Metro Magazine
Spring 2012 / Volume XXXVII / Issue II
Contents
8- 9 ANSWERS -A Metro State Chicana activist Nita Gonzales ties environment to
learning at Escuela Tlatelolco, the dual-language school she heads
11- CSI METRO STATE- An abandoned car and skeletal remains are among the clues
when Metro State students investigate a staged “crime scene,” all in the name of learning.
14- HIGH-IMPACT EDUCATION- Snail DNA? Alpine permafrost? Undergraduate
researchers are gaining experience they can use in jobs or graduate school.
20- RADIO DAYS- Nathan Green (’01) and a friend are revolutionizing the “canned”
music heard in businesses.
Departments
2- METRO VISION
Metro State President Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D., believes Metro State is at the
tipping point
3- METROZOIC ERA
Cupcake entrepreneur Lyla Padden, 12, learns business from Metro State graduate
Robert Lanphier.
4-NEWSWORTHY
Read the latest news from Metro State.
10- ON THE JOB
Metro State grad Jon Robinson heads UMB Colorado, where he has worked for more
than 30 years.
24-ALUMNI TIMES
The latest news from alumni, Denver-area companies that employ many Metro State
grads, tax advice from a graduate and more
30-THE ROWDY REPORT
Meet Metro State’s new softball and baseball coaches.
32-DON’T BLINK
Roadrunners ‘hoop’ it up.
METRO MAGAZINE
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Cathy Lucas
EDITOR, Donna Fowler (’80)
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, Sandy Graham
ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNER,Julie Strasheim
DESIGN/PRODUCTION, Welch Creative Group
GRAPHIC DESIGNER,Ruth M’Gonigle
PHOTOGRAPHERS,Dave Neligh, Julie Strasheim, Jessica Taves
Mark Woolcott
METRO MAGAZINE EDITORIAL BOARD
Bridgette Coble,Director of Career Services
Donna Fowler (’80),Director of Internal Communications
Debora Gilliard,Chair and Professor of Management
Mark Jastoroff, Executive Director of the Alumni Association
Cathy Lucas, Associate VP of Communications and Advancement
Lunden MacDonald, Assistant Professor of Spanish
Ken Phillips,Chair and Associate Professor of Industrial Design
Carmen Sanjurjo,Assistant Professor of Teacher Education
Julie Strasheim, Art Director, Creative Services
© 2012 Metropolitan State College of Denver. Metro Magazine is published three times a
year by the Metropolitan State College of Denver Office of Communications and
Community Affairs for alumni and friends of the College. All rights reserved.
Address correspondence to:
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Metro Magazine
Office of Communications and Community Affairs
Campus Box 86, PO Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362
Please send letters to the editor, editorials and inquiries to:
Donna Fowler, editor, at the address above or fowlerd@mscd.edu.
E-mail alumni address changes and Class Acts submissions to alumni@mscd.edu.
The opinions expressed in Metro Magazine do not necessarily reflect the policies and
opinions of Metropolitan State College of Denver nor imply endorsement by its officers
or by the College’s alumni association.
Nondiscrimination Policy
Metropolitan State College of Denver does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
creed, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation or disability in admissions or access to,
or treatment or employment in, its educational programs or activities.
Metro Vision
Letter from the President
Dear Alumni and Friends,
“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a
threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire.” This is how author Malcolm Gladwell defines the
pivotal moment when many small factors come together to create dramatic change.
It’s also what it feels like to be working at Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2012.
The Metro State community—faculty, staff, students, alumni, Board of Trustees, donors
and friends of the College—has accomplished a heck of a lot over the last few years with
very little money.
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By the time you receive this magazine, the sustainably built Student Success
Building (SSB) will be open. The SSB will provide our students with a convenient,
one-stop resource for admissions, financial aid, academic advising, tutoring, cashier
and other services. In addition, it will be home to our First Year Success program,
which is currently serving approximately 500 freshmen and will ultimately serve all
first-time freshmen. The goal of the program is the retention of these students
through learning communities and other support activities. The SSB also will
centrally house many other administrative offices, increasing the campus’s
classroom and office space by 25 percent.
The SSB, too, will extend our reach into the community with our state-of-the-art
Center for Advanced Visualization and Experiential Analysis (CAVEA), a
supercharged conference facility that will allow government and business decision
makers to bring people together regionally and globally to solve complex academic,
social and business problems. Our faculty will provide expertise to these meetings,
and our students will have the opportunity
to be trained on the latest decision-making tools.
The Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC), which is scheduled to open in
the fall, is the recipient of one of the College’s first-ever seven-digit gifts:
$1 million from The J. Willard and Alice
S. Marriott Foundation. In recognition
of this gift, the center’s 5,000-square-foot conference space will be named The J.
Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation Conference Center. The
HLC is a unique public/private partnership that we anticipate will eventually lead to
funds for
scholarships and financial aid.
Metro State has emerged as a calculus superpower. In the fall of 2010, the
Mathematical Association of America (MAA) examined more than 200 colleges
and universities across the country for factors that improved passing rate, interest in
advancing to Calculus II, general interest in continuing math studies, enjoyment of
mathematics and confidence in mathematical ability. When the results were tallied,
15 colleges and universities emerged as having particularly strong programs, with
Metro State being one of them. In the fall, the association will be sending a team to
Metro State to study what makes our Calculus I classes so successful.
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This spring, we will graduate more than 50 master’s candidates in professional
accountancy, teacher education and social work.
And, we are also looking at the opportunities afforded by our potential name
change, should Colorado’s Legislature ratify the bill to rename the College to
Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Perhaps nothing says that we are an institution to reckon with more than a quote from a
representative of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association about Metro State’s
aviation program winning the prestigious Loening Trophy: “The award is really about the
best aviation program in the country. If you looked at Metro State as a school of law, they
went against Harvard, they went against Yale, they went against Princeton and Stanford,
and [the Loening evaluators] said Metro State is better. That would be the equivalent.”
I’d say that’s some pretty good company and just one more indication that we are reaching
the point—our tipping point—of becoming the preeminent, urban land-grant institution we
visualized when I became president seven years ago.
Please keep in touch. As a graduate, you have a definitive role in our success, and we love
to hear and share stories of the incredible achievements of our alumni.
Sincerely,
Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D.
President, Metro State
Metrozoic Era
Metro State’s past, present and future
‘FLOUR GAL’BLOSSOMS WITH ALUM’S GUIDANCE
By Sandy Graham
Twelve-year-old Lyla Padden opened her cupcake business, Flour Gal, just more than
a year ago, and she already knows she’s in the right field.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve loved to bake,” says Lyla, a
sixth-grader at Rocky Heights Middle School in Highlands Ranch, Colo. “I want to do
this for the rest of my life.”
Lyla launched her business by papering her school and suburban neighborhood with
fliers she designed on a computer. Since her first sale last year to her teacher, the
business has grown steadily. She offers about 20 kinds of cupcakes priced at $15 to
$18 a dozen, depending on the flavor.
Even with strong support from her parents, Monica and Andrew, Lyla knew she could
use a pro to help Flour Gal flourish. She was among the first students to enroll last
fall in the John B. Trueblood E-Coaching Program through the Center for Innovation
at Metropolitan State College of Denver. She was matched with mentor Robert
Lanphier (’95, communications), owner of Pour Kids, a Denver-area restaurant group.
Lanphier jumped at the chance to become an e- (for entrepreneur) coach. “I’ve made
pretty much every mistake in the book in my career,” he says. “If I can’t share that
with someone, it’s a wasted opportunity.”
The e-coaching program is a collaboration among Metro State; Young Americans
Center for Financial Education; John B. Trueblood, president of Trueblood
Resources; and Denver-area entrepreneurs.
Trueblood, a longtime Metro State supporter, wants to encourage creative young
people: “If they can have proper mentors or guides or coaches or whatever you want to
call them, it may shorten the entrepreneurial learning curve,” says Trueblood.
Mick Jackowski, director of the innovation center, decided to partner with Young
Americans Center for Financial Education because of its existing program for
entrepreneurs. The center sponsors a youth business competition that provides
mentors to the winners in each age group. The Trueblood program matches mentors to
other competitors.
In addition to Lanphier, three other Metro State graduates—Robert Algeo (’96,
management); Pete Dascalos (’78, English); and Thomas Hoch (’92, technical
communications)—participate in this program.
The mentoring pairs meet at least monthly from October through May. If young
business owners complete the program, they receive $150, thanks to Trueblood’s
contribution.
Lanphier and Lyla have concentrated on promoting Flour Gal and better analyzing
business costs. In addition to monthly meetings, they talk every other week by phone.
Her profits go into an account for an iPad and college. She’d like to attend Princeton
University.
“It’s in New Jersey,” she says. “That’s where the Cake Boss (TLC celebrity baker Buddy
Valastro) is from. He’s my hero.”
Make you hungry for cupcakes?
Metro State grads Denon (’01) and Sean (’99) Moore own Cake Crumbs bakery and the
wildly popular Denver Cupcake Truck. Support fellow grads and eat your cupcake, too!
www.cake-crumbs.com
Newsworthy
College News
METRO STATE NAME CHANGE AT LEGISLATURE
We’re one step closer!
