Author Archives | Sara Knuth

International artists to visit CSU-Pueblo gallery and classrooms

Nastja Säde Rönkkö tattoos the words “You. Now. Wow.” onto Shia LaBeouf’s arm as part of a collaboration with the actor. | Photo courtesy of FACT Liverpool

Two artists known for working with actor Shia LaBeouf will be at Colorado State University-Pueblo Jan. 18-29 to exhibit their collaborative projects and visit with classes. The events are free and open to the public.

Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner, who have collaborated with LaBeouf on numerous multi-disciplinary art projects, will display their artwork in the CSU-Pueblo Fine Art Gallery Jan. 18-29, Monday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The exhibit will, in large part, display the artists’ collaboration, which “explores the nature of empathy, identity and vulnerability, amplified by the particulars of an individual under constant public gaze,” according to a CSU-Pueblo news release.

LaBeouf has starred in movies such as “Fury,” “Disturbia” and three of the “Transformers” movies, and has more recently worked with Rönkkö and Turner on numerous art projects.

The artists are set to give a presentation on Jan. 22 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Library and Academic Resources Center, Room 109, and will be present at a public reception Jan. 28 in the Fine Art Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m.

Assistant philosophy professor Andrew Corsa, who helped organize the event along with associate art professor Caroline Peters, will give a presentation on Jan. 26 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in LARC 109 about “the artists’ work in relation to philosophical problems concerning authorship and group cognition,” the news release said.

Over the course of two weeks, the artists will also visit a handful of classes at CSU-Pueblo. Art students, for example, will produce artwork based on the discussion with the artists, and English students will write about the students’ artwork.

Philosophy classes will also interact with the artists and discuss “the philosophy of art and how it is relevant to contemporary art,” the release said.

The events were organized with the help of the art, philosophy, political science and history departments, along with the honors program. Corsa and Peters were also able to secure a grant from Maestro Program at CSU-Pueblo, which focuses on hands-on teaching and learning.

The artists’ website, thecampaignbook.com, displays several of the group’s recent projects. The most recent project, called “#TOUCHMYSOUL,” took place in December.

During the project, the artists posted a phone number online and greeted whoever called with saying, “You have reached LaBeouf, Rönkkö and Turner. Can you touch me soul?” The goal of the project was to seek “human connection through art and technology,” the release said.

At the end of the project, Rönkkö tattooed the words “You. Now. Wow.” onto LaBeouf’s arm as a reflection of words taken from a conversation.

A culmination of the conversation was recorded on a Google Document and is available at touchmysoul.net.

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Former White House press secretary and CSU-Pueblo alumna returns to Pueblo

Photo courtesy of DanaPerino.com.

Photo courtesy of DanaPerino.com.

When Dana Perino’s dad first drove her to Pueblo to look at the University of Southern Colorado almost 20 years ago, she was reluctant.

Perino, who would later serve as press secretary for President George W. Bush, wanted to attend college at a larger university. Spending four years at a small school in Pueblo wasn’t how she imagined her college days.

“I pouted the entire way, from Parker to Pueblo. I just looked out the window. I couldn’t even meet his eyes. I was so upset that he was making me go look at that school,” she said.

But almost immediately upon arriving on campus at USC, which would later become CSU-Pueblo, Perino met several professors and realized the school was perfect for her.

“I got this scholarship offer for the speech team and I also think I was smart enough to realize that the practical experience that I could get at the school would lead me to opportunities I couldn’t get if I went and studied theory anywhere else for four years,” she said.

Years later, she would use her experiences at USC in her job at the White House. She credits her mass communications professors, including former department chair Jen Mullen, with preparing her for her career.

“Jen Mullen had had such great experience in the public relations world. And I loved her class. I learned so much, things that actually helped me later on in the justice department,” Perino said.

After graduating from USC, Perino attended the University of Illinois Springfield to obtain a master’s degree in public affairs reporting. When she finished the program, she wasn’t sure she wanted a career in the field.

“I just spent all this money to get a degree in something I don’t want to do. So, I felt very lost, personally,” she said. “I was getting desperate because I didn’t want to wait tables that much longer.”

Not long after graduating, she noticed that Colorado’s state senate president Tom Horton was hiring for a deputy press secretary position and decided to apply. During her time at USC, she hosted a show on Rocky Mountain PBS called Capitol Journal, in which she frequently interviewed Colorado Rep. Scott McInnis.

