Westerner - Fall 2023

Embracing Change How Western is evolving and what’s changing on campus

Western’s Top 10 Find out what our faculty and students voted as their reasons why they chose Western

WESTERN COLORADO UNIVERSITY | FALL 2023

HOME COMING:

THEN Western students celebrating with noisemakers during the 1998 Homecoming Parade.

THE W E STE R N E R ALU MN I M AG A Z I NE

Contents FALL 2023

Western’s

Top 10 20 Top 10 Reasons Why #IChoseWestern What started as a simple request to tell us why #IChoseWestern turned into a reflection on why this place, is like no other place in the world.

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10 32 36

UNIVERSITY UPDATES PROFILE TINA BUTTERFIELD ADULT DEGREE COMPLETION

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42 50 62

ALUMNI Q&A STAN PURSLEY PROFILE CMARIE FUHRMAN CLASS NOTES

24 Meet the New Cabinet

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The first year of President Baca’s tenure as Western’s president came with some changes in the University’s leadership. Let us introduce you to the people helping to make his vision a reality.

Mountaineers Without Borders Two Western students took an idea to apply Mountaineer ingenuity to the problems people had in a rural Columbian village. What they gave was a gift to everyone involved.

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STAY CONNECTED TO WESTERN! Published by Western Colorado University EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Seth Mensing University Media & Communications Manager

Western Colorado University Alumni /WesternColoradoUniversityAlumni @westerncoloradoalumni

MANAGING EDITORS Megan West Director of Alumni Relations Karen McLean Director of Marketing PRODUCTION & DESIGN Shayna Pietranton Creative Manager & Lead Graphic Designer CONTRIBUTING WRITER Kinlee Whitney Content Coordinator PHOTOGRAPHY Olivia Reinnhardt, Kate Wasson COVER PHOTO Scarp Ridge in the Gunnison National Forest. Photo by Kate Wasson The Westerner print edition is published annually for alumni, staff, faculty, parents, and friends.

To update your contact information, submit a class note or a letter to the editor, visit: western.edu/alumni.

The benefits of spending time in nature are well-documented. Mental and physical health, increased attention span, and improved sleep are just a few. But not everyone has equal access to the outdoors. Miriam Olvera knows what it's like to feel that certain outdoor activities are out of reach.

Growing up in Colorado as the daughter of immigrants, she "became hyperaware of ski trips or summer camps in the Rockies that your friends took, but you never could."

Alumni Relations 1 Western Way Gunnison CO, 81230 970.943.3464 alumni@western.edu western.edu © 2023, The Westerner Alumni Magazine. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the publisher at alumni@ western.edu. The views expressed in The Westerner Alumni Magazine are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the institution.

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Did you know wheels can be one of the most expensive upgrades to your mountain bike?

To make sure your investment is worth every penny, our @RadySchoolAtWestern students have been hard at work this summer with @BlisterReview, testing the performance of wheels in different environments using sensors and motion-detecting cameras. Last week, they checked out how they hold up on campus!

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Letter from the Director Change is a funny thing; it can evoke so many emotions. Fear, dread, anxiety, discomfort, anticipation, excitement, joy, relief. It is a universal understanding that when someone is experiencing change, they are most likely experiencing some form of strong emotion, be it positive or negative.

I can vividly remember my first experience with change; in fact, my whole family can. It was quite the display of emotions. I was four years old; I was going through my very lovely morning routine of having no worries in the world until I finally made it downstairs. This was when I noticed the curtains in the main room and kitchen had been changed. Oh no! How dare they?! When I say changed, I don’t mean drastically by any means.

My mother had simply dyed them a different color, and when I say a different color, I mean from beige to a very light green hue. Such a small, barely noticeable change was followed by an extreme outburst of emotions.

I was distraught, I felt completely betrayed, torn, and broken. My world as I knew it was changed forever.

In hindsight, I may have overreacted just a tad, but I was not upset because the curtains were changed. I was upset because it was the first time I realized that some things don’t last forever.

I will grow up, I will move on, the house will change, and the wheels will never stop turning. In all honesty, I was probably just upset because of the color. I was only four. But I did eventually move on.

This moment taught me a very valuable lesson; it taught me how to embrace change. Since that moment, a whole heck of a lot has changed.

My whole family moved, I’ve lived in other countries, worked different jobs, made friends, lost friends, got married, became a mom, eventually started working at Western, and then met amazing colleagues and friends with a vision for the Westerner. That is quite a long way to come

from dyed curtains, and I think we can all agree that our journey through life is guided by our decision to embrace change and stay open to the possibilities.

As a liberal arts university, Western is embracing change, too. Our team is staying versatile and adapting so that we can offer the best for our students and the generations to come.

It is my pleasure to bring you a new vision for the Westerner; like those curtains thirty years ago, the Westerner needed a new look and a new direction. I hope you feel excitement, joy, and above all, pride when you read it. So many amazing Mountaineers had a stake in this project, staff and alumni alike.

Thank you for embracing the change, and thank you to everyone for your hard work. I can’t wait to see what we create together next.

Megan West Director of Alumni Relations

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Letters to the Editor

APRIL SHOWERS BRING...

This year’s heavy snow and wet spring gave rise to an incredible superbloom that reminded us all of the beauty within the Valley.

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Students & Superblooms As I walked out of the 2023 Alumni Awards for Excellence gathering on the eve of graduation, I was brimming with optimism for the future. Nine outstanding graduates and their mentors had just been recognized for their contributions to the community and exemplifying what it means to be a Mountaineer. Every one of them was remarkable

50 Years Later In 1953, my father was hired as an education professor at Western. I grew up in Gunnison and went to Western and learned under great professors as a history major and had great football coaches.

My senior football season, our team faced Adams State in Alamosa.

The game determined the RMAC Championship; Western hadn’t won in Alamosa since 1965.

Adams was a bitter rival, so the game had great

in their own right.

Each honoree had crafted their own compelling narrative and a litany of achievements that transcended personal goals. As Dean of Students and emcee Gary Pierson shared their stories, I found myself in awe of these students, and grateful that they are the changemakers who will shape the future of Western and the world.

As a Western alum, I speak often of the University’s impact on my

life. As Gary mentioned often during the event, it is the people who make this place. And that’s really saying something, given Western’s home in a stunning environment like the Gunnison Valley.

As summer sets in and a rare wildflower superbloom blankets the Valley, one can’t help but think that the future is bright for this year’s graduating class and those to follow.

Congratulations to our new alumni, and the 2023 AAE honorees.

importance to the football team, Western and Gunnison.

To show support, Dr. Harold Parker, a WSC history professor, proposed and organized a project in which a football would be carried from the gates of Mountaineer Bowl to Adams State’s Rex Field. The Friday evening before the game, a group of Mountaineers ran a football from Gunnison to Saguache. The following morning, Dr. Parker, a group of students, and faculty completed the journey just as we

entered the stadium for pregame warmups. The run covered 122 miles, including the 10,067’ Cochetopa Pass.

Our football team rewarded the runners in fine fashion by thumping the Green Weenies 34-6.

The 1973 RMAC championship started a string of seven straight Western RMAC football championships through the rest of the 1970s.

Fifty years ago! Hard to believe, but a great memory!

READ MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ON PAGE 54

Mike Horn, (’04) Member of the Alumni Advisory Council

John Randall (’74) 9

UNIVERSITY

UPDATES

“We are proud to be recognized for our continuous efforts to provide a transformative learning environment that prepares our graduates for successful careers and lifelong learning."

PRESIDENT BRAD BACA

Multifaith Center coming this fall When the newly formed DEIJ+ team noticed no space could be locked or reserved for solitude while practicing a faith, they sprang into action.

The Multifaith Center will be an area where any student, staff, or faculty member can worship, pray, meditate, or practice their faith however they choose in a quiet, welcoming, inclusive space.

“Having an interfaith or multifaith area demonstrates our support of a diverse student population and fosters our campus commitment to DEIJ+ work,” Sally Romero, director of the Multicultural Center, said.

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Western maintains accreditation Western earned the reaffirmation of its accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission in July. The vote was a recognition of the University’s commitment to maintaining rigorous academic standards and providing an exceptional educational experience for its students since it was first accredited in 1915.

