“We’re excited that the new Fellows represent seven of the eight colleges at CSU,” said Diana Wall, director of SoGES. “The Fellows’ disciplines range from ecology to political science, geosciences, economics, education, bioagricultural sciences, atmospheric sciences and biology. As always, competition for the Fellowships was stiff.”

The public is invited to meet the new Fellows on Monday, May 13, at 5 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Grey Rock Room during a lecture presented by Liz Neeley of Seattle. Neeley, the Assistant Director of Science Outreach at COMPASS, a science-based communications firm, will be speaking on, “Finding Your Voice: What Scientists Need to Know About Science Communication, and the Risks and Rewards of Speaking Up.”

Neeley also will facilitate the Fellows’ Science Communication Workshop, May 14-15. Journalists participating in the Fellows’ workshop include: Christopher Joyce, correspondent at National Public Radio; Hilary Rosner, freelance journalist; Katherine Gammon, freelance science writer; and Mark Fischetti, editor at Scientific American.

Communications skills training

SoGES recognizes that CSU’s academic researchers are a primary informational resource for the complex decisions that will determine our environmental future. Early career academics often overlook communications skills as they build their professional careers. The SoGES Global Sustainability Leadership Fellows have access to state-of-the-art environmental communications skills training giving them an edge for the future.

The SoGES Leadership Fellows will receive individualized media training and work to enhance writing and leadership skills. They also work on strategies for engaging with business, nonprofits, academia, government and media, as well as techniques for collaborating and transdisciplinary synthesis.

For more information about SoGES at Colorado State University, go tohttp://sustainability.colostate.edu/.

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP FELLOWS

Timothy J. Assal, Ph.D. Candidate with advisor Jason Sibold, Department of Anthropology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

Tessa Conroy, Ph.D. Candidate with advisor Stephan Weiler, Department of Economics

Jonathan Fisk, Ph.D. Candidate with advisor Charles Davis, Department of Political Science

Liesel Hans, Ph.D. Candidate with advisor Robert Kling, Department of Economics

Matthew W. Luizza, Ph.D. Candidate with advisor Michele Betsill, Department of Political Science and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology

Story by Katie Hawthorne Jeracki                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   970.491.2658
Kate.Jeracki@colostate.edu

College to Career Alumni Panel – Sociology

Wednesday, April 3
4 – 5: 40 p.m.
Clark Building C364

Panelists include:

McCabe Callahan, ‘02 Liberal Arts/Sociology

McCabe opened Mugs coffee shop six months before graduating from Colorado State University, and opened 5 more operations in the next 3 years. In 2007 McCabe made the difficult decision to downsize and restructure the business to spend less time operating multiple businesses and instead spend the time to focus on development of the concept of the business at the Mugs Downtown location. In October of 2010 he opened Mugs @ the Oval. His new venture,  Community Funded, harnesses the power of crowdfunding to support diverse projects and community initiatives across the country.

Aaron Madonna, ’08 Sociology

Aaron and fellow CSU student Juwon Melvin founded Dreamreel Media, their answer to inspiring young adults through publications and speaking engagements. Aaron has authored two books, Destination College and Help! IDK What I Want to Do with My Life. After graduation, the two friends founded LifeSoap, a company that sells organic soap and gives a portion of the profits to bring clean water to schools in developing countries, in partnership with H2O for Life. Lifesoap has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, and Aaron and Juwon already have completed two clean-water projects in Nicaragua.

Thad Smith, ‘74 Sociology

Thad is President of Thaddeus Smith & Associates, a specialty brokerage and risk management service to the biomedical and medical device manufacturing industry.  Thad is also an officer and director of Alacer Corporation and trustee of the Jay W. Patrick Trust.  Based in California, Alacer Corporation distributes health supplements nationwide and generates about $30 million in annual revenue.

