2009 spring: university of denver magazine

Spring 2009

U N I V E R S I T Y

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MAGAZINE

N I V E R S I T Y A G A Z I N E

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UN I V ER S I T Y O F MAGAZINE

UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE

Early childhood education takes flight

Office of the Chancellor

Dear Readers: We at DU are surely no strangers to the inexorable cycles of economic boom and bust. For most of our 145-year history, our well-being was tied to the health of the local economy and the overall economy of the state. Early on, the cycles were driven by the timing of gold and silver strikes in the Rockies and the impact of weather on Colorado agriculture. As the city and the region grew in fits and starts, so did we. Along the way weve enjoyed some very big highs and endured some very deep lows, such as the time following the silver panic of the 1890s when we were in such dire straits (and deep debt) that we considered selling University Hall to a group of investors who would convert it into a glue factory. Our condition was so fragile that our theology department, which had its own endowment, seceded from the University to go its own way as the Iliff School of Theology. The University community lived through 120 years of boom and bust, up until the last great crisis in the mid 1980s. Once again our institutional health was poor and our survival on the line, but the outcome was very different from such crises in the past. We were not rescued by an economic miracle, a government bailout, an angelic donation or any other such Band-Aid. Rather, the institution picked itself up and made some fundamental changeschanges that gradually led us back to stability. Chancellor Dwight Smith and his colleagues made some hard choices, and the institution began to move in ways uncharacteristic of traditional academia. The faculty revamped the curriculum in bold and innovative ways. We became more creative and less risk-averse. We became vastly more sophisticated in our operations and planning, particularly in the years under Chancellor Dan Ritchie. The kinds of decisions we made and actions we took back in those dark days served us well as we grew into the institution we know todaya DU that is innovative and agile, operationally sophisticated and focused on absolute quality. Today, the University enjoys the strongest financial condition of its history, even as we face the roiling economic storm that has engulfed the nation and much of the world. Our enrollments are solid, and looking ahead to next fall, we have nearly 11,000 applications for the new class of 1,145 first-year undergraduates, up 30 percent from a year ago and up more than 70 percent from the number of applicants just two years ago. Applications for our graduate programs are up as well, and our footprint has broadened considerably. Nearly 60 percent of our undergraduates now come from states other than Colorado, and our population of international students (both undergraduates and graduates) is nearing 900. We are recruiting and hiring great faculty members, for whom we compete on a national scale. Our cash reserves are solid and we have great liquidity. Unlike a number of other institutions, we are proceeding with major construction projects (a new building for the Morgridge College of Education, an addition to Ben Cherrington Hall and a new soccer stadium and training facility) because they are all fully funded, without debt. Our major concern is for our students and their families, and so we have moved substantial new resources into financial aid. Like so many times in our past, we face an uncertain and daunting economy. We look ahead with great caution, fully aware of the worst-case scenarios. This time is different, though, because we are different.

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Office of the Chancellor Mary Reed Building | 2199 S. University Blvd. | Denver, CO 80208 | 303.871.2111 | Fax 303.871.4101 | www.du.edu/chancellor

events

sports

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University of Denver Magazine Spring 2009

ContentsFeatures

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A New DirectionThrough a program in the Four Corners, DUs Graduate School of Social Work is educating social workers about the regions unique needs.By Brenda Gillen

A Hand Up for Early EdDUs new Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy is working to improve the picture for early childhood education.By Jan Thomas

Islam in AmericaWhat does it mean to be Shii in a country that understands so little about Islam? A new book by DU Professor Liyakat Takim traces the history and experiences of the Shii community in America.By Tamara Chapman

Departments

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Editors Note Letters DU Update 08 News Soccer stadium 11 Arts Indian art and identity 12 Q&A Chaplain Gary Brower 16 Sports Womens basketball coach 19 People Cookbook author Elizabeth Yarnell 21 History Campus radio Alumni Connections

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Online only at www.du.edu/magazine: Academics Science and politics Research Waste reactorOn the cover: Butterfly drawing by Hannah Eckert, age 5, daughter of Jeanine Mayer Eckert (BA 98) Story on page 28. This page: Wheylaya Becenti, 7, daughter of social work alumnus Leland Becenti, works on a traditional Navajo weaving. Becenti teaches traditional crafts as a coping mechanism. Photo by Marc Piscotty. Story on page 22.

University of Denver Magazine Update

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Editors NoteThere is a lot of buzz about education at DU these days, and not just in the ways you might expect. Sure, were in the business of educating college students in a traditional campus setting. But our learning environment also includes pre-K options, a school for gifted elementary and middle school students, non-traditional programs for adult learners, and continuing education for senior citizens. The future of education is the theme of thisCraig Korn

MAGAZINE

w w w. d u . e d u / m a g a z i n eU N I V E R S I T Y Number 3 Volume 9, O F M A G A Z I N E

UN I V ER S I T Y O F MAGAZINE Publisher

Carol Farnsworth Z I N E MAGAManaging Editor

UNIVERSITY

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Chelsey Baker-Hauck (BA 96)Associate Editor

Tamara ChapmanEditors

Richard Chapman Kathryn Mayer (BA 07) Nathan SolheimCreative/Brand Strategist

years Bridges to the Future programming (see page 10 for details about the next event in the series or visit www.du.edu/bridges); DU is even producing a related series of television specials in partnership with Rocky Mountain PBS. The University recently broke ground for Ruffatto Hall, the new home for the Morgridge College of Education. Alumnus Jim Cox Kennedy has donated $10 million to establish the Kennedy Institute for Educational Success (page 13) in the Morgridge College. The colleges Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy is off and running (page 28), and the college recently partnered with Denver Public Schools to create a teacher residency program (read more at www.du.edu/today). All of these developments are hallmarks of DUs commitment to the public good, examples of how the University, as Chancellor Robert Coombe might say, leverages its intellectual capital against the great issues of the day. Undoubtedly, education is among the greatest of those challenges were tasked with as a society. What role has education played in your life? Educators, what are the biggest challenges you face? Parents, what concerns do you have for the education of your children? I encourage you to join the discussion.

Jim GoodArt Director

Craig KornContributors

Alfredo Abad Wayne Armstrong Jim Berscheidt Janalee Card Chmel (MLS 97) Mac Clouse Carrie Field Brenda Gillen (MLS 06) Kristal Griffith Roxanne Hawn Stephen Huyler (BA 73) Doug McPherson Marc Piscotty Karen Rubin Chase Squires Samantha Stewart (BA 08) Jan Thomas (BA 80, MA 81) Peggy Ulrich-Nims Janna WiddifieldEditorial Board

Chelsey Baker-Hauck, publications director Jim Berscheidt, associate vice chancellor for university communications Thomas Douglis (BA 86) Carol Farnsworth, vice chancellor for university communications Sarah Satterwhite, senior director of development/special assistant to the vice chancellor Amber Scott (MA 02) Grace Stanton (PhD 79), executive director of creative/brand strategy Laura Stevens (BA 69), director of parent relations

Printed on 10% PCW recycled paper

Chelsey Baker-Hauck Managing Editor

The University of Denver Magazine (USPS 022-177) is published quarterlyfall, winter, spring and summerby the University of Denver, University Communications, 2199 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208. The University of Denver (Colorado Seminary) is an Equal Opportunity Institution. Periodicals postage paid at Denver, CO. Postmaster: Send address changes to University of Denver Magazine, University of Denver, University Advancement, 2190 E. Asbury Ave., Denver, CO 80208.

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LettersFaith mattersFor more than 41 years I have enjoyed reading various alumni publications from DU. I was stunned by the article Saving Seph (winter 2008), which chronicled the hopeful battle against Sephs Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The article says of Sephs mother, Lori: The primary source of that hope is faith in God Lori frequently discusses Gods power to deliver a miracle for Seph. Barring a miracle, Lori says she can accept that Seph will be in heaven if he dies before her, though she cries every time she considers it. Its a God thing, she says. Without my faith, I would have nothing. No hope. For four decades I have read DU articles that have unhesitatingly (and dare I say foolishly) promulgated the typical university worldview of secularism wherein matters of faith and the importance of faith in the routine of alumni lives are virtually never mentioned (despite the Christian origin of DU). How refreshing it is to know that Seph is mothered by a woman who attacks his problem with a well-developed faith that has been integrated into the routine of her familys life. I dont find Loris perspective to be unusual. What I found unusual was that the key aspect of faith was seriously considered in the context of the article. For one, I would prefer to see more such faith deliberation in future articles (even if the object of faith turns out to be crystals or jackhammers). Everyone has faith in something or someone. As alumni, it is worth contemplating whether DU is a help or hindrance in developing a mature faith as part of a complete education. Do not grow weary of doing well!Don Burgess (BA 67) Fort Worth, Texas

Joe, fall 2008). He had the exceptional ability to bring the real world of international politics into the classroom. As an undergraduate at the University, my area of concentration was East Asian studies with a focus on modern China. My academic adviser, Professor Peter Van Ness, suggested that I sit in on a class titled Soviet Foreign Policy in order to gain some insights on their communist counterparts in China. Professor Korbel taught this class and graciously allowed me to join the group. His lectures and the class discussions were very interesting and sobering, considering the subject matter. One session in particular came back to me as I was reading your article. Professor Korbel was reviewing the turbulent events of 1968, culminating with the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August of that year. He was speaking in detail, and from personal experience, of the people and events that led up to this tragedy. Everyone in the class was transfixed by his presentation, for here was a man who has seen the ugly face of Soviet imperialism up close. A classroom presentation does not get more compelling. I thought about Professor Korbel when Russia invaded Georgia in August 2008 and what his analysis would be of that event.Patrick Stanford (BA 72, MSJA 77) Alamosa, Colo.

