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Outdated technology at Colorado State University-Pueblo has been a topic of conversation on campus for the last few years. The cost of upgrading the Internet and other important systems has been estimated in the millions, and there has been little movement toward funding or a resolution.

On Jan. 23, a delegation from CSU-Pueblo made the trip to Denver to present a proposal to a technology joint committee from the Colorado State Legislature. The group included President Lesley Di Mare, Director of Facilities Management Craig Cason, Vice President for Finance and Administration Karl Spiecker, Gary Perkins from information technology and Associated Students’ Government Vice President Mario Ruiz.

ASG Vice President Mario Ruiz

Ruiz said the presentation was very formal and seemed to be well received by the members of the committee, which consisted of different elected officials who deal with IT funding for organizations across the state.

“When people ask for money, they have to show how it makes sense,” Ruiz said. “The president gave an overview from her perspective, speaking for the university as a whole. IT gave an in-depth report of what we need. Then I came in as a student and told them my experiences, always keeping in mind the best interests of the student population.”

Ruiz said the committee members asked him several questions, and to appeal to both political parties represented, he had to approach the subject from an emotional side as well as a business side. He explained that to remain competitive, not only locally, but on a national level, “we need to stay up-to-date, and in this case it happens to be our IT infrastructure and our Wi-Fi.”

He used examples of issues that he has personally dealt with as a student.

“One was the example of Blackboard during finals week. Many students encounter issues trying to submit papers that are due by a certain date. If Blackboard is down, you can’t submit it, so what do you do? Relying on technology during finals can be a double-edged sword. It’s really good time-wise, and then it’s really bad when we rely so much on technology and the system crashes,” Ruiz said.

He pointed out that it also affects the grading systems, payroll and financial aid, and he emphasized how important upgraded technology will be for the future of the university.

After presenting the specific needs at CSU-Pueblo, the delegation asked for $1.8 million toward technology upgrades. Although the complete cost of upgrades will be twice that amount, if granted, the $1.8 million will be a significant boost for IT on campus.

And according to Ruiz, who is a self-titled optimist, the joint committee should have a decision in the next few months. The plan going forward is to utilize the initial grant and then return to the joint committee next year to request the additional funding.

“We presented very well,” Ruiz said. “We presented the facts, and it went really well. The co-chairman asked me, ‘So, I’m a business person, and if I had to put my money somewhere, if I invest my money, what’s in it for me?’ So I said to him, ‘This would be an investment in Colorado.’”

File photo

Colorado State Univesity-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare announced in an email Tuesday that the search for a new provost has resulted in three candidates.

The Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Selection Committee conducted an internal search following the resignation of Dr. Carl Wright in December. According to Di Mare, the committee reviewed nominations and qualifying materials before narrowing the field to the following three finalists.

Jane M. Fraser earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkley. She came to CSU-Pueblo in 1998 after 12 years as an associate professor of engineering at Ohio State University. She currently serves as chair of the Department of Engineering at CSU-Pueblo.

Kristina Proctor received her Ph.D. from Colorado State University in Fort Collins in 1989. She is currently  serving as a professor of chemistry at CSU-Pueblo.

Rick Kreminski is a professor of mathematics at CSU-Pueblo. He serves as dean of the College of Science and Mathematics and is acting director of the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and attended law school at Southern Methodist University.

According to Di Mare’s email, the three candidates will now respond to questions “developed by the Faculty Senate, Admin/Pro Council, Classified Staff Council and Associated Students’ Government. Candidate responses and their CVs and application materials will be made available from Feb. 10-13 for campus community review and feedback.”

The appointed candidate will be announced to the campus via official email on Wednesday, Feb. 18. That candidate will then assume the duties of the Provost and Executive VPAA at CSU-Pueblo.

The Parade of Champions
Photo by Jessica Warren

The Colorado State University-Pueblo football team took care of some “unfinished business” in December when they brought home their first national championship. In response to their 13-0 victory over Minnesota State-Mankato, the university and the Pueblo community came together to honor the team and coaches in a Celebration of Champions Friday at Memorial Hall.

More than 1,000 ThunderWolf fans were on hand for the event in downtown Pueblo. The festivities began with a parade that included CSU-Pueblo’s marching band, cheer and dance squads, mascots Wolfie and Tundra, CSU-Pueblo President Lesley Di Mare and members of Pueblo city government.