Senate Bill 12-148, which would change Metropolitan State College of Denver’s name to
Metropolitan State University of Denver, was introduced in the Colorado Legislature on
Feb. 8—just six days after the Board of Trustees voted 6-3 to approve the new name.
If passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, the new name will be
implemented in the 2012-13 academic year.
“What was most important to me was to increase the value of degrees for students today
and all alumni and students into the future,” says Metro State President Stephen Jordan.
The three votes against the name-change motion reflected concerns regarding the
limitations of an agreement with the University of Denver (DU) that was the result of
DU’s objections to the name Denver State University, which Metro State proposed
during last year’s legislative session. Stay on top of the bill’s progress at
www.mscd.edu/namechange.
HOTEL AND HOSPITALITY LEARNING CENTER RECEIVES $1 MILLION GIFT
The Metro State Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC) has received its largest
gift to date: $1 million from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. In
recognition of the gift, Metro State will name the HLC’s 5,000-square-foot meeting
space The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation Conference Center.
When it opens in fall 2012, the HLC will train students studying hospitality, tourism and
events using the adjacent SpringHill Suites™ by Marriott hotel as a learning laboratory.
The $45 million center will be one of only 10 such training facilities on a college campus
in the United States.
FLIGHT TEAM FETED AT LOENING TROPHY CEREMONY
Metro State has joined the likes of Harvard and Stanford with the awarding of the
prestigious Loening Trophy to the Department of Aviation and Aerospace Science
and the Precision Flight Team at a ceremony held on campus Jan. 30.
The day was proclaimed Metro State Aviation Aerospace Day by the Denver City
Council, and the team was also recognized by the Colorado General Assembly.
“There are only two Colorado schools to win the Loening Trophy: the Air Force
Academy and now Metro State,” says Metro State President Stephen Jordan.
Peter Bro, a representative of the National Intercollegiate Flying Association, who
presented the trophy, said the team earned the honor and its members “are the
ambassadors of the future of aviation.”
The Loening Trophy, first awarded in 1929, recognizes excellence in academics,
community involvement, aviation skills, safety and an ability to advance the
profession.
STUDENT SUCCESS BUILDING TO OPEN
When students return to campus after spring break on March 26, they’ll be coming
back to a big, shiny, new building that will house most of Metro State’s student
services in one location.
Among the offices that are moving to the Student Success Building are all enrollment
services, financial aid, Alumni Relations (see page 26) and academic advising. The
president will also move to the new building, allowing for more classrooms at the
space-strapped Auraria Campus.
Go to www.mscd.edu/metrostaterising for information about the grand opening, which
is planned for late spring.
METRO STATE PARTNERS WITH HISPANIC CHAMBER ON LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
The Denver Hispanic Chamber Education Foundation has accepted a proposal
developed by Metro State for a Hispanic Leadership Development Program (HLDP).
“I’m proud to add this program to Metro State’s latest achievements and
collaborations with the community,” says Metro State President Stephen Jordan, who is
a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board member. “We knew instantly that coupling
Metro State with the Hispanic chamber to develop a regional leadership program
would be a great fit.”
Leroy Garcia, incoming foundation board chair, says, “We are fortunate to have
partnered with Metro State and believe this program will serve a tremendous role in
fostering growth and personal development within the Hispanic community.”
The program is based on leadership courses already taught by Political Science
Professor Norman Provizer. In February, a diverse set of professionals representing
multiple industries and service sectors began meeting monthly at the chamber. Metro
State professors and community leaders are teaching topics such as identity, culture,
policy, purpose and principles.
Although the HLDP was established to help chamber members develop stronger
leadership skills, the program also accepts outside participation to ensure diversity of
thinking and backgrounds. The program is the first of its kind in Colorado, but it
follows a proven model used by other chambers across the country.
TRAPP PICKED FOR VICE PRESIDENT
Erin Trapp, former deputy chief of staff for two Denver mayors, has become vice
president of advancement and external relations of Metro State and executive director
of
its foundation.
Trapp, who worked for Mayors John Hickenlooper and Guillermo Vidal, will oversee
the departments of development, grants and sponsored programs, and alumni
relations.
METRO STATE GRADUATES FIRST MASTER’S CANDIDATES
Metro State graduated its first master’s degree students during Fall Commencement.
The five students were accounting students Lynn Lupomech and Irina Gellan and
teacher education students Erin Symmes, Evan Roth and Madeline Burke.
For each of the candidates, the affordability of the degree was one of the deciding
factors for choosing Metro State. They hold degrees from institutions as far away as
Russia and as close as Greeley, Colo.
The five master’s degree recipients were among a record 1,256 undergraduates
graduating Dec. 18, 2011, at the Colorado Convention Center. Former Army Surgeon
General Lt. Gen. Eric B. Shoomaker was the commencement speaker.
BIOLOGY PROF GOES BUGGY ON DIY SHOW
He goes by many names: Robert, Bob, “Mosquito Man” and now, “Dr. Bedbug.”
The producers of the DIY Network’s “Disaster House” coined the latest moniker for
Metro State Biology Assistant Professor Bob Hancock after he landed a spot on a
segment titled “Nocturnal Nuisances.” The episode looked in part at what can happen
when bedbugs are on the loose.
Hancock, who joined the Metro State faculty in 2008, is a medical entomologist and
an authority on blood-sucking insects. He was featured in a Westword story in March
2011 and in Metro Magazine. (To read, go to www.mscd.edu/metromagazine and
click archived
stories under featured stories.)
For the bedbug segment, Hancock had to convince the staff that real bedbugs should
be used.
“The production staff and crew were kind of freaked out about having living bedbugs
in their house, especially since it was the very first shoot of their season,” Hancock
says. So he devised a “foolproof safety system” using only male bedbugs—48 of
them. “Males are a dead-end,” he says, since they can’t lay eggs and give rise to an
infestation.
During the 10-minute segment, Hancock and host Josh Temple chat about bedbugs as
the insects crawl around a bed, their movements captured by a high-tech camera. A
specially trained dog named Macaroni is brought in to sniff out the critters and then
industrial heaters are deployed to bring the temperature up to a bug-lethal 120 or so
degrees. The heat treatment is, as Hancock put it, “the gold standard” of anti -bedbug
weaponry.
COLLEGE PART OF MULTISTATE PROJECT TO RECRUIT AND TRAIN TEACHERS
Metro State and Denver Public Schools (DPS) are partners in a multistate consortium
of higher education institutions, local schools, education departments and nonprofits
participating in Project m-NET (Mobilizing National Educator Talent). Funded by a
federal grant, of which Metro State will receive $415,500 over five years, m -NET’s
goal is to recruit and train never-before teachers to fill critical classroom needs.
DPS will recruit and Metro State will train 20 teachers a year from 2012 through 2016
to teach science, technology, engineering, math or other high-need subjects in DPS.
Qualified candidates—who already hold nonteaching college degrees—will enroll in
Metro State’s Alternative Licensure Program and will fill full-time classroom
positions in DPS as they move toward state certification as teachers. Nationally, m NET is looking to train, support and retain 1,111 teachers over the life of the grant.
Metro State was asked to join the project by The Ohio State University, m-NET’s lead
institution, at last April’s Great Teachers for Our City Schools national summit
sponsored by Metro State’s Center for Urban Education.
METRO STATE STUDENTS’ PROJECT FOCUSES ON ACCESSIBILITY FOR PEOPLE WHO
ARE BLIND
You’re in a checkout line and want to pay with your debit card, but you can’t see the
number pad. You might have to give out your PIN so someone else can punch it in.
Or you need to get cash from an ATM, but you have trouble navigating the touchscreen because you’re blind.
Addressing frustrations like these in a positive way is the aim of a joint effort by
Metro State communication design students and the Colorado Center for the Blind in
Littleton. Called “blind spot,” the project will use business cards, postcards, posters
and other design elements plus a yet-to-be launched website to educate business
owners, government officials and others about things that don’t work for people who
can’t see.
The project is meant to “open up awareness and create an opportunity for education
around what accessibility means,” says Art Professor Lisa Abendroth, communication
design coordinator. “We’re really positioning accessibility as a human right … a civil
right within the context of the urban environment.”
The blind spot campaign was developed over 14 weeks last fall during which the 10 member class met regularly with students and staff at the Colorado Center for the
Blind. Among other things, it involves using graphics called “spots” to promot e
awareness about accessibility in businesses and public spaces, with the aim of
educating. The website will allow people to post the location of a design problem so it
can be resolved,
and will include free downloads of window decals a business can use to signal that it
is sensitive to the needs of blind people.
The project is still in the prototype phase but is seeking a $13,000 grant. The hope is
to turn it into a national campaign.
Correction:
“It’s All in the Metro State Family” on page 14 of the Fall 2011 issue of Metro
Magazine should have said Elaine Strickland attended Metro State, but did not
graduate. Metro Magazine regrets the error.
ACCELERATED NURSING STUDENTS SCORE A PERFECT 100
All 36 graduates in the 2011 Metro State Accelerated Nursing Program passed the
National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. The 100 percent pass
rate was a first for the program.