So, she called McInnis’s office looking for a reference for the deputy press secretary position.

“They said, ‘if you’re looking for a job, we would love you have you come work for us.’ And my heart stopped because I thought they meant it was in Pueblo. I didn’t know how to say I don’t want to go back to Pueblo for that job,” Perino said.

“So, I kind of started backpedaling and then I realized in the conversation that it wasn’t in Pueblo, it was in Washington, D.C. and that changed everything for me,” she said.

From there, Perino’s career would eventually evolve into a position at the White House. Today, she is a host on Fox News Channel’s “The Five.”

“I am a big believer, and one of the reasons I wrote this book is I want to make sure people understand you do not have to have gone to an Ivy League school or an elite university to end up advising the president of the United States in the Oval Office,” she said.

Perino will be returning to Pueblo May 30 to promote her new book “And the Good News Is…” A signing will take place at Pueblo’s Barnes and Noble, located at 4300 North Freeway, at 6:30 p.m.

“I love the turnout in Denver and Fort Collins, but I have a feeling the Pueblo one is going to be very special,” she said.

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CSU System Chancellor Michael Martin announces resignation

Chancellor Michael Martin will leave his position March 1. Photo courtesy of csusystem.edu.

Chancellor Michael Martin will leave his position March 1. Photo courtesy of csusystem.edu.

The Colorado State University System announced Chancellor Michael Martin’s resignation Feb. 9. Martin, who will transition into another role within the system, is set to leave his position March 1.

The Board of Governors is working on a plan to fill the chancellor’s position and will announce more details before Martin’s departure, a CSU System news release said.

Martin is planning to leave for “both personal and professional reasons,” he said in the news release.

In his new position as part-time chancellor emeritus and senior fellow, Martin will work with issues regarding the future of public higher education, athletics, Native American programs and the mission of land-grant institutions.

“This arrangement will allow me to continue to serve the CSU System by focusing on issues that I care deeply about,” he said in the news release.

Martin has been the chancellor of the CSU System since 2012. In this position, he oversaw CSU-Pueblo, CSU-Fort Collins and CSU-Global.

Before his role at the CSU System, he worked as the chancellor of Louisiana State University and prior to that, he was the president of New Mexico State University.

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Influential campus leader Jack Seilheimer dies at 78

Jack Seilheimer protested on campus with students. He made an effort to build relationships with students during his 49 years as a professor.

Jack Seilheimer protested on campus with students. He made an effort to build campus relationships during his 49 years as a professor.

Former Colorado State University-Pueblo professor Jack Seilheimer died on Oct. 26 at 78. He was heavily involved with CSU-Pueblo’s campus and was regarded by many as an influential leader.

For a man who had nearly every leadership position possible for a professor at CSU-Pueblo, he is remembered for the relationships he built on campus.

“He just really took a lot of students under his wing,” said Tracy Samora, director of Alumni Relations at CSU-Pueblo.

Seilheimer and his wife Donna stayed involved in CSU-Pueblo’s campus throughout his 49-year tenure as a professor, and even after he retired.

He started at CSU-Pueblo in 1963 as a biology professor and assistant football coach. As time went on, he became more involved with university activities and academics. In 1974, he became a full professor and in 1987, he was promoted as the dean of the College of Science and Math. He served in the position until 2000.

In 2012, Seilheimer was inducted into CSU-Pueblo’s Athletics Hall of Fame. He served as an assistant football coach for several years until he gave it up to focus on academics. Even after he quit the position, however, he remained involved with the program.

When the football program was reintroduced to CSU-Pueblo after it disbanded for several years, Seilheimer was one of the program’s biggest supporters, Samora said.

In 2013, he added the President’s Medallion to his vast collection of university awards. In an interview with the Colorado State University-Pueblo Magazine, a publication released by the alumni office, Seilheimer expressed the importance of building relationships on campus.

“So many people have come into our lives, and our CSU-Pueblo family has played a central role in building that family. For that, I am grateful,” he told the magazine.

In 2006, Seilheimer became the only man in CSU-Pueblo history to receive the Honorary Alumni Award. He also received awards such as Educator of the Year and Faculty Member of the Year during his time at the university.

