Western alumni before me have been there to support us, and it’s the least I can do for having had such a great education.” WESTERNER
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Campus News
EXTENDED STUDIES IS PLEASED TO HOST THE SUMMER TEACHER INSTITUTE, JUNE 9-21, 2014 We are celebrating the program’s 10th anniversary! Over the last 10 years, Western has had over 2000 educators, teachers and students energized, and share their love of teaching. The Summer Teacher Institute provides opportunities for educators to enhance content knowledge, share pedagogy, and network with teachers from throughout Colorado and beyond. The Summer Teacher Institute offers a variety of content courses designed specifically for K-12 educators who want to enrich their existing curricula. Intensive seminars with qualified instructors will immerse participants in their subject areas. Opportunities include hands-on individualized activities, instructional enhancements, and outdoor classrooms. Funds provided by the Ann Zugelder Endowment have allowed Western State Colorado University to expand initiatives in offering graduate credit courses for teachers. Veteran Summer Teacher Institute instructor, Rita Merrigan, expresses her Summer Teacher Institute experiences: “Western’s Summer Teacher Institute is a wonderful time on Western’s campus. Teachers are learning, sharing ideas, laughing and 14
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discovering new ways to love teaching. The gorgeous time of year, at the beginning of June, when flowers are blooming, grass is green, and school’s out for summer, you can relax, take the time to regroup, refresh and take a long, deep, fresh, breath of beautiful mountain air and quickly earn the university level credits you need for your own personal professional development.” We welcome you to come to Western this summer to be a part of these relevant and dynamic courses and earn graduatelevel credit. For questions regarding the 2014 Summer Teacher Institute, please contact Extended Studies at 970-943-2885 or email extendedstudies@western.edu. We also encourage you to share this opportunity with others who would enjoy and benefit from our Institute.
Campus News
TRAVEL WITH DR. DUANE VANDENBUSCHE AND DR. BRUCE BARTLESON Duane Vandenbusche, Professor of History, and Bruce Bartleson, Emeritus Professor of Geology, will lead two special courses in the summer of 2014: San Juan Mining Tour and the new Great Gunnison Country Tour. Both programs are offered through the Extended Studies office. The San Juan Mining Tour runs June 16-20, 2014. This course takes participants on a breathtaking tour of the great San Juan mining country with emphasis on Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, and Durango. Visit and learn about one of Colorado’s most storied mining regions. Ride on the famous Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and tour the Old Hundred mine. The class will cross Red Mountain, Owl Creek, Slumgullion, and Ophir Passes and visit several historic mining museums. The mining frontier, narrow gauge railroads, geography, unique Victorian architecture, geology, and social history will be emphasized. The Great Gunnison Country Tour, June 23-27, 2014, consists primarily of out-and-back day trips into the great Gunnison Valley. Discover or rediscover the best of Gunnison Country. Begin with an action-packed day trip to Crested Butte, Gothic, and Taylor Park. Next, learn about the Valley’s interesting relationship with water and the geology that created it. Then, travel back in time with a visit to the Sargents and Maysville school houses before moving on to Salida for a lesson in railroads and the Arkansas River. On Thursday, travel outside of Gunnison, over Ohio and McClure passes, to learn about historic, high-altitude mining towns. Stay the night at the beautiful Redstone Lodge in Glenwood Springs. The last day includes a chair-lift ride to the caves outside of Glenwood Springs, a manor tour at the Redstone Inn and a breathtaking
drive over Kebler Pass back to Gunnison. The mining frontier, water, railroads, geography, geology, and social history are emphasized. Both trips include lodging, transportation, museums, train tickets, lift tickets and entrance fees. The cost of the San Juan Mining Tour is $740 and the cost of the Great Gunnison Country Tour is $425. For more information and to reserve a spot, contact Extended Studies in Taylor Hall 303, call (970) 943-2885, or email eboucher@western.edu. We hope you will share this information with other alumni or those who would enjoy an experience with two outstanding Western professors. WESTERNER
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Campus News continue to complete a master’s degree in Education with an emphasis in culturally and linguistically diverse leadership by completing an additional 16 credits within a 4-year window. Starting next Fall, the Education Department is also offering a CLD emphasis for undergraduates majoring in Elementary Education and Teaching. Undergraduates who finish their senior licensure year and earn their teaching license will be eligible to add the CLD endorsement.