Although the game took place more than a month before, there was no shortage of excitement and team spirit during the event as hundreds of fans lined the sidewalks along Union Avenue, cheering, dancing and taking photos.

Near the entrance to Memorial Hall, CSU-Pueblo’s award-winning student radio station, REV 89, provided live broadcasts from the event and kept the crowd energized. And the university bookstore set up a mini storefront to offer championship gear to fans.

As the parade ended, the crowd joined the team inside Memorial Hall for a rousing pep rally, highlighting the history of ThunderWolf football and this year’s journey to the Division II National Championship game in Kansas City.

During the pep rally, fans heard from community leaders, including County Commissioner Liane McFadyen and City Councilman Steve Nawrocki. Pueblo Chamber of Commerce President Rod Slyhoff hosted the rally and spoke about watching the football program grow since its reinstatement just a few years ago in 2008.

Proclamations by Gov. John Hickenlooper and the Pueblo City Council, declared Jan. 23 as “CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves National Championship Day.”

President Lesley Di Mare waves to fans at the Parade of Champions.
Photo by Dustin Cox

Di Mare said the victory was exciting, not only for the team and coaches, but also for the university.

“This championship increases awareness of not just our athletic program, not just football, but our academic programs and student life offerings in Colorado and nationwide,” she said.

McFadyen and Nawrocki presented Di Mare with the key to the City of Pueblo, which she accepted on behalf of the university. As he handed the award, Nawrocki added that it wasn’t just the key to the city, but also the key to Pueblo’s heart.

After several videos congratulating the ThunderWolves and chronicling their amazing journey, Coach John Wristen brought the championship trophy onstage to thunderous applause.

He thanked the “outstanding” marching band, who accompanied the team to Kansas City, recalling how they energized the crowd at the pregame pep rally. He then thanked the city of Pueblo and the fans, many of whom made the nine-hour trip to support the team in the championship game.

Finally, he turned his attention to his coaching staff and players, highlighting some of the graduating seniors, including quarterback Chris Bonner, wide receiver Paul Browning and cornerback Stephan Dickens.

Coach John Wristen presents the championship trophy at the Celebration of Champions pep rally.
Photo by Daniel Potter

Wristen became emotional as he thanked them for allowing him to be their coach, what he referred to as “the best job in America.”

He said, “Thank you for all the joys, for all the trials. Thank you for playing your tail-end off, and thank you for winning a national championship.”

The rally closed with the players and coaches gathering in a heated tent just outside Memorial Hall to sign autographs and take photos with fans.

Both Browning and Dickens said they knew the team had already begun to prepare for next season and another championship. According to fan reaction, the university and community won’t have any problem planning another Celebration of Champions.

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Photo credit: Charlie Kelly, Associated Press

As a child growing up during the Civil Rights Movement, I had been intentionally sheltered from the growing discord in hopes that it would “blow over” and life would get back to the 1950s version of normal.

But progress would not be denied.

My sister, who is 16 years my senior, was quite aware of the pivotal events going on in the world.  She had friends who went to Vietnam and never came back.  She had friends who marched for Civil Rights.  She knew that change was in the wind.

One of my fondest memories of childhood is sitting with my sister at bedtime; listening to Peter, Paul and Mary spin dreamlike tales about “Puff the Magic Dragon.”  I would imagine myself sailing away with “Puff” to visit faraway lands.

Every night we followed the same ritual: a glass of water, a quick read of “The Three Little Kittens” and at least one listen to “Puff.”

Our parents had a ritual, too.  Every Thursday evening, while my sister kept me entertained at home, they would meet another couple for dinner somewhere in downtown Memphis.

This Thursday was no different.

Mother and Dad had gone to meet their friends, and my sister was desperately trying to get me to wind down and go to bed.  All I wanted to do was hear “Puff” one more time.  She reluctantly agreed, and I swayed to the music as she ran to answer the phone.

The next few moments passed by in a blur.  She rushed back into her room and abruptly cut the power to the record player.  The music and lyrics of “Puff” slowly ground to a halt. She drew the front curtains and turned off all the lights.  I remember the fear I felt when she grabbed my hand and drug me down the hall to the bathroom where she put me in the tub and turned on my father’s little radio.

There was no music.  No “Puff.”  Only static and the sound of a man’s voice trying to be heard over shouting and crying.