Seilheimer was also influential in the larger Pueblo community. As a biologist, he found ways to study and share his knowledge of the Pueblo environment with the community. For example, he served as the executive director of the nature center in Pueblo.

“I wonder how he did all of that,” Samora said.

A memorial service was held in the Occhiato University Center on Nov. 16 in order for the community to remember Seilheimer’s legacy at CSU-Pueblo.

“You could not meet a sweeter man who loved this institution,” Samora said.

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CSU-Pueblo professor to study global health pandemics

Sociology professor Tim McGettigan will be studying global health issues in Thailand.

Sociology professor Tim McGettigan will be studying global health issues in Thailand.

Colorado State University-Pueblo sociology professor Timothy McGettigan will be studying global health issues in Thailand under a grant he received from the Fulbright Specialist Program.

The study, which begins in the summer of 2015, will allow McGettigan to study global pandemics like Ebola with his colleagues at Bangkok’s Mahidol University.

“We live on a crowded planet where pandemics can spread from one continent to another in only a matter of hours,” McGettigan said.

“People who are afflicted with Ebola anywhere are a threat to everyone, everywhere,” he said.

During the study, he will also look into the feasibility of implementing accessible healthcare worldwide.

McGettigan said he chose to conduct the study in Thailand because it serves as a major travel hub, where diseases can be spread easily.

“People carry lots of illnesses to Thailand every day,” he said. “This problem is exacerbated by Thailand’s huge global sex tourism problem.”

The diseases that are brought to Thailand reflect problems with caring for sick people on a global basis.

“Thailand could literally have the best healthcare system in the world but due to the way people travel and the illnesses the carry, Thai citizens would still be much sicker than they should be,” he said.

In terms of Ebola, McGettigan said allowing people to travel is a major flaw in the way the disease is being handled globally. Once people come in contact with the disease, he said many of them flee out of panic.

“To cure the disease, we need sick people to stay put,” he said.

“That requires a lot of education as well as the promise that those who are afflicted with Ebola will get the best available healthcare if they stay put and cooperate with healthcare providers.”

McGettigan said the healthier people are in one area of the world, the healthier the world is as a whole. He also said that in general, people have the potential to make progress in solving some of the most difficult global problems.

“Humans will never be able to solve all of the world’s problems, but so long as we devote sufficient time, effort and resources to the enterprise in question, we will be able to make significant progress toward solving even the most difficult problems,” he said.

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CSU-Pueblo student travels with Colorado leaders

Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu

CSU-Pueblo student Michael Weiner flew on a private jet with Colorado leaders. Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu

Colorado State University-Pueblo senior Michael Weiner had the opportunity to fly in luxury with Colorado leaders as part of an exchange for the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation.

Weiner, who is working on his MBA through the three-plus-two program, flew on a private jet Oct. 16 to Nashville. He attended the conference with leaders throughout Colorado, including Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“Every year the governor puts together a delegation of leaders from across the state and they select one student to go on the trip with business leaders in Denver,” Weiner said.

Every leadership program throughout the state nominates one student to interview for the trip. Shelly Moreschini, director of the President’s Leadership Program at CSU-Pueblo, nominated Weiner this year.

Weiner said CSU-Pueblo’s diversity and small size were factors in the foundation’s decision to choose him for the trip.

During the exchange, attendees were able to hear Hickenlooper and Gov. Bill Haslam of Tennessee speak about leadership initiatives. Weiner also had the opportunity to network with business leaders.

“It was basically a lot of CEOs and vice presidents from Denver companies that are doing big things,” Weiner said.

He said that the 160 people on his flight to the conference knew each other and had the opportunity to move around and talk to one another.

“It was an interesting plane ride.”

Weiner is involved in an array of activities on campus, including the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, where he is president.

For years, he was involved with the Associated Students’ Government on campus and has been a student ambassador since he was a freshman.

As an ambassador, he gives campus tours to prospective students.

“My favorite part is seeing students who weren’t too sure they wanted to go to CSU-Pueblo and then seeing them on campus,” he said.

Weiner’s leadership roles on campus have given him a platform to influence younger students. As president of Lambda Chi Alpha, he has been able to act as a role model for freshmen recruits.

“They’re getting excited to be more involved and make a change on campus, which is what we need around here,” he said.