“Reaffirmation by the Higher Learning Commission is a testament to the commitment of our faculty, staff, and students to excellence in education,” President Brad Baca said. “We are proud to be recognized for our continuous efforts to provide a transformative learning environment that prepares our graduates for successful careers and lifelong learning.”

The once-a-decade pro-

cess of reaffirmation includes a close examination of the University’s educational programs, faculty qualifications, student resources and support services, institutional integrity, governance, and financial stability.

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Kelsey Bennett, who serves as the University’s Accreditation Liaison Officer and handled the reaffirmation process, said, “Although the tasks associated with the reaffirmation of our accreditation can seem daunting … going through the process of reflecting on the institution’s current strengths, challenges, and aspirations with campus colleagues is ultimately an illuminating and rewarding endeavor.”

U N I VE R SI T Y U PDAT E S

Business School names new dean Queer campus support Two years ago, The Campus Pride Index evaluated Western’s general relations to and representation of the queer community.

We received three out of five stars. Though the low score was partly due to a lack of resources- as any small university experiences, theatre professor Steven Cole Hughes was determined to help.

In response to the evaluation, Hughes launched the History of LGBTQ+ Theatre class, where students learned about the queer community and dove into the history of the community in the theatre space.

For their final project, the students in the class created a Queer Library displayed on the second floor of Taylor Hall. The library contains queer stories, textbooks, and informational literature accessible to anyone interested.

Jane Kolodinsky stepped into her new role as the dean of Western’s Borick School of Business starting in July of 2023. Dr. Kolodinsky comes to the University with a bachelor’s and MBA from Kent State University, a Ph.D. from Cornell, more than a dozen awards and recognitions for her work, and over 200 academic publications.

Before coming to Western, she was a professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the Chair of the Community Development and Applied Economics Department at the University of Vermont, where she

was also Director of the Center for Rural Studies.

In those roles, she oversaw tremendous growth from 50 to 500 undergraduate students, from 10 to 60 graduate students, and from no outside funding to bringing in over $1 million a year.

“You help it grow and think, ‘I can do it again, or I can go somewhere else and help it grow.’

And Western’s size is very appealing to me,” Kolodinsky said. “I want to reenergize our entrepreneurship and innovation and forge better partnerships across the institution and the community both in the Valley and beyond. Of course, we’ll continue to provide the best education that we can for our students in the School of Business. But we’ll also think about some new foci in terms of possible majors and areas of emphasis and make sure that our students can find their professional pathway early on and be ready to hit the ground running when they leave.”

Looking for more Western news? western.edu/news-research 11

U N I VE R SI T Y U PDAT E S

ATHLETICS

UPDATES Mountaineer Athletics announces Hall of Fame inductees The Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame will induct six new members with its Class of 2023, a group of inductees who

Mountaineer football to play home games at Katy O. Rady Field Western will again host the home games of the 2023 Mountaineer football season at Katy O. Rady Soccer Field while

For more athletics news, visit gomountaineers.com

contributed 31 All-American honors to Mountaineer athletics’ current national award total of 1,103 All-Americans.

The Class of 2023 includes Brett Arrivey (’17), the only four-year starting quarterback in Mountaineer football history; Cross country and track & field athlete Ryan Haebe (’15); Cross country and track & field athlete Philip Spratley (‘96); Barbara Szabo (‘15), who, before

representing her home country of Hungary at the 2016 Rio Olympics, soared to record heights for the Mountaineer track and field program; Wrestler Johnny Vigil (‘98); and Lifetime Achievement Inductee Frank Mencin (‘74) Philip Spratley, Barbara Szabo, Johnny Vigil, and Frank Mencin will join the Hall of Fame during a Friday, October 13, ceremony in the Mountaineer Field House.

the University awaits the completion of the renovations to Mountaineer Bowl. The work began last summer to construct almost 30,000 square feet of new interior space, seating, turf playing surface, and resurfaced track on the 5-acre site.

“We know it’s going to be worth the wait,” head football coach

Jas Bains said. “This season is a short-term inconvenience for a major enhancement to our athletics program. The bottom line for our staff and players is that we’re excited to play six home games this season.”

For regular updates or to see live footage of the work being done, follow the QR code below.

Watch the live Mountaineer Bowl construction camera info.western.edu/camera.html 12

MO U N TAIN E E R M O M E N T S

IGNITE YOUR CREATIVITY, UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL. Are you ready to take your writing to new heights? Look no further than the LowResidency Graduate Program in Creative Writing at Western Colorado University. Offering concentrations in Genre Fiction, Nature Writing, Poetry, Publication, and Screenwriting, our program is designed for aspiring writers like you, offering a transformative experience that will ignite your creativity and propel your literary journey forward. western.edu/program/graduate-program-creative-writing

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Mountaineers Without Borders:

From

Concept to Columbia 14

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by Seth Mensing

Western students build clubs, coops, and bridges.

T

wo years ago, Joshua Clyncke found himself in a place a lot of first-year college students would envy: he was building something that could change the world. Back then, the Rady School was just finding its footing and, having few clubs to offer, had invited students to propose and start clubs they would like to participate in.

He knew just what was missing.

Clyncke, who is studying math and computer science at Western, teamed up with fellow first-year student Grace Borden to build a club modeled on Engineers Without Borders (EWB), the service-focused non-profit organization.

Soon, they connected with associate professor and associate director of 

Sam Blehm

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the Partnership Program, Lauren Cooper, and Mountaineers Without Borders (MWB) was born.

“We spent sort of my whole freshman year doing the administrative tasks and setting the club up,” Clyncke said.

“Then over the [last] summer, we partnered with an organization called Diversa, and through them, we partnered with a community in Columbia.”

Diversa had previously partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Colorado School of Mines on similar projects. They would provide a forum through which members of the community were able to describe what they needed or wanted, and student groups could pick the problems and associated projects that matched their interests, skills and abilities. Then the organization would facilitate travel and communication between the team and the people they were helping. Once MWB was on the ground, Diversa would supply guides, who also served as translators, as well as tools the team could use to implement their plans.

Borden had spent time as an exchange student in high school and, from that experience, knew she wanted to start an EWB-type club in college.

“Starting this club with Josh was empowering,” she said.

From the list of projects, MWB chose two: mobile enclosures that could be used to keep chickens and rabbits safe from predators and a substrate mixer that would be the first step toward growing delectable Orellana mushrooms that could be used to cook or sell at the market.

“We split those up. The mobile chicken coops were done wholly by members of the club as an extracurricular,” Clyncke said. “Then, the mixer project was taken on by the Introduction to

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I have never felt so welcome in any house as I did during my time in Colombia.

GRACE BORDEN

Sam Blehm

Engineering class. They went through the design process, handed over the blueprints to us as a club and we took them down to implement their ideas.”

In June, after more than a year of administrative tasks, spreading the word, signing up members, securing a grant from the Western Fund for Scholarly Opportunities, Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE), which provided the funding, finding partners who could connect them with communities in need, and developing projects they could take on the road, seven students and four advisors packed their bags and set out for South America.

Miraflores, Columbia, is a rural community six hours north of Bogota.

The drive there is primarily over rough, unimproved dirt roads and it consists of a town center and scattered farms where about 100 people make a

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Joshua Clyncke

living on the edge of the jungle.

Diversa supplied tools, and the town provided the building materials the team would need to turn their plans into working models.

As one might expect from a group of college students, they initially designed the coolest thing they could come up with to solve the problem. But gradually, reality took hold, and they modified their design to function as it was supposed to, but also to be something they could build with basic materials.

“We tried to adapt our design to fit what we thought would be our limiting

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factors down there,” Clyncke said.

“Then when we got down there, we were still in a phase of problem-solving and adaptation to find new materials and ways of doing things we had planned to do.”

From all that had to be built since the first day they’d been invited to start a campus club, it wasn’t Mountaineers Without Borders or even the projects he was most proud of. It was the bridges they built between two communities and the connection they made with the people.

“The greatest part of the trip was the

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Sam Blehm

sense of community and family when we were there,” Clyncke said. “They fed and housed us very graciously every day.

When we were able to give them the project at the end of the trip, everyone was very excited and overcome. So, I think they were very appreciative of what we were able to go down and do.”

For Borden, the experience was life-changing. From forming the club to building the projects, implementing their plans in Columbia and even just seeing the joy the soccer ball they gave to the children in the village brought, it was a trip she called “surreal.” Throughout the journey, she discovered what

she wants to do with her engineering degree and that real fulfillment can be found in service to others.

