Alumni Association

Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs Jeffrey Cox, Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Russell Moore and Dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Paul Voakes answer questions during a press conference concerning the future of CU's School of Journalism and Mass Communication in the UMC Wednesday afternoon. (August 25, 2010) (CU Independent/Lee Pruitt)

On Wednesday, Aug. 25,  the University of Colorado at Boulder announced the formation of an exploratory committee to consider the structure and organization of a new interdisciplinary academic program of information and communication technology.

“We want to strategically realign resources and strengths currently existing on the CU-Boulder campus to ensure that course and degree offerings meet the needs of students, the labor market, our campus mission and the communications needs of a rapidly changing global society,” said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano.

“News and communications transmission as well as the role of the press and journalism in a democratic society are changing at a tremendous pace. We must change with it.”

The creation of an exploratory committee will help to maximize the opportunity to form a new academic unit that will draw on existing strengths to prepare students for an ever-changing communications and media marketplace. The committee will forward recommendations to the provost by the end of the fall semester.

Dean Paul Voakes of journalism released a statement regarding this process on Thursday, Aug. 26. It is printed below.

STATEMENT BY DEAN PAUL VOAKES

I’m sure many of you have seen the news that Chancellor Phil DiStefano has begun a review process that will enable our transformation into a truly cutting-edge program.  Unfortunately, the nuances of academic bureaucracy have been lost (understandably!) on most headline writers.  I’d like to clarify things with you, the folks who (along with our current students, staff and faculty) matter the most.

First of all, we’re running on all cylinders!  No aspect of our full-service operation will change in the foreseeable future.  The chancellor has started a review process whose recommendations couldn’t possibly be implemented until Fall 2012, at the very earliest.

Second, thank you for the many messages of support we’ve received from alums and friends of the School.  You’ve reminded us how much you value your education here — and that your many successes were built on a solid SJMC foundation.  Thank you!

But let’s talk about that announcement.  The most common question so far among both alums and current students is whether the CU SJMC degree will be devalued if the SJMC is “discontinued.”  I submit that its value will actually increase, because we’ve been given the opportunity to undergo a sweeping new upgrade in media education at the University of Colorado.  Allow me to elaborate:

· We’re committed to excellence in media education. High-quality professional education has been our legacy for decades, and it is not wavering now.  We have produced great media professionals to date, and it’s paramount that we continue to do that, always.

·  The media landscape is changing fast, and profoundly.  The methods of gathering, presenting and delivering news and information have moved into areas that even 10 years ago we couldn’t have imagined.   We need to redefine journalism, advertising and media education to reflect those changes.

· At the School, we‘ve moved into the brave new world of digital media, and we’re doing it well.  Witness our new undergrad curriculum, our Digital Newsroom course, our Digital Media Test Kitchen, our Resolving Door course, and most importantly, Boulder Digital Works.  We have a new master’s curriculum on the way, later this year.

· We’re not going to wring our hands about journalism’s future, and we’re not going to sit on our hands either! We will always look for ways to improve what we do.    The chancellor’s announcement points to a truly innovative opportunity for much greater improvement.

· The chancellor’s goals for agile, relevant, technologically savvy journalism education are similar to those the faculty and dean have been discussing for the last few years.  We’re on the same page.

·  “Discontinuance” is a really unfortunate legal term with an unpleasant innuendo.  In our reality, the term signifies a hurdle that any academic program must clear in order to merge with other programs into a new academic entity.  It’s entirely possible that our sequences, our grad programs, and our nationally prominent centers will move into the new entity, alongside innovative programs that do not yet exist.

·  The “discontinuance” scenario will enable us to break down barriers among disciplines and join with them (for example design, business entrepreneurship and computer technologies) more effectively than the traditional “silo” structure will allow. And these are the new connections that will enable our graduates to succeed in this new environment.

·  The SJMC has been continuously accredited for the last 62 years, which puts us among only a few dozen JMC programs in the country.  We’re proud of our record to date, but we simply refuse to rest on laurels, and discontinuance – the ugliness of the term notwithstanding — is the avenue that will enable quick and truly substantive change.  Accreditation does not depend on a program’s title; it depends on the quality of a program’s teaching of journalism and mass communication — and on the successes of a program’s students.   With these changes afoot, the best is yet to come.

As the chancellor has said, regardless of the outcome of this fall’s review, every current student in the SJMC, from freshman to doctoral student, will be able to finish out his/her degree program on time, over the next several years.

We’ll keep you updated!

Saturday, Oct. 9, pregame and kick-off time TBD

Columbia, Missouri: pregame at the Walsworth plaza (just south of Memorial Stadium)
google map | venue website

Sign-up online

CU vs. Missouri: pregame/game-ticket/parking pass package

Be part of the action as our Buffs take on the Missouri Tigers! For only $90, CU alumni and Buffs fans can receive a ticket to the game, a pregame bbq meal and beverages, and a parking pass near the stadium! Individual pregame passes may also be purchased for $25. Let’s help our Buffs say farewell to the Big 12 with a big win over Missouri!

Glenn Porzak poses atop Mt. Everest

From the Boulder Daily Camera:
Camera Staff Report
Posted: 08/23/2010 03:11:25 PM MDT

The 64-year-old Boulder man who was injured Saturday in the Indians Peaks Wilderness Area near Brainard Lake is in critical condition, according to a spokeswoman from St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver.

Glenn Porzak, an experienced climber, fell between 60 and 70 feet Saturday morning when the rock he was scrambling down near Little Pawnee Peak gave way.

Porzak — who was climbing with his son, Austin Porzak, and his son’s friend — was airlifted to St. Anthony after an all-day rescue that involved more than 50 people.

Porzak is a water rights lawyer and is one of about 115 people to have climbed the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.

Read more: Boulder climber Glenn Porzak in critical condition

5,215 freshmen attend CU's 2010 convocation

90° heat greeted CU’s freshman class on Aug 20, 2010 as they attended convocation. 5,215 new students enrolled at CU this year, down from last year by 300.

They listened to addresses by the chancellor and professors, were encouraged to ‘stretch’ themselves and to use their professors’ office hours. The marching band and the ‘spirit squad’ helped them learn the CU fight song.

After the ceremony the students left the stadium and walked under a black-and-gold balloon arch, symbolizing their entry into the community of CU-Boulder alumni and becoming ‘Forever Buffs.’

See more photos at our Flickr image archive from the event.

Buffs Complete Training Camp Sunday

Tyler Hanson

Brown, Hawkins, McKnight & Solder named cu captains

BOULDER—The University of Colorado football squad selected its captains Sunday morning, and after the ballots were counted, four seniors were selected by their Buffalo teammates, head coach Dan Hawkins announced.

The 2010 captains are cornerback Jalil Brown, quarterback Cody Hawkins, wide receiver Scotty McKnight and offensive tackle Nate Solder.

The team officially wrapped up its 2010 camp with a team meeting to select captains, otherwise had the day off other than CU’s annual welcome back picnic for its student-athletes.  Two-a-day practices ended Saturday, and after a day off on Monday when classes begin, practices resume Tuesday ahead of the Buffs’ season opener against Colorado State in Denver on Sept. 4, as the annual Cinch Jeans Rocky Mountain Showdown returns to Invesco Field at Mile High.

All four are fifth-year seniors and three-year lettermen, with Brown, McKnight and Solder atop their respective positions on the depth chart; Hawkins is second at quarterback but has started 28 games in is CU career.  The veteran foursome combined has played in 144 games, with 97 starts among them.