Korbel kindly provided recommendations, etc., in connection with job applications. I worked as a clerk for TimeLife, but the last two months my parents in Norway provided me with funds and I attended language class with Mrs. Korbel. I remember how proud she was of her daughters! Olav had an internship in the U.N. after we left Denver. We then returned to Norway, where Olav worked for the Ministry of Social Affairs for a few years before joining the United Nations Development Programme, first as a deputy resident representative in Nigeria and Pakistan, then as a resident representative in Malta, Botswana, Somalia and Syria. Since his retirement in 1989, we lived in Norway. We have three children and seven grandchildren. I remember with the utmost pleasure the happy days we spent as newlyweds in Denver. We had hoped to return one day.Betty Svennevik Oslo, Norway

Online magazineThe e-version of the winter 2008 University of Denver Magazine [www.du.edu/magazine] is excellent. Keep up the good work.Neil Sapper (BA 63) Austin, Texas

Renaissance Room memoriesI am replying to the request in the fall 2008 magazine [Alumni Connections, page 45] to share memories of the Renaissance Room or Mary Reed Library. During the 12 months I was a graduate student, I used the Mary Reed Librarythe Ren Room in particularto study and complete assignments. I also worked 20 hours a week in the Ren Room, often from 8 p.m. to midnight and 8 a.m. to noon. I lived in an apartment several blocks away and walked to and from campus. I remember cooking, eating,University of Denver Magazine Letters

Korbels legacyI am writing to congratulate you on the excellent article on the life and times of Professor Josef Korbel (Remembering

My husband, Olav Svennevik (MA 55), received the University of Denver Magazine for a number of years and enjoyed very much being in touch with his old university. Sadly, he died in December 2007. Olav would particularly have enjoyed the issue commemorating Josef Korbel. Professor Korbel was Olavs thesis adviser and became a friend and excellent support in many ways. They kept in touch for several years after we left Denver, and Professor

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reading and studying after my midnight shift and often going with friends to the nearby Dennys to have coffee, talk and eat. Two particular Ren Room memories are as vivid as if they happened yesterday one humorous and one romantic. In regard to the former, the situation was that I had worked the two shifts and fell asleep about 2 a.m. I dressed in the dark, trying not to awaken my roommate at 7:30 a.m. Soon after, I was in the Ren Room. I sat down, crossing my legs. The desk was placed by the hallway entrance, in front of the fireplace. As I looked down I was aghast to see that (in my mind, at least) my legs were deformed! Standing up to examine the problem, with feet firmly on the floor, I saw that I had put my left shoe on my right foot, and vice versa! At Dennys when I related the incident to my friends, one kind, satirical soul took out her pen and paper napkin, quickly drew and wrote something on it, and told me to place it on the floor when dressing next time. She had sketched a pattern with two correctly

placed feet and the words left foot, right foot. The romantic encounter in the Ren Room occurred near the end of the summer of 1972. A handsome male about my age asked for help in locating a journal: Picturescope. I checked the card catalog. After finding the periodical, I asked why he needed it. He explained that he was at DU attending a special summer seminar on the history of photography. This was the beginning of a short but joyous romance with Alan Miller, who returned that month to his home in Klamath Falls, Ore. I left for Dallas to begin a position as childrens librarian. This past summer I had the great pleasure of actually walking around the Ren Room again after decades. My friend, Rena Fowler, who has resettled in Denver after many years of working in other cities and states, kindly drove me to the campus after Id flown in from Texas with my young daughters. Although it was a Saturday, the Mary Reed Building was open, as well as

the Ren Room. Even though the latter had stacks of books packed in boxes all over the floor, just being there and seeing that same fireplace, the high ceilings and huge windows brought back a flood of wonderful memories. I could picture my friends studying at the long, oak tables. I had a warm, comfortable feeling because I was in a place where I had met lifelong friends and earned an excellent education for my lifelong career. You see, it was at the Mary Reed Library that I initially met Rena. Thank you for allowing me to describe my reminiscences. I must admit that I rarely took time to carefully read your magazine. But Im so glad I did this time!Frances Toni (Smardo) Dowd (MA 72) DallasSend letters to the editor to: Chelsey BakerHauck, University of Denver Magazine, 2199 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208. Or, e-mail [email protected]. Please include your full name and mailing address with all submissions. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.

Built for Learning

B u i lt F or L e a r n i n g

Built for Learning explores how and why the University of Denver embarked on an extraordinary transformation of its campus. With hundreds of color photographs and stunning illustrations, Built for Learning belongs on your reading list.Order your copy today at www.du.edu/builtforlearning.Special pricing for DU students, alumni, faculty and staff.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER

A UNIFIED ARCHITECTURAL VISION FOR

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Study-abroad ranking Climate effort Laser microscope Immigration panel In-law relationships Hand-washing study Donor spotlight

Wayne Armstrong

Junior Virginia Woodfork and sophomore Cameron Lewis celebrated Barack Obamas victory Nov. 4, joining hundreds of students at the Cable Center to watch election returns. The University hosts Republican and Democratic college chapters, and more than a thousand students joined DU Students for Barack Obama. DU was a top stop on the presidential campaign trail, hosting visits by Obama, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Ralph Nader and Bob Barr.University of Denver Magazine Update

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Top News

New soccer stadium taking shapeBy Richard Chapman

When

the sultry afternoon of Aug. 28 trudges up to the dinner hour, DU soccer fans will be eagerly settling into brand new seats. Floodlights will power up and a new scoreboard flicker on. The whistle will blow, cleats will stab manicured sod, and DU will unleash a womens team that wont quit the pitch until theyve blown the Gaels of Saint Marys College back to Northern California. The next night, DUs mens team will sprint onto the turf and keep running until theyve booted the Stanford Cardinal from ecclesiastical red to a pale pink. Welcome to the Universitys $6.7 million, 1,771-seat soccer stadium and conditioning complex, a new DU jewel aimed at kick-starting soccer to a new level and giving athletes in all sports a better way to train. Under the lights, theres extra energy and extra passion, says center midfielder Collin Audley, a junior. That first night will be really exciting. I dont think theres going to be a better place in the country to see a game, says mens coach Bobby Muuss. Even the School of Art and Art History is excited. As part of the overall project, the school is getting a 12,500-square-foot studio on the south side of the Ritchie Center. The studio will help reinstate the Master of Fine Arts program and afford drawing and painting students much-needed space to work and learn. The one-story, garden-level art annex is being combined with the soccer and conditioning complex for cost-effectiveness, says University Architect Mark Rodgers. The $9.2 million combined project is to be completed by late fall. Its a wonderful opportunity, notes Annette Stott, director of the School of Art and Art History. Things that the faculty have been talking about for a couple years now become possible with this. Stott envisions classes in the annex by January 2010. Its good that if you put in an athletic project you find some way to connect it with the rest of the school, says Audley, who proclaims a love of art when he isnt scoring goals for the 10-7-2 Pioneers. In 2008, DU men finished atop the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and qualified for the NCAA tournament, falling in the first round to UC Davis 4-0. DU women notched 19 victories, won the Sun Belt Conference and postseason tournament, and placed six players on the allconference team. DU women earned a trip to the NCAA tournament but lost in the first round to Kansas 2-1. The results may be a prelude to glory days ahead. We want to be among the best soccer programs in the country on both the mens and womens side, Muuss says. Being the best means recruiting the best, he cautions. It also means scheduling top opponents like St. Louis and San Diego State and attracting diehard fans. Being limited to day games in summer heat makes program building tough, he points out; televising night games and exciting fans make that easier. Hence the need for the new stadium. Weve lost kids because of facilities, says womens coach Jeff Hooker. If [a recruit] sees a university has lights and a great field, they think the school cares a little more about them. The strength and conditioning area will be tucked under the stands and will provide 11,000 square feet of training space for studentathletes in all 17 DU Division I sports. The aim is to build unity and help with injury prevention and recovery. Getting healthy, staying healthy and getting stronger together as a team, as Rodgers puts it. Thats competing at the highest level.