“We were thanked by every member of the family, and they all expressed their gratitude. As we were leaving, we were told that we would always have a second home in Colombia, and they hope that we return,” she said. “I have never felt so welcome in any house as I did during my time in Colombia. Their hospitality and generosity are the first things that come to mind when I recall the trip and have stayed at the forefront of my mind ever since.” 

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The love held for Western Colorado University by alums, students, staff, and faculty is deep and true.

For decades, Mountaineers have gone to great lengths to celebrate our cherished institution, from visiting for homecoming to donating hard-earned cash. To put this love into words, we sent out a survey asking the students, faculty, and staff why they chose Western, narrowed down responses to the top ten, and held a campus-wide celebration to honor our beloved school!

Western’s

Top 10 Reasons Why #IChoseWestern

10. A LOCATION LIKE NO OTHER Need we say more? Probably not, but we will anyway.

Western’s location in the Gunnison Valley situates the school for incredible adventures. With access to more than 2 million acres of public land, 750+ miles of singletrack trails, and Crested Butte Mountain Resort just up the road, Western is an outdoor getaway and educational institution

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wrapped into one. We chose Western because the location is unmatched.

9. OUR CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY From Mountaineers to ranchers to our service workers and even the ski bums, we’re thankful for this eclectic group that makes the Valley home. The community members found huddled in bunches to stay warm in the town square

during the annual Night of Lights are the same ones we work with, go to concerts with, and show up for the Western Theatre Company’s plays. The bleachers in Paul Wright Gym are packed full of Mountaineer fans, ready to cheer on our teams. It’s easy to choose Western for the community that comes with the school.

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9.

” ’ 9 .3 7 6 W 10.

55 ” N 106° it y ’ 0 .0 5 iv e r s n U do 33 lora 38° o C tern Wes Coming in at number 10, we kicked off the countdown on a strong note.

This sticker represents the University’s location, whether it’s the outdoors you love, the small community atmosphere, or the multitudes of opportunities available on this small campus.

8.

HEL

LO You kno

w malread y n y ame 7.

8. NO NAME TAG NEEDED Coming to Western means forming real connections with our professors inside and outside the classroom.

Whether it’s riding lifts or summer concerts, working on research projects, or even running into them at the grocery store. Western professors are not just the old guys in the lecture hall.

They are our friends, and they know us by name.

7. SMALL CLASSES, BIG OPPORTUNITIES Since Western has an average of 17 students in a class, we get to define our own personalized educational experience. If we want to create an art piece or shoot a short film for our final project instead of writing a research paper, we get to!

Applying for internships and fellowships is also a breeze here at Western. Since there are fewer of us here,

there are more opportunities to go around.

6. EXPONENTIAL BELONGING With Western’s student-created clubs, organizations, and teams, there is a place for all of us to find our sense of belonging. The Multicultural Center gives us a place to learn and express our cultures, while Wilderness Pursuits allows us to join other Mountaineers on grand adventures. The

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5.

From our location to our community, we all share a unique bond through our connection to Western.

To celebrate our love of the University, the marketing department released a new Top Ten sticker every Tuesday for ten weeks. By the end of the campaign, students were lined up, waiting for each new sticker!

y HA

RTMA

N ROC

y THE BU

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BLUE

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6.

4.

list of campus opportunities is never-ending, and every person who comes to Western finds a niche to thrive in.

5. EDUCATION THAT LEADS TO PASSION Western offers abundant, well-rounded pathways to success for all students.

Here, a business major can also study music, and an art major can be found at archaeological digs on Ten-

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derfoot Mountain. We get to plan our outdoor activities around our class schedule and apply for internships that feed our ambitions. No matter what we decide to study at Western, we’re allowed to explore and pursue all of our passions.

4. SUSTAINABLE MINDSET Since we live, play, and learn on the land in the Gunnison Valley, we strive to protect it.

Our sustainable mindset has

created multiple on-campus, student-run gardens. We’ve used grant funds to purchase The Rocket composter, which diverts 95 percent of the University Center’s food waste from the landfill, and we’ve even mounted solar panels on the parking garage at the Gunnison Regional Airport to provide green energy to the community. At Western, we care about our impact, and we want that impact to be a positive one.

KS

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3.

Our Dean of Stoke!

Hands down, a crowd favorite!

1.

2.

3. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING At Western, we look to the 2 million acres of public land in our backyard for creative inspiration and hands-on learning. Fieldwork is a common practice in our classrooms.

Biology students conduct labs in Tomichi Creek, and exercise and sports science majors do research in our High Altitude Performance Lab. Western prepares us with an education through experience that’s woven into

our degrees before we ever enter the workforce.

2. THE MOUNTAINEER SPIRIT As Mountaineers, we are adventurers and risk-takers.

We are caring and resilient, from our faculty and staff to our students and alums. The Mountaineer Spirit gives us the strength to endure harsh winters and support each other when needed. As Western Mountaineers, we venture

from our comfort zones in and out of the classroom and take on challenges to grow in our communities.

1. GARY PIERSON – DEAN OF STOKE He’s always there to answer our phone calls, pump us up on the mountain, and is overall the Dean of Stoke!

 READ GARY PIERSON’S PROFILE ON PAGE 24

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PROF IL E: STAF F

Our Dean of Stoke:

Gary Pierson

A

fter 25 years of service to Western Colorado University, it’s no wonder our beloved Dean of Students and senior cabinet member, Gary Pierson, is number one on our Top Ten list. His dedication to our students and community is evident in everything he does. He even gives his cell phone number to every new student on the first day of orientation.

“I know not every student takes it or wants it, but I need them all to know they have support here,” Gary said.

Of course, Gary’s love for the school comes from how special the people are. He says the ‘Special Sauce’ that makes Western a one-of-a-kind place is the people, so fostering connections with his students is his top priority. And students likely won’t just see him on campus. There’s a good chance they’ll find him enjoying a powder day or biking the singletrack.

“There’s nothing like the outdoor scene here at Western,” he said.

Admittedly, the line between Gary’s work and life is blurred. Even on his days off, he will come to campus, and even at the dinner table, he will answer his phone.

“I really want to give them full credit for being so supportive of me,” Gary said of his family. “I couldn’t have made it this

 CONTINUED ON PAGE 58

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MO U N TAIN E E R M O M E N T S

Almost 500 graduates received baccalaureate and master’s degrees at Western Colorado University’s 110th commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 6, including the historic first class of 14 mechanical engineering and five computer science students graduating from the Rady School of Computer Science and Engineering. With the Mountaineer Bowl in the midst of a major renovation, the ceremony was held on Taylor Lawn, where 4,325 chairs weren’t enough to provide a place for everyone to sit. Over the course of two hours on a spectacular spring day, those on hand would hear stories of success and words of inspiration from the ceremony’s speakers.

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LEARN ABOUT THE DEAN OF STUDENTS AND CABINET MEMBER, GARY PIERSON, ON PAGE 24

Meet the

New Cabinet When it came time for President Brad Baca to select a cabinet to bring his vision for Western to life, he had two goals: select strong leaders who are the most qualified candidates in the field. With Gary Pierson staying on as Dean of Students, this new team is a diverse ensemble with varying backgrounds, experiences, and identities.

“I’m enthusiastic about Western’s future and what this team can accomplish,” President Baca said. Here are the people helping to shape the future at Western.

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PROF IL E: STA F F

Jess Young

Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs

J

essica Young is a gentle giant – not only in her demeanor but also in her convictions. As Provost of Western Colorado University, she takes on the massive responsibility of student success and does so with determined poise.

“Fundamentally, my main goal as Provost is to ensure that all students from all populations have the same opportunities that I did to succeed in higher education,” said Jess.

Early in her education, Jess didn’t know many people who went to college, but she discovered an “infinite number of pathways” she could take to get there through her love of wildlife and the outdoors.

Ultimately, it was Jess’s passion for biology that got her foot in the door.

While finishing up her undergraduate degree in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, she received a recording of Colorado sage-grouse that sounded different than any she’d ever heard from her work with faculty in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

She followed the sound to Gunnison, where, with the help of Western undergrads and colleagues, she discovered that the Gunnison Sage-Grouse was a unique sage-grouse species. It was a

significant contribution to science and the conservation of the sagebrush ecosystem that she couldn’t have made without access to higher education.