“It was great to see a number of players receive votes,” Hawkins said, noting that all players and not just seniors were eligible to be selected.  “Scotty, Cody, Jalil and Nate clearly stuck out in the majority of our team’s minds as people they respected as players, students and people.  These captains have the ability to both reach out and build up others and carry a firm stance when needed.  They are a fine example of our program’s foundation of “Excellence with Class.”

Brown is a 6-foor-1, 205-pound cornerback from Phoenix, Ariz.; Hawkins a 5-11, 190, and prepped at Boise (Idaho) Bishop Kelly; McKnight is 5-11, 185 who hails from Coto de Caza, Calif.; and Solder, 6-9, 315, is from the small Colorado mountain town of Buena Vista.

McKnight is on the verge of becoming CU’s all-time leading receiver in terms on receptions, as his 165 trail Michael Westbrook by just two.  Hawkins already owns several school records, most notably career touchdown passes (46) and is in the top five of most passing and total offense marks.

Solder, a preseason All-American by several entities, including the prestigious Playboy team, is the first captain from Buena Vista – but then again, he’s the first CU player from there.  Brown was among the nation’s leaders last season in passes defended with 17 (15 broken up and two interceptions); he also led the Buffs in special team points as a freshman and sophomore.

For the second straight year, the three players that CU had in attendance at the Big 12 Conference’s summer media days were selected as captains; in 2009, linebacker Marcus Burton, tight end Riar Geer and linebacker Jeff Smart served as captains.

CU release first fall depth chart; Hansen named starter at QB

By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com

BOULDER—The 2010 Colorado Buffaloes have a starting quarterback – Tyler Hansen. The athletic junior from Murrieta, Calif., was informed of the coaches’ decision early Friday afternoon by offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Eric Kiesau.

Shortly thereafter, Kiesau told senior Cody Hawkins – a three-year starter at the position – that he would be Hansen’s backup when the Buffs open the season on Sept. 4 against Colorado State in Denver.

Kiesau also met with freshmen quarterbacks Nick Hirschman (No. 3) and Justin Gorman (No. 4). But only Hansen and Hawkins were told who the starter would be; the announcement was to be made to the rest of the team during Saturday morning meetings prior to the release of CU’s pre-opener depth chart.

“I’m excited . . . it’s something I’ve worked long and hard for,” said Hansen, who started the final seven games of 2009 after supplanting Hawkins in early October. Hansen also emerged from spring practice with a slight edge over Hawkins and has directed the No. 1 offense through most of fall camp.

Still, with all those factors seeming to favor Hansen, the competition remained open through two fall camp scrimmages – the last of which was Thursday. The question of who would open against CSU became all-consuming for some CU fans, but Buffs coach Dan Hawkins held to the timeline he established when spring drills concluded in mid-April. At that time, Hawkins said he likely would name a starter two weeks before the opener, giving either Hansen or Cody Hawkins – both experienced players – significant practice time with the first offense.

“Tyler’s been getting the majority of the ‘reps’ with the ones anyway,” Dan Hawkins said. “I think people make too much of it; they don’t really know what’s going on or how it’s organized or what’s happening. It’s not like you’ve got three quarterbacks and all are getting the same amount of ‘reps.’”

Kiesau, about to begin his second season directing CU’s offense, said the perceived delay in naming a starter was based on being fair to each player.

“We wanted to give both guys ample opportunity to show what they can do – see if one guy could pull away from the other,” Kiesau said. “I think we did that through spring and obviously through fall camp. I’ve said all along if one guy jumps out over the other, we’ll make the decision.

“We met as a staff and I met with Coach Hawkins and we thought this is the best decision for the team – right now, today, to let our team know who our starting quarterback is two weeks prior to the first game. We didn’t want this to continue hanging over our heads.”

Kiesau and Dan Hawkins said both quarterbacks posted similar statistics through fall camp practices and in the first two scrimmages.  “It was kind of like last year where Cody was ahead by a sliver, and right now Tyler is just ahead by a sliver . . . their numbers are so close (now) it’s scary. But that’s not everything by any means,” Dan Hawkins said.

Said Kiesau: “Both were very efficient and distributed the ball in both of our scrimmages and all through camp.” But, Kiesau added, “I think Tyler gives us a little more of a edge when it comes to the things we can do on offense and being a little more creative. His athleticism, whether it’s dropping back to pass and making something happen on his feet, or we can dial up some run plays for him as well. He’s athletic and can run. He’s going to make defenses defend 11-on-11.”

At best, the announcement came as no more than a mild surprise to either player. Hansen had said after the first fall scrimmage he believed the starting job “was his to lose.”

Also, his role in organizing summer 7-on-7 drills honed his leadership skills. “And getting the majority of ‘reps’ with the ones during spring ball and camp, I think kind of jump-started the thing a little bit and gave me a little more of an advantage,” he added. “No, it (being named the starter) wasn’t a huge surprise.”

Nor was it a shock to Cody Hawkins, who conceded he had “kind of known for a while that was the situation. So I’ve had a little time to cope with it. You kind of settle into it . . . As a competitor you wish things would have gone in your favor. But just through charting and competing, I think it showed how efficient our offense is a whole and the talent and experience we do have at the quarterback position. We just have to settle in and go out there and play the way we do in practice.”

He said he will “learn to accept my role, just as I did when I was a starter or when I was a redshirt. It’s all about winning championships for the Buffaloes. I’m going to be ready if my number ever gets called, but until then I’m going to grind it out and try to get the Buffaloes some victories any way I can.”

Even if a number of signs since April pointed in his direction, Hansen admitted the delay in making the announcement made him feel at times as if the No. 1 job was slipping away.

“There were some times when I was pressing a little,” he said. “In early camp, I was playing really confident. Then maybe the last couple of days I was pressing, trying to be a little too fine. I just need to relax and play. But that’s going to be natural when you’re trying to win something you want so bad; you’re going to press. But you just have to be confident and go play.”

Kiesau also noticed “about a three- or four-day stretch where he did look a little tight and I had to talk and walk him through it,” he said. “I told him to take a deep breath; you’re going to make mistakes, but it’s how you respond to those mistakes (that counts).”

As for game-day mistakes, both Dan Hawkins and Kiesau said Hansen need not fear operating on a “short leash.”
“I don’t think you want anybody playing with a noose hanging over their necks, you don’t want anybody playing that way,” Dan Hawkins said.

Added Kiesau: “That’s a very uncomfortable way to play and I want Tyler to know that. We told Tyler to run with it. I told him, ‘You’re the starting quarterback; don’t look over your shoulder. Don’t play tight. Just go have fun and play. Don’t look behind you . . . that’s why we named you the starting quarterback.’”

When the Buffs begin on-field preparation for the Rams on Tuesday morning, Hansen will take about 75 percent of the snaps with the No. 1 offense to Cody Hawkins’ 25 percent. In camp, said Kiesau, the breakdown has been about 60-40 in Hansen’s favor.

“I do want to keep Cody sharp as we progress through the season,” Kiesau said. “We’ll need two guys.”
Recalling his backup duty for the past two seasons, both of which began with him ticketed for a redshirt, Hansen agreed on the need for a pair of QBs. But he took it a step further: “You really have to have three guys . . . rarely do you go through a season with just one,” he said. “But that’s a benefit to our team; we have two guys with quality experience . . . that’s good to have.”

In Friday’s post-practice huddle, Dan Hawkins asked every returning player who had missed a game due to injury to stand up.

After a large number of Buffs stood, Hawkins made his point: “If you’re the fourth-team tailback, you’ve got to be ready to go. That’s the whole concept. They have to buy into that. Cody is good with it; he knows there’s going to come a time when his number is called. When the door opens for him or any of our players, they’ve got to be ready.

“The great thing on our team is we have tremendous competition at a lot of spots and there’s a lot of guys who can play. We have to learn to deal with that; it’s new for us.”