I don’t recall what the man said, only my sister’s reaction.  On the floor of the bathroom, she sat cross-legged and held the little radio close.  She looked angry, sad and confused.

Someone had been shot, someone very important.

I tried to climb out of the tub, but she refused to let me.  Time crept painfully by, and when she finally crawled into the tub with me, I cried myself to sleep in her arms.

It would take a few years for me to realize the significance of that day.

April 4, 1968, was a Thursday like any other until a gunshot rang out just a few miles from my home in Memphis, taking the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

My parents were just a few blocks from the site, and when rioting broke out they frantically called my sister, telling her to lock the doors and windows, shut off the lights and hide in the bathroom.

I was only four, but I can still remember the sound of “Puff” slowly spinning down like a top losing its momentum.

“One gray night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more, and Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.”

That was the end of my sheltered, middle-class, white upbringing.  Things were different from then on.  I was suddenly aware that life wasn’t all about sailing the seas with an imaginary dragon.

A fearless roar was silenced that night in 1968, and just like Jackie Paper, the boy in the song, I soon left behind the simple joys of string and sealing wax.

I grew up and came to realize that “Puff” is a sad song.  It’s not about the magic of a childhood friend.  It’s not about the grand adventures of the imagination.

It’s about loss.  Loss of innocence, loss of magic, loss of the joy of life.  As hard as we might try to get it back, it’s always just outside our grasp.  No more than a memory.

My memories of “Puff” will be forever linked to the death of Dr. King and the rush of harsh realities that I’d been so sheltered from.

If I could, I would tell my younger self to cherish the time she had with “Puff”, to remember all the noble kings and princes, to salute the pirate ships that lowered their flags and to frolic in the autumn mist as often as possible.

Once the veil of childhood innocence has been lifted, there’s no going back, and life without “Puff” has very little magic at all.

Sarah Zarr
CSU-Pueblo Color Guard

Zarr and her father at the 2014 ASG inauguration

Sarah Zarr’s weekly schedule looks a bit like a game of Tetris. Meetings, classes, work responsibilities, homework and more meetings, all carefully pieced together like a puzzle to make her days manageable.

Zarr is a junior mass communications major at CSU-Pueblo, and she carries two minors in leadership studies and nonprofits, but her class work is only a small fraction of her involvement at school and in the community.

She works for Student Engagement and Leadership where she helps coordinate the LEAD Program and plans events for the campus. She serves as secretary for international business organization Enactus, as a director for Golden Key Honor Society, as secretary for the Pueblo community Roteract Club, and she is a member of the ThunderWolves Color Guard.

Zarr also participates in the President’s Leadership Program, where she is the Colorado Leadership Alliance representative. She sits on the CLA Scholar Board, which helps plan a statewide summit for CLA students from different leadership programs around Colorado. She is also the student representative on the CSU-Pueblo PLP board of directors.

She is founder and president of Pueblo Students for Life, a pro-life organization on campus that helps pregnant students with resources and assistance so they may continue their education.

Her work in the community includes planning events with the Downtown Association and the Pueblo Convention Center.

As if that wasn’t enough to capsize her calendar, Zarr is also a senator with CSU-Pueblo’s Associated Students’ Government, where she serves on several committees and represents the students of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“I can (be so involved) because I get energy from being around people and from getting to work with great teams of people in everything I am involved in. I love people, and it makes being involved exciting and energizing. I love to bring people together for a common cause. If I can make a small impact on someone, it makes all the busyness and stress worth it,” she said.

Time management is a skill Zarr has developed over the last few years.

“I think it’s about prioritizing. You just have to decide what needs to be done immediately and what can wait. And sometimes, you’re not going to be as involved in something,” she said. “Some things you can decide ‘OK, I’m just going to go to this and be a part of this, but I’m not going to contribute to it as much I will contribute to something else.’”

“I’m also finding that I need to limit some things now. I think it’s time to be more focused, so I can make an impact in what I’m doing,” she added. “I think it’s good at first to be involved in a ton of things and really find out what you like. And as you’re advancing through college, narrowing it down so you can have an effect.”

One activity that Zarr will leave behind after this year is color guard.

“This is going to be my last semester. It’s a ton of fun, and I’ve loved it. It’s a good experience, but now I feel like it’s time, especially if I want to go to grad school, to free up my time for other things.”