College to Career Alumni Panel – Political Science

Monday, April 15
4:30p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Microbiology Building, A113

Panelists include:

Donn Hopkins, ’82 Political Science

As Americas Security Manager for Agilent Technologies, Inc., Donn’s role includes protecting Agilent’s people, intellectual and physical assets, proprietary information and related investigations. Prior to working for Agilent, Donn was in law enforcement for over 32 years, 18 of those as Chief of Police at Colorado State University, where he directed the recovery of the CSU Police Department after the total loss of their facility in a flash flood in 1997, including relocating and building a new police facility and 911 dispatch center. Donn received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Colorado State University and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, 160th Session. He has served as President of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, and President of the Colorado Association of Institutional Law Enforcement Directors.

Mary Kathryn Hurd, Political Science ’09

MaryKathryn Hurd is the legislative liaison for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the state’s Medicaid agency. As the Department’s lobbyist, she is responsible for designing, managing and administering the Department’s legislative agenda. She works with the Colorado General Assembly to secure sponsors and support for their bills, tracking all legislation introduced and analyzing the legislation for its impact on the Department. She is currently working on Medicaid Expansion in Colorado and implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act. Prior to this role, MaryKathryn was the legislative liaison for the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration where she was instrumental in the creation, drafting and passage of the “Colorado Talent Agenda” (Amendment S), both the statutory and constitutional statewide personnel reform measures. She has been involved in public policy at the federal as well as at the state level.  In Washington D.C. she interned for Dutko Worldwide Government Affairs Firm on their environment and energy team and later worked on environmental issues for Congressman John Sarbanes. A native of Annapolis, Maryland, MaryKathryn graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Political Science and Asian Studies with a minor in Mandarin Chinese.

College to Career Alumni Panel – History

Wednesday, April 24
3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Lory Student Center – Room 224

Panelists include:

John Blair, ‘74 Social Sciences/History

John Blair, Jr. is a Colorado native and earned a BA in Social Sciences from Colorado State University in 1974. He studied Trust Administration at the National Graduate Trust School, and graduated with honors in 1983. He has more than 30 years experience in Trust Administration and currently serves as Senior Vice President and Trust Officer of Home State Bank in Loveland, CO.  He is deeply invested in the community, and has served in leadership roles for OpenStage Theater & Company, Inc., Pathways Hospice, Respite Care, and the CSU Planned Giving Advisory Council.

Jack Graham, ‘75 History

Graham graduated from CSU in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in U.S. history. After playing football for CSU, he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. He went on to a successful 30-year career in the international insurance and reinsurance markets, where he was known as an innovator and effective leader. In 1998, he founded ICAT Managers, a leader in catastrophic risk insurance products. He sold ICAT, including its Lloyd’s of London business, in 2010 and remains on the company’s board of directors. Graham also sits on the advisory board of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Mike Nosler ‘69 History

Mike Nosler is General Counsel for the Colorado State University System. Nosler leads a legal team responsible for advising the CSU System chancellor, the Board of Governors, administrators, faculty and staff. He provides counsel on matters including application of Federal and State policies, university governance, student affairs, policy formation, employment issues and grievances, health care, intellectual property, real estate transactions and bond offerings. Nosler also serves as a liaison to the Attorney General’s Office.  Before coming to CSU, Nosler was a practicing attorney specializing in employment law for more than 30 years and was the managing partner for 11 years. In 2001, he encouraged the creation of the Diversity in Law Program at Colorado State University, and persuaded Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons to provide scholarship funds for up to eight students of diverse ethnic backgrounds who are considering careers in law or criminal justice.

For questions regarding the College to Career Alumni Panels, please contact:

Marilyn Bistline
Alumni and Annual Giving
College of Liberal Arts
Colorado State University
Marilyn.Bistline@colostate.edu
(970) 491-4030

Susan’s students offer the best insight into her teaching. One said of her, “Best Political Science teacher I have had in all four years.” Another said “I cannot say enough about this teacher.  She has made political science fun, interesting, and useful.  She goes above and beyond.  She really is the best prof I have had.” Finally, one student wrote, “Words cannot express how grateful I am to you.  You helped me find my ‘place’ here at CSU when I came back after taking a year off.  I didn’t even know what public administration really was until you (w/smile).  Thank you for being such an amazing role model for me.  I only hope to be as successful as you already are.”

