Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends:

Since 1874 Colorado College has been a major force in teaching, research, and publication on the subject of the adjacent Rockies that we call our “backyard.”

Building on this strong tradition, in May the college produced its inaugural “State of the Rockies Report Card” and hosted a two-day conference on the topic as part of the “Colorado College 2010: The President’s Action Agenda.”

The 63-page report provides a comprehensive statement on what is happening in eight states of this unique region of spectacular natural beauty, cultural wealth, and abundant resources, as they experience major changes. (Read more about the successful report and conference.)

CC has other new programs that meet evolving challenges in the Rockies, including our environmental science and Southwest studies programs, and exciting course fieldwork. This spring, 30 economics students, taught by Professor Walt Hecox ’64, studied ways to create a more viable economy and maintain natural capital in the San Luis Valley. Hecox, the students, and Chris Juniper ’74, Schlessman Program visiting executive, traveled to every niche of the valley, tucked between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west. They spent their days examining this isolated and economically depressed region. In the evenings, they discussed their adventures at the college’s Baca campus, their home base.

Juniper says he and Hecox are training students to be “‘cultural renaissance citizens’ — to advocate and be part of sustainable development solutions.” At the end of the block, each student came up with his or her own set of policy recommendations to show how the San Luis Valley region can sustain a balance between natural and human activities.

As a teacher, Hecox loves the intensity and flexibility of the Block Plan: “There is no other education system where you can take students away from a college for a week. I try to get out from between the students and the issues, which are neither black nor white, but gray and very complex. A lot of theoretical stereotypes get crushed quickly by the messiness of real places and real people.” (Read more about this fieldwork.)

Also in this issue you will read about the college’s significant economic impact on the city of Colorado Springs. Based on a study conducted by Peter Taylor, visiting associate professor in the business and economics department, the college’s spending impact approached nearly $110 million last year. That money supported an estimated 1,090 jobs, not counting the college’s 680 employees, and ranked the college as the 25th largest private employer in the city. (Read more about student spending habits and their pizza purchasing power.)

Finally, this issue profiles several successful business alumni, including CC’s trustee Bob Selig ’61, who credits Colorado College with providing opportunities for him to develop leadership and management skills.

Colorado College has a unique role in the Rocky Mountain region, and I am proud that we continue to use it to enhance student learning and serve our community.

Sincerely,

Richard F. Celeste