Hansen believes he’s more fully prepared now to direct the offense than he was last November against Nebraska or at the conclusion of spring drills. He also knows the improvement that is expected at his position as well as from an offense that sputtered for most of a 3-9 season.

“He’s got to play quality, efficient football – and I think he’s going to and that’s why we named him the starter,” Kiesau said. “If we didn’t (think that), we’d have a gone a different direction. But he’s proved he can do it and I can’t wait to see it unleashed on Saturday afternoons.”

Click here to see the Flickr photo gallery

Are you a Colorado resident 55 and over?  Would you like to expand your horizons, learn something entirely new and study side-by-side with today’s college students? Then the Senior Auditors Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder may be just what you’re looking for.

The program, sponsored by the CU-Boulder Alumni Association, allows seniors to audit CU-Boulder classes tuition-free.  Registration for CU-Boulder fall semester courses will take place Aug. 30 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Aug.31 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Koenig Alumni Center, 1202 University, at the southeast corner of Broadway and University.  Free parking is available on a limited basis in the Koenig lot for those registering.

The cost to attend the Senior Auditors Program is $10 per semester. Participants do not need to be CU graduates or Alumni Association members.

This program gives Colorado’s senior citizens the opportunity to attend classes on the CU-Boulder campus. Participants should check online first for the list of CU-Boulder classes offered for fall 2010.

Auditors must obtain permission from professors to audit courses.  Classes begin Aug.23, so the Alumni Association recommends auditors attend the first week of classes to obtain permission to audit from professors. Spanish and Portuguese courses cannot be audited. Regular tuition-paying students have priority over auditors.  Senior Auditors do not earn academic credit for courses taken.

The Senior Auditors Program was established by the Board of Regents in 1973 and has grown to involve about 500 participants annually.  For more information, call the Alumni Association at 303-492-8484 or visit the Senior Auditor page at CUAlum.org.

Telescope project involving cu-boulder selected as top priority for construction

Cornell Caltech Atacama Telescope

A planned $110 million telescope in Chile that the University of Colorado at Boulder is partnering on to probe distant galaxies and stellar nurseries has been named as the top construction priority for mid-sized, ground-based telescopes by the National Research Council in the coming decade.

The 25-meter, far-infrared and submillimeter telescope effort involves two major partners — Cornell University and the California Institute of Technology — and three other partners, including CU-Boulder and Canadian and German universities. Known as CCAT, the facility would be built in the Atacama Desert in Chile at about 18,500 feet above sea level and would be the largest, most precise and highest astronomical facility of its kind in the world, said Associate Professor Jason Glenn, who is spearheading the CU-Boulder portion of the CCAT project.

The telescope was selected as part of the Astro2010 Decadal Survey produced by the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences and which recommends priorities for the most important scientific and technical activities every 10 years in astronomy and astrophysics. The report, called the “Astro2010 Decadal Survey: New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics,” was issued Aug. 13.

“With a broad scientific agenda, CCAT will enable studies of the evolution of galaxies across cosmic time, the formation of clusters of galaxies, the formation of stars in the Milky Way, the formation and evolution of planets, and the nature of objects in the outer solar system,” according to the report.

“We are very excited about this selection because it means this telescope now has a very high probability of being built,” said Glenn of CU-Boulder’s astrophysical and planetary sciences department. “This state-of-the-art facility will allow us to look back in time to when galaxies first appeared in the universe.”

The Astro2010 committee is recommending that the National Science Foundation provide one-third of the cost of the project. The CCAT project partners also are raising funds for the telescope, some of which already have been gathered through private donations and university contributions.

CCAT fundraising by CU-Boulder is under way and will require roughly $5.5 million in capital toward the cost of the facility as well as a contribution toward annual operating costs in the future, said Glenn.

Technology for the CCAT telescope’s instruments already is being developed at CU-Boulder. Glenn’s lab at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy is building a state-of-the-art camera using an array of 2,400 superconducting detectors. CU-Boulder is collaborating with the California Institute of Technology on the effort.

CCAT will gather radiation from submillimeter wavelengths, which are longer than visible and infrared light but shorter than radio waves, Glenn said. The telescope would be a workhorse for astronomers, because about half of the light emanating from distant stars and galaxies reaches Earth at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.

“This facility will enable us to study the earliest stages of star and galaxy formation, as well as the initial conditions of solar systems like our own,” Glenn said.

A number of CASA faculty and students will be involved in the CCAT effort. Professor Jack Burns is serving as chairman of the CCAT board of directors. Other faculty members from CASA include John Bally, Jeremy Darling, Nils Halverson, Dick McCray and Michael Shull.

For more information visit the CCAT website.

Dear Alum,

We’re thrilled to welcome Deborah Fowlkes as our new executive director. She’s the first female director of the Alumni Association since its inception in 1882. She hails from Temple University in Philadelphia and before that Duke. She grew up in Boulder and went to Boulder High.

“I’m delighted to be back home in Boulder as a member of the CU family,” she says. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to share the exciting things going on at the campus, from innovative research to stimulating classroom topics to great athletic performances. I look forward to getting to know our alumni and helping us reconnect them to one another and the university.”

Deborah can be reached via e-mail or at 303-492-8484.

If you’ve moved or changed e-mail addresses, let us know.

And don’t forget, you can always find the latest alumni happenings at cualum.org. Connect with other alums and access our Ask a Buff service at the online Forever Buffs Network (see information on the right).

Marc Killinger, editor

Programs Help a new tradition grow

Join us for the newest Forever Buffs tradition! We will welcome freshmen on Friday, Aug. 20 following their convocation at Folsom Field by forming a human tunnel with hundreds of alumni and students. The tunnel will form between the physics building and Farrand Field for half an hour starting at 11:45 a.m., plus you’ll get lunch after. Interested? E-mail Melanie.

Come to our pregame before the CSU game

Going to the CU vs. CSU Rocky Mountain Showdown on Saturday, Sept. 4? Get your pass for our pregame here. It starts at 9:30 a.m. Kickoff is at noon. See Athletics section below for football ticket information or call the Athletic department at 800-872-8337 or 303-492-8337.

There are watch parties coast to coast!

Many Buffs will be keeping a close eye on the gridiron this fall, and even our small alumni chapters often gather to watch a football game. The season starts Saturday, Sept. 4 against Colorado State in Denver and ends Friday, Nov. 26 against Nebraska in Lincoln, unless we go to a bowl. Go here to find a chapter in your area having a watch party.

Attend the Cal-Berkeley big away game

• Friday, Sept. 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Welcome party, Westin Hotel, Market Street, San Francisco
• Friday, Sept. 10, 8:30 p.m., Buff bash: Join CU fans for drinks and appetizers at the Thirsty Bear at 661 Howard St., San Francisco
• Saturday, Sept. 11, 9:30 a.m. Pregame party, Underhill Field (view campus map), Berkeley. Kickoff 12:30 p.m.
• For more information and links for reservations and tickets go here.

Other events around the Big Away Game

• Meet other journalism alumni and dean Paul Voakes on Thursday, Sept. 9, 6-8 p.m. at an informal get-together at the Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery St., San Francisco. Brent Cannon (Jour’84), NBC Bay Area morning anchor and former CU punter, will be on hand. Please R.S.V.P. to Beth.
• Leeds alumni invited to reminisce: Thursday, Sept. 9, 7-9 p.m. join other Leeds alums for a two-hour sunset cruise on San Francisco Bay. Hors d’ oeuvres, a drink and amazing views will be provided. For additional information and to R.S.V.P. go here.
• Our Fall Preview in Berkeley: Part of a national series (see below) to acquaint prospective students and their families with CU-Boulder, the Berkeley event is Wednesday, Sept. 8 at the Claremont Hotel. There’s an alumni networking gathering 5:30-7 p.m., then a prospective student event 7-8:30 p.m. Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano and astrophysics professor Michael Shull will be talking about CU. Please R.S.V.P. by Sept. 1. Go here to register. For more information contact Becky at 800-492-7743.