The perfect score also gave the Nursing Department bragging rights. Of all
baccalaureate and associate degree nursing programs in Colorado, Metro State’s is the
only one to achieve a 100 percent pass rate in 2011, according to the Colorado State
Board of Nursing website. Nationally and in Colorado, the average pass rate for the
NCLEX-RN exam in the April-to-September reporting period was 88 percent.
The test includes questions about all aspects of nursing: obstetrics, mental health,
medical surgical nursing, leadership and management, community health and more, says
Nursing Department Chair Barbara Nelson. The national council toughened the test
effective last April before the Metro State students took it.
The 17-month accelerated program, which leads to a bachelor’s degree in nursing, is
for students who already have a non-nursing baccalaureate degree. They are
admitted in January and complete the nursing curriculum in four consecutive
semesters, including summer.
IN MEMORIAM
Dr. Todd E. Bergren, affiliate faculty in the biology department
Mr. Ronald R. (rob) Christopher- affiliate faculty in the history department
Ms. Jane Eileen Kober, emeritus assistant professor of human performance and sport
women’s basketball, tennis and softball coach
Mr. Curtis E. Wright emeritus vice president for business and finance (1965-1986)
9 ANSWERS
By Leslie Petrovski
As the oldest daughter of Chicano activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, Nita Gonzales
came of age during El Movimiento—the Chicano Civil Rights Movement—and, like her
father, has worked to battle racism and classism in its many forms. Deeply involved in
the Denver community, she has taken stands on police brutality, bilingual education and
better housing for the homeless. She co-chairs Nuestro Rio, an organization of Latinos
dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of the Colorado River, and serves as
president of Northwest Denver’s Escuela Tlatelolco, the private, dual-language school
founded by her father, who died in 2005 at the age of 76. Nita is the recent recipient of
the Chevrolet GREEN Educator Award for Escuela’s curriculum, which weaves
environmental education with activism.
1. Have you always been interested in environmental activism? How does
your interest in the environment connect to your social justice work?
The whole issue of the environment is part of our culture as Chicanos. Ingrained in us
and our culture are Mother Earth, water and how you handle water and the importance of
that.
With water, particularly with the rivers we have in this incredible state, we talk about
how sacred and important it is and how it’s being used, connecting the idea that we’re in
a semiarid place and we do things like plant Kentucky bluegrass for our lawns and have
golf courses, which use an immense amount of water. Then we go and visit reservations
where they’re struggling to have pure and drinkable water. And we study other parts of
the world where water is like gold. We talk about development and the continual growth
of population and ask, “Is it healthy for the Earth?”
These are the kinds of things we do with students. We’ve incorporated into the
curriculum at Escuela this whole study of rivers in the state. When we got involved with
Nuestro Rio, it was natural for Escuela, where a fundamental piece is not just learning,
but acting on what you learn—to take a stand and be
able to speak out and have a voice around that.
2. So how are students getting involved with Nuestro Rio and the Colorado River?
There have been a couple of ways. We hosted Assistant Secretary Anne Castle from the
U.S. Department of the Interior; she’s right under Ken Salazar. She came here and [our
students] did a presentation on the Colorado River and a rafting trip that they did. They
included quotes and comments from indigenous spiritual leaders about water and the
sacredness of water, and then sat with her upstairs in one of the classrooms and had a
discussion with her. She was very impressed by that.
They’re now working with another conservation group to have a Colorado River Day.
And they’ve gathered about 3,000 signed letters within our community about being very
intentional and conscious about what’s going on with the river.
3. Why do you think it’s important for young people to engage with the
environment?
Why should our youngsters be involved? We’ve always been involved. This is where we
come from culturally. We tell students, “You have the responsibility to be involved, to be
aware and to be conscious because that’s expected of you. Your ancestors would expect
you to be a caretaker, a guardian. You may think it doesn’t impact you, but eventually it
does.”
Here’s an example: When there’s a tsunami in Japan, it impacts us. How does it impact
us? You’re paying more for car parts because they can’t get their factories up. Not only
that, but there’s the radiation. We have to be very careful and conscious of what we do in
our life every day.
4. How do they respond when you talk to them about engagement?
They feel overwhelmed. When we talk about Japan and the tsunami and the nuclear plant,
when we talk about earthquakes and New Orleans—our students went to New Orleans to
the Ninth Ward to help rebuild—they’re devastated. We’re 92 percent free-and-reducedprice lunch; these students are not from wealthy families. They were devastated by the
lack of rebuilding that has gone on in New Orleans. It is generally in the poorer
neighborhoods and they were so saddened by it.
Our job then is to get them impassioned and help them figure out what can be their piece.
You have to have a way to take that anger or frustration to a point where you can say,
“What can we do?” Nuestro Rio is that way and it’s a good way for them to be involved.
5. Are you going to be working with Metro State’s new One World One Water
Center for Urban Water Education and Stewardship?
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Sandra Haynes [dean of the School of Professional
Studies] and Tom Cech [the center’s executive director]. I want to talk about how to get
high school kids involved in that center.
6. What kind of relationship does the Escuela have with Metro State?
Metro State has partnered with the Escuela since its birth. When the school was started by
several parents in 1970, there were Chicano students at Metro State who came and
interned as teachers at the school. And then when we graduated students, they went to
Metro State.
Metro State is where we recruit teachers for Escuela Tlatelolco.Today I have a teaching
staff of about 15 teachers. Of those 15 teachers, 11 are Metro State grads.
What we’re trying to do now is get 10th- and 11th-grade students to look at Metro State
as an institution to aspire to. Chicano students tell me that they feel cared for at Metro
State and they feel engaged and that they belong there and that’s not true of every
institution of higher ed.
7. What do you think about Metro State’s move to become a Hispanic Serving
Institution?
I think it’s long overdue, and I’m glad to see that’s where they want to go. That’s the
demographic the institutions in this state will need to go to. California and Texas
recognized that a long time ago. Metro State can get it done in a way that honors and
respects the cultural diversity of the students in our community.
8. What do you feel you have yet to accomplish as an activist before you pass the
baton to the next generation?
I don’t believe in passing the baton to the next generation. Retirement is not part of my
vocabulary. As long as there are issues and problems within our community, within our
city, then I’m going to be involved. What I need to do is educate that next generation
about those issues and give them the skills and tools to support them in taking the action
necessary to move us closer to a humane, equal world.
9. What are you particularly proud of?
Aside from my two children … keeping Escuela Tlatelolco vibrant, alive and available to
students in our community so they have a choice to come to a school where they can be
activists and catalysts for change.
I still have the health and wherewithal. People say, “Aren’t you burned out?” I don’t
know what that means. What I do know is that I still want to be actively involved.
I aspire to be like Nelson Mandela, who ran for president in his 70s and won. That’s my
hero.
KEEPING A GOOD THING GOING
30 years at UMB Bank
By Sandy Graham
Most people work for an average of 11 employers by the time they are Jon
Robinson’s age, according to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey.
Robinson (’90, accounting) went to work in 1981 for a Denver bank and there he has
stayed for nearly 31 years.
“I’m bringing that average down,” jokes Robinson, 48, about the BLS survey. He
initially worked for Columbine National Bank, which was acquired by UMB
Colorado, and has risen through UMB’s ranks, becoming chief lending officer and
chief executive officer in Colorado in September 2009.
Robinson, who chairs the Metro State Foundation Board of Directors and was on the
board of the Metro State Alumni Association, knew when he graduated from Green
Mountain High School in Lakewood, Colo., that he wanted to go into banking or
accounting. Experience, he thought, would help him decide. Columbine National gave
the teenager that opportunity.
“My goal when I started at the bank was not to be there for 30 years, but to learn a
little bit about banking, then leave and go to school full time,” Robinson says. The
bank owner, who had begun to mentor Robinson, urged him to consider night school.
He pledged to give Robinson experience in every area of the bank to complement his
degree.
“I thought that was a pretty good deal,” Robinson says.
He soon determined that Metro State’s accounting program was “the best program,
hands down.” Robinson thoroughly enjoyed his classes, but combining work and
school was no easy task.
“It was tough. My day at the bank ended at 5 p.m. and my first class was at 5:30 p.m.
at Metro,” he says. “It was work, school, homework—that was about it. In the end, it
worked out for me. I looked at it as getting my undergraduate degree at Metro and my
graduate degree at the bank.”
After graduation, Robinson became a CPA in 1992. He has enjoyed all aspects of his
banking career, but particularly likes working with entrepreneurs and small business
owners to help them succeed. He has been active in community organizations such as
Junior Achievement, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado, the Better Business
Bureau and Kiwanis. He happily added Metro State to that list about 12 years ago.
Not surprisingly, Robinson considers raising money as the biggest challenge facing
Metro State. He believes that state support for higher education is probably not going
to return to historic levels and that new funding sources must be found—especially if
Metro State is to continue providing opportunities for financially challenged students.
“There’s not an easy way out,” he says.
Robinson and his wife, Cathy, spend much of their free time watching their son’s and
daughter’s activities. Michael, 15, plays football and baseball, and Aryn, 14, enjoys
dance and volleyball. Robinson plays golf whenever possible and reaches for books
about the American Revolution, Civil War and World War II for good reads.