WESTERN ANNOUNCES NEW MASTER’S DEGREE IN CREATIVE WRITING
WESTERN OFFERS NEW PROGRAMS TO SERVE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS Western’s Education Department is now offering a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) Education teaching endorsement and master’s degree program. The new offering is a response to the growing demand for educators trained to work with culturally and linguistically diverse groups of students. The number of English language learners (also known as ELL) in American schools has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and Colorado schools have seen an increase of 35.5% in the number of English language learners served since 2006. Education Department Chair Gaye Jenkins is enthusiastic about the new offering, “Our culturally and linguistically diverse offerings are relevant, exciting, and cultivate leadership skills for mainstream educators in this area of expertise. Every educator needs these strategies and understandings. Empowering yourself to effectively serve English language learners enriches the learning experience for every student, and improves achievement across all curricula. Come join us!!” The endorsement is being offered to currently licensed teachers seeking to advance their career and work more effectively with diverse groups of students and their families. The program consists of 27 course credits, completed in one year. Clinical experience required for the program can often be completed in the candidate’s own school. Candidates may then 16
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Western State Colorado University is proud to announce a new fully-accredited Master of Arts in Creative Writing and Pedagogy. This program complements Western’s established Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program. The MA in Creative Writing has been accredited by the Colorado Commission of Higher Education, the Department of Education, and the Higher Learning Commission. Western is currently accepting applications for the 2014-2015 academic year. This low-residency 30-credit M.A. in Creative Writing program focuses on both the craft of creative writing and the pedagogy for the teaching of creative writing. Students select one of three emphases: popular genres fiction/nonfiction, poetry with a focus on versecraft, or screenwriting for feature film and television. The program involves two online semesters of coursework that use a combination of online writing submissions and critiques as well as regular real-time discussions with writermentors and peer students. Students also participate in two oncampus residencies that occur the last two weeks of July, high in the Colorado Rockies. The program takes thirteen months to complete as a full-time student. The coursework for the Master of Arts in Creative Writing parallels the innovative and high-quality curriculum of the MFA and is taught by Western’s MFA professors who are all renowned professionals in their field as well as experienced teachers. Because of the shared coursework and faculty in the first year of the Masters of Arts in Creative Writing and Pedagogy students can seamlessly transition into Western’s two-year Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program if they choose. Western’s MA in Creative Writing fulfills current teachers’ desires to achieve a creative writing-specific graduate degree as well as allows them to advance their professional careers in public or private middle or high schools. Graduates of the program become prepared to enter the arena of community college teaching. Western’s MA in Creative Writing also enhances graduates marketability in the four-year college teaching market and gives individuals who are interested in pursuing professional careers in writing, but are willing or able to pursue only one year of study another option to achieve an advanced degree. This master’s degree is a one-year program and begins with a two week-long residency on campus in summer 2014. For more information or to apply for summer 2014 please contact Dr. Mark Todd by email at mtodd@western.edu or by phone 970.943.2885. Interested candidates can also find admission requirements on our website at western.edu/macw.
When you Western Up you help grow facilities, programs and extracurricular activities that set Western apart. - Terry Brace (’74, ’78)
From Mozart to Mountain Biking, the Foundation supports a range of programs as wide as the Rockies.
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Campus News
WESTERN FILM STUDIES PROFESSOR LANDS SPOT IN FILM FESTIVAL A film about ranching in the Gunnison Valley produced by a Western professor has landed a spot in the Durango Film Festival. A film researched, written, shot and edited by Jack Lucido, Western’s Associate Professor of Communication Arts, with production assistance by more than a dozen Western students, graduates, and faculty, has earned a spot in the Durango Film Festival. Across the Fence is a twenty-seven minute documentary film about the long time traditions and more recent innovations of sustainable practices in ranching. The picturesque film features four ranching families from the Gunnison Valley on Colorado’s western slope. Women, men, young, and old from these families speak of their passion for ranching and their concerns for the future. “It’s been tremendously rewarding getting to know these amazing ranching families and witnessing their respect for our land and water as they earn their livelihoods in ranching,” Lucido says. Shot over three years and several seasons in this high rocky mountain valley, Across the Fence tells the story both visually and aurally of these families and their respect for the land and natural resources in this beautiful part of Colorado. Lucido was able to include Western students and graduates to help produce the film. Three current Western undergraduate students, four Western alumni and a current Western MFA screenwriting student provided production assistance. Western’s technical director of media Torrance Maurer provided assistance and additional digital cinematography was provided by Western alumnus Drew Eflin (’11). Animation and graphic design was provided by Western student Shannon Lynott and Western professor Dr. Karin Waidley is the film’s announcer. 18
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“I feel strongly about environmental issues,” Lucido says. “Sustainability of our land and water resources is a crucial world-wide concern. I serve on Western’s Environment & Sustainability Council as a part of my service to this University. Therefore, sustainability as a film topic made much sense to me.” While promoting discourse among recreational users of public lands and livestock producers, Across the Fence suggests solutions through meaningful communication.