“Those early years of exploring general education courses and different majors increasingly showed me my strong interest was in biology,” Jess said. “This exploration and the mentoring of faculty was so important in expanding my idea of what was possible for my professional path.”

Now, Jess is committed to showing students how to achieve their goals and be a part of something great, especially students from marginalized groups.

Being a part of President Baca’s cabinet is helping her realize those goals.

“The President’s Cabinet is a spectacular group of human beings who are totally dedicated to the well-being of Western staff, students, and faculty,” Jess said.

In her free time, Jess enjoys spending time with her spouse, Sally Thode. The couple loves the natural world. They revel in it by hiking, camping, and fishing but can also be found at home or the local movie theater watching blockbuster science fiction and superhero movies, including all things Harry Potter.

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PROF IL E: STAF F

Ian Higgins

Vice President for Finance & Administration / CFO

M

ath has always come easily to Ian Higgins. It was like that when he was a kid growing up on Long Island Sound in Connecticut. It was like that when he graduated with an accounting degree from Sacred Heart University and entered a world in the throes of a recession with little need for accountants. It was like that when he was a young accountant, finally starting a career that would allow him to keep chasing his dream of living in the mountains.

He was even good at math working at the rental shop in Tahoe, although he was often thinking about just one number: how many days he could ski.

But it’s not just the knack for math that got him to where he is today. It’s the fact that, for a guy who loves numbers and spreadsheets, Higgins is a remarkably good communicator. And while beating back stereotypes isn’t the only thing his skill set is good for, it’s what makes him the perfect fit as Western Colorado University’s Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer.

“I love working in spreadsheets, building out formulas, trying to put a unique perspective on how we can efficiently

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use funds. It’s a huge part of my job and a challenge. Not just here, but everywhere I’ve worked,” he said. “There are always competing priorities. It’s interesting to me to try to solve that riddle.”

Having spent time working in the accounting department at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont, managing the loan servicing department for a bank on Martha’s Vineyard, and managing the budget at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, among other things, Higgins has plenty of experience balancing priorities.

Even now, as he tries to solve the riddle at Western and feels the pressure omnipresent in his role as the head of a department that spans the areas of finance, information technology, human resources, and facilities, overseeing almost 90 staff members, he still catches himself dreaming of the slopes and trails he moved here with his wife to enjoy.

“We’re very excited to be here for all the outdoor opportunities. We love the town and want to be part of a community, get to know our neighbors, and get involved,” he said. “Since I’ve been incredibly busy, I haven’t had much opportunity to get out. But we have nothing but time. We’re going to be here awhile.”

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Mike LaPlante

Vice President for Advancement & Executive Director, WCU Foundation

M

ike LaPlante has always liked having a goal to work toward. He’s at his best when he can see the place he wants to go and can put everything he has into the effort to get there. So, of course, as a kid growing up in Toledo, Ohio, it was team sports that gave him the feedback he was looking for.

As a young professional, long after the crowds had gone quiet, LaPlante still felt drawn to the energy of sports. He started his career as an assistant athletic director and dreamed of being an AD someday.

But soon, he realized athletics wasn’t the only place that would let him focus on a goal, put in the hard work, count on the team he had around him, and see the result. Fundraising for higher education, it turned out, was a game with stakes so much higher than any sport.

After shifting his focus and becoming an Associate Vice President for Advancement at Colorado State University, he led the Development Team in the State Your Purpose campaign, which ultimately reached its $1 billion fundraising goal 21 months early.

After seeing that success, LaPlante was eager to take on more. So when the opportunity to help Western with a similar campaign as the University’s Vice President for Advancement came up, he jumped at it.

“I was ready for a new mountain to climb, and the ambitions stated through the [$80 million] Elevate Western campaign were intriguing to me,” LaPlante said. “We’re taking on this significant fundraising effort, and, with my past campaign experience, felt confident I could make a difference.”

These days, LaPlante is happy he can work to achieve a goal that will improve students’ education and experience at Western.

“At Western, the student enthusiasm paired with the dedication and commitment of our faculty and staff, make it a fantastic place to work,” LaPlante said. “It’s an honor to represent Western and strive to help students find pathways they may not have found before. If we can provide a scholarship to a student who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to attend Western, that makes all the difference in the world.”

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PROF IL E: STAF F

Steven D. Parker Vice President for Inclusivity

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s a black man in the United States, Steven D. Parker was born into the work of Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Justice (DEIJ+).

Though he’s faced blatant bigotry and tokenism inside and outside of academia, Parker knows higher education is still the path to a better future.

“Education is a strategy for change, growth, unity, understanding, and betterment … education is hope,” Parker said.

Through the nature of his position in life, Parker has learned to fight for justice, but his career in this pursuit started when he went to college for a degree in social work. Since then, Parker has worked in higher education as a diversity officer, Title IX coordinator, and even a residence life director. In these roles and in his current role as Western’s inaugural Vice President for Inclusivity, Parker operates under the belief that every person, regardless of and in respect of identity, is inherently worthy of life.

“Not all of our siblings in the United States or even around the world are seen as inherently worthy of living; we’re just not,” Parker said.

Since starting at Western, Parker has

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worked with students and the workforce to establish the Division for Justice and Inclusion. This Division is the first of its kind at the University, focusing solely on diversity, equity, inclusivity, and justice.

Through Parker’s office, Western has also established the Center for Civil Rights, the Center for Dis/Ability and Accommodations, and has hired the interim Director of Restorative Justice and Title IX Coordinator.

Parker’s passion for social justice can be found in everything he does.

Outside of his career, Parker is an avid reader and runner. Now, he uses that resilience to stand firm in his mission of equality.

“Oftentimes, people inquire about what it takes to dismantle systemic oppression in the United States. I oftentimes veer from the truth because they will not handle the truth,” Parker said. “Systemic oppression is longitudinal, and it infects the bio-psycho-socio-cultural components of life. To treat an infection, we must actively fight it through time. The fight through time is an essential component that we must be willing to devote ourselves to if we are ever to live united.”

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Leslie Taylor

Vice President for Marketing & Enrollment

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eslie Taylor is an ident Brad Baca was develambitious mothoping in his inaugural year er, adventurer, as president, specifically and former collegiate athembracing regional public lete who landed the job of university (RPU) values, her dreams as Westand a spark ignited. An ern’s Vice President of RPU is a public fourMarketing and Enrollyear institution that is ment when the stars community and place aligned after early reoriented. Generally, the tirement Surrounded schools are known for by the beauty of the being focused on broad Gunnison Valley, LesBeing surrounded access to education and lie says it’s hard not affordability. by natural beauty to feel gratitude.

Leslie’s work in higher “Being surrounded education is driven and truly aweby natural beauty by a commitment to inspiring sights and truly awe-inspirmaking college educacreates a sense ing sights creates a tion more accessible of gratitude and sense of gratitude to all students. “As an and appreciation for indigenous woman and appreciation for where we are,” Leslie first-generation college where we are. said. “I believe that graduate, I am pashaving gratitude in sionate about providing LESLIE TAYLOR our lives is a superequitable opportunities power. It makes us for access and sucfeel better about life cess,” she said. “If we and gives us space to care about peodon’t work to engage folks from all ple and our work in a different way.” backgrounds and levels of economic Though our location clearly affected capacity, we’re missing out on those her, as it does most of us, Leslie was perspectives and the potential of even more inspired when she learned those minds.” about the people. She saw what Pres-

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The Women of the

by Kinlee Whitney

Land

An art professor embarks on a project to paint portraits of the women in the Gunnison Valley who are connected to the land through their work.

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estern alumna and current art professor Tina Butterfield spent years painting the landscapes of the Gunnison Valley.

When she decided she wanted to dive deeper into the land, she turned to the Gunnison Pioneer Museum for inspiration, and found exactly what she was looking for.

“After spending a few days walking through the museum and going through the archives and photos, I started to realize what I wasn’t seeing, and that was an equal representation,” 

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RANGE RIDER Jessica Howard is painted holding her grandfather's chaps, which she wears to ride into the Gunnison National Forest to manage a herd of cows.

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We’re hoping to work together to create a lasting story that documents and celebrates these women who are working and connected to the land.

TINA BUTTERFIELD

said Tina.