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Students give DU high marks on faculty-student engagementEighty-eight percent of DU freshmen report a favorable image of the institution, and 81 percent of seniors would choose DU again if they could start their college careers over, according to the 2008 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) released Nov. 10. DU students continue to rank their education higher than peer institutions in four benchmark categories, including student-faculty interaction, level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, and enriching educational experiences. The survey doesnt rank the colleges that participate; instead it provides a comparison between individual schools and peer and national institutions based on surveys of freshmen and seniors. The survey measured DU with three different comparison groups: a self-selected peer group; a group of institutions with the same Carnegie Classification; and with all 2008 NSSE participants. Student respondents gave DU particularly high marks on the level of faculty-student engagement. Eighty-eight percent of seniors surveyed at least occasionally discuss career plans with faculty, 56 percent of freshmen spend time with faculty on activities other than coursework, and by their senior year, 26 percent of students have conducted research with faculty. Eighty-one percent of freshmen feel that the University places substantial emphasis on academics, and 58 percent of them frequently work harder than they thought they could to meet faculty expectations. More than 380,000 randomly selected freshmen and senior students from 722 participating four-year colleges and universities nationwide took part in the 2008 survey.Media Relations Staff

One to Watch

Monica Kumar, marketing/financeSenior marketing/ finance major Monica Kumar is a rarity among twenty-somethings: She knows the person she is. While many her age struggle with identity, Kumar grasped a foothold years ago. Shes more pragmatic than ideological, says Jo Calhoun, associate provost of Student Life. Kumar is Hindu and a first-generation American. Her parentsproducts of an arranged marriage in Indiaare her inspiration. She loves Dr. Seuss. He has these truly complex ideas that he just simplifies for children, Kumar gushes. Oh, the Places Youll Go! makes me cry every time I read it. If what shes already accomplished is any indication, Kumar will be going places, too (graduate school and a career in New York City are next on the agenda). Kumar is a member of DUs Pioneer Leadership Program and has been involved with the All Undergraduate Student Association (AUSA) Senate since her freshman year. I just kind of consumed it, she says. Indeed. Her Senate roles have included terms as a Daniels College of Business senator and president of the DU Programs Board. Now, as president of the undergraduate student body, shes working on branding a Pioneer identity (It goes beyond a mascot, Kumar explains), developing sustainable energy on campus (she and fellow senators are working on a bike-sharing program with the city of Denver) and creating a more cohesive campus community. Perhaps what motivates her most is service to othersbeyond the borders of DU or even the nation. Her family has been volunteering at an Indian heritage camp for 10 years, where she helped teach identity to adopted Indian children with Anglo parents. Even after visiting India on her own a handful of times, it was her trip there with others who had never seen the country that, she says, changed my life. During a winter DU interterm courseProject Dharamsalashe spent her days teaching English. I tutored an ex-political prisoner who was only in prison because he supported the Dalai Lama. He will never be able to see his family back in Tibet; it was just heartbreaking, she says. If you ask her why she does so muchand so wholeheartedly Kumar answers without hesitation: Its my responsibility to work hard and give back.Kathryn MayerWayne Armstrong

DU ranks second for undergraduate study abroadThe University of Denver ranks second in the nation among doctoral and research institutions in the percentage of undergraduate students participating in study-abroad programs, according to the 2008 Open Doors report released by the Institute of International Education in late November. The report, which reflects data from the 200607 academic year, shows that DU sent 74.4 percent of its undergraduates abroad, just behind Yeshiva University, which sent 75.7 percent of its undergraduates. Nationally, just over 1 percent of all enrolled undergraduates studied abroad. DU offers more than 150 study-abroad programs in 56 nations. Its Cherrington Global Scholars program gives all eligible juniors and seniors the opportunity to spend one academic quarter studying abroad at no additional cost beyond their normal tuition. The University will spend $10 million this year on study abroad. In addition to student tuition, housing and some meals, this expense includes nearly $1 million for transportation, visa application fees and insurance mandated by host countries or universities.Kristal Griffith


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Sustainability Council works to create climate neutral campusDUs Sustainability Council is embarking on an effort that promises to be its most ambitious and lasting yeta bid to develop an all-encompassing plan for creating a campus that is entirely climate neutral. Committees in the coming months will examine every aspect of campus life, from transportation to heating to light bulbs, as they craft a plan that will satisfy requirements of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. The commitment, part of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, gives member organizations two years to develop a campus neutrality plan. DU signed on last year, and the plan is due in September 2009. It will require the University to set a specific date to achieve neutrality. Jay Pearlmanwho tallied DUs carbon footprint through the consulting firm Sightlinessaid DU last year was responsible for nearly 82,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, although some 14,000 metric tons were offset through green-energy purchases. Of those emissions, more than half came from the electricity that powers campus. Transportation and campus-supported air travel were the next biggest culprits. Lyndsay Agans, a lecturer and diversity faculty fellow in higher education at the DU Morgridge College of Education, researched and laid out the steps the council may follow in its quest for climate neutrality. Her plan would touch virtually every facet of campus life with outreach and town hall meetings, faculty input and student involvement. She said a plan could look at everything from recycling, electricity and transportation to using locally grown food and moving toward an organic campus that depends more on natural fertilizers and less on pesticides in landscaping. Developing research and courses that target climate neutrality will also be part of the plan.Chase Squires

DU by the Numbers

Recycling statisticsRecycling bins on campus (part of DUs new Get Caught Green-Handed program) Material recycled in September 2008 (the first month of the new program) Recycled material per student in September 2008 Material recycled in August 2008 (before the program went into effect)Compiled by Alfredo Abad, director of custodial services

3,000

20 tons

3.5 pounds 10 tons

The University of Denver presents

Steven Berlin Johnson, best-selling author of six books on the intersection of science, technology andpersonal experience, including Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Todays Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter.

March 31, 2009 7 p.m. June Swaner Gates Concert Hall Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave.Americas education system faces many challenges. Some critics contend that our public school system needs a radical overhaul, while others recommend incremental reform. Virtually everyone agrees that there are more questions than answers in this important policy arena. Join the discussion as the University of Denvers 20082009 Bridges to the Future series, which is free and open to the public, looks at the future of education in our complex society.Go to www.du.edu/bridges to RSVP or watch live online on March 31. For those without Internet access, please call 303.871.2357.

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Arts

Daughters of IndiaBy Kathryn Mayer

Huyler (BA history 73) figured he should take a class to familiarize himself with India before he left for a trip there with a friend. His friend ended up canceling the trip, and Huyler found himself riveted with his Indian studies. So riveted, in fact, that he convinced DUs administration to let him create his own degree in Indian studies and developed an independent yearlong research trip to India during his junior year. That year, he set to work on what he considers to be his first book (unpublished essays and photos) while traveling through India. The work was a collaborative effort: I sent [essays] to my mother handwritten, and she typed them up and sent them to the University, Huyler says. Huyler, who came to DU intending to study creative writing, felt a strong desire to capture the country and its people in a creative fashion. I saw things in India that needed to be documented through photography in addition to words, he says. And on that initial trip, he knew what it was he wanted to focus on: Indian womanhood. I had these very rich, rewarding experiences into the social Indian dynamic in which I witnessed the strength of women, he says. Men run hotels, men run the businesses, men run the public sphere ... but women run the private sphere. His most recent bookhis fifth on India and its cultureis Daughters of India: Art and Identity (Abbeville Press, 2008). It profiles 20 different Indian women, featuring color portraits and text describing their journeys. Stories range from traditional to modern, and each highlights womens empowerment, Huyler says. Some of these daughters of India, he explains, have had to live behind the veil and were viewed as untouchables and treated as lower-class Although most young women in India today wear contemporary fashions, girls in citizens. some regions, such as this one in Kachchh, Gujarat, still proudly adorn themselves in These are horrific situations, but they dont view them as traditional jewelry. such, Huyler says. Its an example of [the strength] of women globally. Huyler aims to dispel Western myths about Indian women, claiming that Americans are often jolted by reports they hear about the country in general. We have our homes with televisions and cars and washing machines. ... We believe that people who dont have these are less fortunate or less happy, but in fact, thats not true, Huyler says, noting that the women he features in his book are among the most content people hes known. Huyler has spent an average of four months a year in India for the past 37 years. Its tiring, Huyler admits, but I love doing it. It feeds something inside me. Its very nourishing. Although he says its impossible to speak all the Indian dialects, he has learned to comprehend a handful. Many of the women he converses with understand and speak English and are very, very open, kind, receptive and generous people. Im very aware of the issues of inequality, he says, but I do not view Indian women as victims.University of Denver Magazine Update

Stephen

Stephen Huyler

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Q&A

University Chaplain Gary Brower on faith and college lifeInterview by Janna Widdifield

Q A

What is your function on campus?