Western Up captures the experience of living in the Gunnison Valley while developing skills that will guide you through a lifetime. - Gerry Shear (’92)
Foundation support got the Mountain Sports Team Program up and running. And continues to keep it rolling along.
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Campus News that most schools could not possibly match. If you want to study biology, archeology, the effects of high elevation on athletes, and more, it’s all right here.” In the following excerpt from the book, Vandenbusche details part of Western’s rich history. Western State College (WSC), which became Western State Colorado University in 2012, was the first college on Colorado’s Western Slope. The college was established in 1911 as a teacher training institution, Colorado State Normal. Located at 7,703 feet, deep in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the college is surrounded by four mountain ranges: the San Jan, Sangre de Cristo, Sawatch and Elk Mountains. The four ranges include 40 mountains over 14,000 feet with incredible hunting, fishing, skiing and climbing. In the midst of this stunning landscape, Western State College became an outdoor mountain meeca which has greatly influenced its history.
Dr. Vandenbusche was hired by Western in 1962 as an instructor in history. He earned his undergraduate degree in history from Northern Michigan University and his MA and EDD in history from Oklahoma State University. Vandenbusche also became coach of the track & field and cross country men’s teams in 1971 and coached for 36 years. You can purchase the book at Western’s campus bookstore, or visit Arcadia Publishing’s website. “I’ve been around for around half the life of the institution,” Vandenbusche says. “I absolutely love this place and I want people to appreciate how unique it is.”
WESTERN PROFESSOR’S BOOK CHRONICLES WESTERN’S MOUNTAIN ROOTS
Western history professor Dr. Duane Vandenbusche has published his 10th book, titled Western State College; Mountain Mecca. The book chronicles the university’s rich history as an institution of higher learning with academics and student experiences enhanced by Western’s spectacular mountain location. Dr. Vandenbusche has been teaching history at Western for 52 years, and he says writing the book was a labor of love. “Western is located in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the world, “ Vandenbusche says. “Everything about this place is made better because of where we are. From academic programs like exercise & sport science and professional land & resource management to the unparalleled variety of outdoor activities in our back yard, there just isn’t another college like this in the country.” Western State College; Mountain Mecca includes hundreds of historic photographs of Western students, faculty, staff and the surrounding mountains with painstakingly researched captions. “Western has been influenced by elevation, by the cold weather, by the mountains, and all of this has made it into one of the great schools in the nation,” Vandenbusche says. “Our Rocky Mountain location has allowed us to become a great laboratory
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“SILVERVILLE MAGICKE” BOOK TOUR
Western Professor Mark Todd and Kym O’Connell-Todd (’90 – Communications & Theater) have recently published The Magicke Outhouse, their third book in the Silverville Saga, a paranormal comedy-adventure series for readers of any age. They spent much of their winter on a “Silverville Magicke” Book Tour, which visited 18 book stores, libraries, coffeehouses, and art centers in the region.
Protecting and sustaining nature has been a huge part of my life. And knowing there are unique programs at Western preparing others to do the same, is why I Western Up! - Ralph “Butch” Clark III (’73)
The growing Masters in Environmental Management Program is even stronger thanks to support from the Foundation, including a recent $100,000 donation from Ralph “Butch” Clark III.
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Campus News
WESTERN STUDENT WINS GRANT TO STUDY EXERCISE A Western undergraduate student has written and received a grant to study how exercise can help combat chronic disease. Ali Wolpern, a senior studying exercise and sports science, will work with Dr. Lance Dalleck in Western’s High Altitude Performance Laboratory to study whether measuring an individual’s ventilatory threshold is more effective than measuring heart rate to determine how hard someone is exercising. “I had just taken a grant-writing class, and Dr. Dalleck encouraged me to write this grant, so I could do some really interesting research that will break new ground and hopefully help me get into graduate school,” Wolpern says. “It’s really exciting, because this is the type of research that most universities reserve for graduate students.” Dalleck, a professor in Western’s Exercise and Sports Science program, says the research Wolpern conducts will benefit the Exercise is Medicine project; an initiative launched in 2007 by the American College of Sports Medicine and American Medical Association. Western’s state-of-the art HAPLab in the university’s new Mountaineer Field House is equipped to study muscular endurance, strength, cardiopulmonary capacity, flexibility and body composition. Western students use the HAPLab for handson research, and it doubles as a resource for Western’s student athletes. The grant from the American Council on Exercise will help health and fitness professionals better understand how to prescribe exercise for preventing and managing chronic disease. During summer and fall 2014, Wolpern and Dalleck will study 24 test subjects as they exercise on a treadmill. They hope to publish the results of their study in the American Council on Exercise’s Pro Source journal and present them at the 2015 Rocky Mountain American College of Sports Medicine Conference in Denver. Wolpern grew up in Montgomery, Minn., and transferred to Western from Colorado State University Pueblo to take advantage 22
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of Western’s athletic programs, academic opportunities and mountain location. She runs on Western’s Cross Country and Track teams and graduated from high school at age 16. She says she hopes to attend graduate school after Western and eventually become a professor. Wolpern says. “Western is preparing me for an exciting future after I graduate.”