Asked what people would be surprised to learn about him, Robinson comes up blank.
“There’s nothing. I’m an open book—I really am,” he says.
CSI METRO STATE
By Doug Mcpherson
The jagged hole in the skull left no doubt: It was murder.
It took nearly three hours of digging on an unseasonably hot day in September 2011
in the sunbaked dirt of a landfill 50 miles northeast of Denver to come to this grisly
ending, which investigators had suspected they might find all along.
Two victims: one male, one female. Both shot point-blank in the head, execution
style. Their torn clothing more evidence of a violent end.
About 60 feet away from the grave sits an abandoned, dark blue 2002 Acura Legend
with a thin layer of dust, eerily alone among the weeds. Inside, an empty bag from
Burger King—the couple’s last supper? There’s blood spatter inside. At least one victim
was shot in the car. Scattered nearby is more potential evidence: spent Smith and Wesson
pistol shell casings, broken beer bottles, a tarp tied at both ends with rope, a Burger King
receipt and some other small paper items.
All around the grave and the car, people wearing reflective vests are busy. Some are
taking photos, a few are shoveling, others are sifting dirt through screens. And beside
the road, a line of about 10 people walk side by side toward the car, their eyes all fixed on
the ground.
But when a small brush sweeps away the last layer of sandy dirt to reveal the first
skull, the only sound (after a couple of gasps) is a light wind sweeping softly through
the barren field to the east. There’s only respectful silence from more than 30 people
who look on with the same awful expression on their faces—one that says they are
witnessing some true embodiment of pure evil.
It’s a moment most of those gathered will never forget. And perhaps that’s t he way
most lessons in college should be—hard to forget and useful for the future.
College? Lessons?
Yes, college. Those investigators are students and the gruesome scene staged by
Metropolitan State College of Denver professors. Elaborate? Yes. Time consuming?
Absolutely. But most importantly, the whole exercise demonstrates what college
classes should be: effective.
“This is a great way to get hands-on experience and really, in this field, you can’t get
hired unless you have experience,” says Nicole Bassett, a senior studying forensic
anthropology who’s at the scene. “Books can only teach you so much. Here, I’m
learning exactly what the work is like and how methodical you have to be to do a
good job. We’re walking through weeds in the hot sun, setting up search grids,
digging, sifting—real-life stuff. We’re literally getting our hands dirty.”
It’s not exactly the TV show “CSI: Miami.”
“It’s not easy or glamorous work,” Bassett says. “We’re not walking around in
stilettos with perfect hair.”
A local high school science class was invited to take part, too.
Katie Day, a ninth-grader at Weld Central High School, says she found the whole
exercise interesting, but admits she was a little afraid she was going to see an actual
body.
“I was a little worried coming over here. They didn’t tell us a lot, but when I got here
it was better,” Day says. “I liked it. It gives you an idea of what actually goes on at a
crime scene and what a career in this kind of work is really like. You have to be very
cautious or you’ll contaminate the crime scene.”
This is just one of many lessons students picked up this day. It’s what this macabre
outing is all about: learning—more specifically, learning by doing. It is the brainchild
of Catherine Gaither (’95, anthropology), an associate professor of anthropology.
Gaither says when she attended Metro State, she got plenty of good, hands-on
experience.
“When I came back to teach, I wanted to make sure my students got that same kind of
local field experience. I started thinking about creating a scene and we actually did
some work at an old cemetery in Byers (Colo.). But when people saw us digging
there, they called the police on us, so we quit working there,” Gaither laughs.
Eventually she found a landfill that was willing to help. So in August, she and
Thomas Netwal, an affiliate professor who teaches criminalistics in Metro State’s
Chemistry Department and a 30-year veteran of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation,
put their devious heads together to think like murderers and create a crime scene—
tossing clues and evidence around between the car and grave. (To ratchet up the
reality of the field trip, Gaither and Netwal had plaster casts made of two actual
murder victims.)
“We want them to see if the evidence at the car matches with what they find at the
grave,” Gaither says.
Netwal says he believes students are getting “a true appreciation” of what goes on at a
crime scene.
“Everyone watches the ‘CSI’-type shows, so it has a certain appeal. But these
students are becoming very well-educated in what does really happen—the strange
hours, strange locations, the thorough documentation and every step of the process,”
Netwal says. “They’re getting a pretty big picture of how it all works, and if they
have that kind of familiarization with the overall techniques, they’ll have a step up on
the rest of the field.”
The students’ time at the site is just the beginning of their work. Back in class, they
will look at fingerprints, examine rope fibers, conduct chemical tests and write
reports—all the same follow-up done at real crime scenes.
“At the end, we’ll get all the students together and look at all the evidence to see if
what they found matches what Tom and I set up in the field trip,” Gaither says.
Eventually she would like to get students to hold a mock trial related to the exercise.
“That would bring it all full circle for the students. I think that would be great for
them.”
HIGH-IMPACT EDUCATION THROUGH UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
Focus on hands-on, applied learning gives students an edge at work and in graduate
school.
By Roxanne Hawn
If you have driven Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park or taken your
dog to a dog park in Louisville, Colo., then you have benefited from active, applied
research taking place at Metropolitan State College of Denver.
It’s easy to think of research merely as scientists holed up in labs working on esoteric
details or conducting large-scale clinical trials on big diseases. Hypotheses and
creativity, however, take shape in the classrooms at Metro State, in fieldwork across
Colorado and the region, and in the minds of campus creatives of all kinds.
The changing state of what we know comes directly from students and faculty asking
questions that begin, “I wonder if …”
The power of wondering and creating
Speculation and the process of finding answers tie directly to critical learning
opportunities for students. In 2008, the Association of American Colleges and
Universities (AACU) published a report naming the top 10 educational practices and
assessing why they matter. Undergraduate research made the list. According to the
report, “The goal is to involve students with actively contested questions, empirical
observation, cutting-edge technologies and the sense of excitement that comes from
working to answer important questions.”
Metro State’s new Applied Learning Center brings the existing Internship Program
and Service Learning Program and the new Undergraduate Research Program together
under one roof. The AACU report listed all three learning opportunities on the high impact list.
“There has been quite a bit of publicity in higher education about these high-impact
learning practices,” says Rhonda Eaker, director of the Applied Learning Center.
“Undergraduate research has been documented to be one of those. What better way to
teach critical thinking than to give students a problem and have them work through
the process—how do we develop a research project that will answer this question?”
Students see the benefits, too.
“I have been told that the research that we are doing as undergrads is what students
were doing their doctorate thesis on just a few years ago,” says Corbin Bradford, a
biology major, “and I am so appreciative of the opportunities I have gained by
working in the student research lab.”
The goals of Metro State’s Undergraduate Research Program, established in autumn
2011, are to:

Develop a comprehensive inventory of undergraduate research under way on
campus;

Sponsor a college-wide undergraduate research conference April 20, 2012,
with students presenting their original, creative, intellectual contributions
and research through visual displays and verbal presentations; and

Create a community among faculty and students involved in undergraduate
research.
Approximately 70 Metro State faculty members responded to the initial survey about
active research.
“We hope to stimulate, support and promote undergraduate research as a way of
increasing and improving the educational opportunities for our students, better
positioning them for the next step in their careers, whether that is graduate school or
employment,” says Tom Davinroy, faculty associate for undergraduate research and
assistant professor of geography.
While Davinroy and Pamela Ansburg, faculty associate for undergraduate research
and associate professor of psychology, aspire to grow the program, they remain
realistic about the effect of outside influences such as possible cuts in state or federal
funding.
“I also think that it’s important to note that not all students and not all faculty are
going to find that undergraduate research suits their goals,” Ansburg says.
“It’s very important to be inclusive in the definition of ‘research,’” Davinroy adds.
“It’s scholarly activity and unique contributions to the discipline. That certainly
includes the arts. Musical compositions, for example, are well within the original
contribution definition, and those are things we want to support.”
Whether the topic has global implications, is of local concern or affects t he daily
lives of families, undergraduate research at Metro State provides the chance to learn
more. Here are a few examples of current projects:
Rocky Mountain tourism and permafrost
As the highest continuous paved road in the United States, Trail Ridge Road in
Rocky Mountain National Park remains an important tourist attraction in Colorado.
Now, imagine if something caused it to crumble, cutting off both seasonal traffic and
the flow of tourism dollars.
Jason Janke, associate professor of environmental science, received grants from the
National Park Service to study the prevalence and potential impact of permafrost on
the road.
“Permafrost is ice that kind of binds the landscape together,” Janke says. “If that ice
melts, if the climate warms significantly, you’re going to have subsidence—sink
holes. The ground is going to start moving, causing a bunch of structural problems.
So there is an applied management
side of this research.”
Unlike Alaska, where permafrost goes down hundreds of meters, Colorado’s alpine
environment typically sees a meter-deep active layer that freezes in winter and thaws
in summer, with true permafrost 2 or 3 meters deep. Below that, due to the warmer
temperatures deep underground, the material stays above freezing.