I help students, faculty and staff (but primarily students) find the faith tradition that they are interested in. I have conversations with students who are seeking a religious home. I also try to ensure that all religious groups on campus are treated fairly. I spent a lot time last year trying to make sure that religious groups on campus got treated like all the other groups on campus. They shouldnt be treated separately just because they are religious groups. So, for example, I encouraged the student senate to agree to fund religious student groups just like any other group. Another function would be to sort of mainstream religious concernsto make sure the religious voice is not left out. For example, the Center for Multicultural Excellence is concerned about diversity. But until I got here, there wasnt someone devoted to keeping the conversation about religious diversity alive within the larger context of diversity. Part of what I do is bring people together across boundaries. Ive done some work on some interfaith projects where I deal with students who may be actively involved in their traditions, but they are interested in learning from students from different traditions. Last fall we did an interfaith Habitat for Humanity project, and we had Jewish and Muslim and Protestant folks out there working together.

Many college students are living away from home, family and community influences. Do you see faith as a priority for most students, or is it something that goes on the back burner?

Q A

Photo illustration by Wayne Armstrong

I would say probably it goes to the back burner, especially if you look at the statistics. Eighty to 85 percent of students claim to be spiritual in one way or anotherthats nationwide, and its probably the same here. But if you look at the people who are actually involved in their tradition while at DU, Im sure it probably wouldnt even approach 50 percent. I think two things happen. One, their connections are looser. So, they might attend church occasionally as opposed to regularly like they may have when their parents were schlepping them to and fro. Or, they may shift and move into the spiritual but not-religious realm (as opposed to being spiritual and religious). And then, of course, students away at college are frequently exposed to religious diversity for the first time, and they begin exploring that. But that doesnt always take institutional form. The statistics also show that students are engaged in a lot of conversations about religion, but these happen in dorms and outside the classroom and not necessarily with religious professionals.

Q A

What is the greatest need of todays college students in the area of faith?

A safe place to talk. My experience has been that many students dont feel free to talk about religious issues in the classroom, but they want more opportunity to talk about these issues there. Its hard to even come out to their friends. In many ways, its easier to be out as a lesbian or gay person on a college campus than a person of deep religion or faith. And Ive even heard that from any number of gay or lesbian students (on lots of different campuses) who are also people of faith. I think the main reason is that we have a lot of stereotypes about what religious people are. People dont really want to come out with that part of who they are. Not only may they open themselves up to ridicule on the one side, but on the other side (and this isnt only true of students), they arent really confirmed in what they think. Being asked to defend their position is really tricky at a time when so much is in upheaval. You may have grown up believing one thing, and now that it is called into question on a college campus.

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Laser microscope provides scientists inside look at cellsSomebody said the other day, We used to not be able to talk about sex, politics or religion. Well, sex is on prime-time television, politics is all around us, and religion is the last of the barriers to be broken. I think it is one of those really private pieces, and we dont have good ways of talking about it. Im not so sure that its a question about the acceptance of religious diversity. Its a question of whether people are willing to talk about or have a place to talk about questions of faith without feeling like they are going to look weird to their friends. DU has brought a powerful new laser-powered microscope to the table, offering researchers glimpses inside cells and a chance to see how living things work on a molecular level. Biology Associate Professor Joe Angleson (pictured) worked with colleagues and the provosts office over nine months to select and fund the purchase of the nearly $500,000 Olympus laser-scanning confocal microscope. Its expected to help scientists delve into the mysteries of bioscience, chasing diseases such as diabetes and neuromuscular malfunctions. The microscope uses lasers to focus light on the subject; receptors pick up the resulting image and deliver it to computer screens. Using it, scientists can see inside a cell and focus on specific sections while eliminating the visual clutter for a clear view. Adding a new dimension to micro-examination, the lasers also can manipulate and stimulate cells, affording researchers the ability to see how living cells react to stimuli. The new tool has multiple applications. For instance, Assistant Professor Scott Barbee is studying synaptic reactions inside muscles, probing deep inside the cells of fruit flies. The images produced can be from inanimate objects or living tissue, allowing researchers to see inside a cell as it lives and reacts in real time to input, such as chemicals that may one day have medical uses.Chase SquiresWayne Armstrong

DU hasnt had a chaplain since the mid-1970s. What significance do you see in DUs decision to reinstate the position in 2007, when you joined the University?

Q A

I think it was recognition of two things. It was recognition that universities need to deal with the whole student and devote resources to it. We deal with the socialization stuff in the residence halls, and we deal with health and counseling, and certainly we deal with the intellectual life. Then, we devote funds to diversity education, gender violence awareness and alcohol awareness training, and then we just have bracketed this other part that can either be a support or it can inform all of these other piecesthat being the religious and spiritual side. And so, I think the significance is that a whole student includes that religious/spiritual side. I also think there was a recognition on the Universitys part that there wasnt really anybody dedicated to deal with that, and it wasnt fair to expect the religious studies department or the campus ministries to do itpartly because neither religious studies nor the campus ministries attract everybody. There wasnt anyone looking at it from a University standpoint. If DU is going to adequately prepare leaders, then those leaders need to be able to negotiate questions of religious diversity. Ignorance of [religious diversity] has had such a huge impact. I think that if I do my job well, more students will be better prepared.

Morgridge College of Education receives $10 million giftThe University of Denvers Morgridge College of Education received a $10 million gift from James Jim Cox Kennedy (BSBA 70) to create the James C. Kennedy Institute for Educational Success. The gift, made in part through the Denver Foundation, will endow three faculty chairs and a program/research endowment in the college. The Kennedy Institute will seek to identify innovative and cost-effective means for promoting and sustaining the educational success of vulnerable childrenfrom early childhood through postsecondary education. The Morgridge College is undergoing a major transition, one that will position it to play a catalytic role in the resolution of major educational issues our society faces, from early childhood education to K-12 reform to access and affordability issues in higher education, says Chancellor Robert Coombe. In creating the institute, the gift establishes the James C. Kennedy Endowment for Educational Success and endowed chairs in early childhood learning, urban education and innovative learning technologies. Kennedy is the CEO of Cox Enterprises, which owns 17 newspapers, 80 radio stations and 15 television stations. Hes a past member of DUs Board of Trustees.Jim Berscheidt

Gary Brower is an ordained Episcopal priest with nearly 20 years of campus ministry experience. He oversees DUs Center for Religious Services (www. du.edu/crs), which encompasses 20 campus religious and spiritual organizations.


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Strategic Issues Program tackles immigration issueThe University of Denvers Strategic Issues Program hasnt been shy in the past about tackling big, tough issues: Colorados economy, the future of the states water supply and the state constitution. At a state Capitol news conference Nov. 14, DU Chancellor Robert Coombe announced the blue-ribbon panel is taking on immigrationa topic that has sparked years of debate and massive demonstrations and that touches everything from the countrys economy to national security. Coombe said the assembled panel of 19 scholars, business professionals and civic leaders understands the work wont be easy. But the state and the nation must work toward a resolution, he said, and DU is committed to lending its voice and expertise. As an institution of higher education in the state, it is really our responsibility, our obligation, Coombe said. Our hope is that the Strategic Issues Program on immigration will be able not so much to come forward with a solution, but perhaps come forward with a framework for a solution. Jim Griesemer (pictured), director of the program and dean emeritus of DUs Daniels College of Business, said the nonpartisan panel will hear from some leading political figures, including former Colorado Govs. Dick Lamm and Bill Owens, state Attorney General John Suthers and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. But they are also hearing from people working with social service agencies and others who understand the impact of immigrationboth legal and illegalon the economy, health care, schools and other areas of government and society. The Strategic Issues Program was founded in 2005. The immigration panels final reportdue in fall 2009will be widely shared with the public, the media, public officials, business and community leaders and other interested parties. >>www.du.edu/issuesChase SquiresWayne Armstrong

Uncovering the Past, Creating a FutureYour gift can make all the difference for our students.DU students Nicole Saint and Stefani Schulte are studying in one of only two undergraduate pre-art conservation programs in the nation. Recently they helped restore an original mural of Shakespearean characters by John Edward Thompson, painted in DUs Little Theatre in 1929. Their real world experience was made possible by the generosity of DU donors. Find out how you can make history by naming DU as a beneficiary of your estate or retirement plan to help students like Nicole and Stefani.