ALUMNI EDUCATOR SUMMIT
CALLING ALL ALUMNI EDUCATORS!
You are invited to join us this summer for our first ever Alumni Educator Summit. During this program, you’ll have a chance to connect with other educators, participate in continuing education, learn about the exciting opportunities happening in education at your Alma Mater, and have fun all at the same time. The Summit is set for June 13-14, the weekend between the Summer Teacher Institute sessions. Friday evening will start off with dinner and a keynote speaker, followed on Saturday morning by a campus tour, continuing education, and ideas for how you can help with recruitment/representing today’s Western. Check this out as an example of one Saturday session— “Sell me on Cellphones 21st Century Teaching and Learning Forum.” Description: Let’s explore Pros, Cons and Strategies for motivation in today’s classrooms and schools. We will experience the work and conclusions of some of Western’s preservice education students and discuss how 21st Century tools and resources align learning with Colorado Academic Standards. Let’s energize! Bring your cell phones and iPads, and be ready to participate! Take away new ideas for engaging educators and students in relevant and empowering learning across the curriculum. Saturday afternoon caps off the event with your choice of activities ranging from rafting to hiking to a leisurely stroll down the streets of Gunnison. Meals are free and we have arranged for discounted rates at The Holiday Inn Express. For more details, a schedule and to register, log onto www.westernalum.org. We can’t wait to see you this June!
Stand up. Speak up. Western Up! There are as many reasons to support Western as there are members of Western Nation. So, whether you’re a current student, recent grad, longtime alumnus, faculty member or simply a friend of Western, please consider doing what you can to make this extraordinary place even more remarkable. Even a small donation, combined with the support of others, will make an impact. And will help elevate Western to an even higher level of excellence. In return, you’ll receive the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping change the lives of students who’ll change the world. You also may be eligible for some pretty cool, premium Western gear and apparel.
To find out more or to make a donation, call the Foundation office at 970-641-2237. Or go to westernup.org. And thanks in advance for your support. Thanks for your willingness to Western Up!
WesternUp.org
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Athletics
RMAC CHAMPIONS With the winter sports concluding, the Mountaineers added one team conference title and six individual conference titles to the school’s storied history. Western State wrestling put on a tremendous performance at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Region IV Championships on March 1, winning the program’s sixth RMAC title. The Mountaineers qualified a total of seven wrestlers for the national championships and had three wrestlers become conference champions in their respective weight classes. Western’s Elliot Copeland at 174 pounds, and Kyle Piatt at 184 pounds both won conferences titles for the second consecutive season. Teammate Sam Mangum also earned the title of RMAC Champion, winning the 197-pound bracket. The wrestling team is ranked fifth in the country heading into the National tournament to be held in Cleveland, Ohio mid-March. Mountaineer track and field also had three individual conference champions, while as a team, the Mountaineer women finished second and the men third. Barbara Szabo earned her eighth and ninth individual conference championship at the RMAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb.28-March 1. Szabo took first in the women’s high jump and women’s triple jump setting national
championship automatic qualifying marks in each. Western distance runner Tara Richardson was the other Mountaineer to earn an individual conference title. Richardson won the women’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:59.73.
MOUNTAINEER FOOTBALL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Western State Athletics is pleased to announce the creation and launch of the Mountaineer Football Alumni Association (MFAA) as a worthy and enthusiastic partner with Western State Colorado University. Western Football, through its rich history and winning tradition, has influenced and shaped the successful lives of hundreds of former players while making a major contribution to the success and vitality of Western State and the Gunnison community. The purpose of the MFAA is to ensure such success continues by encouraging excellence through an association of football alumni working in collaboration with Mountaineer Football and Western State Colorado University. We eagerly invite all who played football at Western to join us. Applications, contacts, and additional information can be found on the MFAA website: www.mountaineermadness.com.
HALL OF FAME Western athletics is currently accepting nominations for the 20th Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame Class. To nominate a deserving alumnus, please visit www.GoMountaineers.com/halloffame.