Join a Fall Preview in one of 14 cities

You’re invited to help recruit area high school students while sharing your CU experiences. Our Fall Preview Program is a joint effort to generate awareness of the University of Colorado among prospective students, their parents and alumni in key out-of-state markets. Some alumni will have the opportunity to speak about what made CU special for them. Learn more here or contact Becky at 303-492-2879 or 800-492-7743.

We’re hiring!

The CU-Boulder Alumni Association is hiring an online community manager. The position will oversee the association’s social media channels, including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter and Forever Buffs Network.  Go here and search postings for #811018 to learn more and apply. The deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 18.

D.C. gets our “Featured Chapter” nod

One of our most active and loyal chapters, the D.C. Buffs are this month’s featured chapter. They have graciously hosted Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano twice this year for receptions, plan fantastic watch parties, sports leagues for local alumni and do a great job celebrating CU for the large alumni base in the District of Columbia area. They are also championing the first CU license plates outside of Colorado – Marylanders can now get Buff license plates. For information on these plates and upcoming events check out the DC Buffs here or on Facebook. You can also e-mail chapter president Geoff Davis (Econ’94) – congratulations!

Directors Club set for pregame

Directors Club members: it’s almost time for the annual pregame party on Sept. 18, 10:30 a.m. at Koenig Alumni Center! Kickoff is 1:30 p.m., Buffaloes vs. Hawai’i. Learn more here or contact Barb at 303-492-3005 or 800-492-7743.

Train with others for the bicycle classic

The 2010 Buffalo Bicycle Classic is just around the corner, Sept. 12. There’s still time to train for the distance of your choice, making your support of student scholarships (more than $1.2 million so far) both easy and fun. Some riders are organizing informal training rides on the Buff Classic’s Facebook page. Join them! Learn more and register for the ride here. See you on the road!

Denverites raise fun and funds

Congratulations to the Denver Young Alums for hosting their first ever Poker Run on Saturday, Aug. 7. Over 200 alumni attended and $2,500 was raised in scholarship funds for incoming students. Rumor has it the CU fight song could be heard throughout LoDo! Check out DYA upcoming events here or contact Dan Palm (Fin’05).

Alumni board to meet in September

The alumni board of directors welcomes new board members at its meeting Thursday, Sept. 16 and Friday, Sept. 17 on campus. The next time to apply for the board is in December. For information go here or contact Deb at 303-735-2382 or 800-492-7743.

Attend a wireless broadband conference

Wireless Broadband conference: Markets, Models and Spectrum, Sept. 8, 1-6:30 p.m., CU Law School.

Looking for continuing education?

Personal enrichment classes called CU on the Weekend and lasting just part or an entire Saturday are offered this fall on the CU campus by Continuing Education. Learn more here.

Donate to Suit Yourself

Help a student by dropping off gently worn, clean clothing at Koenig Alumni Center, 1202 University Ave., Willard Hall and all Art Cleaners stores in Boulder through Sept. 15. The clothing will be sold by CU Career Services at modest prices to students in need of appropriate job interview clothing. For more information visit here or e-mail Lisa.

Contribute to CU Law class of 2010 gives back

The law class of 2010 contributed $13,635 for the “Class of 2010 Clock” that now graces the Wolf Law Building courtyard. The class did not stop there, making an additional gift of $5,000 to benefit the Law Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which assists law graduates working in public service positions in defraying school loan debt. To make a gift to the law school go here.

Donate to CU-Boulder now. Athletics All things football

• Buy your 2010 CU football alumni single game tickets now! For all home games, Alumni Association tickets are in section 215. For all away games, tickets are in the visitors section. Here’s a map of Folsom Field.
• Season tickets: Purchase your football season tickets and enjoy the Colorado State game at Invesco Field plus six exciting home games. Call 303-49-BUFFS or go here.

Go to see fired up women’s basketball

The Linda Lappe (Mktg’02) era in women’s basketball at CU-Boulder officially starts Friday, Nov. 12 against Regis College, time TBA. The complete schedule is here.

The men are fresh too

Tad Boyle begins his first season with his men’s basketball team playing 16 games in Boulder. The schedule is here.

The site for all CU sports tickets is here.

A new kind of retirement community is coming soon to Boulder.

Buff Photos Archaeological workers are Forever Buff!

Anthropology professor Payson Sheets, in the lower middle in the photo, took Forever Buffs t-shirts to his excavation site at El Ceren, El Salvador last month. Ceren is a well-preserved ancient Maya village that was buried by deep volcanic ash 1,400 years ago that Sheets discovered in 1976. The men in the photo do the excavation work, and the women help in the lab cleaning artifacts and cataloging them. “And a few of their children were so excited,” Sheets says, “to be a part of the photo and get a CU t-shirt that there was no way I would have excluded them.”

Buffs Photo Store has your CU photos

Purchase stunning CU athletics and campus photography from the Buffs Photo Store, the official photos store of CU Athletics. Go here to order and  receive 25 percent off your purchase― use discount code GOBUFFS at checkout. Offer ends Oct. 1, 2010.

They hiked all the way to Crested Butte!

Our annual Aspen to Crested Butte hike was a great success this year, led by Kent Zimmerman (Edu’80, MPubAd’90) his wife, Christine Lanier Zimmerman (Ger’80, MEdu’90). It’s a 12-to-15-mile hike, depending on the route taken, full of stunning wild flowers and beautiful vistas. See 40 more photos of the hike. For more information about Roaming Buffs trips go here.

Send your photos and descriptions for this section to Marc Killinger.

I sure do have memories of
Sewall Hall!

By Patricia Bianco (MThtr’65)

I was a residence adviser of the right side of Sewall Hall in 1962-63. My little “apartment” was just off the huge living room. Sewall was an upper-class women’s resident hall. We called it Menopause Manor. The women and I obeyed most of the rules and had wonderful times together. Read more.

Find CU Alum on…

Forever Buffs Network

About | Log in | Register
Ask a Buff | Facebook app

Show your CU alum pride with an e-mail address

Get a free @coloradoalum.org e-mail address! It forwards to any personal account, such as yahoo!, gmail, Comcast, etc. To create or update your account, go to the Forever Buffs Network and click on the e-mail tab.

And don’t forget to become an Ask a Buff to assist students and other alums with career, relocation and graduate school decisions. Already an Ask a Buff? Inspire others to do the same.

Free events for alumni

The Job Search Success Group meets every second and fourth Thursday of the month, 6:30-8 p.m. (next session Thursday, Aug. 26).

Also, there’s a Job Search Strategies teleclass Tuesday, Sept. 28, noon-1 p.m.

To sign up for these events contact Lea at 303-492-6541. Did you know she’s a career counselor solely dedicated to the needs of alumni?

Need to fill a position in your organization? Hire a CU student or alum. We have more seasoned alumni in our database than ever before! Learn more here.

Here are links to your CU, school and college e-mail and web newsletters

President Benson’s (Geol’64, HonDocSci’04) e-newsletter

Chancellor DiStefano’s e-newsletter

Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine – to subscribe e-mail here

School of Education Education Views

Engineering Alumni News – to subscribe e-mail here

CUEngineering magazine 2010

Journalism Bylines

Amicus Magazine and LawPoints e-newsletter – subscribe or update your information here

Leeds School of Business – e-mail here to receive the e-mail newsletter. Leeds’ magazine Portfolio is here.