Lambda Chi Alpha is currently working on a food drive, which will benefit CSU-Pueblo’s new food bank.

“CSU-Pueblo in general has been a really great experience for me,” he said.

“I know that if I had gone to any other university in the state, I wouldn’t have all of the opportunities that have been presented to me here.”

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Same-sex marriage makes progress

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Colorado, Washington, D.C. and 30 other states

Same-sex marriage is  legal 31 states and Washington, D.C.

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Colorado, Washington, D.C. and 30 other states. The Supreme Court decided Oct. 6 that they would refuse to hear appeals from lower courts, which aimed to ban same-sex marriage.

In an Oct. 7 news release, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said, “Beginning today, Colorado’s 64 county clerks are legally required to issue licenses to same-sex couples who request them.”

Pueblo County was one of two Colorado counties that were allowed to issue the licenses immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision. The other was Larimer County.

“For me personally, it hits close to home because now I can really envision myself getting married and having it legally recognized in the place that I call my home,” said Lexi Santistevan, president of CSU-Pueblo’s queer-straight alliance group, Prizm.

“It’s kind of this new dawn we’re stepping into,” she said.

Before the Supreme Court’s decision, Colorado legislation allowed same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.

Civil unions provide same-sex couples with rights that would allow them to take time off work to care for an ailing partner or adopt children together.

“I personally don’t like civil unions just because I do come from a religious family so I want to get married,” Santistevan said.

“I don’t want to ask a girl to ‘civil union’ me.”

Now that same-sex marriage is legal in the state, couples of all orientations have the same rights in terms of marriage.

“The fact that clerks are now legally required to give out same-sex marriage licenses is really awesome,” Santistevan said.

Prizm decided to identify itself as a queer-straight alliance group last year.

“That’s mainly because queer is encompassing of the entire community. It encompasses the trans community as well, whereas gay is just lesbian and gay,” she said.

“Queer also encompasses bisexuals and people who have different gender expressions that aren’t necessarily under the scope of gay or lesbian.”

Santistevan thinks the queer community is becoming more accepted by society.

“I think we’ve definitely come a long way from the stonewall riots and Matthew Shepard and all of these major events that have really shaped our community and who we are today,” she said.

The stonewall riots were sparked in 1969 after a police raid on a gay nightclub in New York.

Matthew Shepard was a gay student at the University of Wyoming who died in October 1998 from severe head injuries after being brutally beaten by two men.

“I guess in a way, (being gay) is becoming more socially acceptable as well because people are becoming more comfortable with coming out and being who they are and they’re not really hiding themselves anymore.”

Still, Santistevan thinks more can be done to promote acceptance of the queer community.

“I think really implementing SafeZone training in the schools can really help.”

According to the Gay Alliance, a pro-gay organization based in Rochester, New York, “(The) SafeZone program was created to develop, enhance and maintain environments in workplaces, schools and other social settings that are culturally competent and supportive to LGBTQ individuals.”

“We really need people who can identify as straight allies and not tolerate us but accept us and stand up for us when our voices have been silenced,” Santistevan said.

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Facilities management works to repair collapsed OUC panel

Repair work continues on the OUC

Repair work continues on the OUC

The physical plant at Colorado State University-Pueblo is working to repair a collapsed panel on a wall at the Occhiato University Center. The area surrounding the collapse has been closed off since the first week of August.

The OUC’s exterior walls are connected via a series of panels. One panel on the side of the structure dropped from its position, creating a gap there. Temporary paneling is currently filling the gap.

“One of the connections basically broke loose and the panel fell to the ground,” said Craig Cason, physical plant director.

“Since then we’ve had it barricaded off,” he said.

The physical plant is still unsure why the collapse happened.

Facilities decided to block the area off for safety, to determine the cause of the collapse and to make room for construction crews to repair the damage. The university also hired an engineering company to inspect the damage and recommend repairs.

“We kind of barricaded it off not knowing quite what the extent of what we were going to need in order for the contractor to get in there and do the work,” Cason said.

Until the physical plant knows why the collapse happened, the area will remain closed off.

“We’re going to be doing some remediation to some of the panels just to provide extra support just in case there’s anything else that could go wrong,” Cason said.

“The building’s fine to be in until we get it done.”

The OUC has been part of CSU-Pueblo’s campus since 1974.