Zarr has only lived in Pueblo for five years. Her family moved from Montana when her father took a job as director of the student union at Pueblo Community College. She credits her parents for giving her a sound foundation for success.

“I was homeschooled my entire life before college. It was amazing, and my parents sacrificed so much to give me an amazing education and awesome opportunities and a tight knit community of close friends,” she said.

Zarr knew she wanted to attend CSU-Pueblo when she first moved to Colorado.

“My mom and I were driving around, and she was showing me some areas in the city. We drove up to the university, and I thought it was a beautiful campus, and I could see myself going to CSU-Pueblo. I felt excited and like it was somewhere I was supposed to be,” she said.

Her heavy involvement at school is a source of pride for her parents, but they do miss having her at home.

“Sometimes they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, we never see you,’ but since my dad works in higher education, he gets really excited when I tell him about stuff,” Zarr said. “They’re also the ones who encouraged me to apply for the President’s Leadership Program.”

When Zarr came to CSU-Pueblo, she didn’t feel like she would fit in with the PLP, but she applied and was accepted.

“I got in, and it kind of jump started my confidence in what I wanted to do,” she said. “It’s really competitive to get in. It’s probably my favorite place on campus. The leaders and the people there are all of the same mindset, and we can work together. It’s a really strong community, and we’re all really close.”

In January, Zarr decided to run for ASG senator, and both presidential candidates Mike Weiner and Timothy Zercher approached her to run on their tickets.

“I was asked by Mike first, and literally the same day, Timothy asked me too, and so I had to decide. It was really tough because they were both my friends, and I felt they were both really capable,” she said.

Zarr was elected to the ASG senate during the spring election. As CHASS senator, she now sits on the Student Fee Governing Board, the child care center fee and athletic fee committees, the enrollment management committee and the ASG internal affairs committee.

With a schedule resembling a complicated puzzle, Zarr rarely has time to relax, but she wouldn’t have things any other way.

“I think it’s so important for students to be involved,” she said. “It’s really helped me decide what I want to do, and it’s made my college experience great.”

Pueblo entrepreneur David Ponx is hoping to revolutionize the bag industry by creating something that may change the way we look at secure products in the future.

Ponx and his wife Jacque, who is a CSU-Pueblo alumna, have spent more than 18 months working with an array of professionals to make his patent-pending invention CoolBag a reality. Design engineers, branding experts, patent attorneys, marketing strategists, logistics and sourcing experts and even family and close friends have given their input and personal touches to CoolBag.

“CoolBag is cool,” Ponx said. “I want to make a product that allows the fun to happen while you relax and ‘stay cool in life.’”

Ponx has traveled extensively and saw the need for a multi-purpose travel bag that could also provide security for a person’s belongings.

The patent-pending bag he developed features a concealed cooler compartment that can be accessed from both the inside and outside.  The cooler is designed to keep drinks cold for up to six hours.

David and Jacque Ponx pose with their new secure CoolBags.
Photo by Dustin Cox

The CoolBag is also secure and can be used as a portable locker.  It has a locking handle with a combination zipper lock and a cut resistant lining that makes it safe for valuables.  The handle will also detach from one side to allow the bag to be secured to a fixed stationary object, much like a cable lock for a bicycle.

By using crowd funding, Ponx said he hopes to prove that the American dream is alive, and show that entrepreneurs can still achieve it with a little hard work and belief in an innovative product.

The CoolBag team started to raise the capital needed to produce and ship the bags on Kickstarter.com Nov. 6, and within 12 hours, the product had 34 backers and had raised more than $15,000 in support. Both individuals and companies have contributed to the campaign and will be some of the first owners of the new bag.

Photographer and CSU-Pueblo student Dustin Cox was recently named vice president of communication for the new company. He has been working with Ponx to develop a marketing strategy, taking still shots and video to produce the first commercial for the Coolbag.

“I really enjoy working with CoolBag because it allows me to be creative and really helped me find the major that fits me well here at CSU-Pueblo,” Cox said. “David is an awesome guy to work with, that’s talented and fun.”

Ponx and his wife are excited about the overwhelming response to the Kickstarter campaign and soon hope to see the bag being used around the world.  They also have plans to develop more secure bags in the future.

More information on Ponx’s product can be found at www.coolbag.co.