As a Forever Buff you receive special discounts and pricing at Colorado National Golf Club.

News Briefs Indian Ocean rising

Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, according to a study led by CU-Boulder. Read more.

Economic growth coming

For the first time in three years, Colorado business leaders are predicting solid growth in the state economy, according to the most recent quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index released by the CU-Boulder business school. Read more.

Read other CU-Boulder news. Find out how to live abroad

Join Kent Zimmerman (Edu’80, MPubAd’90) and Christine Lanier Zimmerman (Ger’80, MEdu’90) in Cuenca, Ecuador, next February for a four-week program for alums seeking a new dimension in educational and life-changing travel. You will be living and learning in your own well-equipped home, completely immersed in a beautiful small university town. Includes daily one-on-one language instruction and much more. Learn more here or e-mail Kent.

Alumni Travel Costa Rica, a tropical paradise

Join CU alumni and friends on a 10-night trip to this tropical paradise exploring rain forests, volcanoes and pristine coastal beaches. Includes three nights on land and seven aboard the luxurious Wind Star. Limited to 148 passengers, this ship feels like a private yacht. Contact Clark at 303-492-5640 or 800-492-7743.

Get your CU gear

Is your son or daughter coming to CU this fall? Or do you need an academic year CU datebook? Learn more.

New College of Music website

The College of Music just launched its completely redesigned website. Look for alumni website links, an expanded events calendar, videos, a blog full of news and much more. Music alumni, please submit your website links and news online here!

Contest Corner

The winner, randomly picked from the correct answers, will receive a really sharp, white CU baseball cap. CU mechanical engineering professor Mark Rentschler, who is working to refine a tiny capsule ― a so-called “capsule crawler” ― containing a video-recording device that can be used to image the gastrointestinal tract, was named CU-Boulder’s New Inventor of the Year in what year? A. 2004; B. 2007; C. 2009. Try going to the engineering college’s CUEngineering online magazine for the answer. I am voiding last month’s contest because I forgot to set up the connection between the three possible answers and my e-mail address ― sorry!

Photo Galleries

Visit the Alumni Association photo galleries.

By Patricia Bianco (MThtr’65)

Author Patricia Bianco (MThtr’65) has some great memories from the '60s.

I was a residence adviser for students living on the side of Sewall Hall in 1962-63. My little “apartment” was just off the huge living room. Sewall was an upper-class women’s residence hall. We called it Menopause Manor. The women and I obeyed most of the rules and had wonderful times together.

Sewall had beautiful furniture. One of the stellar furnishings was a grand piano. It was regularly tuned but few used it. I’d taken piano — classical — as a child. Hated it. The grand drew me in though. I began to play bits of old, memorized pieces. Finally I bought a couple of jazz books and went off in a new musical direction. I remember studying in my room, playing to relax, studying, playing. . . sometimes I play now for Semester at Sea voyages — in the piano lounge — an avocation that began in Sewall.

Women had curfew hours. Another rule was, we had to wear skirts to dinner every night. The winter of 1962 was “wicked” cold. Revolt was in the air. I made a deal with the residents that they could wear long pants (not jeans) to dinner every day it was below freezing. No one wore skirts for a long time.

The 1962-63 school year was one of transition, with unrest, hi-jinx and panty raids. Students used to trash the dorms during the panty raids. If anything seemed to be brewing we had a “lock-down.” One evening the head of housing called me. Students were throwing rocks at the president’s house, where Quigg Newton lived (now Koenig Alumni Center). Would I walk over to see how much trouble was brewing?

When I arrived, folks were tossing small stones at the president’s windows, but it was mostly a party. As I stood there watching, patrol vans rolled in, police jumped out and formed a ring around students — and I was in it. No one was impressed that I was an RA. My one phone call to the head of housing saved me, but the next day, on the front page of the student newspaper (or possibly it was the Boulder Camera) was a picture of the students being arrested, including me. I sent the picture home to Mom and Dad.

The corrugated outer texture of Sewall gave finger and toe holds to ardent swains who became human flies after hours. I dug them out of closets and from under beds when folks reported them on the floors. But I just threw them out and didn’t bring charges. C’est la vie. I did report a mountain climber who scaled the fountain side of Sewall and broke one of the sandstone blocks as he rappelled down from his love or lust’s second-floor window.

Many of us were broke and far from home the winter of ’62. Thanksgiving approached and it was depressing — no family — eating in the dorm. Sewall had a large, magnificent dining room with elegant furniture. I called a dorm meeting with the women who would be staying with me for Thanksgiving. We decided to “dress” for dinner. The staff pitched in and there were candles and, really, a banquet. I remember the fabulous food, sugared grapes, “jeweled” fruit and music, to this day. Eyes sparkling, we read, recited, or shared a memory around our banquet table. With the joy of frank astonishment, we became a family for that evening, which continued into a pajama-filled night of talk, songs and games in the living room.

I hope these words are poignant. My life’s journey led from Sewall to marriage and Spain. Later I became a University of Pittsburgh professor of theater for nearly 30 years. I’ve never returned to little Boulder. Tulagi, The Sink, The Terrace and Sewall remain forever unchanged in my eclectic memory.

Patricia Bianco (MThtr’65) earned her doctorate in theater at Florida State and taught theater and was the department chair at the University of Pittsburgh for many years. Now she lives in Quincy, Mass., where she’s a full time artist. Check out her website. She travels with Semester at Sea teaching world theater and performance, and has circumnavigated the globe with the program three and a half times. She has one daughter and two grandchildren who she adores.

Dear Alum,

We’re thrilled to welcome Deborah Fowlkes as our new executive director. She’s the first female director of the Alumni Association since its inception in 1882. She hails from Temple University in Philadelphia and before that Duke. She grew up in Boulder and went to Boulder High!

“I’m delighted to be back home in Boulder as a member of the CU family,” she says. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to share the exciting things going on at the campus, from innovative research to stimulating classroom topics to great athletic performances. I look forward to getting to know our alumni and helping us reconnect them to one another and the university.”

Deborah can be reached via e-mail or at 303-492-8484.

If you’ve moved or changed e-mail addresses, let us know.

And don’t forget, you can always find the latest alumni happenings at cualum.org. Connect with other alums and access our Ask a Buff service at the online Forever Buffs Network (see information on the right).

Marc Killinger, editor

Programs We’re building a great network for students and alums!

Here’s a wonderful opportunity to connect with future Buffs as well as alums: the Ask A Buff network, part of the Forever Buffs Network, where we help each other with job and location searches and graduate school plans. It’s only as strong as those of you who sign up for it. We need you to step forward now!

Come to our pregame before the CSU game

Going to the CU vs. CSU Rocky Mountain Showdown on Saturday, Sept. 4? Get your pass for our pregame here. It starts at 9:30 a.m. Kickoff is at noon. See Athletics section below for football ticket information or call the Athletic department at 800-872-8337 or 303-492-8337.

There are watch parties coast to coast!

Many Buffs will be keeping a close eye on the gridiron this fall, and even our small alumni chapters often gather to watch a football game. The season starts Saturday, Sept. 4 against Colorado State in Denver and ends Friday, Nov. 26 against Nebraska in Lincoln, unless we go to a bowl. Go here to find a chapter in your area having a watch party!

Cal-Berkeley big away game is almost here

• Friday, Sept. 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Welcome party, Westin Hotel, Market Street, San Francisco
• Friday, Sept. 10, 8:30 p.m., Buff bash: Join CU fans for drinks and appetizers at the Thirsty Bear at 661 Howard St., San Francisco
• Saturday, Sept. 11, 9:30 a.m. Pregame party, Underhill Field (view campus map), Berkeley. Kickoff 12:30 p.m.
• For more information and links for reservations and tickets go here.