www.giftplanning.du.edu

Give to a Great University14University of Denver Magazine Spring 2009

Office of Gift Planning 800.448.3238 or 303.871.2739 [email protected] www.giftplanning.du.edu

DU research shows in-law relationships impact marital happinessSome people think the best way to approach their in-laws is to avoid them. But six years of research at the University of Denver suggests that is a bad idea. Mary Claire Morr Serewicz, associate professor of human communication studies, has studied the relationship between newlyweds and their in-laws extensively. The quality of newlyweds satisfaction with their in-laws is directly connected to their marital satisfaction, Morr Serewicz says. Morr Serewicz says the most important thing couples can do is realize the seriousness of these relationships. In her most recent research, she proposes a triangular theory to point out the priority in-laws have in making marriage satisfying. The theory basically states that a couple isnt alone in a marriagethe in-laws are part of the relationship, too. Its with that knowledge that she passes on this advice. First, the most positive impact that parents-in-law can have on their childs marriage is to express their acceptance of the new child-in-law. Conversely, the most negative thing parents-in-law can do is slander or gossip about other family members. Finally, Morr Serewicz says the decision to end a relationship with an in-law should only be done in the most serious situations. While there are times it is appropriate, it should be considered carefully because it will strain the marriage.Kristal Griffith

Most popular DU student organizations1. Hillel (750 members) 2. Club Sports (592) 3. Alpine Club (388) 4. Colleges Against Cancer (360) 5. Lamont Student Music Performance Organization (340) 6. National Society of Collegiate Scholars (330) 7. Chabad at the University of Denver (281) 8. Up Til Dawn (260) 9. Pioneer Book Club (225) 10. Undergraduate Business Student Association (200)Compiled by Carlie Field, AUSA Senate student organization committee chair

Pioneers Top 10

Effort to identify new Pioneer symbol kicks offMore than 50 faculty, staff and students set forth Nov. 6 on a path some hope will lead to a new mascot to embody the spirit and capture the enthusiasm of the University of Denver campus and community. In the first of what is expected to be a series of collective events aimed at defining a Pioneer, organizers encouraged participants to ponder what makes DU a special place and what truly represents the University. The meeting followed an October announcement by Chancellor Robert Coombe that Denver Boone, retired in 1998, would not be returning as DUs mascot. Students had led an effort to reinstate Boone because they felt the current mascot, a red-tailed hawk named Ruckus (pictured), hadnt generated enough campus enthusiasm. Although the University will not use the image of Boone in any official manner, Coombe said, students and alumni are welcome to continue using the character in personal celebration of DUs history and tradition. He encouraged the campus community to continue the discussion of what it means to be a Pioneer, for today and the future. The November meeting opened with a history of DUs mascots, from the earliest days when the schools athletic programs went under the informal nickname of the Ministers and the Fighting Pastors. Students adopted the nickname Pioneers and the mascot Pioneer Pete in the 1920s before later adopting Denver Boone in the 1960s. Participants in a group brainstorming session aimed at identifying what makes DU special offered identifying characteristics, such as the spires that dot the campus to the tradition of the red vest and the school colors, crimson and gold. The University also can be proud of its long tradition of innovation, community service, international focus, and its history, inextricably tied to the history of Denver and the Rocky Mountain West, participants said. Organizers encourage comment via e-mail at [email protected] Squires


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Sports

Physics, hoops and Erik JohnsonBy Richard Chapman

Erik Johnsons world, two important people are at every DU womens basketball game: Tom Wilson and Isaac Newton. And the game always boils down to one thing: Does Johnsons scrappy group of DU players know enough about Isaac Newtons physics to get a Wilson-brand basketball through the rim more often than the other team? Physics and basketball. For Johnson, who took over the DU womens team last spring, theyre as much a fit as sneakers and socks. When he watches forward Nnenna Akotaobi pump a jump shot or point guard Andi Mason stroke a free throw, shooting tips he learned from his physicist father more than two decades ago come rattling to mind. Will the parabolic arc enlarge the target? Are there Z vectors or just X and Y variables? What about gravity? Buoyant force? Drag? Will the backspin soften the shot? And if the ball misses, can the rebounder properly judge the angle of incidence and get into position? And you thought basketball was just something to eat popcorn by! His first word was ball, Johnsons mother, Kathryn, recalls. His first basket was a hoop that his father, Jim, hung on a tree in the familys backyard in Northern California. Roots and dirt around the trunk kept the fourth-grader from dribbling. So, he learned to shootthe physicists way. I told him about moving his arm in a nice plane and trying to get a good arc to get a bigger target, says Jim Johnson, who admits to a preference for bird-watching. Its not rocket science. But it is physics, which the elder Johnson knew from a long career at Stanfords Linear Accelerator Center, a two-mile-long laboratory for crash-testing atomic particles. I learned to shoot over wires and branches and all that kind of stuff, the younger Johnson says. Thats why I became a great shooter. Call it trial by bramble. Toss in the 6-foot-4 frame Johnson grew into and you get the makings of a distinguished playing career at UC-San Diego, where he set career and single-season records for three-pointers and appeared in three NCAA Division III tournaments. Johnsons entry into womens basketball began in 1994 in graduate school at the University of Rhode Island. The womens coach recruited him as a male practice player she hoped could toughen up her 6-2 center. So, Johnson knocked heads, studied, coached a little and inched his way toward a career that since 1995 has brought coaching assistantships at the University of Rhode Island, San Diego, Boston College and last spring, the top spot at DU. Right now, the perception is [that DU is] a nice little school you go to if youre a smart kid and want to play some basketball, Johnson says. I want to change the culture: If youre a serious basketball player in Colorado, DU is on your list. Johnsons effort to do that began April 30, 2008, the day he was introduced at DU and first met his team, a quirky assortment of disenchanted veterans and returning redshirts. We heard there would be a team meeting at 6:30 in the morning, recalls Akotaobi, a senior. In walks coach Johnson and hes just full of energy, and were like, Who is this guy? The team didnt wait to find out. They came to me and said, Coach, we want to win the Sun Belt. What does it take? What do we have to do? Johnson recalls. They needed to be pushed, they needed to be disciplined; they were hungry for it. Most of them anyway. Three of the four recruits Johnson telephoned on his first day at DU said they were with him. The fourth wasnt sure. Jenny Vaughan, a blue-chip point guard being groomed for Canadas Olympic team, had scholarship offers from Utah, San Diego and Michigan. She had committed to DU, but the coach who recruited her was gone. Who was this guy Johnson, she wondered? Answering that took two and a half hours on the phone and a flight to Vaughans hometown in Dundas, Ontario. We met, talked; he came to school, Vaughan recalls. He came to my house for dinner, met my family. Oddly, she recognized Johnsons name from e-mails he had sent her while recruiting for Boston College. The familiarity made her feel better, she says, but she still needed to size up the guy. We were hoping hed say the things we wanted to hear, and he definitely did, she says. What turned the tide? When we mutually realized I wanted to win as bad as she did, Johnson says. With Vaughan in the fold, Johnson returned to the push his players had asked for. The new discipline began with, well, discipline,

In head coach

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Marc Piscotty

Coach Erik Johnson points out strategy to sophomore guard Britteni Rice during an early season practice.

which led to tough conditioning drills and weight room work like we mean business. Watch a practice and you see a rigorous splash of skills-drills, instruction, flying bodies, aggressive rebounding, running to exhaustion and more talk than a pep rally. Everybodys attentive; everybodys involved. No showboating, no hissy fits, no doggin it. The energy alone could run the lights in Hamilton Gym. All from a team picked in preseason to finish sixth. I get so pumped up in practice cause of how hard we work, Akotaobi says. Were jumping in passing lanes, were stealing balls, were diving on the floor. We play an up-tempo, exciting style of basketball. Which may be like calling the Indy 500 a Sunday drive. Im a nice person off the court, says freshman Kaetlyn Murdoch of Temple, Texas, a 5-11 forward who uncoils for rebounds like a boa constrictor after a small goat. On the court, Im not too nice. Her blue eyes shock with intensity. I dont want to knock anyones teeth out, she continues. Just push them down and get the ball. The end of practice doesnt end Johnsons day. There are 6-, 4- and 2-years-olds waiting for him at home with wife Laura Davis, a two-time All-American in volleyball at Ohio State and an Olympic team alternate. I can think Im the greatest coach in the world, but when I get home there are still diapers to be changed and dishes to be washed, he chuckles. To Johnson, the need to be a good husband and father is as important as being a good coach. Hes driven to balance both and excel at each. It needs to be magical, he says of his obligations. It is for Vaughan. He genuinely cares about us. Its awesome. Adds Akotaobi: Were all basically freshmen again and Im lovin it. >>www.DenverPioneers.com