Courtesy of the CSGC

College students across Colorado will soon have a united voice advocating on their behalf. The Colorado Student Government Coalition was recently created to promote positive change for public colleges and universities statewide.

The CSGC will officially convene for the first time Saturday when student government representatives from all of Colorado’s four-year institutions gather at Metropolitan State University in Denver to discuss issues affecting higher education in the state.

Several members of the Associated Students’ Government at CSU-Pueblo will be in attendance.

According to Mike Weiner, former president of the ASG, the CSGC began in January when Nigel Daniels, then president of the CSU Fort Collins student government, invited representatives from schools across Colorado to meet.

“There was a fairly good turnout,” Weiner said. “We were learning about higher education issues in the state of Colorado. We were doing different breakout sessions regarding funding and other sorts of things that affect our education.”

“At the end of the whole thing, he (Daniels) assembled a lot of the presidents and vice presidents together to have a discussion about how we could continue working together. And one of the gentlemen there, the student body president of Fort Lewis at the time, his name is Alexander Thompson, he got really excited and was talking about forming the Colorado Student Government Coalition.”

From then on, the student government at Fort Lewis was heavily involved, according to Weiner. They started coordinating email correspondence and began drafting a constitution for the organization.

“This came directly out of Fort Lewis,” Weiner said. “Essentially, it (the coalition) would be a board that would meet once per semester in person and then through conference calling once a month. When they met in person, they would be chaired by one elected vice president from one of the universities. And then all of the presidents would sit on the board and would provide representation for their campus.”

Weiner said they would look at legislation in the state and see how they could advocate on behalf of students in Colorado.

“It would be a major voice that would be able to speak to the legislature,” he said. “They would be like ‘wow; this is all of the students in the state. Everybody from the universities feels this way. We should probably take action.’ It would be a really powerful speaking body.”

Unfortunately, after holding one conference call in the spring, the group began to lose touch. Weiner said they had a meeting scheduled for April, where they planned to meet at the Capitol in Denver for a news conference, but due to scheduling conflicts, the event was put on hold until the fall.

Over the next few months, personnel changes occurred at many of the schools involved, including CSU-Pueblo. Timothy Zercher was elected president of the ASG, and when they had their transition meeting in May, Weiner shared all the information on the coalition with him.

“I knew he (Zercher) would get super excited about this, and he would want to try and continue it. I forwarded all the email correspondence that I’d had, and he got in contact with them (the other coalition members),” Weiner said. “I’ve tried to be an active participant, because it’s something that’s super cool, and I want to see it through.”

Zercher did get excited about it and immediately started pulling things together.

“This is exactly what I think we should be doing,” Zercher said. “And it’s exactly what I want ASG to be involved in, more macro-focused goals as opposed to just the little tiny fires we are constantly putting out.”

Zercher started by getting the new contacts for all the schools, which took several weeks.

“Apparently, it was a tumultuous year statewide as far as student governments go. There was a whole number of new people, and there was no organization, no follow through, no trainings. There were probably six different colleges that were complete upstarts as far as student governments go,” Zercher said.

CSU-Pueblo was one of the colleges that had a large turnover in student government, but Zercher was well prepared because of his collaboration with Weiner.

“I sent out emails to 11 schools, including CU-Denver and CU-Boulder. I included the most recent drafts of the constitution and bylaws and any correspondence from last year,” Zercher said. “I told them we should really schedule something for this fall.”

Progress was slow, but when the schools were brought together on a conference call with the White House regarding a nationwide initiative on sexual assault prevention, Zercher had a conversation with representatives from two other schools.

Scott Greenler, the newly elected student president at Fort Lewis, who had drafted the original CSGC constitution, and Patricia Ordaz, student president at Metropolitan State University joined Zercher in revitalizing the coalition.

Together they coordinated the inaugural meeting of the CSGC for Oct. 25-26. Hosted by Metro State, the gathering will include representatives from all the four-year institutions in Colorado. They will elect officers, vote to ratify the constitution and make plans for the coming year.

There will also be several resolutions on the table that the group will discuss.

As a representative for CSU-Pueblo, Zercher is sponsoring a resolution requesting increased funding for higher education in Colorado.

Both Weiner and Zercher agree that funding for higher education in Colorado is at a critical stage.

“We are next to last in higher education funding in the United States,” Weiner said. “So this is something phenomenal for the CSGC as a group to bring forward.”