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Athletics
AWARD WINNERS Western State student-athletes are consistently winning awards on the field, as well as off the field. Here are a few of the more notable award winners over the past few months. Lane Stuht – Football - Defensive lineman (Sr., Loveland, Colo.) was named All-American honorable mention by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette, becoming the 42nd Western football All-American player. Stuht is the first Mountaineer football player to earn All-American honors since Mike Swaro in 2004. Stuht was one of seven RMAC defenders to be named to the Don Hansen’s All-Region IV Second Team Defense. After a record setting season, Gene Upshaw award nominee, Stuht was also named to the RMAC First Team-Defense. Stuht ended the season leading all of the NCAA Division II in total tackles for a loss (TFLs). His 24 TFL this season ties for the highest in a single season at Western State. Stuht was second in the NCAA in tackles for a loss per game at 2.2. Stuht is also the varsity heavyweight on the Mountaineer wrestling team. He finished second at the RMAC/Region IV Championships and will represent Western at the National tournament. His win by pin in the dual against Mesa in Paul Wright Gym sent the entire student section storming out onto the mat in a frenzy of Mountaineer mayhem. Barbara Szabo – Track and Field – Track and field athlete (Sr., Budapest, Hungary) has been selected as the 2013 College Female Athlete of the Year by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Szabo will be honored along with six other competitors at the 2013 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame banquet on Thursday, April 17, at the Denver Marriott City Center Hotel. Szabo is a four-time national champion, five-time AllAmerican and seven-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion. On March 9, 2013 Szabo earned her third consecutive NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field National Championship title in the women’s high jump. Szabo became just the eighth women’s athlete to win an indoor national title three consecutive years in any event. Szabo’s winning mark came at 1.85 meters (6’ 0.75”). Corbin Bennetts – Wrestling – (Soph, Buena Vista, Colo.) won the 2014 RMAC Summit Award in wrestling. The RMAC Summit Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals sites for each of the RMAC’s championships. Bennetts is a sophomore from Buena Vista, Colo. with a 3.95 grade-point average majoring in Biology. He is the starting 141 pound wrestler for the Mountaineeers who has compiled an 18-9 overall record for the 2013-2014 season. Last year, Bennetts was named an RMAC Scholar-Athlete, was an RMAC First Team All-Academic selection, and National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic Second Team selection. Bennetts finished fifth at the RMAC/Region IV Championships in 2012-13 and will be heading to the national championship in 2014 after placing second at this year’s RMAC/Region IV Championships. As the son of an alumnus, Bennetts also serves on Western’s Alumni Board of Directors.
Lane Stuht #55
Barnara Szabo
Corbin Bennetts WESTERNER
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wscubookstore.western.edu 1-800-321-0673 Open: Monday - Friday 7:45 to 5:00 After every home football game till 5. 26
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This Bookstore is owned and operated by Western State Colorado University and 100% of the revenue generated is re-invested into Western!
News from the Alumni Association
YOU CAN GIVE A SCHOLARSHIP! MOUNTAINEER ALUMNI RECOMMENDATION SCHOLARSHIP
Western has just implemented an exciting new scholarship program that empowers every Western alumni and employee to nominate one first-year student per year to receive a $500 scholarship. The Mountaineer Alumni Recommendation Scholarship was established to highlight the connection between our distinguished alumni and our new students. Western State Colorado University Alumni may recommend prospective students who they feel will add to the community of learning and family that is the Western Nation.
THE GUIDELINES ARE AS FOLLOWS: • • • • • • •
Any Western alumnus/a may nominate only one student per academic year to receive the $500 scholarship ($250 per semester). The scholarship is good for the first year only and is nonrenewable. The recommended student must meet university admissions acceptance standards. The recommended student must be a full-time undergraduate student, attending Western for the first time. The recommended student must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA.) Western employees are eligible to recommend a student, but not to a spouse or dependent receiving tuition benefits. The nominating alumnus/a or employee must complete all portions of the online nomination form, which can be found at western.edu/mars.
The Admissions and Alumni Offices will verify the nomination forms before the award is given. If you have any questions, please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@western.edu or 800.876.5309. You can also refer fellow employees or alumni to our website at western.edu/mars to learn more.
COLORADO RESIDENTS: ARE YOU READY TO GET YOUR NEW ALUMNI LICENSE PLATE? The new Western plates are now ready to go at your county’s Division of Motor Vehicles. Getting your new plate is quick and easy…
THREE EASY STEPS TO GET YOUR WESTERN ALUMNI LICENSE PLATE: • •
•
CRIMSON AND SLATE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING!
Step 1: Submit your information on our website… http://www.westernalum.org/plate/index.asp Step 2: Once you have submitted your information and $15 payment, you will receive your certificate via email. Please print this certificate on a COLOR printer. Step 3: Take your certificate to your county’s DMV and pay their $50 one-time fee.