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Parent to parent

Encourage students to think broadly about study-abroad optionsAs my daughter entered the University in fall 2004, DUs Cherrington Global Scholars study-abroad program for juniors and seniors was moving into high gear. As the winter term of her sophomore year approached, we began having conversations about possible locations: Germany, the Czech Republic, Denmark. With each country having so much to offer, how were we to choose? I believed the determination on location should be based upon the best opportunities for expanding cultural and language awareness, independence and resourcefulness, and understanding of other parts of the global community. I advise each student, along with his or her parents, to think as widely as possible about various countries, thinking outside the comfort zones of English-speaking and European nations. Countries of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America provide powerful opportunities to expand ones worldview within the safe environment of the university setting, with the support of the Cherrington staff always available. Give thought to this decision at the earliest possible point, even during the freshman year, to allow for possible language and cultural courses to bolster the experience. In addition, early planning for the study-abroad experience improves the students ability to plan for graduation requirements. The Cherrington staff proved to be entirely organized and effective in guiding my daughter through the processes of planning and applying to the program, and finally traveling to the foreign destination. The staff answered every question in a timely and kindly manner. My daughters four-month stay in Istanbul, Turkeywhere she experienced a Muslim religious tradition in a non-Western cultureshines as one of the brightest experiences of her University of Denver career. A mind open to diverse experiences is a mind open to satisfaction and success; the Cherrington program provides a platform for launching a lifetime of enlivening experiences. >>www.du.edu/globalscholarsPeggy Ulrich-NimsPeggy Ulrich-Nims, a former DU staff member, is the parent of Christine Nims (BA international studies 08).

Hand-washing study offers new weapon against bugsGetting undergraduates to do whats good for them may be more about what they think is disgusting than what they think is smart, DU research indicates. Moreover, if the message offers an easy way to avoid whats disgusting, many students will change their ways. The 2007 study that led to these conclusions focused on getting students to wash their hands more often, particularly after using the bathroom. Fear of spreading germs or getting sick by not washing didnt mean much to students, focus group research suggested. What got their attention was the knowledge that they might be walking around with gross things on their hands if they didnt wash. In fall quarter 2007, researchers posted messages in the bathrooms of two DU undergraduate residence halls. The messages said things like Poo on you, wash your hands or You just peed, wash your hands and contained vivid graphics and photos. The messages resulted in increased hand washing among females by 26 percentage points and among males by 8 percentage points. The studys lead author, Renee Botta, associate professor in the Department of Mass Communications and Journalism Studies, theorizes that the severe drop in hand washing among males might have been that the habit they brought to campus fell away the longer they were away from home and the more they were pressed by studies. Then, too, males may require a secondary message beyond the gross ones that motivated women.Richard Chapman

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People

Cooking up a new culinary conceptBy Roxanne Hawn

Two

weeks before turning 30, Elizabeth Yarnell (MLS 98) awoke blind in one eye. The news wasnt good: multiple sclerosis. Although her sight returned, the medical reality loomed. Instead of melting down, however, she cooked up a solution that improved her health and changed her career. Today, the former instructional designer feels better and lists inventor and cookbook author among her credits. Yarnell, whose cupboards at the time featured Gummi Bears and little else, believed she could fight the disease by eating better. She took cooking lessons, but fatigue won out. Everything I wanted to cook took forever, especially since my focus was on whole foods, she says. Stumped by the Dutch oven she received as a wedding present, this self-proclaimed last-minute cook threw meat and vegetables in the pot and cranked her oven as high as it would go (450 degrees). Forty-five minutes later, she says, it just smelled so heavenly. I took it out, and we had a great dinner. Yarnell began experimenting with carbs and other ingredients. Ultimately, she landed upon a solution for whole-food, complete meals spanning culinary traditions that require little prep and only 3045 minutes to cook. When a houseguest asked for her secret, Yarnell drafted a 12-page manuscript. It explained the concept and the method and included a couple recipes, she says. I started handing that out with Dutch ovens as wedding gifts. People loved it. In 2001, she expanded the booklet, pitched publishers, launched a Web site and began the patent process to protect her infusion cooking method. Some 50 rejections later, Yarnell needed a new plan. Publishers were not interested. She didnt own a restaurant. She wasnt a famous chef or chef to someone famous. She hadnt even gone to culinary school. After promising negotiations, corporate sponsorship from a major Dutch oven brand also fizzled out. This thing Id been working on for five years fell through completely, recalls Yarnell, who by then had two small children. Even my agent expressed a lack of faith in me, so I fired him. I said, OK. Im going to cry for a month, then what am I going to do? Despite her fears about the expense and stress of independent publishing, Yarnell rallied family resources, including an advance on her inheritance, to publish 2,000 cookbooks. She sold all of them the first month. Over the next few years, Yarnell sold another 10,000. She set out for the 2007 Book Expo America to snag a new agent and a mainstream publisher. As it turned out, the editor from Broadway Books (a Random House imprint) already owned my cookbook, Yarnell marvels. The new edition of Glorious One-Pot Meals came out in January 2008. After years with little financial ease or sleep, Yarnell says, My biggest definition of success is having people get it. This is a totally different concept, not just another cookbook. >>www.elizabethyarnell.com >>www.effortlesseating.com


Wayne Armstrong

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Donor Spotlight

Houston HarteGrowing up on the plains of West Texas, Houston Harte (BSBA 83) was surrounded by a dusty horizon, long, flat stretches of cotton and oil fields, and philanthropy. Giving was just part of my family, says Harte, who now lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., as a semi-retired investor. My grandparents and parents would give money to kids families for school or summer campskids I grew up with playing on the playground. During the Great Depression, Harte says, his grandparents collected shoes and gave them to needy kids around town. The lessons were not lost on Harte, and today he sees a horizon of better futures for kids through his own philanthropy. He and his wife, Anne, recently pledged $250,000 to create the Harte Family Endowed Scholarship Fund at the University of Denver. Houston is so incredibly generous and humble that he initially discouraged us from using his name on the endowed fund, says Ed Harris, vice chancellor for University Advancement. Only after we explained that attaching an alumnus name to the fund could both encourage his peers to consider similar gifts and educate students on the importance of alumni giving did he acquiesce. Harte also directly supports a current DU student with money for books, housing, whatever she needs, says Harte, whose son, also named Houston, is a senior at DU studying real estate development and construction management. My childhood was great, and I didnt really appreciate it at the time, Harte says. The kids today are working a little harder than I did, and they dont have the opportunities I had, so I like to help. The giving comes back to him, he adds, not in the form of the child coming back to say Im a CEO of a huge company, but in the way of just being presented with an opportunity to help a kid. That really makes me feel good.Doug McPherson

Craig Korn

AT H L E T IC S& R ECR E ATION

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History

The nine lives of DU radioBy Samantha Stewart

should supply an outlet for emotion and be a vehicle for expression, declared sophomore John Nile Wendorf (BA 72) in 1970. It was the height of the Vietnam protest era and Wendorf, general manager of student-run campus radio station KVDU, had recently secured the last noncommercial FM radio frequency in the Denver area. During Wendorfs tenure at the station, KVDU had gone from a station that adhered to a restrictive Top-40 play-list to one dominated by progressive rocka far cry from the stations original programming. When KVDU started operating from the modestly equipped T-8 Building on South York Street in November 1947, the station broadcast campus news, original radio dramas and played classical music and the popular bebop music of the time. As a carriercurrent station, however, KVDU could only reach students living on campus. By the late 1960s, KVDU was comparably equipped to any commercial radio station, according to The Clarion, but it still needed licensing from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to extend the stations operating power throughout Denver. Motivated by the belief that a university like DU needs to be attached to the community around it, Wendorf took on the challenge of obtaining an FCC license when he became general manager in 1969. At the same time, students including Bill Feinberg (BA 72) worked to secure more airtime for progressive rock music from bands such as the Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin and the Doors, while others, including James Levin (BA 72), expressed concern that the radical hippie element of DU had taken over the station. On April 15, 1970, Wendorf and his supporters beat out their competitiona local churchand the University received a license to broadcast to an area stretching from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Cheyenne, Wyo. When it came time to affix the FM transmitter on the Mary Reed Buildings tower, the students discovered they needed an additional $2,000. Without hesitation, and without his parents knowledge, Wendorf withdrew money from his tuition account to pay for the installation. The FM station, known as KCFR, started broadcasting on Sept. 17, 1970, with what Wendorf described as avant-garde programming that included rock, jazz, blues, folk and classical. During that same academic year, KVDU was forced to shut down as its student staffers left to work for KCFR. Wendorf would be the FM stations only student general manager. After its first year on the air, the University began hiring professionals to run KCFR. Wendorf says he supported the decision because KCFR wasnt sustainable as a student-run radio station. Feinberg, however, saw it differently, saying the administration had become uncomfortable with the power that could be harnessed by students in a potentially inappropriate way, as the on-campus anti-war protest Woodstock West had demonstrated the previous year. During the transition years, KCFR remained connected to DU, which continued providing funding and facilities. In 1984, KCFR became an independent community radio stationone of two stations that founded the Colorado Public Radio network. New student radio stations emerged to follow KVDU and KCFR, starting with KAOS in 1971 and KEGH in 1982. But they struggled with the same problems that plagued the former carrier-current station, and they, too, became defunct. Technology has helped DUs current radio station, KVDU, overcome many of the problems its predecessors encountered. Because KVDU broadcasts over the Internet, students living off campus or studying abroad can easily tune in to the stations hip-hop, pop and indie offerings. As campus radio was for earlier generations, KVDU is the student voice of the University of Denver, says sophomore Eric Peterson, KVDUs Web developer. >>KVDU.du.eduUniversity of Denver Magazine Update