Janke involves students from several of his courses, including one about soils and a
senior experience class, in the research. Rather than being an extracurricular
experience, Janke’s students work on the permafrost project as part of their daily
academic life.
The team stuck temperature data loggers into the ground across approximately 10
miles of Trail Ridge Road. They tracked ground temperatures every two hours yearround. In addition to helping place the sensors along the road, students downloaded
and evaluated the avalanche of data collected.
“Ironically, the science behind the whole thing is that my original model suggested
that there was permafrost in there, along the road,” Janke says. “Now all the field data
indicate that if there is permafrost, it’s rather sporadic and patchy. So it’s the
scientific process of taking the original model and modifying it, seeking the truth.”
The project was an eye-opener for Becky Brice (’11, land use and geology) “because
it provided a holistic view of science and the collaborative nature of this activity,” she
says. “I learned that research is messy, difficult, adaptive and sometimes yields
completely unexpected results.”
Community views for dog parks
Most communities set leash laws to keep dogs from running amok in neighborhoods.
That’s great for public safety, but perhaps not so great for the dogs. As fundamentally
social animals, dogs need time to be, well, dogs. While not every individual dog
enjoys a romp off leash with canine pals, communities of all sizes now expect t o have
access to designated off-leash areas for dogs—commonly called dog parks.
Tom Davinroy, assistant professor of geography, took on some research projects for
the city of Louisville’s open space advisory board around
this issue. Students surveyed residents and assessed community expectations for dog
parks in the area. They also looked at the impact on wildlife
and vegetation if dogs run loose
in some areas.
“Looking at dog-park use,” Davinroy says, “it’s an evolving amenity in communities.
We’ve done some preliminary surveys on the number of dogs people bring, how often
they come, what their expectations are for facilities at dog parks. We’re trying to
establish some best practices for management decisions. It’s an evolving part of the
suburban landscape that
I find very interesting.”
Davinroy’s students have found, for example, that some people go to dog parks for
their own social needs. Some come for canine social interaction only. Others want
their dogs to run in off-leash areas, but they really don’t want other dogs around in
the dog park.
Snail DNA and species survival
Students involved in research with Hsiu-Ping Liu, assistant professor of biology,
whose specialty is molecular evolutionary biology and conservation, experience the
independence and physical hardships of fieldwork in Idaho, Oregon, California and
Nevada as well as the exacting protocols required in the lab. Even how they wash
their hands, dishes or equipment in the lab matters as they gather, extract and evaluate
DNA of freshwater snails. Skipping a step or not following procedures easily could
mar data and skew research results. That’s a big deal when you cannot tell snail
species No. 1 from snail species No. 2 simply by looking at them.
“Nobody is going to hire you if they have to explain every single thing to you,”
Liu says. “I think just learning how to use the instruments is really important.
Learning how to follow protocol is really important. Learning how to keep
detailed records is really important. That’s not something our students understand
just from taking classes.”
Liu points out that undergraduate research gives students the chance
to see whether or not they’re cut out for a career in research science.
“They think that they love this,” she says, “but do they really want to be doing this?”
For those who answer yes, Liu explains that having hands-on experience in research
gives those going on to graduate school a competitive edge.
For Ben Stanwood, a biology major, working with Liu has been his favorite college
experience. “It has taught me more about the realities of doing science than a normal
classroom can provide. I have also learned that I love research and finally have found
what I want to be when I grow up,” he says.
How outdoor activities affect Colorado’s wildlife
For more than eight years, Associate Professor of Biology Christy Carello has been
studying a wetland system near Breckenridge, Colo., that has been designated an
Aquatic Resource of National Importance by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Carello and her students spend untold hours in the field, trying to suss out how
outdoor activities such as hiking or skiing affect the wildlife living there. Recognizing
the sensitivity of the environment and Carello’s expertise, the town of Breckenridge
takes this work into account when making environmental policy decisions
about the area.
“Most recently,” she explains, “one of my students gave a professional presentation at
a meeting in Fort Collins on how ski gondola operation alters moose behavior. She
won second place. I also had a student present a poster at local and international
meetings on how gondola operation impacts migratory songbirds. These are just a few
examples of student presentations that have made an impact on the Colorado
community.”
Students’ varied independent research
As a member of Metro State’s Forum for Interdisciplinary Research Mentoring, David
Piacenti, assistant professor of sociology, who first came to campus a year ago, helps
students organize their own research projects and finds opportunities for them to share
results with professional organizations.
In 2009-10, for example, sociology student Nancy Moon looked into the prevalence
of end-of-life planning among active military personnel—particularly those going into
or coming home from combat. Then in spring 2011, she presented her findings at the
High Plains Society for Applied Anthropology.
Now, Piacenti is working with student Lisa Boyd, sociology major, on an independent
study project about applied social memory in the form of scrapbooking. With the
large economy around scrapbooking, the practice extends beyond a mere hobby.
People, women in particular, construct and reconstruct their memories and life stories
this way. Boyd will present a paper about her work at the American Sociological
Association Conference in Denver this year, Piacenti says.
Boyd says her research has helped her narrow her search for a graduate program. “I
have so many interests, so it has been helpful in narrowing those down. I really want
to do a Ph.D., so that’s much more specialized than a master’s degree, so I’ve got to
look at what kind of faculty I want to work with and what kind of concentrations the
programs have.”
Aging and eldercare
Pamela Ansburg, associate professor of psychology, is working with a student on a
project that stems from her primary research focus on age-related changes in
cognition.
“We’re designing a study to assess the impact of auditory distraction on problem solving,” she says. “We’ll look at two age groups: college-age students and older
adults. We’re expecting to find that increased distractibility will actually help
problem-solving performance in some cases, and in other cases, it will impair it.”
The student is helping with data collection and design of the materials along with
literature review and research.
“She is working through the hypothesis, and she’ll be writing up the complete
project,” Ansburg says. “Assuming all goes well with the data collection, she’ll
likely co-author a professional presentation or publication.”
The effect of high-impact learning
Whether students take jobs upon graduation or choose graduate school, faculty
researchers and research advisors focus on outcomes for the students themselves.
Metro State remains a teaching institution. However, with higher education research
revealing how much students learn from the research or original creative process, the
College chose to empower and encourage undergraduate research opportunities.
Research brings a certain intensity and various brainpower challenges in an
environment that’s different from a typical classroom.
“The bottom line,” says Eaker, director of the Applied Learning Center, “is it’s really
about getting students involved in a learning activity that can enhance their
experience as students. The more faculty who are doing that, the more opportunities
there are for students, the better.”
METRO STATE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS
In response to the initial research inventory request in autumn 2011, the new
Undergraduate Research Program compiled a list of projects under way on campus,
which include:
• Conversion of vegetable oil and algae into biodiesel
• Inequality in Chinese society
• Astrodynamics flight deck usability analysis
• Wolbachia infection in mosquitoes
• Writing Center studies
• Communication issues
• Genetic variations in bedbugs
• Inclusive educational practices
• Ancient mammoth DNA analysis
• Behavioral economics
• Sustainability and energy conservation
• Hydrology and geomorphology
• Protein-DNA interactions
• Gene cloning
• Injury prevention in nursing
• Usability testing
• Forensic DNA recovery
• Behavior, energetics and ecology of blood-sucking insects
• Policies for preventing childhood obesity
• Spanish literature and gender studies
• Application of geographic information systems
• Differences between static and dynamic augmentative communication devices
• Communication ethnography
• Erosion rates on hillsides affected
by prairie dogs
• Concussions in athletes
MIX TAPES WITH A MESSAGE
Metro State graduate melds marketing and music into a successful business
By Caitlin Gibbons
If you have visited certain casinos in Black Hawk, Colo., or stopped by some of
Denver’s top watering holes in the last few years, you may have heard—
unknowingly—the latest trend in piped-in music: radio stations hand-tailored for each
establishment by New Level Radio.
Founded by Nathan Green (’01, human performance and sport) and his friend Sam
Ambrose, Denver-based New Level serves more than 200 locations. And it’s more
than background music: It’s a nonintrusive marketing tool. Each station is built with
owner input to fit the clientele served. It’s the ultimate mix tape with a message.
New Level contracts with big-name Las Vegas casinos such as the MGM and the
Luxor, and also local Denver eateries including Steve’s Snappin’ Dogs on East
Colfax. New Level’s first client was L&L Hawaiian Barbecue in Denver in 2007.
“The first client was just as exciting as closing a deal with the MGM. It was a
validating feeling that we weren’t the only ones who thought this would work,” says
Green.
Green and Ambrose met at a radio station in Hawaii. While working at the station, the
pair had multiple clients express a desire for some sort of customized radio station for
their businesses. Green was working on the sales side and Ambrose was an on-air disc
jockey.
“Five years ago, there was no one out there doing messaging in business,” Green
explains.
New Level has filled that void. For each client, no matter the size, a customized
playlist of songs is crafted—by people, not equations. Where services such as
Pandora use algorithms to determine a mood or genre of music for a business, New
Level uses people to mastermind the mood.
“We create playlists from scratch, based off of demographics, times of day people are
frequenting the business and the overall vibe of the business,” Green says.