A portrait in the museum of Chipeta, a woman married to the Ute chief Ouray, captivated her. Still, she couldn’t help but notice the Ute woman’s portrait was one of only a few women included in the history. Thus, the Women of the Land project was born. Tina’s idea for the project is to interview 40 to 60 women connected to the land in the Gunnison Valley and create portraits telling their stories.

When Tina sent out a call for women of the land, she received over 100 responses within the first 24 hours.

One person who responded was Alexis Taylor, a woman who helps manage nine high-tunnel greenhouses that provide food to the Gunnison Valley. Another was Range Rider Jessica Howard, who oversees a herd of cows that roam the Gunnison National Forest. The first woman on Western’s ground crew, Caitlan Gleason, who had a hand in planting the grass at the new Mountaineer Bowl, also

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answered the call.

Another woman who responded was local writer Quincey Knight. After some consideration, the two creatives decided to collaborate on the project. Each portrait Tina paints will be accompanied by a poem Quincey writes. The idea is that the poem will reflect a deeper sense of what Tina is trying to convey visually.

“We’re hoping to work together to create a lasting story that documents and celebrates these women who are working and connected to the land,” Tina said.

Still in its infancy, the project so far includes 20 women. When Tina started the project, she thought it might last a year. Now, she is shooting for three years to collect all 40-60 women’s stories but says the work will be done when it is done.

“I don’t want to underrepresent any of these women,” said Tina, “and I feel honored to be able to represent them and give them a place in history.”

Tina hopes to include more diverse voices in the women’s stories she tells as the project continues to grow. She is searching for women of the land who are a part of the Ute tribe located in Gunnison but hasn’t been able to make a connection yet. (If you want to be included in the project or nominate a woman of the land, visit womenoftheland.com.) 

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by Seth Mensing

Western’s Adult Degree Completion program is giving non-traditional students with unfinished business …

A Second Bite of

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the Apple

O

f the nearly 500 students who walked across the commencement stage at Western Colorado University this spring, Brad Williamson stood out. In a sea of young faces ready to take on the world, his face was a bit more weathered than most. He had already seen so much of what still lay ahead of the others. 

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Terry Schliesman (left) and Bradley Rex Williamson at the 2023 Commencement.

As Williamson walked onto the stage, the simple reading of first and last names stopped so Professor Terry Schliesman could catch his breath. His next announcement would be a long one.

“And adult degree completion student from 1987 to 2023, Bradley Rex Williamson Senior,” he shouted, like an MC announcing an act. The crowd cheered, and Williamson took his diploma and gave a quick bow. For him, that was a moment 35 years in the making.

Williamson first arrived at Western on the recommendation of his cousin in 1987 to study communications, with an emphasis in theater. He had what would prove to be a valuable experience in Gunnison, acting and learning to use stage lighting, working in the radio station, budgeting for and ordering equipment.

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But five years later, he left town and headed for Ohio, almost a full year short of finishing his degree.

He tried his hand at acting, earning spots as a victim on Unsolved Mysteries and the guard who let Morgan Freeman out of prison in The Shawshank Redemption. He thought it might be enough to get his foot in the door in Orlando, where some college buddies were living near Universal Studios. It wasn’t, so he went down a different path, working as a laborer helping build Bonkerz Comedy Club.

That gig led to a job as a DJ and being the house MC at the club, which led to another job and another. Eventually, he landed at Universal Studios at the bottom of a corporate ladder that he started to climb. Soon, his time at Western was a footnote, and his ambition to get a diploma was a distant memory. Life had moved on.

“My dad always wanted me to get my degree,” he said. “Every few years, he’d

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As Williamson walked onto the stage, the simple reading of first and last names stopped so Professor Terry Schliesman could catch his breath. His next announcement would be a long one.

“And adult degree completion student from 1987 to 2023, Bradley Rex Williamson Senior.”

ask if I ever thought about contacting Western and finishing. But as far as I was concerned, it was a semester and a half of classes that I would have to do.”

That was just too much to ask of a guy with a comfortable office job and a family that included a son who had pressing medical needs. He just didn’t have the time to worry about his degree. Or so he thought.

A TROUBLING TRAJECTORY

Before graduating, Williamson was just one of the more than 40.4 million Americans who have earned some college credits without receiving a degree, the so-called Some Credit, No Credential (SCNC) population that keeps growing.

According to a report from the non-profit National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, in the last year alone, the number of students who left college before earning a degree rose by more than 18,000. Many of those students never return to complete their degrees. But

increasingly, colleges and universities around the country are offering programming designed to bring those students back into the academic fold and help them find a path to degree completion.

When Western professors Terry Schliesman and Jack Lucido first heard from Williamson in 2016 about what it would take to finish his degree, they were only a year into formalizing what was then just an idea. They still had to develop a plan, find funding, and drum up interest from prospective students in what would become Western’s Adult Degree Completion Program. Williamson would be one of their first.

An early development for the ADC program was the awarding of Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) funding in November 2021. Western then received a Back to Work grant, as well as a Finish What You Started grant, totaling nearly $800,000 for degree completion and workforce advancement  CONTINUED ON PAGE 56 39

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MO U N TAIN E E R M O M E N T S

Assistant distance coach and head cross-country coach, Jennifer Michel, was named the 2023 South Central Region Men's Assistant Coach of The Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

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Q&A: ALU MN I

Alumni Q&A Stan Pursley

by Megan West

EDITOR’S NOTE: We had a wonderful and wideranging conversation with Stan. So the transcribed interview here has been edited for length.

After growing up in Texas and starting his college football career on a scholarship to Texas Western College (now University of Texas at El Paso), a series of unforeseen events and a chance meeting with the head coach at what was then Western State College brought Stan Pursley to Gunnison to finish his career. Stan first set foot on the Western campus in the spring of ’59, and neither would ever be the same.

“It was quite a change,” he said of his move to Gunnison. “But it was the best thing that happened to me. It’s where I met my wife … She turned my life around and was the rock that kept me going.”

MEGAN WEST: Other than your wife, who influenced you most during your time at Western?

Stan Pursley (’62) holds the hammer that’s given to a special teams player for making a significant play in the previous week’s game.

STAN PURSLEY: Dr. Ed Randall, who was head of the Education Department. He took me under his wing. I got through with his guidance and support, even when I was working on my master’s. He was always right there encouraging me. Later, I coached his son, John Randall, in Little League.

MW: Can you tell us a little about your experience starting the Mountaineer Football Alumni Association?

SP: Yes, I was one of the original 42

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members. I met with John (Randall) and Skip Prichard, who was taking on the leadership. When we heard talk of dropping football at Western, it got back to a lot of alums, and we formed the group. With the MFAA, we have raised $50,000 a year for scholarships, and our goal this year is to raise $75,000.

MW: What role did football play in your life after you left college?

SP: [Football] is usually what moved me around. I taught in Leadville for eight years and started the football program there. They hadn’t had a program since 1929, and I was the coach there from 1962 – 1970. When Gateway High School was opened in 1973, I was the first head football coach there, and during that time, I got my administrative certificate from the University of Northern Colorado. I was assistant principal in ’78 at Hin-

kley High School and became principal in ’81. I retired in ’93 with the longest tenure of any Hinkley principal.

MW: What is your fondest Western memory?

SP: Meeting my wife, Patricia. Western was a small campus, and contact with instructors was special; they cared. My football experience, the people I met, and the guys I played with. And I also met many great people outside the University.

MW: What advice do you have for students who want to make the most of their experience at Western?

SP: Take advantage of the small classes and professors. Get involved in the community, as well as the school.

Students have many job opportunities in Gunnison, so get to know people in town because they do a lot for the college.

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Unburied

Treasure

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by Seth Mensing

Western students take a rare film artifact from a Gunnison storage unit to a Hollywood archive.

C

hris Miller wasn’t expecting to find a piece of film history in her friend’s storage unit. Yet there it was, hidden away in 36 dusty boxes and a stack of old film reels. There, where the elements and mice were starting to inflict a slow demise, were the illustrations that brought the Maya culture to life for tens of thousands of students.