Cason does not believe the age of the building was a major cause of the collapse but suggested, “sometimes the beating of the sun on a panel like that can cause them to expand and contract.”

While the collapse’s cause is being determined, the physical plant is adding support to the building.

“Just to be safe, we’re just going to be putting on a little bit more support just to make sure there isn’t anything else that could happen,” Cason said.

“If there’s a structural problem, we want to take care of it now.”

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CSU-Pueblo sees increase in international students

CISAEnrollment in the international programs department at Colorado State University-Pueblo has increased by 22 percent this year.

The 126 international students who are responsible for this increase hail from 38 countries.

With 20 students, China is the most heavily represented country in the program.

“We have a great partnership with a recruiter (for China),” said Marissa Munger, administrative assistant for the center for international programs.

Munger also attributed the overall increase to the efforts of the university’s four recruiters.

The recruiters, who most largely represent Germany, Latin America, South Korea and China, use a variety of tactics to enroll the students.

These strategies include attending recruiting fairs and “armchair recruiting,” which allows them to reach prospective students without having to travel.

Once students decide to attend CSU-Pueblo, most of their business at the university is done through the center for international programs.

“We’re the frontline defense for the international students,” Munger said.

The center curates the enrollment process, registration, schedule changes and much of the students’ lives on campus.

The CSU-Pueblo International Students Association is another resource available to the students. Members of the association wanted to emphasize that the club is open to all students.

“We want Americans to join,” said Jose Lopez, CISA president.

Current members of the club represent South Korea, Mexico, Nepal, Iraq, China and Brazil.

The international students noted the benefits of studying in the United States, and for Nishesh Singh of Nepal, “moving from a third world country to a first.”

“I became more independent,” he said.

The students also discussed the differences between their countries and the United States, noting that Americans pick out differences more readily than citizens of their countries.

“We are almost the same,” Anais Verenisse Escobar said of citizens in her native Brazil.

She said that, for example, since most Brazilians are Catholic, people there do not talk about Catholicism often.

Singh also said Americans “practice their freedom of speech.”

CISA meets every Friday at 2:30 p.m. and encourages students of all nationalities to join.

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Bike lanes make Puebloans share the road

New bike lanes in Pueblo change traffic flow.

New bike lanes in Pueblo change traffic flow.

Five streets in Pueblo have been repainted to include bike lanes. The lanes, which first appeared Sept. 5, have caused drivers and bicyclists alike to adjust to a new traffic flow.

With help from Pueblo Active Community Environments, the city of Pueblo introduced the lanes to slow traffic and to encourage citizens to travel by bicycle.

Many citizens have already started taking advantage of the lanes. Puebloans “are now riding to work or on errands due to the lanes,” said Stephanie Chambers, bike and pedestrian coordinator for the city of Pueblo.

“There are existing cycle commuters who have expressed gratitude for the changes because they feel so much safer now,” she said.

“The first week had more a negative reaction,” said department of transportation traffic engineer Pepper Whittlef.

Confusion was followed by frustration when the lanes were first introduced. Complaints from the community were focused largely on the lanes on Greenwood and Elizabeth Avenues.

The streets, which are adjacent to each other, were previously one-ways with two car lanes each. The city removed one lane from both streets to paint the bike lines, leaving them with single lanes for cars.

When the officially marked bike lane on Elizabeth ends, it transitions into a lane designated for both cars and bikes.

“(Bicyclists) have to treat themselves as though they are vehicles,” Whittlef said.

Cyclists are required to abide by traffic laws as bikes are officially recognized as vehicles.

The introduction of the bike lanes has caused changes in other streets as well. New lanes also appear on Goodnight Avenue, Cleveland Street and Orman Avenue.

Before the bike lanes, Cleveland Street had a middle lane, which was used mostly by residents to turn into their driveways or onto other streets, while allowing the flow of traffic to continue around them.

A major goal behind the lanes has been to slow traffic, especially on Greenwood and Elizabeth.

“The neighbors in that area have long complained about the speeding traffic through the neighborhood,” a PACE news release said.

“A couple of older women even expressed that they used to be afraid to cross the street,” Chambers said of the high volume of speeding cars.

The city of Pueblo and PACE believe that the lane replacement will also encourage more citizens to bike.

“Bicycle traffic does not increase until you start providing this type of infrastructure,” Whittlef said.

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