Thanks for your support of Western and for participating in this program. With these plates scattered throughout Colorado, you’ll bring a piece of Western wherever you travel.
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News from the Alumni Association
FUTURE MOUNTAINEERS:
Anna (BA-2013) and Steven Walker (BA-2013) welcomed Phillip Aiden Walker on November 19, 2013. Phillip weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 inches long. Phillip was also welcomed by his grandparents Patty (BA-1990) and Greg George.
Walter Hill (BA-1976), who is on the Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council, was recently reappointed to serve a fouryear term. Hill is also the executive director of High Plains Mental Health Center.
Melissa Rogers (BA-2005), Matt Messner (BA-2000) and big brother Carson welcomed Calvin Duane Messner on October 5, 2013. He weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 inches long.
Arthur Chalmers (BA-1978) recently returned from Argentina where he reached the summit of Cerro, Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Western hemisphere, at 22,841 feet.
Kate (BA-2007) and Chad Robinson (Western’s IT Services Director) welcomed Kassidy Jane Robinson on October 3, 2013. Kassidy weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 18 ½ inches long. Genesis Bliss Haynes was born on February 19, 2012. She weighed 5 lbs 9.5 oz, and was 19 inches long. Emma Faith Haynes was born on August 22, 2013. She weighed 8 lbs 3.5 oz, and was 20 inches long. Parents are Steven Haynes (BA-2003) and Andrea (Ruybal) Haynes (BA-2003).
1940s:
Crosby Perry-Smith (BA-1949) was awarded the 2013 Gunnison Valley Snow Sports Heritage Award for the great accomplishments he has made for skiing in the Gunnison Valley. One of those achievements includes helping to get skiing adopted as an NCAA sport. Crosby was also interviewed by Steamboat Today about his experience in the SSWSC club at Western.
1960s:
Franklin Jefferson (BA-1966) was interviewed by the Reporter-Herald about attending Western State when Martin Luther King Jr. was leading a civil rights movement. Jefferson also mentioned attending speeches by Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. Jim Snyder (BA-1968) was pictured in the Post Independent still using a horse-drawn trailer to feed his cattle. Snyder talked about his ranch in Rifle and how much it has meant to him and his family. Barry Clifford (BA-1969) was the keynote speaker for Western’s Alumni Ski Weekend. Clifford spoke about what it’s like being an undersea explorer and some of the experiences that he has had. Clifford also displayed through his slides the many different kinds of artifacts that he and his team have found while exploring.
1970s:
Dr. Roland A. Carlstedt (BA-1974, 1995) a licensed clinical and board certified sport psychologist, received research appointments with McLean Hospital’s Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program and Harvard Medical School’s department of Psychiatry. His book Evidence-Based Applied Sport Psychology: A Practitioner’s Manual was released by Springer Publishing Company in 2013. Roland also chairs the American Board of Sport Psychology. Dr. Jeffrey Oster (BA-1979) recently announced the update and redesign of his very unique website. Oster said that the global interest in his website is what sparked the idea for redesign. The new website allows customers to research symptoms that cause foot and ankle pain and explore potential 28
solutions. Oster founded Myfootshop.com 15 years ago and has seen a growing customer base because of the quality care they provide.
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1980s:
Dan Zadra (BA-1987) who works for Colorado Parks and Wildlife recently helped in the rehabilitation and release of a young bald eagle that was suffering from lead poisoning. Dana Altman (MBA-1981) is the head men’s basketball coach of the Oregon Ducks. Dana has an overall record of 94-45 in his four seasons in Oregon. Altman was the 2013 National Jim Phelan Coach of the Year and also the 2013 Pac-12 Coach of the Year! Frank Makray (BA-1984) was interviewed by the Sussex Countian about his nomination for a national award that acknowledges outstanding K-12 educators who make a positive difference in the lives of students, the LifeChanger of the year award. His nominator said Makray has retooled his High School’s business program and uses innovative strategies to engage his students. Debbie Elam (MA-1988) was awarded the Adjunct Faculty of the Year award from Lamar Community College.
1990s:
Brian Smith (BA-1998) finished second in the Irwin Lodge Rando Race, even though he had to finish his final lap without his own ski poles. Michael Zawaski (BA-1994) won a 2013 National Outdoor Book Award for his book Snow Travel: Skills for Climbing, Hiking and Moving Across Snow. Eric Jordan (BA-1995) was featured in The New York Times about what he and fellow geologists have been discovering underneath the city of Manhattan.