The storage unit could have been the end of the road for such an esoteric collection of hand-painted cells and old film from the original production of Patricia Amlin’s Popol Vuh: Creation Myth of the Maya. Instead, it turned out to be just the start of a new chapter in the film’s long history. Over the next few years, it would travel from storage to an art gallery on Gunnison’s Main Street. When COVID forced the gallery to close, Miller’s daughter and the director of Western’s Academic Resource Center, Katie Wheaton, suggested they take the boxes and reels to campus, where a room was available in the basement of the Leslie J. Savage Library.

There in the basement room, Allie Weatherill, Troy Brown, and several other dedicated students would spend the next year going through the boxes page by page and cell by cell. With their  45

work finally done in the spring of 2023, the whole collection was sent to the archives of the International Animated Film Association in Hollywood. From that relatively brief interaction, the histories of the film, the students, and Western would be bound forever.

THE JOURNEY FROM ARTIST TO FILMMAKER

Amlin, who has now spent almost 30 years living and painting in the Gunnison Valley, had been preparing most of her life, even before she had heard of the Maya or their creation story, to create the film that would define a wide swath of her career. “When I was born, I could draw,” she said. “That’s my gift.” As a young girl in Chicago, she was singled out as someone with real artistic talent.

Her parents and her teachers saw it and nurtured her abilities and allowed them

to guide her as she grew. As a young bohemian in 1960s Greenwich Village, she honed her craft alongside some of the great artists of her generation. When she was chosen as a Fulbright Scholar, she set off for Europe to study art history and learn what she could from the masters.

Still, she’d never heard of the Popol Vuh. After returning from Europe, she fell into the fight for civil rights, which eventually took her to Mississippi. There, because of her activism, she was hired to be an instructor at Rust College, a historically black institution founded just after the Civil War. But her ideas were too progressive for the time and the place. After she wasn’t invited back to the college, she was approached by members of the community to teach black children in a rural Head Start program how to count and identify colors. It was during her time in the South that she saw things she’d never imagined as a white girl from Chi-

cago. It was an experience that never left her and would take her one step closer to creating her magnum opus.

Like the story of any life, Amlin’s journey from Mississippi to what came next wasn’t exactly linear. Within a few years of moving from Mississippi to California, she was a single mother of four who had taken up teaching at San Francisco State University where she discovered the film department would be thrilled to have an artist on the faculty. She was happy to start “the only real job I had in my life,” she said. That’s where the Popol Vuh film project first started to come into focus.

On a 1970 trip to Tikal, Guatemala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was once one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya, Amlin was sitting on a bench below a tree full of howler monkeys when she decided to get up and walk over to a bodega selling pots looted from the pyramids. “That’s where I fell in love,” she said. “I fell in love with the calligraphy on the pots. Then it became a total emersion [in the culture].”

Soon, Amlin heard the creation myth of the Maya.

The Popol Vuh was handed down by the K’iche people of Central Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala. It’s a story of the hero twins, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, who travel to the underworld, Xibalba, to play a ballgame to avenge the deaths of their father and uncle, ultimately defeating the Death Lords of the Underworld.

After their victory, they rise into the heavens to become the sun and the moon.

They are responsible for planting the first corn, for the humans living on earth, and for the creation of the Maya. “After conquering all of Xibalba, they walked into the sky … and together they light the heavens and the earth,” the film’s narrator says.

When Amlin returned to California, she applied for a grant from the National 

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Why did I bring those boxes?

Damned if I know.

I guess because, like any artist, I was attached to my art.

PATRICIA AMLIN

and shown around the world.

“It was my life’s work. If you asked if I had a life’s work that I got to travel for and won prizes for and be known for and was appreciated, that was it,” Amlin said. “That was a full and exciting and wonderful time. That happened until I got to Colorado.” By then, the cells had been packed into boxes and put into storage.

When she moved to Gunnison in 1995 so her son could take the science classes he needed at Western to prepare for veterinary school, they moved with her.

THE EFFORT TO ORGANIZE BEGINS Endowment for the Humanities and was denied. She applied again and again and was denied every time until finally, after seven applications, she got the grant she was asking for. All the while, she would sit in her studio and draw scenes, first on paper and then on plastic cells, that were based on the drawings found in Mayan pyramids. “I drew those films with a pencil,” she said. “I sat at an old drawing table and did that.” Then she would add color with cartoon paint to bring her drawings to life.

The project consumed her, and as word of her work spread, she got visitors from the Maya population living in the Bay Area who would come to her house and ask for help, hoping she could do something to stop the Maya genocide that was taking place during the decades-long Guatemalan Civil War. Once again, the civil rights struggle had come home, and her heart ached for the people. She continued to work on her film. When she was done writing the script and hand-painting every one of the 76,000 cells, Amlin had enough for an hour of animation, which she produced and released in 1989 to critical acclaim.

Popol Vuh: Creation Myth of the Maya was distributed to schools around the country 48

“Why did I bring those boxes? Damned if I know. I guess because, like any artist, I was attached to my art,” Amlin said.

The day her friend Chris Miller found the boxes and film canisters, she knew Amlin’s work might still have a life yet to live. She put her in touch with Wheaton, who assembled the students who helped organize the boxes.

In the basement of the library, Weatherill, a senior double majoring in Art and History, led the organizational effort.

She watched the film over and over, “too many times to count,” she said, to familiarize herself with the characters and the scenes. Then she spent dozens of hours making notes on the script and going through the boxes of cells, organizing them scene by scene. She even volunteered her time and continued working on the project after her internship ended.

“I wanted to be with Patricia and help with the project,” she said. “I was truly an asset to her, and I didn’t want to walk away from that when I knew I could help.

So, I volunteered and continued to do so until they paid me. But I would have worked anyway, even if they didn’t pay me.”

In the process, Weatherill and Brown,  CONTINUED ON PAGE 57

MO U N TAIN E E R M O M E N T S

ABOVE: Western’s President Brad Baca spoke to those attending the Alumni Award for Excellence (AAE) ceremony and reception, held in the West Wing Reading Room in the Leslie J. Savage Library on Friday, May 5. BELOW: Every spring, Western’s Alumni Advisory Council meets to consider nominated students for the AAE, an award presented to students who have spent their time on campus committed to being the best version of themselves and exemplify what it means to be a Mountaineer. The 2023 AAE recipients are (from left) Kaleb Pedrie, David Plante, Christine Spiers, Maria Alvarez Juarez, Sukhi Bains, Alyssa Rawinski, Pat Magee, Dalton Lorenz, Michelle Conway, Laura Pelino, Jessica Laramie, Brett Keating, Melina Fotenos, Greg Haase, and Tabria Jackson.

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THE W E STE R N E R ALU MN I M AG A Z I NE

THE NATURE OF WORDS CMarie Fuhrman seeks inspiration for her works of poetry and prose from the natural world and the many ways we interact with it.

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THE

Way Words

Change us by Seth Mensing

Wielding words with great precision, Graduate Program in Creative Writing Poetry Concentration director CMarie Fuhrman prods people to persuade themselves.

L

ike an artist in any medium – a painter with a palette, a sculptor with clay, or a musician’s notes on a page – CMarie Fuhrman hopes that her words make you feel something.

The feelings her words illicit might be wonder or awe, shame or indignation. They might make you believe you’ve curled up under a warm blanket or like you just touched a hot pan on the stove. To feel something is to change from one state of mind into another. That’s the journey she 

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wants her words to take you on. It cise physiology and working in the field could be a journey we want or a journey for 20 years. Even there, she was trywe need. ing to bring about change of a different CMarie has always believed in the kind. But a life made with words was human capacity to change – for never far from her mind. Even as she the better with the right stimulus. went through school, working toward It seems, when you listen to her words, her first degree, she was taking writing that she doesn’t want so much change classes and thinking about her second that the future forgets the past. But one. Now, and back then, perhaps, she enough that the future is better for it. speaks like someone who is mindful As a Native woman born of the words she uses, on the Southern Ute unafraid of speaking reservation and adoptabout her convictions, of ed by first-generation her ancestors, and of the European-American parthings that only a poem ents, remembering her or a carefully considered own past provides her essay gives you the liWe’ve turned away with an identity that cense to say. Once, while can seem as complicamped beneath a dam, from the planet and cated as it is important she was out for a hike, even our human to who she is. It proand a poem came to her. landscape. If we vides her with a sense turned back to that of empathy that’s hard HARMONIZING and learned to love to overstate. Through WITH NATURE her words, she wants all of it, there would When you hear her us to empathize, too – be some reciprocal speak or read her writwith everything. With ing, it’s clear that benefit. Why would the cranes that fly from CMarie loves the musiwe hurt something some far-off wintering cality of language. When we love? ground. With 12,000 she wakes up in the salmon, and countless morning and walks out CMARIE FUHRMAN more, whose journey of her cabin in Idaho, upstream was stopped she greets the trees by a dam on a once-wild with the words of her ancestors. To river. With the people who were forced repeat them would take practice. To from their homes by newcomers who saw write them here is barely possible. But the land as a “what” and not a “who.” they’re beautiful.