Other events around the Big Away Game

• Meet other journalism alumni and dean Paul Voakes in Thursday, Sept. 9, 6-8 p.m. at an informal get-together at the Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery St., San Francisco. Brent Cannon (Jour‘84), NBC Bay Area morning anchor and former CU punter, will be on hand. Please R.S.V.P. to Beth.
• Leeds alumni invited to reminisce: Thursday, Sept. 9, 7-9 p.m. join other Leeds alums for a two-hour sunset cruise on San Francisco Bay. Hors d’ oeuvres, a drink and amazing views will be provided. For additional information and to R.S.V.P. go here.
• Our Fall Preview in Berkeley: Part of a national series (see below) to acquaint prospective students and their families with CU-Boulder, the Berkeley event is Wednesday, Sept. 8 at the Claremont Hotel. There’s an alumni networking gathering 5:30-7 p.m., then a prospective student preview 7-8:30 p.m. Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano and astrophysics professor Michael Shull will be talking about CU. Please R.S.V.P. by Sept. 1. Go here to register. For more information contact Becky at 800-492-7743.
• Thursday, Sept. 9, 6:30-8 p.m., engineering reception for alumni in the Bay Area. Go here for more information and to R.S.V.P.

Join a Fall Preview in one of 14 cities

You’re invited to help recruit area high school students while sharing your CU experiences. Our Fall Preview Programs is a joint effort to generate awareness of the University of Colorado among prospective students, their parents and alumni in key out-of-state markets. Some alumni will have the opportunity to speak about what made CU special for them. Learn more here or contact Becky at 303-492-2879 or 800-492-7743.

D.C. gets our “Featured Chapter” nod

One of our most active and loyal chapters, the DC Buffs are this month’s featured chapter. They have graciously hosted Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano twice this year for receptions, plan fantastic watch parties, sports leagues for local alumni and do a great job celebrating CU for the large alumni base in the District of Columbia area. They are also championing the first CU license plates outside of Colorado – Marylanders can now get Buff license plates. For information on these plates and upcoming events check out the DC Buffs here or on Facebook. You can also e-mail chapter president Geoff Davis (Econ’94) – congratulations!

San Diego Buffs very active

• Aug. 22, 1-5 p.m. is CU Day at the Del Mar Races. It’s the chapter’s largest fundraising event for scholarships and includes a large raffle of CU gear and other items. Learn more here.
• Sunday Sept. 19, 1 p.m. is their annual Big 12 Golf Tournament in Chula Vista. Here’s the scoop.

Directors Club set for pregame

Directors Club members: it’s almost time for the annual pregame party on Sept. 18, 10:30 a.m. at Koenig Alumni Center! Kickoff is 1:30 p.m., Buffaloes vs. Hawai’i. Learn more here or contact Barb at 303-492-3005 or 800-492-7743.

It’s baseball time in Memphis

Join the crowd for food, fun and fireworks with the Memphis Redbirds as they take on the Colorado Springs Sky Sox on Saturday, Aug. 14, 5 p.m. Bring the family and friends for this kid-friendly event. Contact Scott Seltzer (Kines’95) for more information and tickets.

Seattle to tee off

Join the Seattle alumni chapter for an afternoon of golf at Mt. Si Golf Course on Sunday, Aug. 22 at 3 p.m. E-mail Kim Totten (Comm’91, DMD’97) to reserve your place.

Train with others for the bicycle classic

The 2010 Buffalo Bicycle Classic is just around the corner, Sept. 12. There’s still time to train for the distance of your choice, making your support of student scholarships (more than $1.2 million so far) both easy and fun. Some riders are organizing informal training rides on the Buff Classic’s Facebook page. Join them! Learn more and register for the ride here. See you on the road!

Denverites raise fun and funds

Congratulations to the Denver Young Alums for hosting their first ever Poker Run on Saturday, Aug. 7. Over 200 alumni attended and $2,500 was raised in scholarship funds for incoming students. Rumor has it the CU fight song could be heard throughout LoDo! Check out DYA upcoming events here or contact Dan Palm (Fin’05).

Chicagoans organizing sports leagues

Looking for a sports league this fall? Volleyball, flag football, dodge ball and softball leagues have formed. If you’re interested in another sport, e-mail Forrest Vollrath (Bus’85, MBA’89) and volunteer to be the organizer for that league. Forrest expects to form leagues for most of the major sports this fall.

Alumni board to meet in September

The alumni board of directors welcomes new board members at its meeting Thursday, Sept. 16 and Friday Sept. 17 on campus. The next time to apply for the board is in December. For information go here or contact Deb at 303-735-2382 or 800-492-7743.

Contribute to CU Law class of 2010 gives back

The law class of 2010 contributed $13,635 for the “Class of 2010 Clock” that now graces the Wolf Law Building courtyard. The class did not stop there, making an additional gift of $5,000 to benefit the Law Loan Repayment Assistance Program, which assists law graduates working in public service positions in defraying school loan debt. To make a gift to the law school go here.

Donate to CU-Boulder now. Athletics All things football

• Buy your 2010 CU football alumni single game tickets now! For all home games, Alumni Association tickets are in section 215. For all away games, tickets are in the visitors section. Here’s a map of Folsom Field.
• Going to the CU vs. CSU Rocky Mountain Showdown on Saturday, Sept. 4? Get your pass for our pregame here. It starts at 9:30 a.m. Kickoff is at noon. If you have any questions about football game tickets call 800-872-8337 or 303-492-8337.
• Season tickets: Purchase your football season tickets and enjoy the Colorado State game at Invesco Field plus six exciting home games. Call 303-49-BUFFS or go here.

Go to see fired up women’s basketball

The Linda Lappe (Mktg’02) era in women’s basketball at CU-Boulder officially starts Friday, Nov. 12 against Regis College, time TBA. The complete schedule is here.

The men are fresh too

Tad Boyle begins his first season with his men’s basketball team playing 16 games in Boulder. The schedule is here.

The site for all CU sports tickets is here.

A new kind of retirement community is coming soon to Boulder.

I sure do have memories of
Sewall Hall!

By Patricia Bianco (MThtr’65)

I was a residence adviser of the right side of Sewall Hall in 1962-63. My little “apartment” was just off the huge living room. Sewall was an upper-class women’s resident hall. We called it Menopause Manor. The women and I obeyed most of the rules and had wonderful times together. Read more.

Find CUAlum on…

Forever Buffs Network

About | Log in | Register
Ask a Buff | Facebook app

Show your CU alum pride with an e-mail address

Get a free @coloradoalum.org e-mail address! It forwards to any personal account, such as yahoo!, gmail, Comcast, etc. To create or update your account, go to the Forever Buffs Network and click on the e-mail tab.

And don’t forget to become an Ask a Buff to assist students and other alums with career, relocation and graduate school decisions. Already an Ask a Buff? Inspire others to do the same.

Free event for alumni

There’s a Job Search Strategies teleclass Tuesday, Sept. 28, noon-1 p.m.

To sign up for these events contact Lea at 303-492-6541. Did you know she’s a career counselor solely dedicated to the needs of alumni?

Need to fill a position in your organization? Hire a CU student or alum. We have more seasoned alumni in our database than ever before! Learn more here.

Here are links to your CU, school and college e-mail and web newsletters

President Benson’s (Geol’64, HonDocSci’04) e-newsletter

Chancellor DiStefano’s e-newsletter

Colorado Arts & Sciences Magazine – to subscribe e-mail here

School of Education Education Views

Engineering Alumni News – to subscribe e-mail here

CUEngineering magazine 2010

Journalism Bylines

Amicus Magazine and LawPoints e-newsletter – subscribe or update your information here

Leeds School of Business – e-mail here to receive the e-mail newsletter. Leeds’ magazine Portfolio is here.