“We’re the second most educated state in the U.S., but we are the 48th in funding,” Zercher said. “It’s abysmal.”

The resolution Zercher will present concludes with a call to action for legislators to increase funding and reverse “the systematic defunding of higher education in the state of Colorado.”

At the meeting Saturday, the CSGC will look at this resolution as well as the White House initiative to prevent sexual assault on campuses and issues surrounding students’ intellectual property rights.

Zercher said the collaboration between student governments in the CSGC will give students a much-needed unified voice for positive change, and help legislators act in the best interests of those students across Colorado.

The OUC is due for major renovations.

Dated structures in the OUC

Walking into CSU-Pueblo’s Occhiato University Center is like entering a time machine and being swept back to the days of disco, turtle necked shirts and bell-bottom trousers.

Built in 1974, the OUC began as a modern, cutting-edge facility that served students at Southern Colorado State College. Just one year later, SCSC earned university status, becoming the University of Southern Colorado and finally, Colorado State University-Pueblo.

The building has been the cornerstone of the evolving campus for four decades, and as the OUC approaches middle-age, the time has come for a major overhaul.

While the OUC is still functional, it is dated and lacks the open, well-lit spaces and comfortable gathering areas that students enjoy. It also lacks the proper infrastructure and technology needed to manage the many offices and departments housed there.

Associated Students’ Government Vice President Mario Ruiz said that the aging building has seen only limited upgrades such as fresh paint and new carpet over the last 40 years.

“It is due for some real renovations,” Ruiz said.

Plans for these renovations have been in the works for several years, and students’ interests have been represented by members of the ASG in planning meetings and committees associated with the renovations.

“The ASG has already been involved at every step of the process, as this is the student center. The administration feels strongly, and we believe correctly that students should have a major say in how it is renovated. It is our student center, after all,” Ruiz said.

The actual work should begin sometime in the spring of 2015 with an estimated timeline for completion in 2018. This semester, the bid process, which is regulated by the state, is in the beginning stages, and ASG President Timothy Zercher explained how that process works.

“First, we put out for possible contractors. They send us their qualifications, and they are ranked by the (selecting) committee. They are individually ranked, and committee members cannot influence each other,” he said.

“Then, based on those rankings, we choose the largest gap between the higher ranked and lower ranked. The higher ranked are then actually brought in for interviews. Once the committee finally picks a design-build team, which includes a contractor and designer, we move to the actual designing of the building in detail and getting student, staff and community input. Once the designing is finished, then we obviously go into breaking ground,” Zercher said.

Zercher also said two new committees will begin work in the coming months, after a design-build team is chosen.

“The designing committee will be focused on actually overseeing and guiding the design process of the new OUC,” he said. “The New OUC Advisory Board will focus on making sure to communicate all needs that the current OUC must continue to meet, as well as needs that the current OUC is not meeting, and these will need to be considered in the design process. This is the board where the staff of the OUC and general students will really get their input on the project.”

According to Ruiz, renovations will include almost every part of the current OUC.

“We cannot say specifically what will be in the new OUC, but it will look somewhat similar to our great new Library and Academic Resources Center. We hope to stick to a similar design to make sure it looks like part of the university, while still remaining very modern and welcoming,” Ruiz said.

The estimated cost of the renovation will be approximately $35 million, but according to Zercher, once all the interest is paid on the current and future bonds, the total will approach $50 million.

“You have to remember that all that money isn’t spent right away,” Zercher said. “It’s spent over a number of years. Student fees will be paying the majority of that, and the Foundation will fund a certain optional wing for an estimated $5 million. This optional wing being funded, however, depends on the funds the Foundation is able to raise in their “On the Move” campaign.”

When compared to the cost of the new classroom building currently being constructed on the west side of campus, the renovation costs seem extraordinarily high. The new classroom building, which is funded by the state, will cost approximately $16 million according to a press release from the university. The OUC renovations will total more than twice that amount.

ASG Speaker Pro-temp Anthony Schievelbein explained that several factors contribute to the higher expense of the renovation.

“One is because of the size of the building. Then, the upgrades to the building are going to be significant, because it’s taking this building, upgrading it as well as adding new pieces to the structure,” Schievelbein said. “With the entire building being as large as it is, with three floors, and then you have to add an extra piece onto that, while keeping the general structure.”