BUILDING A LIFE WITH WORDS

Just like her past, her words are central to who CMarie is. Like paints on a palette, there are many, and she uses them carefully when she speaks and writes. She tried to make a life without them once, earning a degree in exer-

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“This is the language they speak,” she said. “Of the words the trees have heard most over the last 16,000 years humans have been walking beneath them, these are the words they have heard most often. I learned nimipuutímt (Nez Perce language) when I first moved to Idaho so I could better communicate with the land-

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scape. And having made a community there and learning the 16,000 years of history in that area, you can’t separate the two.”

NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY

CMarie doesn’t hide from the complexity of the problems she addresses in her writing. So much of the conversation these days consists of trumpeting your values while minimizing those of the other side. But she doesn’t do that. The subjects she thinks about, and writes about, are complex. There is no easy answer, and she doesn’t pretend to offer one.

“Looking at the dam, it’s a beautiful construction.

It’s amazing what we can do,” she said. “But then, look what it has done and what it’s still doing to that river and the 12,000 salmon that died in a 24hour period at the base of the dam.”

It’s a hard thing to look at, but she wants you to look. She’s aware of the discomfort her work can cause people, and if she doesn’t actively seek to make people uncomfortable, she certainly doesn’t stop short of it either. That discomfort comes from hard questions. She knows hard questions are where we get important answers.

AMPLIFYING HER IMPACT

The thing that gives hard questions value, though, is that people want to see them answered. As she continually develops her craft, CMarie keeps

finding new ways to share her words so the answers feel more important, more pressing. In her most recent venture, she collaborates with outdoor sound recordist Jacob Job on Terra Firma, a Colorado Public Radio podcast combining CMarie’s words with Job’s sound to create a short, narrated escape. Her latest book Cascadia, which she edited with Elizabeth Bradfield and Derek Sheffield, “brings together art, poetry, and stories holding scientific, sensory, and cultural knowledge … offering any reader a new way of connecting.” As the Poetry Director and Associate Program Director in Western’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing, she shares her passion for words and the tools she’s acquired with students who can take her message and serve as exponents.

For CMarie – whether it’s in a poem, an essay, a podcast, or a lecture hall – the message is always about connection: a connection with a place, with the people, with the past. You can’t love what you don’t feel connected to, and love, she knows, is what will get us to a better future.

“If we were turning our attention and love to place, we wouldn’t be in this crisis,” she said. “We’ve turned away from the planet and even our human landscape. If we turned back to that and learned to love all of it, there would be some reciprocal benefit. Why would we hurt something we love?” 

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L ET TE R S T O THE E DI T O R

Letters to the Editor  CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

Music’s Bright Future I have lived in Gunnison for over 30 years as a Western supporter and have now spent my first full year on campus as Director of Development for Western Music Partners, the fundraising platform for the Music Program. I am very encouraged as to the direction of the University.

There is a steady hum of enthusiasm and positive vibes throughout the campus. The Department of Music is on a steep growth and retention pattern and I believe the professors, and student musicians are as good as we have ever had. We finished the year with our graduation ceremony on the Taylor lawn with our historical buildings and trees framing the graduation exercise, and

in which a memorable Gunnison day with cool temperatures, sunshine and passing clouds provided an enchanting day.

We finished the school year strong and it seems we have strong momentum going in to next year. It’s a great time to be a Mountaineer.

Perry Anderson Director of Development, Western Music Partners

MO U N TAI N E E R MOM E N T S

This summer, Western’s Alumni Relations team hit the road and headed west. The Western Slope Roadshow made stops in Grand Junction, Durango and Montrose. It was an opportunity for alumni to mingle with old friends, reconnect with the University and make new connections.

Special guests from Western included President Baca, Mike LaPlante, Gary Pierson, Miles VanHee, Jane Kolodinsky, Barbara Woerner, Coach Claus and Coach Bains.

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THE W E STE R N E R ALU MN I M AG A Z I NE

My Western Story In the summer of 1970, I enrolled at Western State College after the prodding of a high school buddy. Western was well known to be a teacher’s college and I wanted to become a teacher and coach. September rolled in and six of my classmates and I formed a convoy of four cars heading north out of Durango to Gunnison.

I checked into Chipeta Hall for my freshman year. Of course I was nervous about the rigors of college academia. As I began to settle into the classes and daily routine; I reached out with a visit to Dr. Ernie Deguitus’, the track and cross-country coach.

After our visit, I felt that I could make a contribution to the track pro-

gram. I trained with the ski team that fall and joined the track team in January. The upper classmen were receptive to another runner joining the small tightknit group.

My sophomore year I continued to run on the track team and work at Escalante Cafeteria to supplement my savings. With my savings exhausted, I needed to find a way to pay for my education. Numerous Veterans were attending Western due to the Vietnam War. I would talk with them; they were leading a comfortable life using their G.I. Bill to complete their studies.

Although the war continued to drag on, I felt the risk of military service with the benefits of the G.I. Bill were worth the pause in my education.

To beat the military draft; I enlisted in the Army in August 1972.

After my enlistment,

I returned to Western State College in the fall of 1976. I was now one of those Veterans that had swagger and worldly experiences to back it up, with my G.I. benefits secured to help me reach my goal.

My junior year I ran for Coach Vandenbusche and continued to pursue my education. I jumped right back into the college atmosphere at Western. Some professors remembered me from my earlier semesters.

When I completed my degree, I had the confidence and education to propel me into a bright future. Thank you Western for admitting me, my transcript from high school was not the greatest.

Western was the right place for me!

Bruce Heller (’78) Industrial Arts - B.A.

Write us a letter!

We want to hear from you. Let us know what you’ve been up to since you graduated. We might even publish your letter in the next online or print edition. Email your letter to Megan West at alumnirelations@western.edu.

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THE W E STE R N E R ALU MN I M AG A Z I NE

 A SECOND BITE OF THE APPLE from 39

in the COVID recovery era.

Those funds are essential for direct student support or scholarships, student advising, and the overall early stability of ADC. “In essence, it was – and still is – vital seed money that COSI, Governor Jared Polis, and the Colorado Legislature made available at the right time and under the right conditions,” Schliesman said. Because there’s so much support for a program the state sees as vital to filling jobs, like teaching, essential for a successful economy, the typical ADC student sees a 30 to 35 percent reduction in tuition and fees with a COSI scholarship.

Nearly three years in, enrollment in the ADC program has grown from just a few students in its first year to 55 students enrolled in 2022-23. Williamson was one of five students to graduate from the program this year, and it’s expected that at least 15 will graduate in spring 2024.

“We’re already approaching half of the size of the entire program coming in the fall. So, we’re seeing significant growth,” Schliesman said. “While Western has a very successful and proud history serving Colorado as a residential university in the amazing Gunnison Valley, we also have a stake in the future of what formal education is becoming in society.

Strategically, that is one reason why ADC matters.”

MORE THAN JUST A PIECE OF PAPER

A college degree isn’t a panacea, but earning one is still a major predictor of life satisfaction. According to the U.S. General Social Surveys, people with a college degree, whether a bachelor’s degree or a graduate degree, were more likely to report being happy or very happy than people with a high school diploma.

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They also tended to live longer, healthier lives. For a lot of people, a degree means a greater sense of accomplishment, new opportunities for career advancement, and with it, more income.

Perhaps even more important to well-being than the size of a person’s salary is the sense of purpose they carry into their daily lives. A 2019 study in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that people reporting the greatest life purpose were those who worked or volunteered in a field where they felt they were making a positive difference in the lives of others, or they were people who had goals they were working to achieve.

Since she was a little girl, Nancy Walpole knew that her purpose in life was to be a teacher. She loved kids and dreamed of standing at the front of her own classroom. But after two years of college, she decided to step away from school to get married, start a family and raise her children. It wasn’t until all three were in school that she considered returning to pursue her passion for education.