Radio

DU Archives

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I have seen that in any great undertaking it is not enough for a man to depend simply upon himself.Lone Man (Isna-la-wica) Teton Sioux, 18501918

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Through a program in the Four Corners, DUs Graduate School of Social Work is educating social workers about the regions unique needs.

A New DirectionBy Brenda Gillen Photographs by Marc Piscotty

geography includes mountain ranges, river valleys, dry canyons, windy mesas and desert. Farmington, N.M., one of the regions larger cities, is home to about 42,425 people and three Starbucks. The region also is home to numerous American Indian tribes including Navajo, Hopi, Ute Mountain and Southern Uteeach with distinctive customs and belief systems. Like the rest of America, the region has problemspoverty, lack of education, lack of employment, alcohol and drug addiction, domestic violence and other crimes. But complex jurisdictional boundaries and the interplay of federal, tribal and state systems can hinder social services. The University of Denvers Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) is hoping to help improve the outlook, designing its Four Corners Master of Social Work (MSW) program specifically to meet the needs of the Four Corners region, including American Indians, educating students about the regions unique backgrounds and Native American communities. Founded in 2002 as a way to reach students in underserved areas where the need for social services is great but the opportunities for social-work training are limited, the program aims to equip both Native and non-native social workers with the tools they need to relate to diverse perspectives. The program is going to improve the services that are offered to Native Americans, says Marie Jim, a Four Corners Advisory Council member from the Navajo tribe in Ganado, Ariz. There will be fewer barriers, so services will be better.

T

he Four Corners is a vast region with long stretches of highway between small towns. The area encompasses parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, and its diverse

Nelda Martinez at Acoma Pueblo


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W

hile many American Indians live on reservations, others have moved to cities where job opportunities are more plentiful. Some were raised traditionally; others were not. All of these factors affect their worldview and receptivity to various social work approaches. Being aware and being sensitive to cultural differences and viewpoints is vital for social workers, says GSSW Clinical Assistant Professor and Four Corners program Director Wanda Ellingson, who has practiced human services in the region for 20 years. Many of the students in the Four Corners program are American Indians themselves, representing the Southern Ute, Navajo, Jicarillo Apache, Acoma and Shawnee tribes, among others. The norm in social work education is to learn the Western theoretical approach and apply that to services with Native Americans, Jim says. The DU program, however, helps students recognize their cultural knowledge and utilize more of their cultural background, which is beneficial in working with Native peoples. The two-year program works in a cohort model in which 1025 students start together, take every class together and graduate together. By the time they leave, Ellingson says, They are a tight group. The first year prepares students for general practice while the second year delves deeper, preparing students for rural community leadership and advanced clinical practice. Classes are taught in Denver and Durango, Colo. Students in Durango take all the same social-work classes as Denver students during the first year. In the second year, students in Durango can take courses specifically designed for the Four Corners program, including Native Peoples Practice: History and Policy and Assessment and Interventions With Native Peoples. The program uses interactive television to link students in the Durango classroom with professors in Denver, allowing students and professors to engage in a real-time videoconference. As a liaison with the campus in Denver, DU Professor Jean East, director of distance education at GSSW, travels to Durango once or twice per quarter and teaches a summer class there. We work closely to make sure the Four Corners program is congruent with whats happening on the main campus, East says. Classes take place over weekends, allowing students to continue working. While theyre on site in Durango, students can work on their homework in the computer lab, read or get to know oneUniversity of Denver Magazine Spring 2009

another in the break room, or walk to downtown Durango just a couple of blocks away. As friendships form, some of the Durangobased students offer their classmates spare rooms or couches during the weekend sojourns. During the summer, students attend classes every day for two- to three-week intensives. Students meet with Ellingson every week. And after they graduate, many stay in touch, filling her in on their personal and professional successes. Wanda is an excellent ambassador for DU and the program, East says. She is a great mentor for the students. She influences their careers and they continue to seek her out for support, guidance and advice. Options in the program include a two-year MSW for students with bachelors degrees and a one-year advanced-standing program for students who hold a bachelors degree in social work. Its important for the regions social workers to earn masters degrees, Ellingson says, to become eligible for supervisory positions. The program, founded in 2002, has 62 graduates thus far, and those graduates have gone on to provide social-work services in a variety of arenas. It brings this higher level of skill and knowledge, which many agencies really need, she says. They take back new ideas and ways of doing things. It benefits agenciesespecially on the reservations where theyre trying to fill supervisory positions with Natives and not Anglos, which had been the case for years. Classroom learning is just part of the package. Fieldwork is where students take theories and put them into practice. Internships relate to students career interests in or near their local communities. Two-year students must complete at least 1,080 field hours; advanced-standing students must clock 600 field hours. Fieldwork sites dot the Four Corners region, with locations in Shiprock and Farmington, N.M., and Montrose, Cortez and Durango, Colo. Placement agencies include the San Juan Regional Medical Center, Navajo Nation Department of Human Services, New Day Counseling, the Southern Ute Department of Regulatory and Justice, and many more. La Titia Taylor directs the Southern Ute Higher Education Department based in Ignacio, Colo., and is a member of DUs Four Corners Advisory Council. She says the Southern Ute tribe has been receptive to the GSSW Four Corners program. I think its really needed to help with our programs, Taylor says, and to help create a healthier community.

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Leland Becenti, who is Navajo and Apache, describes growing up immersed in cultural teachings. Becenti is doing his best to pass on the traditions, not only as a father of five, but also as a consultant providing cross-cultural training in schools, behavioral agencies and his community. He and his wife also are craftspeople, weaving rugs, doing beadwork and teaching traditional crafts as a coping mechanism. Becenti has been working to keep Native traditions alive since he was a student. In 2004, he helped dedicate GSSWs new building, Craig Hall, with a Navajo blessing. Using tobacco, spring water and corn pollen, he made offerings to nature to acknowledge what had been given and to have the social work building as a good place for learning. He commuted for hours each way to Durango to attend the Four Corners program and has gone further with his education than any of his immediate family members. He says eventually hed like to pursue a PhD, but now hes busy researching Navajo history and passing along traditional knowledge. He says hes surprised at how little people know about American Indian traditions. At a prenatal development conference last year, he spoke about the fathers role during pregnancy, such as being supportive and positive toward the mother, being disciplined and respecting cultural taboos to avoid harming the unborn child. For example, to keep the umbilical cord untangled, the father isnt supposed to tie anything during the pregnancy. But it isnt just in special times that traditional behavior matters to the Navajo people. Its important in everyday life, Becenti says, explaining that family meals were traditionally served on the floor where everyone sat together and ate from one dish. Theyd talk to one another, make eye contact. Now a lot of children eat alone in their room while their parents watch TV. Even cooking was seen as spiritual. Nowadays theyll just go to KFC. Becenti says many of the struggles facing his and his childrens generation can be blamed on a lack of cultural knowledge. When he talks about the growing threat of diabetes to Native populations, its clear that he believes ignorance is dangerous. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, American Indians and Alaska Natives are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanic whites, and theres been a 68 percent increase in diabetes from 19942004 in American Indian youth under the age of 19. Fry bread, which many consider a traditional American Indian staple, actually was introduced in the 1860s, Becenti says, during the Navajos internment at Fort Sumner, N.M. White flour, baking powder and salt are fried in grease to make the tasty, but unhealthy, snack. Before Fort Sumner, Navajos made their bread from corn and roasted it over an open fire. Nowadays everybody wants fry bread. When you look at it in the historical context, thats when a lot of things changed for us. Generational trauma affects pretty much everything, Becenti explains.University of Denver Magazine Spring 2009

Leland Becenti, MSW 08

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Nelda Martinez is a home ownership specialist with the Acoma Pueblo Housing Authority, located 60 miles west of Albuquerque. She provides financial literacy training to clients seeking housing at Acoma Pueblo, home to about 3,000. Clients are counseled about finances, maintenance and the realities of home ownership as they progress from a low-rent to a rent-to-own program. The [clients] dont understand you have to have a steady job. Its very hard because there arent very many jobs, she says. Transportation is a big issue, with the nearest work centers 25 miles away in Grants, N.M., or in Albuquerque. Martinez took a 50-percent pay cut to return to the reservation, where she could both help her people and care for her elderly mother. Shes working toward getting her social work license and says the tribe is planning to assume social services responsibility from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A bureau representative comes to the Pueblo from Albuquerque twice a week, but Martinez says it isnt enough. We need someone every day. There are a whole lot of things that would be different.