2000s:
Amy Beisel (BA-2006) finished first among women in the Magic Meadows 20-kilometer Race on December 15. This was the first race of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Fat Bikers race series. Alisha Williams (BA-2005) did an interview with ESPN about being a three-time NCAA Division II champion. Some of her accomplishments include winning the Cal International Marathon, placing 6th at the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women, placing 11th at the U.S. 20K Championship Race, and placing 14th at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon. Dan Gibbs (BA-2002), Summit County Commissioner, was interviewed by the Summit Daily about recently declaring his campaign for re-election. Abraham Bombeck (BA-2000) has been admitted to the University of Washington, School of Medicine. He worked as an art director in
View from inside the new 65,201 square foot Mountaineer Field House. The Field House encompasses 118,710 total square feet.
advertising and later as a building contractor before entering the Montana State University Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Certificate Program. Abraham is the son of Cynthia (Syverson) Bombeck, (BA- ’73) and Gregory Bombeck, (BA- ’72), of Eagle River, Alaska. Kyle Jones (BA-2011) co-owns and operates the company, Cold Smoke Splitboards, which has recently released its first factory splitboard. The idea was born from an entrepreneurship class at Western State Colorado University. Cold Smoke formed in a garage while Kyle was still in school. Now this technology, company leaders say, makes both the uphill and downhill more efficient. Sarah (McKinley) Ryan (BA-2004) was interviewed by the Post Independent about being inducted into the Western State Colorado University Sports Hall of Fame. Ryan talked about her experience playing on Western State’s Volleyball team as well as her life coaching now at Glenwood Springs High School. Seth Roby (BFA-2006) and his wife, Molly Roby, have been living in Ghana, West Africa for the past couple of years as Peace Corps Health, Water & Sanitation Volunteers. One of their main goals is to help the local girls become self-sufficient and develop the skills needed to generate a small income. One of their hopes is that the girls will teach others what they learned so that they too, can be independent. Betsy Sodaro (BA-2006) was mentioned on LA Weekly Blogs as one of the 10 L.A. Comedy Acts to watch in 2014. Amber Murray (BA-2010) graduated in August of 2013 from the University of North Texas with an M.S. in Merchandising. When Amber attended Western State, she was on the Mountaineer Basketball Team. Currently, she teaches math merchandising classes at the University of North Texas. Skye Wells (BA-2012) was named the new coach of the Gunnison High School wrestling team in 2013. He qualified two of his wrestlers to the Colorado State High School Championships in his first year of Coaching. Skye is married to Megan (Casey) Wells (BA-2012) who teaches in the Gunnison Community School.
Christa Carleton (BFA-2008) was interviewed by the Bozeman Daily Chronicle about being a printmaking artist and what it’s like having her first exhibit showing. Her first showing was at the Danforth Gallery in Livingston, MT. Carleton is currently working on pieces exposing how people perceive themselves and their inner turmoil, focusing on selfhate, self-love, and regret. Lauren Kleppin (BA-2012) finished second at the USA HalfMarathon Championships in the women’s race. A few of Kleppin’s accomplishments include setting the all-time NCAA Division II record in the 10,000-meter run, being the 2012 national runner-up in the outdoor 10,000-meter run and indoor 5,000-meter run, and finishing up her career as a nine-time All-American and two-time Academic AllAmerican. Tyler Pennel (BA-2011) finished fourth at the USA Half-Marathon Championships in the men’s race. Some of Pennel’s accomplishments include being the 2012 national champion in the outdoor 10,000-meter run and the national runner-up in the outdoor 5,000-meter run, receiving the USTFCCCA Division II National Runner of the Year award for the outdoor season, and is also a two-time Academic All-American as well as an eleven-time All-American. Gabe Proctor (BA-2013) finished tenth at the USA Half-Marathon Championships. A few of Proctor’s accomplishments include winning the individual national championship in the outdoor 10K and 5K, and also being a nine-time All-American. Sean Brown (BA-2011) finished thirty seventh at the USA HalfMarathon Championships. Some of Brown’s accomplishments include being a four-time All-American distance runner as well as a 2011 Academic All-American. Erin Jo Jacobs (’09) is the new At-Risk Case Manager for the Cripple Creek/Victor School District. Prior to her new position in Cripple Creek, she was a life skills worker at Southern Peaks Regional Treatment Center in Canon City and was then promoted to Para-Professional at that same Center. In her new position, part of her job is to encourage the students she works with to attend college. WESTERNER
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From the Archives
CHECK THESE NEW PHOTOS OUT. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM. LET US KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW. Email Shannon Eagles at seagles@western.edu or send a letter to Shannon Eagles, Leslie J. Savage Library, Western State Colorado University, 600 N. Adams, Gunnison, Colorado 81231. Thank you in advance for sharing your memories of Western State. - Shannon Eagles, Library Archivist 1 - We think might be band camp. 2 - Does anyone remember this play? 3 - A sorority dinner maybe? I think the stars are the big clue. 4 - Does anyone know which year’s football team this is?