Along with a selection of tunes, the stations are custom branded with station
identification, and clients choose the voice of their stations. New Level also records
customized in-house ads for each client. No competitor’s business is ever advertised
on a New Level station.
“Everything going on inside your business, we promote,” Green says.
According to a 2006 retail media study by Arbitron Inc., 40 percent of customers who
heard an in-store advertisement made an unplanned purchase.
“The biggest key for the client is the return-on-investment potential. Rather than just
paying for music, now you are getting something you can monetize and see the return
on it,” Green says.
Although New Level has grown tremendously, the early years weren’t easy. Green
and Ambrose started the business just as the economy crashed. And Green initially
juggled his radio job with New Level’s launch. The company’s “world headquarters”
was in Green’s Park Hill home until recently.
But they persevered, hitting the phones and the pavement. The cold calling paid off:
The company pulled in six figures its first year, Green says.
Now the phone is starting to ring more often. They are working for a retailer in Dubai,
who found New Level online and contacted the company. This year is on track to be the
company’s best year yet. In building the company, Green and Ambrose have learned
valuable business lessons. During the recession, for example, they briefly lowered the
price for New Level’s services, but found it did them more harm than good.
“We have a premium product. There is a reason the other services don’t do it. It’s a lot of
work,” Green says. “We [learned we] need to stick to what we do and price it
accordingly.”
Although New Level has nothing to do with his physical education degree, Green values
the time he spent at Metropolitan State College of Denver. The nontraditional
environment at the College was what he was looking for. He came to Metro State as
a transfer from Arizona State University on a tennis scholarship. “The school itself and
athletics had a real integral part in me getting here. I felt like I could grow there,” Green
says.
Although it took him a little more than four years to graduate, Green felt it was important
to get a degree and then figure out what he wanted to do. And the one thing he knew he
didn’t want to do was sit behind a desk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.
“In retrospect, it’s me in a nutshell. A lot of people think a physical education degree is
easy. But they’re some of the hardest classes in college. Maybe that’s why I liked it so
much. It was the ‘work hard, play hard’ ethic,” Green says.
Green now works from anywhere with an Internet connection. The playlists for each
business are hosted online and can be updated instantaneously if a song is being
overplayed or a new hit needs to be added to freshen the playlist.
He and the team of nine employees share the workload. The company’s blossoming
financial success hasn’t changed Green’s hands-on approach to the business. But
the man who says he loves to work hard and play hard doesn’t mind because of his job’s
flexibility.
“I could be sitting on the beach drinking a martini or margarita and change a
station,” Green says.
JUDGE JAMI
Education drops gavel on society’s woes
By Doug McPherson
Most days, Jami Behrenbrinker Vigil (’95, anthropology) sees problems that rip the
threads from the fabric of families: child abuse, neglect, poverty, domestic violence,
drugs and on and on.
As a magistrate in Colorado Springs, Colo., who oversees family and juvenile issues
in the 4th Judicial District, Vigil comes face to face, day in and day out, with the
uglier side of human nature. She also spends a lot of time thinking about how to solve
these problems, and she has come to believe that the best solution is education.
“I think the state needs a way to bolster education for kids and young parents, teen
parents,” Vigil says. “They’re at a significant disadvantage without it because
education can prevent a lot of problems, prevent people from entering the juvenile
offender system and help keep families together. It’s all very connected.”
Vigil, who grew up in west Denver, feels a close connection with many she sees in
her courtroom because she knows the uphill battle that lies ahead if they’re to
improve their lot in life.
“I had to work full time through college and I paid my own way. I know what that’s
like,” she says.
No doubt she’s a little partial when it comes to the brand of higher education that can
help bring balance to families.
“I think Metro State is that kind of college. It fits those who have to work because it
has a flexible schedule and it’s a good, quality education. I’ve actually had some kids in
my court who’ve gone on to Metro, and I told them I went there and I think it made
them feel good to know that,” she says.
While at Metro State, Vigil became deeply interested in and committed to human
rights issues.
“That’s kind of where it really started for me,” she says. “Metro was a good place for
me. I could talk to my fellow students and teachers—just sitting and having really
good, intellectual conversations with them. The other students were like I was —
working students, too. They were engaged and took school very seriously. It was
something that wasn’t given to them.”
Vigil says she was particularly impressed with Metro State’s professors—both their
accessibility and their quality. “The classroom sizes were small compared to other
universities, and I really had no negative experiences with teachers or the school,” she
says.
After Metro State, Vigil entered law school at the University of Colorado Boulder
where she also worked for a legal aid clinic and later, a public defender’s office.
“I started realizing at the public defender’s office I was coming in too late to help
people, and realized I could make a bigger impact working with younger people.”
In 2010, the chief judge for El Paso County appointed Vigil to her current position as
a magistrate.
“It’s a great fit for me,” she says. “I get to work with a lot of people who are
struggling and working to overcome incredibly difficult issues like poverty and drugs.
I get to know them on a personal level. I can’t think of anything more important than
working with families, keeping families together and keeping children safe.”
POLISHING DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
By Vonalda Utterback (’92)
Researcher, teacher, psychologist, radio host, administrator, outdoorsman—Shawn
Worthy has worn many hats in addition to his current post as associate professor of
human services at Metropolitan State College of Denver. One common thread,
however, is Worthy’s commitment to helping others succeed in life.
Prior to Worthy’s 17 years at Metro State, the busy father of two worked as a clinical
psychologist, specializing in family dynamics, high-risk youth studies, and teen
suicide and crisis intervention. As a college professor and researcher, Worthy is also
noted for involving his students in his outside work whenever possible. Giving
students practical, hands-on experience puts them a step ahead as they move into the
job market or continue on to graduate school.
“The student involvement is why I continue to teach,” says Worthy. “We have so
many ‘diamonds in the rough’ at Metro State—students who don’t realize their
potential—and I love being able to help them along the path to their own
achievements.”
In May 2011, many of Worthy’s skills coalesced when he partnered directly with one
of his students to create the READY program—a project he is especially proud of.
“READY is a weeklong job preparation program for young adults who have faced
significant challenges in their lives,” explains Worthy. “The program was funded
through, and inspired by, a request from the Mayor’s Office of Economic
Development, Youth Employment Division, and designed by me and student
Kimberly Moore.”
“We brought various experts in, including Metro’s Office of Career Services, to help
with ‘hard’ skills such as how to search for jobs online and how to write a resume.
But we also discussed and then role-played with the students’ critical ‘soft’
relationship skills such as how to effectively deal with customer complaints and keep
your cool, and how to conduct yourself in various interview situations,” says Worthy.
“That’s why the mayor’s office called us in [to develop the program]. They were
looking for a holistic approach.”
In addition to Moore, a senior majoring in human services, Worthy says he was
delighted to involve other Metro State students in the project as peer mentors. Four
students, all human services majors, helped facilitate, which allowed the
approximately
30 participants to break into smaller student-led groups for follow-up discussions,
feedback sessions and mock interviews, leading to a more intimate and effective
experience.
“I found the whole experience to be extraordinarily rewarding,” says Worthy. “The
kids that went through the program with us were seriously disadvantaged. Most of
them led extremely difficult lives. Some were homeless and living in shelters. They
were not sure what to expect and came in reticent and a little frustrated that the
program was so long (Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
“We saw their confidence and self-esteem build throughout the program. They began
to look forward to coming in. You could see them grow and develop as the week went
on. It was very inspiring.”
Alumni Times
Alumni News and Events
MAKING THE METRO STATE CONNECTION
By Rebecca Jones
Aerospace- and aviation-related companies account for some of the most Metro Statefriendly employers in Colorado. But companies in any of a number of industries have
tapped the school’s talent pipeline, finding a gusher of able employees bearing
Metropolitan State College of Denver credentials.
Employers say they like what Metro State grads bring to the job: diversity, maturity,
seriousness about their studies and careers, and—most of all—loads of hands-on, realworld training gained through internships and pre-graduation work experience.
“The nice thing about Metro State is by the time you get to the school, you’ve already
committed to getting a degree, not just partying around,” says Joe Sanchez (’06,
mechanical engineering technology), now an engineer at Northrop Grumman
Corporation’s Aurora, Colo., facility.
Sanchez is one of 15 engineering, math and computer science graduates that Metro
State has placed in the Aurora office of Northrop Grumman, a security company with
offices worldwide. The Metro State grads are working as software engineers, database
architects, software configuration analysts and other technical specialists.
Gerie Grimes (’87), executive director of Hope Center in Denver, insists her staff
isn’t chock-full of Metro State grads simply because of alumni networking.
Yes, Grimes earned her own degree in nonprofit administration from Metro State, 19
years after she first enrolled, and she likes the spunk she sees in her fellow alumni.
But the five teachers and three administrators with Metro State degrees—a quarter of
the staff at the nonprofit education and vocational training agency—got there strictly
on merit, she says. It also helped that they were mostly all employed there as interns
or nondegreed staff even before they graduated and stepped into permanent jobs for
which they were already
exquisitely qualified.
“They all seemed to have so much hands-on experience,” says Grimes. “The
internship program really gave them a feel for what being in nonprofits is like. Plus,
Metro turns out a very diverse pool of students, which helps me in having a diverse
staff.”