Dr. Opp is the latest member of the Department to win recognition for her teaching. Brad Macdonald and Courtenay Daum have also received the Excellence in Teaching Award, and emeritus professor Bob Lawrence received the Lory Award for excellence in teaching. Martin Adamian, Dawn King, and John Hultgren all received the CLA Excellence in Teaching Award for graduate teaching assistants while at CSU.

The award will be presented at the College’s spring faculty/staff meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, March 27^th, from 4 to 5:30 at the University Center for the Arts.

His main research interests concern the political and policy dynamics of societal transitions towards a low carbon, resource efficient and socially equitable future. He has been a member of advisory boards at different levels and has worked closely with policy, economic and civil society actors on these issues. He is an avid outdoor enthusiast and a sailor and enjoys the company of his family and friends.

The aim of the EEA is to ensure that decision-makers and the general public are kept informed about the state and outlook of the environment. The association’s core objective is to produce European, pan-European and regional integrated environmental data and indicator sets, assessments and thematic analyses in order to provide a sound decision basis for environmental policies in the EU and Member countries and for cooperation with candidate and potential candidate countries and those covered by the European Neighborhood Policy. It is recognized as the world’s leading body for the provision of timely, relevant and accessible European environmental data, information, knowledge and assessments. The EEA has a staff of more than 200 and also coordinates a network of more than 2000 experts in the member countries. More information can be found at http://www.eea.europa.eu/.

To read or listen to the story:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/10/10/162595046/colorado-students-look-to-vote-for-a-better-future

NPR reporter Renee Montagne also interviewed Professor Straayer about the importance of undecided voters in this year’s elections. That story can be found here:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/10/02/162131334/colorados-undecided-voters-are-a-hot-election-commodity

Thomas Mann is the W. Averell Harriman Chair and senior fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution.  Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is a long-time observer of Congress and politics, writes a weekly column for Roll Call called “Congress Inside Out,” and is an election eve analyst for CBS News. Mann and Ornstein are also co-directors of the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project.

Where: University Theater, University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington Street

When: 7 PM

Tickets are FREE but limited to 2 per order.

If the event sells out, a wait list will be available the night of the event beginning at 4:00 PM at the UCA Ticket Office, 1400 Remington Street. Tickets will be handed out at 6:45 PM on a first-come, first-served basis.

For further information or to obtain tickets, please use the link to the UCA Box Office:

http://csuartstickets.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event.asp?id=1549&cid=86

The series will now be known as the Robert M. Lawrence Burning Issues Lectures.

This year’s Lang Scholarship was awarded to Danielle Sundar (right), a senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado.  Danielle is headed for a State Department internship in Estonia this summer.  Kayla Miller (left), also from Colorado Springs, is the recipient of the Political Science Scholarship.  Both of these scholarships are supported by scholarship endowments; the Lang Scholarship is supported from donations from Gene Lang, Class of 1975.

Matt Gorenz (Class of 2013) was selected by the Department as Outstanding Junior.   The Broomfield, Colorado native is minoring in Media Studies and Spanish.    This year’s Outstanding Senior is Meghan Carpenter (right).   Hailing from Lakewood, Meghan is graduating with Political Science and Speech Majors and is heading to Wyoming for Law School in the Fall.

John Straayer is now completing his 44^th year as a CSU professor the Department of Political Science.  He arrived on campus in 1967, having finished his doctoral degree at the University of Arizona in Tucson, specializing in the field of state and local government.  From the beginning, John Straayer was and continues to be deeply committed to the idea of the university as a foundation of public well-being.  He exemplifies the ideal of the scholar-teacher-civic servant, and is deeply committed to the ideals of academic freedom and shared governance as a foundation of a university’s excellence and the advancement of civil society in America.  John’s passionate belief in these virtues undergirds his long and dedicated involvement in college and university governance and contributions to the Fort Collins community.