“I always knew that at some point, I would go back to school and finish the degree that I always wanted,” she said.

“I got an email about the ADC program from the school district where I have been working as a paraprofessional for the last eight years, and I saw that [Western] had a program for paras to get their teaching degree.”

She was working full-time and taking care of her family. But Walpole already had 30 credits from her earlier college experience, and with classes that were online and a self-paced curriculum, she could make it work. Of course, time management is a challenge with all she has going on. “When I start to feel overwhelmed, I think about the end goal,” she said. “I picture myself teaching in my own classroom and how that dream

THE W E STE R N E R ALU MN I M AG A Z I NE

I have had since I was a little girl can finally be mine.”

During her time in the ADC program, earning her degree in General Education with Colorado Licensure with a certification in Special Education, Walpole has spoken with several of her classmates, and most share the same concerns: they’re too old, there isn’t enough time.

“I know that was a concern for me in the beginning,” Walpole said. “However, I have come to appreciate that there are more of us than I ever realized, and I am really grateful to be a part of the ADC Program. You are never too old to learn, and it’s never too late to make your dreams come true.”

To learn more about ADC, please visit www.western.edu/adc. 

 UNBURIED TREASURE from 48

who majored in anthropology, learned about the story and the Maya culture.

They both had characters and scenes from the story they grew fond of. They learned about archiving, the artistic process, and the incredible life and activism of the woman responsible for it, not to mention lessons in filmmaking and the institutions that support it.

“It bridged the gap for me between art and history. For Western to have something like this here, it’s like a gem. It’s this rare thing that Troy and I got to see,” Weatherill said. “It felt sort of unreal to think about. Just a year ago, it was a bunch of boxes, with no organization, down in the library. And it was just me and Patricia in there trying to make some sort of sense of it. So, knowing that it’s now in California in this prestigious, acclaimed film [archive] and that I played a part, even in a small way, to get it there, it’s remarkable to me and makes me extremely proud.” 

Drinking?

Please Call for a Ride.

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Read Western’s New Strategic Plan western.edu/strategic-planning 57

 GARY PIERSON from 24

far without them, particularly without my wife and her support.

Being a proactive Dean of Students at Western requires more than just a friendly face. Gary learned that caring for himself, his family, and his department is just as important as caring for students.

And Gary is also an active member of the community. He serves on the boards of Gunnison Trails and the Tourism and Prosperity Project (TAPP) and is a familiar face around town. His love for the Gunnison Valley extends to all aspects of life.

“It’s so important for our students, faculty, and staff to be embraced by the community and for Western to embrace the community as well,” he urged.

Often because of his community involvement, Gary is referred to as the face of Western, but it’s evident that he’s a big part of the heart and soul, too. After two and a half decades of service, it’s safe to say that we love Gary just as much as he loves us.

Hear, hear to our Dean of Stoke! 

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WE WESTERN!

STAY AND PLAY WITH US: CABINS, HOMES, RV SITES, FLY SHOP, GENERAL STORE, RAFT AND FISH TRIPS DAILY DINE WITH US: BBQ AT THREE RIVERS SMOKEHOUSE PATIO (MEMORIAL WEEKEND – OCTOBER 1).

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MO U N TAI N E E R MOM E N T S

1968

1981 1975

1919

1927

100 YEARS OF 60

1950s

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1998 1972 1985 1970s

WESTERN

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C L AS S N OTE S

“We enjoyed seeing everyone and passing out Alumni swag at the football game.

It’s always great to see old friends and make new friends at Western! Can’t wait for this year’s Homecoming.”

Class

BRUCE HELLER (’78) THE DURANGO DOG AND SANDEE

“Going to Western was a highlight of my life. The positive experience brings great memories. Dr. Bruce Bartleson was a caring character with a personality that burst at the seams. I would still like to communicate with him and Dr. Allen Stork.

Presently I am recovering from a brain tumor, and it is difficult to travel. But Western memories I hold dear.”

CHRISTINE PEAK (’88)

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THE W E STE R N E R ALU MN I M AG A Z I NE

1972

Notes EDITOR’S NOTE: These notes and achievements from alumni have been edited for length.

“I wanted to let you know that I published my first novel! Keravno Kaiju Control Company – Case 1 is available on Amazon and Kindle. I’ve also created my own website where you can find more information on what I’ve been up to (gusproutybooks.com).

I’ve been polishing this book for the last few years now, and it still doesn’t feel real that it’s actually out there.”

GUS PROUTY (’20) 63

C L AS S N OTE S

1982

“I went to Western State College from 1978 to 1983.

These were the best five years of my life as I majored in history and was three credits short of a major in political science. There were a number of professors whom I got to know as friends, and I savored those relationships for years. I not only enjoyed and achieved in academics, but I also got to know the community of Gunnison. One of the people I got to know was Al Smith, who I bowled with on his team. We often spent weekends fishing

at Blue Mesa or the Morrow Point Dam canyon. Within that span of time, I made two trips to Russia, then the Soviet Union, as well as a five-month solo trip to Europe. Western State College will always be an integral part of my life for all the reasons mentioned above. Thanks for a beautiful experience which allowed for the balance of both richness of learning and a community within the town that gave many a pleasurable experience in tandem with education.”

MIKE HUHNDORF (’83)

SUBMIT YOUR OWN CLASS NOTE THAT WE MAY PUBLISH IN THE NEXT ISSUE BY EMAILING ALUMNIRELATIONS@WESTERN.EDU.

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Academic Achievements Mark D. Walker’s (’71) latest book, My Saddest Pleasures, has been recognized as the 2023 winner of the Peace Corps Writers Award for Best Travel Book.

Jon Davis (’81) retired as a Professor of Biology from Doña Ana Community College-New Mexico State University in July 2019. At the beginning of his tenure at DACC, Davis primarily taught General Biology and Human Biology for Non-Majors; WSC was great preparation for this. Later, he switched to teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology to Allied Health students and was a member of the DMS Advisory Committee. Until December 2022, Davis taught part-time, including a course in Spanish for health. At WSC, Davis worked with Dr. Hugo A Ferchau Sr. on high-altitude strip mine reclamation.

Davis still fondly recalls all his former teachers and fellow students at WSC. In retirement, he keeps house for his wife (who retires in Jan. 2024), does some creative writing, and volunteers to assist migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in his community.

John Holland (’87) graduated with a B.A. in Biopsychology and obtained his M.A. in both Behavioral Psychology and Clinical Counseling in 2009. He set up a private practice in Colorado Springs in 2009-2020. He is semi-retired, working with individuals who have brain injuries and PTSD.

Dave Shackelford (’79) retired as an educator in 2022 from William J. Palmer “Palmer” High School after a 35-year teaching career. He then retired as the school’s Head Girls’ Basketball Coach in 2023 after a 27-year career. Coach Shackelford achieved 372 victories at Palmer, earning a 350-win ring from the Colorado High School Activities Association. He received numerous awards and accolades while serving as Palmer’s Head Coach. Additionally, Dave coached girls’ basketball, softball, baseball, and soccer at Harrison High School prior to joining Palmer High School. His coaching career spanned an impressive forty years, and countless athletes benefited greatly from the skills he taught on and off the court.

Alumni in Memoriam • • • • • • • • • •

Paul Smith (’66) March 22, 2021 Jean (Finney) Halligan (’67) Cody Jo Ellen Wahto Sontag (’75) February 16, 2023 John Harley Jr. (’74) February 10,2022 Mike Persson (’71) March 24, 2023 Ann Meredyth (’61) October 30, 2022 Richard J. Mikkelsen (’61) Motter C. Thomas (’62) Richard Meyers (’65) Sara Rosecrans (’20) June 10, 2023

Crystal Gray (’98) recently accepted a position as the Controller for the Cherry Hills Country Club.

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H O ME COM ING:

NOW NCAA athletes lined up on a float during the 2022 Homecoming Parade.

Join us Homecoming Weekend 2023 in celebrating the classes of ’73, ’83, ’98, and Boxing Club’s 50-year anniversary.

See the schedule of events and register by scanning the QR code or visiting western.edu/homecoming

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October 13 Hall of Fame Ceremony 14 Tailgate Gunnison, CO 20 Family Weekend 28 Tailgate School of Mines, Golden, CO

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