Wendy Greenberg (’90, early childhood education) has been working at Hope Center
for nearly 16 years. It’s where she did her student teaching.
“I had family members who had gone through Metro and they had a good experience,
so I decided to go there,” she says. “I was able to do my classwork at Metro and do
my student teaching all while I was working full time. That’s why I chose Metro —not
only for the great education, but for the flexibility.”
Home to one of the nation’s largest aviation and aerospace science programs, Metro
State consistently places its graduates in local companies doing everything from
flying planes to designing navigation systems to managing airports.
Jeppesen, an Englewood, Colo., company that specializes in aviation, marine and rail
navigation, counts more than 100 Metro State grads among its 3,000 employees,
including Tim Nave (’96), who joined Jeppesen, a part of The Boeing Company, 15
years ago.
Nave, the director of strategic accounts, has found that his Metro State aviation
degree prepared him well for his life’s work. Although he originally thought he would
become a professional pilot, Nave changed course as he moved into his career.
“My education was so well-rounded,” Nave says. “I learned other areas, like airport
planning and management, how to build a commuter airline and advanced navigation
skills. And Jeppesen is just a great company to work for, whether you have a degree
in aviation or not. We have a lot of graduates whose degrees aren’t in aviation.”
From Jeppesen’s viewpoint, hiring Metro State graduates is a matter of both quality
and convenience.
“From the navigation side of things, Metro State is one of the top programs in the
country, and it’s right in our backyard,” says Casey Cole, senior corporate recruiter
for Jeppesen.
ASK AN ALUM
Tax preparation must go on year-round
By Brian Smith
Taxes are a never-ending task for tax professionals as well as business owners across
the country. As soon as one year’s tax reporting is completed, it’s time to prepare the
next year’s records. While sometimes exasperating, taxes are a “necessary evil” and
critical to a business owner’s financial success. Therefore, it’s important to follow
two key steps to ensure your business’s year-end tax process is smooth.
First, keep accurate business and accounting records throughout the year. All
pertinent business documents such as loan statements, K-1s from investments and
1099s for other income should be kept organized and accessible. Review financial
statements and accounts for discrepancies—such as miscoding of owner’s draws, owner
distributions and asset purchases—on a weekly or monthly basis. Don’t let accounting
discrepancies pile up for year-end reconciliation, costing you more time and money.
These records are the crux to your year-end success, so be proactive!
Second, choose the right tax professional—it can mean the difference between a
refund and a payment. Tax professionals specialize, just like doctors, which narrows
their field of scope, potentially leading to errors in unfamiliar industries. For example,
preparing taxes in the restaurant and bar industry demands an intimate knowledge of
tip allocation rules and all aspects of the tip credit to provide exceptional service to
restaurant and bar owners. The specificity of your industry should be reflected in the
professional to optimize your financial success.
Ultimately, having accurate and current records coupled with the right tax
professional will alleviate stress and maximize your financial opportunities as you
tackle year-end taxes and related processes. Be proactive, prepared and ready to ask
the right questions!
Brian Smith (’08, accounting) is director of accounting with Restaurant Solutions Inc.
(RSI), where he is responsible for maintaining RSI’s payroll and accounting policies
and managing the 17 accountants
in his department.
CREATE YOUR LEGACY
Include Metro State in your will or trust today and create exceptional possibilities for
tomorrow’s students.
Including Metro State in your long-term financial plan allows you to:



Make a charitable gift while ensuring family is taken care of first.
Change your mind about your gift at any time.
Give a little or give a lot.
Support Roadrunners and their dreams for generations to come.
To learn more about how you can invest in the future of Metro State, call our Planned
Giving office at 303-556-2242 or e-mail snoble3@mscd.edu.
Visit us online at www.mscd.edu/giving
ALUMNI RELATIONS TO HEAD FOR NEW AURARIA DIGS
By Vonalda Utterback (’92)
Denver’s Office of Alumni Relations will leave historic Ninth Street behind as it
makes history by moving into the spanking-new, four-story, 145,000-square-foot
Student Success Building (SSB) on the Auraria Campus.
The SSB is the first building to be completed in the Metro State Neighborhood. The
Alumni Relations staff will move in March during spring break.
“As much as we love our current home and the history and heritage of Ninth Street
Park, we are all very excited about moving into the new space,” says Mark Jastorff,
executive director of the alumni association. “We will finally have our own
conference room, better parking and accessibility as well as an ADA-compliant
building. I will be losing my own bathroom,” he laughs, “but that’s a concession I’m
willing to make.”
According to Jastorff, the association won’t gain much in total square footage.
However, the office configuration and location will be more suitable for the needs
of the busy office.
“There are many pluses to the new space, but perhaps the best thing is we’ll be able to
fully integrate with other Metro State departments,” he adds. “Currently, the
departments we work with are scattered all over the Auraria Campus. It will be great
to have more face-to-face interaction versus phone and e-mail. I think that
is critical and will make collaboration so much easier.”
YOUR METRO STATE ALUMNI RELATIONS STAFF:
Mark Jastorff
Director of Alumni Relations and Executive Director of the Alumni Association
303-352-7207
mjastorf@mscd.edu
Janell Lindsey
Director of Special Initiatives for Alumni Relations and Enrollment Services
303-556-6344
lindseja@mscd.edu
Meghan Hartvigson (’10)
Alumni Engagement Coordinator
303-352-7245
mhartvig@mscd.edu
Lindsey Day
Assistant Director for Alumni Career Services
303-556-6934
lday8@mscd.edu
Gini Mennenga
Administrative Assistant
303-556-8320
vmille17@mscd.edu
MAILING ADDRESS: Office of Alumni Relations
Campus Box 11
P.O. Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217 3362
CAMPUS LOCATION:
Student Success Building, Room 350 (as of March 26, 2012)
Phone: 303.556.8320
VISIT US ON THE WEB: www.mscd.edu/alumni
METRO STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 2011-12 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Jim Garrison (’80, Economics)
VICE PRESIDENT
Cassandra Johnson (’04, Management)
SECRETARY Victoria Hannu
(’84, Computer and Management Science)
TREASURER Judy George
(’01, Business Management)
PAST PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF
TRUSTEES REPRESENTATIVE
Eric Peterson (’99, Marketing)
FOUNDATION BOARD REPRESENTATIVE
Rob Morrill (’97, Political Science)
Scott Applegate (’96, Finance) /// Piper Billups, (’99, Marketing) /// Danyette Hardin
(’07, Management) /// Antonio Ledesma, Ph.D. (’72, English) /// Brad McQueen (’95,
Accounting) /// Hon. Chris Melonakis (’74, Economics) /// Michael Miera (’80, Bilingual
Studies) /// RC Montoya (’93, Technical Communication) /// Chuck Moss (’88, Finance)
/// Anne O’Neill (’07, Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management) /// Wendy Petersen
(’89, Hospitality, Meeting and Travel Administration) /// Joseph Sanchez (’06,
Mechanical Engineering Technology) /// Judy Shafer (’95, English) /// Sterling “Noah”
Steingraeber (’08, Marketing) /// April Washington (’93, Journalism) /// Metza Templeton
(’07, Management), Classified Staff Representative /// Aerospace Science Chair Jeffrey
Forrest, Ph.D. (’91, Aerospace Science), Faculty Representative /// SGA President Jessie
Altum, Student Representative /// Matt Brinton, Council of Administrators Representative.
Want to know more about alumni activities at Metro State? Go to
www.mscd.edu/alumni/events for the latest announcements.
HELP YOUR ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MOVE ONE STEP CLOSER TO
PAPERLESS COMMUNICATION.
Simply go to www.mscd.edu/alumni and update your profile with your e-mail
address. And please also share what you’ve been doing since graduation while you’re
there. We promise to only use your information for Metro State purposes such as
newsletters or e-vites.
CLASS ACTS
Class Acts highlights the latest news from Metro State alumni. To submit your
information for publication, go to www.mscd.edu/alumni and click on Update Your
Info.
1970s
V. Michael Binder (’72, history) worked in the automobile business for almost 40 years.
He is retired and living
in Rogers, Ark.
Henry Burkard (’77, business management) lives in Atlanta and is director, facilities
management/safety officer,
for the Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital.
Armonde Hainesworth (’72, law enforcement) recently retired from his role as a risk
management specialist after 25 years of service with RTD. He lives in Denver.
Paul Moore (’79, elementary education) is a fourth-grade teacher at Peak to Peak
Charter School in Lafayette, Colo.
Gordon Morrison (’75, math) is the retired owner of VS Merlot, a data migration
consulting company. He was granted a patent for inventing Multi-Core and HyperThreading Technology, and is the author of the book, “Breaking the Time Barrier: The
Temporal Engineering of Software.” He lives in League City, Texas.
Hercules G. Papadeas (’79, management) is president and owner of Pest’R Us
Exterminating, Inc. in Tempe, Ariz.
Scott E. Roller (’76, aerospace science) spent 20 years working for five airlines and has
visited 98 countries. He is now working in a second career as a water treatment technician
with Denver Water. He lives in Loveland, Colo.