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AND IN RESPONSE TO THE PHOTOS FROM THE LAST EDITION OF THE WESTERNER…
Photo 5 with the Duck raft is the only one that was positively identified. “Picture #5, taken the Spring of 1975, is a picture of the winning entry (a BIG polyurethane rubber duckkie that held 6 or 8 people) in the Mu-Vet Spring Fest Raft Race. That homemade foam ‘duckie’ was so light that it shot down the river, the duck and crew were past the finish line and off the water at least 20 to 30 minutes before the next raft to finish!” 30
SPRING | 2014
In Memorium Top view of Western’s new Mountaineer Field House set to open to students March 28.
30’s
Mary “Punch” Edith (Hill) McManus (’36), January 22, 2014
40’s
Billie Lou (Lindsey) Sweger (’42), December 11, 2013 Frances (Starkovich) Somrak (BA ’47 & MA’63), December 15, 2013 Susan Marie Gonzales (’49), December 21, 2012 Dr. Calvin William Gower (’49), January 19, 2014
50’s
James “Jim” S. Grieve (BA’50 & MA’55), November 2013 Rev. Harold Alfred Magee (’50), October 7, 2013 Edwin Wayne “Ole” Johnson (’53), December 13, 2013 Michael Gordon Hensley (’55), December 19, 2013 Janice “Irene” (Hansen) Simoens (’58), February 19, 2014 Jon Kent Stephens (’59), September 20, 2013 Sister Mary Elizabeth Eaton (’58), November 6, 2013
60’s
Paul Joseph Artzer (’60), January 18, 2014 Rose Lorraine (Hillen) Watson (MA’60), February 2, 2014 Delma Arlene (Bryan) Winegarner (’61), October 1, 2013 Jack Anthony Datz (’61), August 7, 2013
Ray Madison Watson (’62), January 7, 2014 Nicholas Joseph Copeland (’64), December 2, 2013 Glenn Merill Salisbury (’65), February 1, 2014 David Louis Arko (’66), January 1, 2014 Patricia Virginia (Smith) Graham (’69), November 22, 2012 Robert Rodacy (’69), November 19, 2012 Donald Lee Breese (’69), February 17, 2014
70’s
Harold Crawford McBee (’70), January 11, 2014 Douglas Eugene Bell (’70), February 11, 2014 Maureen Gail Fraser (’71), August 2013 Michael Howard Peterson (’71), December 28, 2013 Terence “Terry” David Hutchison (’71), January 6, 2014 Gregory Allan Riley (’73), January 25, 2014 Susan Lee (Reynolds) Benfield (’73), January 3, 2014 James Steven Stockert (’74), January, 2014 Glenda Lee Cloud (’75), December 11, 2013 Etta Mae (Gilliam) Fluker (BA-’75, MA-‘77), September 19, 2013
80’s
Randall Stephen Carmichael (’83),
September 26, 2013
90’s
Sandra “Sandy” Jean (Fuhrmann) Sangosti (’91), October 31, 2013 Terri Kay (Evers) Murray (’99), January 13, 2014
EMERITUS FACULITY Anne Lee (Abbott) Ash, September 29, 2013
ATTENDEES
Scott Steven Stringer, September 27, 2013 Timothy Charles Harris, October 6, 2013 William Eugene Baker, October 8, 2013 Roger A. Jamgochian, November 15, 2013 Ruth Ellen (Hammond) Babb, November 4, 2013 Don Keith Todd, October 1, 2013 Leonard B. Kilker, October 30, 2013 Betty Lou Unlaub, November 9, 2013 Barbara Jane (Kuipers) Muzzy, December 11, 2013 Robert “Bob” Tasma, December 10, 2013 Peggy Jo Rutherford, November 22, 2013 Dexter Fabian Smith, December 1, 2013 Goldie Evelyn (Gilbert) Beauregard, January 20, 2014 WESTERNER
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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage
PA I D
Alumni Relations Office 600 N. Adams Gunnison, CO 81231
Permit No. 5 Gunnison, CO
DATES TO REMEMBER APRIL 25 – Denver Alumni Event – LoDo’s Highland’s Ranch MAY 9 – Alumni Awards for Excellence Banquet MAY 10 – Graduation JUNE 13-14 – Alumni Educator Summit SEPTEMBER 26-27 – Homecoming 2014 To find out more about these and other events, log onto www.westernalum.org/events. JOIN THE CONVERSATION! Look for the Western State Alumni Facebook page, “Like” us and stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest happenings at your alma mater.