Nelda Martinez, MSW 04

Sara Hunt is a substance abuse therapist at New Day Counseling in Durango. Shes Navajo, Choctaw and Taos, and although she grew up on the Fort Defiance Navajo reservation in Arizona, she wasnt raised with a traditional Native upbringing. Through DUs Four Corners program, Hunt learned more about her heritage and about herself. One of the things that surprised me was that during the classes you could see not only the professor, but our classroom. It was one of my best clinical tools because I realized that when I listen intently sometimes I cock my head or I nod. I never would have seen that if I hadnt seen myself in the classroom, Hunt says. Generational or historical trauma and its impact on family structure and current functioning are among the topics covered in the Four Corners program. One of the tragedies of the boarding school era was that American Indians werent allowed to speak their native languages, Hunt explains. That created a gap between grandparents who spoke only in their native tongue and grandchildren and great grandchildren who could speak only English. Hunt is painfully familiar with the language gap. Her grandparents, having been sent to boarding schools, decided not to teach their children the native language for fear theyd face discrimination. With my great grandmother, we had to take one of my aunts or family members to translate because my mom didnt speak Navajo, Hunt says. And since Hunt never learned Navajo, she cant teach the language to her children. But she can tell them about their great-great grandparentsa Navajo rug weaver and a traveling medicine man. She can tell them about growing up on the Navajo reservation, about being

Sara Hunt, MSW 06

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shunned by the Navajo students because she wasnt dark enough and didnt speak Navajo, and about being shunned by the white children because she wasnt white. Its an odd identity to sit with, she says. I think that my cultural outlook, ethnicity and cultural background are different from someone who grew up in a traditional home. I can offer some ideas on balancing that. We practice or honor it in different ways. Hunt says she picked DUs program because it was comprehensive and the resulting degree is versatile. Her clients biggest concerns are addictions, but they may have other pressing problems. Housing and employment often are high on the priority list, so Hunt says she has to look at more than just their substance-use issues. She asks, How do I help my clients get the things they need to stay sober? That wider social work perspective is a huge advantage to helping find my clients resources, Hunt says. There are fewer resources in rural communities, Hunt says, but some of the regions social workers were her DU classmates. A number of people I graduated with are here providing services that are useful for my clients, she says. She counsels 2050 clients, many in group settings. The organizations programs run three to 14 months, and Hunt says for some clients its one of the few places that they feel welcome. Hunt says she loves what shes doing, but if she decided to work on policy changes in Washington, she could. Its very exciting that while Im enjoying doing clinical work, the education and the degree from DU pretty much let the sky be the limit for me.

Loretta Martinez is social services director for the Ramah Navajo tribe, two hours west of Albuquerque. In that role, she works within her own community, overseeing services for 4,000. Her responsibilities include financial, support staff, foster care, child welfare and meeting with stakeholders. While doing all that, she remembers her GSSW professors talking about how important it is to abide by ethical standards. They really pushed that on us. There are a variety of concerns in her community. For teens, its pregnancy and high school truancy. For adults, its lack of education, skills and employment coupled with transportation issues. The elderly need in-home care, but because the community is so remote, nursing services are limited. Martinez and her agency are available to help directly and provide referrals to other agencies. She says its important to consider traditional views as well as modern ones, and Navajo tribal leaders suggest that service providers utilize the Dine Fundamental Lawa traditional, holistic approach to livingas a form of intervention. Some things I have learned coming from the Western view dont work with Ramah because they have a different worldview, Martinez says.University of Denver Magazine Spring 2009

Loretta Martinez, MSW 04

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DUs new Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy is working to improve the picture for early childhood education.

A Hand Up for Early EdBy Jan Thomas Tamara Murray/iStockphoto

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INnightmare. often blurred.

In theory, the American education system is a quilt: an enormous patch-

work of schools, curricula, research, policies, funding mechanisms, teachers, parents and students stitched together to accomplish a common goal. In reality, the system is more like a maze, replete with numerous ways to enter, dozens of dead ends and no straight line between a childs first learning experience and the time conventional education ends with college graduation. Whats more, parents and teachers who try to navigate the labyrinth on their own are often confronted with overwhelming, outdated, incomplete or simply erroneous data that turn basic decision making into a Nowhere is the situation more confusing than at the onset of the educaIn 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics estimated that 65.7

tion process as children begin their first migration to school from home. percent of the countrys more than 12 million preschool-age children were enrolled in some form of early learning program, but nailing down a figure everyone can agree on is difficult. Why? In part because there are so many places for structured early learning to take placewith licensed, unlicensed, registered, unregistered, quality-rated, unrated, English-speaking, Spanishspeaking and other-language-speaking home, private, public and churchbased schools all part of the mixand, in part, because the line between what constitutes day care and what constitutes preschool is so easily and Early childhood has tended to be a stepchild in the educational system, says Ginger Maloney, director of the Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy at DUs Morgridge College of Education. People still think of this phase as more child care than education, and that tends to de-emphasize the importance of learning.


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Wayne Armstrong

Ginger Maloney reads Machines at Work to Ella Nichols (5), Sadie Halpern (5), Ella Hochman (4) and Michael King (5) students at DUs Fisher Early Learning Center. Read more about the center at www.du.edu/magazine.

C

reated in 2008 with a $1.5 million gift from the Cydney (BSBA 78, MBA 80) and Tom (MBA 79) Marsico Family Foundation, the Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy is tasked with becoming an information resource for parents, professionals, legislators and others with a vested interest in early childhood learning. DU has a strong interest in the importance of early childhood as a part of the broader educational system of the United States, says Maloney, former dean of the Morgridge College. What were trying to do with the Marsico Institute is coordinate with other work going on across campus and bring the Universitys resources to bear on critical issues that the field of early childhood and the state are facing right now. We see this as a critical time to strengthen what were doing in early childhood learning, and we really take it seriously. Although the institute is still in its infancy, Maloney has a clear vision of its future. In five years, I would like the Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy to be seen as the hub for early childhood research and early childhood policy analysis in the state of Colorado and to be known on a national level for contributing original research on issues pertinent to improving learning environments for very young children, Maloney says. In the shorter-term, Maloney says, We want to help inform important policy discussions related to early childhood. She pictures the institute having an important role in bringing together the best minds and the best research to solve problems and to improve the full complement of early childhood services. Were going to do a lot of work in partnership with other organizations, Maloney says. Its very important that theUniversity of Denver Magazine Spring 2009

University is not out there doing this research in isolation. Rather, we should be building relationships with practitioners, policymakers and people who are working to improve early childhood in Colorado. How does Colorado compare with other states in early childhood education? Generally speaking, the state gets a passing grade, but theres clearly room to improve. In its 2007 ranking of the 38 states with a defined preschool initiative, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) ranked Colorado 36th for resource allocation based on state-funded spending and 29th for resource allocation based on all reported spending. Colorado ranked 22nd for the percent of 4-year-olds and 11th for the percent of 3-year-olds enrolled in the states preschool program. And in a comparison of Colorados policies to 10 critical areas identified by NIEER, the 2007 report awarded the state points for meeting benchmarks for specialized pre-kindergarten teacher training, teacher in-service hours, maximum class-size limits, staff-child ratio and monitoring, but noted that Colorado didnt meet NIEER goals for early learning standards, teacher degree requirements, assistant teacher degree requirements, screening/referral and support services and meals. In the 2008 edition of Education Weeks Quality Counts, Colorado ranked 25th of 51 (all states and the District of Columbia) for the percent of 3- and 4

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