As a Forever Buff you receive special discounts and pricing at Colorado National Golf Club.

News Briefs Indian Ocean rising

Newly detected rising sea levels in parts of the Indian Ocean, including the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java, appear to be at least partly a result of human-induced increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases, says a study led by CU-Boulder. Read more.

Economic growth coming

For the first time in three years, Colorado business leaders are predicting solid growth in the state economy, according to the most recent quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index released by the CU-Boulder business school. Read more.

Read other CU-Boulder news. Find out how to live abroad

Join Kent Zimmerman (Edu’80, MPubAd’90) and Christine Lanier Zimmerman (Ger’80, MEdu’90) in Cuenca, Ecuador next February at a four-week program for alums seeking a new dimension in educational and life-changing travel. You will be living and learning in your own well equipped home, completely immersed in a beautiful small university town. Includes daily one-on-one language instruction and much more. Learn more here or e-mail Kent.

Alumni Travel Costa Rica, a tropical paradise

Join CU alumni and friends Jan. 5-15, 2011 on a 10-night trip to this tropical paradise exploring rain forests, volcanoes and pristine coastal beaches. Includes three nights on land and seven aboard the luxurious Wind Star. Limited to 148 passengers, this ship feels like a private yacht. Contact Clark at 303-492-5640 or 800-492-7743.

Get your CU gear

Is your son or daughter coming to CU this fall? Or do you need an academic year CU datebook? Learn more.

New College of Music website

The College of Music just launched its completely redesigned website. Look for alumni website links, an expanded events calendar, videos, a blog full of news and much more. Music alumni, please submit your website links and news online here!

Contest Corner

The winner, randomly picked from the correct answers, will receive a really sharp, white CU baseball cap. CU mechanical engineering professor Mark Rentschler, who is working to refine a tiny capsule ― a so-called “capsule crawler” ― containing a video-recording device that can be used to image the gastrointestinal tract, was named CU-Boulder’s New Inventor of the Year in what year? A. 2004; B. 2007; C. 2009. Try going to the engineering college’s CUEngineering online magazine for the answer. I am voiding last month’s contest because I forgot to set up the connection between the three possible answers and my e-mail address ― sorry!

Photo Galleries

Visit the Alumni Association photo galleries.

Buff Photos Archaeological workers are
Forever Buff!

Anthropology professor Payson Sheets, in the lower middle in the photo, took Forever Buffs t-shirts to his excavation site at El Ceren, El Salvador last month. Ceren is a well-preserved ancient Maya village that was buried by deep volcanic ash 1,400 years ago that Payson discovered in 1976. The men in the photo do the excavation work, and the women help in the lab cleaning artifacts and cataloging them. “And a few of their children were so excited,” Payson says, “to be a part of the photo and get a CU t-shirt that there was no way I would have excluded them.”

Buffs Photo Store has your
CU photos

Purchase stunning CU athletics and campus photography from the Buffs Photo Store, the official photos store of CU Athletics. Go here to receive 25 percent off your purchase― use discount code GOBUFFS at checkout. Offer ends Oct. 1, 2010.

They hiked all the way to
Crested Butte!

Our annual Aspen to Crested Butte hike was a great success this year, led by Kent Zimmerman (Edu’80, MPubAd’90) his wife, Christine Lanier Zimmerman (Ger’80, MEdu’90). It’s a 12- to 15-mile hike, depending on the route taken, full of stunning wild flowers and beautiful vistas. See 40 more photos of the hike. For more information about Roaming Buffs trips go here.

Send your photos and descriptions for this section to Marc Killinger.

Saturday, Sept. 4, 9:30 a.m. pregame start, noon kick-off

INVESCO parking lot C (near west entrance to stadium) View INVESCO parking map and pregame location
1701 Bryant St
Denver, CO 80204
google map | venue website

Sign-up online

CU vs. CSU: Rocky Mountain Showdown

Be part of the action as our Buffs take on our in-state rivals in the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown! The game has returned to INVESCO field, and the Alumni Association is hosting the official CU pregame in Lot C near the west-side of the stadium. Just look for our 20-foot inflatable buffalo “Alphie.” The pregame event features live music, entertainment, games, Ralphie’s corral, the marching band, Chip, cheerleaders, plenty of giveaways for CU fans, and a pregame pep-talk from Athletic Director Mike Bohn. Breakfast burritos and beverages will be served.

Food and drink at this event are offered with PRE-REGISTRATION ONLY. Sign-up online to receive your pregame breakfast burrito and 1 beverage (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) for $15.

Beverage options (non-alcoholic): soft drinks, iced tea, lemonade and water
Beverage options (alcoholic): Martini, Margarita, Bloody Mary, Champagne, Wine, Mixed Drinks and Premium/Domestic Beers.

All CU alumni, Buff fans, Herd members and students are welcome!

Sign-up by September 2.

The game will be nationally televised on the Mnt. (DirecTV channel 616).

Our annual Aspen to Crested Butte hike was a great success this year. As for some of the summers between 1995-2008 when he was Alumni Association executive director, the hike was lead by Kent Zimmerman (Edu’80, MPubAd’90) along with his wife, Christine Lanier Zimmerman (Ger’80, MEdu’90). It’s a 12 to 15-mile hike, depending on the route taken, full of stunning wild flowers and beautiful vistas.
See 40 more photos of the hike here. For more information about Roaming Buffs trips go here.

Deborah Fowlkes, CU-Boulder Alumni Association Executive Director

Please join us in welcoming our new Alumni Association Executive Director, Deborah Fowlkes.  Deborah formerly served as assistant vice president for alumni relations and executive director of the Temple University Alumni Association in Philadelphia, PA, a post she held since 2005.

A graduate of Boulder High School, Deborah is the daughter of retired CU mathematics professor Irving Weiss. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in comparative literature and French literature and a master’s degree in liberal studies from Duke.

Prior to her position at Temple University, Deborah worked for almost two decades at Duke University, where she served as director of alumni education and travel, director of alumni continuing education, assistant director for alumni admissions, and first reader in the admissions office.

We are delighted to welcome Deborah Fowlkes to CU-Boulder.  We are excited to have a leader of her breadth of experience with two great institutions – and strong ties to CU-Boulder – ready to take our dynamic alumni association to the next level of success.

Deborah replaces Ron Stump, who is retiring in August.

Deborah can be reached at Deborah.Fowlkes@colorado.edu or at 303-492-8484.

Single Game Tickets: Buy your 2010 CU football single game tickets now!. For all home games, Alumni Association tickets are located in section 215. For all away games, tickets are located in the visitors section. Going to the CU vs. CSU Rocky Mountain Showdown? Get your CU Pregame Pass! If you have any questions about football game tickets, please contact the CU ticket office, 303-492-8337.

Read more on our Football page

Click image to enlarge

A student ambassador (in black t-shirt) leads a tour of prospective students and their parents and families on the Norlin Quadrangle. Between 18,000 and 20,000 people tour the CU-Boulder campus every year. For basic information on visiting campus, go here.  For an informative virtual tour, go here.  Specific information on daily information sessions and campus tours for prospective students is here.

Anthropology professor Payson Sheets, in the middle with his arm raised, took Forever Buffs t-shirts to his excavation site at El Ceren, El Salvador last month. Ceren is a well-preserved ancient Maya village that was buried by deep volcanic ash 1,400 years ago. Payson discovered it in 1976. The men in the photo do the excavation work, and he says they’re “super dedicated and hard workers.”  The women help in the lab cleaning artifacts and cataloging them.  “And a few of their children were so excited,” Payson says, “to be a part of the photo and get a CU t-shirt that there was no way I would have excluded them.”