Throughout his career, John has always put students first. Many years ago, early in his career, Straayer partnered with colleague and political science professor Susan Furniss to establish the department’s internship program at the Colorado General Assembly.   After a few years, with Susan’s retirement, it fell to Straayer to run the program.   This he has done since 1980 at an outstanding level, building it into the premier internship program at the General Assembly today.   John’s efforts in this area are commendable and would be commendable if only considered for the substantial blocks of time required.  In order to insure a high quality experience, he has faithfully accompanied his students to Denver twice a week, all day, during the spring semester.   But John has done more.  He actively monitors each intern’s contact with their assigned legislator and makes sure students are not treated as mere gophers.   To insure a quality academic experience, each intern is enrolled in Straayer’s POLS 304, Legislative Politics, during the semester, with ample opportunity to critically discuss their experience at the state legislature and incorporate their learning in research papers and other assignments.   The internship program is highly praised by students and by legislators across the partisan aisle and is a high profile advertisement for the university during every legislative session.

In sum, few professors so well exemplify the various pathways of excellence that distinguish the very best, the scholars that are not only exemplars of rigorous research and scholarship in their chosen fields but are also leaders and mentors to the many other professionals with whom they serve and even more importantly, to their students.

Theresa Jedd is PhD student in the Political Science Department working with advisor Michele Betsill. Theresa will meet with conservation practitioners from some of the 100+ groups and agencies involved in trans-boundary, international conservation for the 18 million acre Crown of the Continent ecosystem, one of the world’s most intact forested landscapes covering portions of Montana, British Columbia and Alberta. She will participate in the Crown Roundtable’s annual conference, gleaning insight from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, tribal groups, and private individuals with the ultimate aim of understanding of how collaborative forest conservation can function at the international level and strengthening this large-scale experiment in networked governance. Findings from this qualitative, interview-based fieldwork will be disseminated in a dissertation chapter, and a portion of her fellowship will sponsor the 3rd annual Crown Roundtable conference, creating a valuable linkage with the CCC.

Matt Luizza is a PhD student in the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology working with advisor Michele Betsill (Political Science) and co-advisor Paul Evangelista (Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory). He will be working in Ethiopia mapping and modeling ecosystem services important to the Oromo people in the Bale Mountains region, exploring the relationships between species diversity and the sustainable production of these services. The goal is to integrate traditional ecological knowledge and conventional scientific knowledge through collaborative means to foster adaptive governance and create modeling scenarios that facilitate sustainable management and effective conservation practices.

For more information on the CCC Fellows Program, please visit http://www.news.colostate.edu/Release/6144.

Projects by several Political Science faculty were among those selected by the School of Global Environmental Sustainability as 2012-2013 Resident Faculty Fellows or as Global Challenges Research Teams (GCRTs) The awards are a way to encourage interdisciplinary understanding of complex global environmental issues.

One of the SOGES Global Challenge Research Teams will focus on environmental governance issues in the areas of energy, water, forests and climate change in the Intermountain West, and will address governance challenges by building on existing strengths and ongoing research activities across several colleges and disciplines at CSU. The Principal Investigators  are Michele Betsill, Department of Political Science; Tony Cheng, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship; and Pete Taylor, Department of Sociology.

Robert Duffy and Ursula Daxecker were selected as SOGES Resident Faculty Fellows. Duffy will be working on a new book on U.S. energy policy. Professor Daxecker plans to continue her research on whether the depletion of states’ fisheries increases individuals’ incentives to engage in piracy. According to Professor Daxecker, “Funding as a resident fellow will make a major difference in the amount of time I can dedicate to collecting data for the project, carrying out the analyses and sharing my research with other scholars interested in the link between resource scarcity and security issues.”

For more information about the SOGES announcement, please visit their website:
http://sustainability.colostate.edu/content/2012-2013-gcrt-fellows

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2012/0208/What-went-wrong-for-Mitt-Romney-in-Colorado-video

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/in-colorado-a-struggle-between-pragmatism-and-passion/

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/07/political-geography-colorado/

http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-07/news/31034664_1_republicans-colorado-gop-unaffiliated-voters

“These outstanding individuals are the inaugural recipients of a new Boise State initiative to recognize the finest among its faculty for their distinguished achievement in the combined areas of teaching, research and service,” said Martin Schimpf, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Having received one of the highest honors that can be accorded to a faculty member, Distinguished Professors are expected to make special contributions to the intellectual advancement of their home departments and colleges, as well as to Boise State as a whole.

See the original article here: http://www.9news.com/news/local/article/244917/222/Expert-Colo-youth-vote-cant-be-ignored-in-2012-