“It includes the cost of tearing down to the baseboards and then putting it back up, moving plumbing and things like that, and they are also putting in some high electronic upgrades as well,” Schievelbein added.

“And that one (new classroom building) doesn’t have to operate,” Zercher said. “This one has to operate. We’re not going to shut down the OUC for two years.”

Because the current facility houses such necessities as the dining hall and bookstore, renovations will need to be done in stages.

“You basically have to have two versions of the same building functioning at the same time. You have to build the new cafeteria while you still have the old cafeteria working. As soon as the new cafeteria is built, you have to run everyone over in one night, and then you can start demolishing. Similarly, the bookstore can’t be touched until the new one is done. So that’s a lot of the cost,” Zercher said.

The bonds that supported the original OUC build have just recently expired according to Zercher.

Ruiz said the new bonds that will cover the renovations will last for 30 years, officially expiring in 2044.

Although the renovations will be difficult and costly, the ASG, the Foundation and everyone involved in the project should have much to be proud of when the new building is complete. It will once again be a modern, cutting-edge facility for CSU-Pueblo students to enjoy.

By the time the bonds expire in 2044, the Occhiato University Center will be 70 years old, and the campus community at CSU-Pueblo will likely be preparing for another major renovation.

Technology at CSU-Pueblo needs an overhaul.
Photo by Dustin Cox

Technology at Colorado State University-Pueblo is almost a decade behind that of similar institutions. While the university has seen growth in both the freshmen class and international students, there is concern that without the proper upgrades and repairs, the technology deficit might have a negative impact on enrollment and retention.

“Unfortunately, we have lost the competitive edge,” said Jim Wiley, information technology director for CSU-Pueblo’s Associated Students’ Government.

“In order to do my job and my homework, I’ve had to rely on non-campus resources for my internet access. I’ve decided to pay $20 extra per month on my cell phone plan so I can have the mobile hotspot services attached to that,” he said. “It is more expensive for me, and I feel like I’m already paying funds for the technology here at the school, and expect that it (the school) would be able to provide that required resource to me.”

Wiley, who lives on campus and works as a resident assistant, sits on the Technology Fee Committee as part of his IT director duties.  He is making it his priority to identify the technology issues that plague CSU-Pueblo and explore every option available to bring the campus in-line with current standards.

According to Wiley, the residence halls are especially unpredictable when it comes to Internet access.  He has found that the current levels do not allow students to use Netflix or any formats that require Internet streaming or downloads.  That leaves cable TV as the only source of entertainment for students living on campus, which he feels is unacceptable.

When he first started investigating complaints about internet access, Wiley found that campus technology was far behind that required of a contemporary university.

Earlier this year, Global Technology Resources, Inc. performed an audit of the technology systems at CSU-Pueblo.

“They came in and took a look at all the routers, all the wireless access points, all the servers, all the mainframes, everything computer related in the entire campus,” Wiley said, “They gave us a breakdown of what things are at a critical stage and what things need to change immediately.”

Of the many problems found during the audit, several issues are of particular concern and need to be addressed as soon as possible.

Of the major switches in each building that send out cables to all the classrooms and the wireless routers, only 10 percent use a modern IT standard.  That means 90 percent of the switches are running with a much slower internet capability, and only 13 percent of the switches are covered by some sort of repair warranty.

“One of the reasons we have so much down time is these switches. When they aren’t able to handle the load they fail, and they aren’t supported, so there’s no immediate solution we can use.  We have to bring in other hardware or try to offload the capacity,” Wiley said. “These aren’t solutions; they are temporary band-aids, temporary fixes.”

“One point that the network assessment gave us was that only 16 percent of the switches and networking gear in the buildings is gigabit Ethernet capable, which is 1000 megabits per second,” he said.

The gigabit is an industry standard that was adopted eight years ago and installed to replace megabit Ethernet, which is between ten and 100 megabits per second.  According to the assessment, 84 percent of the switches on campus are operating at these significantly slow speeds, and this affects the usability of every computer on campus.

“The gigabit technology that is expected, and that we don’t have, is something that’s now available in wireless, yet we don’t even have gigabit wired technology,” Wiley said.

This deficiency is only one of the areas of concern.  Another substantial issue is the inefficient cooling systems for the data centers in the library and administration building.