1980s
Elizabeth Fleming Collins (’87, music education) has taught music in Colorado,
Montana and several countries, including Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and
Kazakhstan. She is now the library and music teacher
at the Khartoum American School in Khartoum, Sudan, and a multicultural mentor for
Music Educators National Conference.
Danny Jablonski (’87, hospitality, meeting and travel administration) is a flight attendant
and service coordinator for Continental/United Airlines in Houston and is working on a
master’s in health care administration. He
plans to open a center for developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injuries in
Seattle.
Henry J. Quant (’84, aviation management) is the senior benefits administrator for ADP
Inc., the largest payroll company in the United States. He lives in Stockbridge, Ga.
Kevin Theander (’86, computer and management science) is a data center manager for
Visa in Highlands Ranch, Colo.
1990’s
Kimberly I. Fielding (’99, social work) is a trauma therapist who was hired as part of a
special appropriation from the Missouri Legislature to establish a special trauma
program for children in the aftermath of a tornado.
She works at the Ozark Center in Joplin, Mo.
Kreg Hamburger (’99, leisure studies) is the vice president for Outdoor Programs for
Girl Scouts of Colorado
in Denver.
Eric R. King (’97, aerospace science) is a police officer and flight instructor for the
Denver Police Department
and a captain in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol.
Cheryl Murphy (’96, individualized degree in language and communication) is the
newsletter writer/editor for St. Andrew Lutheran Church in the Montbello
neighborhood of Denver.
Sheila Anne Porche (’93, human services) spent 17 years working with Head Start and
Early Head Start as a child and family advocate. She is an admissions counselor for
Bridgepoint Education in Denver and is planning
to start work on a graduate degree.
2000s
Angela Alfaro (’08, English literature) is a program associate with Playworks Denver.
David Altschuld (’05, finance) is an insurance broker with Stailey Insurance in Denver.
Amanda Fitzsimons (’03, human services) is a tobacco policy and program specialist
with the Jefferson County Public Health Department. She lives in Arvada, Colo.
Amanda House (’06, biology) is a health systems diabetes care specialist for Novo
Nordisk in Portsmouth, N.H.
Londell Jackson (’03, individualized degree) is a job readiness instructor for the Center
for Work Education and Employment in Denver.
Andrew LaCrue (’09, human services) is an education intervention specialist for
Colorado Youth for a Change in Denver, and is the co-founder of the b.e.t.a.s.
(Becoming Educated To Achieve Success) Foundation in Commerce City, Colo., which
supports students’ higher education goals by providing financial assistance and
scholarships to students to participate in activities, attend leadership conferences and go
to college.
Christopher Olson (’09, mechanical engineering technician) is an associate engineer for
Gas Compressor Consultants
in Denver.
Jennifer Patrick (’08, social work) completed a master’s in social work with an
emphasis in policy, administration and community from Arizona State University in
2010. She is a cosmetics manager at Nordstrom in Denver.
Stephen Sanderson (’02, fine art) is the owner of Stephen Sanderson Photography,
which specializes in luxury wedding and fine art photography, in Denver.
Joel Sayre (’04, land use) has worked on Denver’s FasTracks Yes campaign; as a public
information officer
on the new Bay Bridge in San Francisco/Oakland, Calif.; and is now the owner and
president of Sayre Building Performance in Oakland.
2010s
Alexandra Barnard (’11, biology) is the recipient of the Wethington Fellowship and a
Ph.D. student in
ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
GRACE GERBER, THE GOAT WHISPER
By Carson Reed (’83)
It was a long journey for Grace Gerber (’86, legal administration), literally and
figuratively, to the place she calls the Funny Farm—
a 35-acre spread near Larkspur, Colo., that she bought in 1996 after her husband died.
Living in Franktown at the time, the grieving widow had gotten lost on a drive and ended
up at the farm, which was on the market. Gerber bought it on the spot and then stocked it
with all manner of critters, eventually settling on cashmere and Angora goats.
Fifteen years later, she tends to their constant needs, aided by guardians Chief, a dog, and
Llama Boy, which is not. The more than 80 goats all have names, too, and Gerber can
(and will) talk about each of them as family, celebrating their births and grieving their
deaths. Like most small farms, Funny Farm is a perilous business model. However, a
well-bred, well-fed, well-loved goat can produce up to $700 of fiber a year—and
will produce another goat as well. Her customers, who are artists, artisans and amateur
weavers from all over the world, gladly pay a premium for her fibers because they are
from a place that is organic, green, humane and, well, thoughtful.
Gerber doesn’t just tend to the goats; she tends to the fragile land they live on. No tractor
is allowed. She hauls hay in winter on a sled. She washes, dyes, cards and spins the fiber
herself. She shares her wisdom as well, teaching classes in her home. Her business model
is simple: “I give my four-leggeds the longest, happiest life possible.”
In doing that for her animals, she says, she has done
the same for herself.
Learn more about Grace Gerber at larkspurfunnyfarmblogspot.com.
GET DOWN & DIRTY, SAY NEW METRO STATE SOFTBALL AND BASEBALL
COACHES
By Jay L. Clark
Gauged by personality and professional paths, Metropolitan State College of Denver’s
new softball head coach Kristi Lansford and new baseball head coach Jerrid Oates
could not be more different. Look for a striking similarity between their teams,
however, at the end of games this spring: The new-look Roadrunners will be wearing
the dirtier uniforms.
“Of course we want to go back and play for a national championship, but what I really
want are kids who will play hard and not be afraid to run through a wall for their
teammates,” says Lansford. “I always want our team to have the dirtiest jerseys after
games.”
Oates agrees: “I like my guys to have the freedom to play aggressively. We want to
create the game instead of waiting for the game to happen. We want our players to
practice hard, play hard, study hard and be respectful of the game.”
Lansford and Oates (pronounced “OAT-iss”) each arrived at Metro State with a
history of success as an NCAA head coach.
“Kristi may be a little quieter than Jerrid off the field, but on the field they are both
fierce competitors,” says Metro State Director of Athletics Joan McDermott. “They are
established, experienced head coaches who know how to handle all the pieces of
running a program.”
A second chance
Lansford’s path to Metro State was anything but conventional. After graduating from
high school in California as a three-sport athlete (softball, volleyball and basketball),
she left home for college but quickly learned it was not the right fit for her. After a
brief stint in sales, she joined the U.S. Air Force where she worked as a surgery
technician for four years and was stationed at the U.S. Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs, Colo. When she left the Air Force, she stayed in Colorado Springs
as a civilian surgery technician for two more years.
Lansford felt it was time to go back to school, so she returned to California where
she enrolled in junior college for two years. She then went to California State
University Bakersfield (CSUB), an experience that steered her toward a career in
coaching.
“At that point, I was 28 and had no intention of playing anymore,” Lansford says.
“But I had a friend who talked me into trying out, and I made the team. It was just so
much fun to get a second chance. And it led me [to Metro State].”
Twice an all-conference outfielder, Lansford started her climb up the coaching ranks
as a graduate assistant at CSUB. Successful stints as head coach at Northwood
University in Texas and San Francisco State University followed, where she led
her teams to multiple winning seasons and earned 2004 California Collegiate Athletic
Association Coach of the Year honors. In 2008, she returned to Division I CSUB,
where she served as assistant coach for three seasons.
Close to baseball, far from the game
Oates, who was a starting catcher for four years at Nebraska Wesleyan University,
earned a degree in sports management. But it took just one summer to alter his career
path.
“I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do … (then) did an internship and hated
it,” says Oates. “I worked for a minor league baseball team, and I thought I wanted to
do front office work. It was so close to baseball, but so far from the game.”
To get back to the game, Oates decided graduate school was the prerequisite to
coaching. As a graduate assistant at Fort Hays State University (FHSU), he helped
lead the FHSU baseball team to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament in 2003. In 2003, he became an
assistant coach at the Colorado School of Mines. In 2008, he took over as the head
baseball coach for Mines and was the RMAC co-coach of the year in his first
season. He has coached 20 All-Conference players and 26 Academic All-Conference
players.
Growing up in Omaha, Neb., home of the NCAA College World Series, Oates has
been a college baseball fan for as long as he remembers. He has spent his entire
coaching career in the RMAC, and he has a strong understanding of what it will take
to continue Metro State’s winning sports tradition.
While Oates and Lansford are on different ends of the personality spectrum—the softspoken Lansford describes herself as “more of a discusser than a screamer,” while
Oates calls himself “an aggressive guy”—the two share a deep devotion to developing
their student athletes as young adults.
And when the Roadrunners’ softball and baseball teams take the field for their games
this season, the two coaches will have one more thing in common: the need for a good
washing machine.
Learn more at gometrostate.com.
Don’t Blink
A last look
ROADRUNNERS ‘HOOP’ IT UP
As Metro Magazine went to press, Metro State’s men’s basketball team was headed to
the Division II Elite Eight Tournament March 21, 22 and 24 in Highland Heights, Ky.
The Roadrunners upset No. 1-ranked Colorado School of Mines 73-64 on March 13 to
take the Central Regional Tournament and qualify for the Elite Eight. Hopefully by the
time you’re reading this, the team will have taken the national championship for the
third time in Metro State’s history.