Check out Payson’s extensive website with slide shows and visualizations of the Ceren site.

Go here for the 2008 article by Payson, “Armageddon to the Garden of Eden: Explosive Volcanic Eruptions and Societal Resilience in Ancient Middle America.”

CU seniors Scotty McKnight (left), Nate Solder (center) and Jalil Brown at Tuesday's Rangers game. Photo Courtesy: CUBuffs.com

Brooks: Beebe Hints At Buffs’ Exit To Pac-10 By 2011

IRVING, Texas – If the Big 12 Conference and its pair of exiting members agree on anything, it’s this: All want the departures to be amicable and ASAP.

From all appearances, the front end of that wish – the amicable part – seemed to be underway here Tuesday as the Colorado contingent arrived for what likely is the Buffs’ last round of preseason Big 12 media briefings. By this time next summer, CU’s surroundings could be dramatically different.

And as for getting out of the Big 12 ASAP, no less authority than Commissioner Dan Beebe sounded as if he and the movers/shakers at his level are working hard to make it happen.

Addressing the media Tuesday afternoon, Beebe alluded to the “disappointment about the departure of two very, very quality institutions” and his “regret that I won’t get to (work with them) after this year.”

He was referring to Nebraska’s impending bolt from the Big 12 to the Big Ten and CU being poised to jump to the Pac-10 – moves that the pair of institutions and three leagues involved would like to see transpire in time for the 2011 football season.

The Cornhuskers plan to begin Big Ten competition season after this, but the Buffs can’t be sure about their start date in the Pac-10 until details of the switch are resolved. The Pac-10, which is conducting its first round of preseason media days in New York and the second later this week on the West Coast, is hopeful of its two newest members – CU and Utah – also being able to begin football competition in 2011.

Beebe appears fairly confident that it can happen. He said CU and the Big 12 remain engaged in “private discussions” about “transition issues . . . I know it’s Colorado’s interest to try to move on along with Utah into the Pac-10. It’s in our interest to move on.

“I don’t think it helps anybody to linger in a lame duck status – if you’re on their side or our side.”

The transition issues – the biggest of which will be the amount of money CU and Nebraska owe the Big 12 – will be addressed in “very short fashion, and probably in the early fall (we’ll) be able to conclude what we’re going to do,” Beebe said.

He added that exit costs will be “resolved fairly quickly. We have by-laws that address it, that all of the members when the conference was formed agreed to, in the form of liquidated damages or withdrawal fees for those institutions that may depart.

“And we’ll have full discussion about the meaning of those by-laws and whether there’s any type of consideration for different application than what is written specifically in our constitution and handbook.”

Future exit penalties – whether to keep them status quo or make them stiffer – for Big 12 members that might seek other conference affiliation will be fully discussed at the board level, Beebe said.

“I think I will bring to the board later this year whether we should review having more stringent fees or whether what we have is sufficient,” Beebe said.

The cost of CU leaving the conference has been reported to be anywhere from $9 to $20 million. League and school officials thus far have declined to specify what the conference switch might cost.

Other topics addressed by Beebe included:

* Big 12 expansion – The conference might entertain regional suitors, “but right now there’s no affirmative interest by our members in expanding whatsoever,” he said. “There’s so much excitement about continuing with the round-robin in football . . . and the double round-robin in basketball and other sports, that I think that’s going to carry the day for the foreseeable future.”
* 16-team super-conferences – Admitting his bias, Beebe believes leagues with more than 12 members are unwieldy, difficult to govern and “not of benefit to college sports.”
* Conference revenue sharing – Had new Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott’s grand plan been successful, the Big 12 would have lost (in addition to CU) Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. When those schools elected to stay put, the Big 12 was saved. But there has been grumbling about how league revenue will be split. “The fact of the matter is that everybody understands it and they agreed to go forward with it the way it is,” Beebe said. “Frankly, what was kind of ironic about this is one of the conferences that posed the most risk of taking most of our members share money, share their revenue, even more disproportionately than we do.”

NEW CU FACES: Receiver Travon Patterson, a transfer from Southern California, and defensive lineman Dakota Poole will be among the players who report on Aug. 4 for physicals, meetings, the issuing of equipment, etc.

Since coming to Colorado, Patterson has been living with senior receiver Scotty McKnight, who gushed over Patterson’s speed and was eager to see him perform in practice. Patterson was among USC’s smaller (5-9, 175) receivers but also one of the fastest.

In 2009, Patterson caught three passes for eight yards, ran twice for 15 yards and fair-caught three punts. But impressive spring practices might have brought an expanded role this fall for the Trojans.

He is immediately eligible at CU due to the NCAA granting USC juniors and seniors that privilege due to recent sanctions levied against the USC football program.

Poole, from Kelowna, B.C., is a 6-5, 250-pounder who “can really run,” according to coach Dan Hawkins. Although still raw, Poole’s first look will be on defense, but he could wind up at offensive tackle.

TAKE ME OUT TO . . . : Hawkins, McKnight, offensive tackle Nate Solder and cornerback Jalil Brown – CU’s player representatives at Big 12 media days on Wednesday – attended a Texas Rangers game Tuesday night. Hawkins set it up through Clint Hurdle, the former Rockies manager who now is the Rangers hitting coach.

IT JUST ADDS UP: The Big 12 will have 10 teams, the Big Ten will have 12 teams. There is no current plan for name changes, although Beebe joked Tuesday, “Yeah, I’m in communication with (Big Ten) Commissioner Jim Delany now about a swap.”

On the other hand, once CU and Utah come aboard the Pac-10 will become the Pac-12. The impending name change was announced on the conference’s website, with Commissioner Larry Scott confirming the change will occur once the Buffs and Utes begin competition.

The league already has unveiled its new logo, which has a mountain prominent in the new design and according to the website, “reflects the geographic expansion depicting the beauty and energy of the West, from the mountains to the ocean . . .”

BUFF BITS: CU’s most recent depth chart (July 26) lists Andre Simmons behind Will Jefferson in the X wide receiver grouping . . . . McKnight said the foot he injured during spring drills “is no problem at all now.” The senior also said he is in his best shape ever . . . . Solder was introduced Tuesday afternoon to Gil Brandt, the former Cowboys personnel guru now with NFL.com. Brandt told Solder, a left tackle, that “lots of money” awaits him if Solder plays to his potential this season. Brandt also counseled Solder, McKnight and Brown about illicit contact with agents . . . . The Buffs’ tentative practice schedule has Aug. 5 as the first day on the field, Aug. 7 as the first day of two-a-days, Aug. 9 as the first day in pads and Aug. 12 as the first scrimmage. All practices through Aug. 12 are open to the public.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU

Big 12′s Dan Beebe: ‘Makes the most sense’ for CU Buffs to join Pac-10 in 2011 – Boulder Daily Camera

After two and a half years as interim executive director of the Alumni Association, Ron Stump will retire in mid-August. Prior, he worked in the office of student affairs, most recently as vice chancellor for student affairs, for 12 years. In the photo he shows off his classic hand gestures at a party thrown by the alumni staff for him in July. Staff person, Eva Kruger who organizes senior auditors registration, is at right.

Date: July 30,
Where: Denver Botanic Gardens (google map)
Join CU President Bruce Benson and the university’s chancellors for a celebration of CU alums and friends at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Ticket includes food, beverage and entrance into the Denver Botanic Gardens.
$15 for adults, $10 for kids ages 4-12 (3 and under are free)
More information and online registration.