These mainframes run all of the campus websites, contain all long-term data storage, and run all the profiles that are synced, and they generate a lot of heat.

According to Wiley, the temperatures in the data centers are consistently around 80 degrees or higher, which can be damaging to the hardware.  He equated the situation to driving a car with an overheated engine, but never pulling over to check it.

Since replacing the cooling systems will be expensive, the short-term solution has been to extend the warranties on the equipment and call for repairs when something goes wrong.  Unfortunately, this is another temporary band-aid, prolonging the problem.

The network assessment team made several recommendations after examining all the areas of technology at the university.

One is to replace the old Hewlett Packard equipment with extreme network equipment.  This would give users on campus up to ten times the connection speed which, according to Wiley, would be up to par for a university like CSU-Pueblo.

“That is made possible by putting in single fiber cables instead of the coaxial cables that are used for standard network transmissions,” he said. “They would run between buildings and carry up to 20 gigabits per second.”

Another recommendation would improve the wireless on campus.  This is one area where many students have experienced problems.  Because so many people use multiple devices simultaneously, such as cell phones, tablets and laptop computers, the connectivity requires three times the resources.

Without the correct capabilities, students get “kicked off” the network, or speeds are extremely slow.

According to the assessment, part of the issue is the number of wireless routers on campus.

“Right now we’re at 230 for the entire campus.  What would be standard for a campus of this size, with this many people, is 800. So we are 570 wireless routers short,” he said. “It was recommended that we have closer to 1600 to 1900 to actually have coverage outside, on the practice fields, by the football stadium and these outdoor areas, to provide that additional level to everybody who comes to experience the campus, not just students in the buildings.”

“Wireless routers are like sprinkler heads.  If you were to compare our sprinkler technology to our wireless technology, we would have dead grass across 90 percent of campus.”

To complete all the upgrades and repairs recommended by the assessment would cost the university approximately $2.3 million.  Although a $3 million need for technology upgrades was mentioned during the Board of Governors meeting this past spring, it was not set in stone.

“It caused so much excitement across campus that it was a bit overblown,” Wiley explained. “There was no commitment.  But there is still quite a bit of interest in the state of IT, and I feel like it’s still a topic of discussion, and there are still efforts to direct funds toward IT, but nothing is active.”

At the recent Board of Governors meeting, the topic was reintroduced, and CSU-Pueblo’s need for technology funding was reiterated by ASG President Timothy Zercher and others in attendance. Wiley will be working on a proposal addressing those needs, and university leadership can present it at the next meeting in December, along with the request for funding.

In the meantime, Wiley wants to safeguard any channels of funding to make sure that the money doesn’t get redirected, and that it’s able to accumulate so that the needed changes can be made as quickly as possible.

He estimates that it will take $600 thousand each semester over the course of three years to roll out the proposed upgrades one by one, starting with the cooling system and then revamping all the wireless networks across campus.

At this point, funding is the major roadblock that is forcing CSU-Pueblo to remain technologically deficient.  Wiley said there are a couple of options that can help bridge the gap until funding is approved.  One is encouraging departments to submit proposals to upgrade their own wireless.

“I applaud (the Hasan School of Business) for taking the initiative and resolving their issue.  They are paying a portion of the cost of all those upgrades and they submitted a specific grant proposal to the student tech fee committee, which all departments are welcome to do.  They did it for their wireless network,” Wiley said. “They saw what was critical for the success of their students, and they pursued the money for that purpose.”

Another option is redirecting all the funds from the student technology fee toward the wireless infrastructure.  This would mean that all departments would have to forfeit their requests for new equipment.  Wiley said this is not “in the spirit of the tech fee,” which has always been for small upgrades within specific departments.

To find other options, Wiley has put together an IT fundraising committee that will look into creative ways to find or save money, and make technology cheaper on campus.  An idea that has been discussed is giving students access to electronic textbooks through inexpensive, open-source libraries.  It is just one cost saving proposal that the committee is working on.

Wiley is confident that CSU-Pueblo will eventually have the technology to compete, but it will take time.

“While we have a competitive edge in athletics and in other areas like business, we don’t have the competitive edge as far as technology goes,” he said. “While our enrollment is improving significantly, part of the recruiting process isn’t signing on students to the network and seeing how they like our internet access. As soon as students come here and experience that, I hope that they don’t have second thoughts about why they chose to come here.”