News Archives - Colorado College

Kiplinger’s, Outside, others recognize Colorado College

Kiplinger's business magazine ranked Colorado College 31st on its 100 Best Private College Values list. The ranking was the culmination of an intensive study of more than 1,300 private colleges and universities and recognizes those which combine academic excellence with generous aid packages and lower total costs. "I'm pleased that Kiplinger's has acknowledged the affordability of our high quality education," said Mark Hatch, the college's dean of admission and financial aid. "CC strives to ensure education access for all students." See the December 2003 story on Kiplinger.com.

Outside ranks CC 13th in its list of the 40 best colleges in its September 2003 issue. The magazine’s staff researched hundreds of colleges and universities, chose the top 40 academic schools among them, and then ranked those based on criteria like environmental ethos, students’ sense of adventure, and proximity to healthy outdoor pursuits. See more about student life at the college.

CC also has made other lists of the most outstanding institutions in higher education. Among them, the Washington Post ranked CC among 100 colleges "that deserve a second look." U.S. News annual rankings consistently put CC among the best national liberal arts colleges, No. 33 this year.

Check out a YM Magazine feature on seven small schools, which includes Colorado College. And Seventeen magazine ranked CC No. 20 out of the "100 Coolest Colleges" in its October 2002 issue.

The college was also listed in Kaplan's "The Unofficial, Unbiased, Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges." Colorado College is one of the top 25 liberal arts colleges for Asian Americans, according to aMagazine. CC is also mentioned in the Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog book as a hidden treasure and an academically competitive school. Colorado College is ranked No. 4 among bachelor's institutions with the largest numbers of students studying abroad, according to a story in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Colorado College Dean of Students
Honored by American Cancer Society

Mike Edmonds, Colorado College dean of students, was honored with the St. George National Award at the American Cancer Society's 2003 Hope Gala on Nov. 22. The St. George Award is presented to an outstanding volunteer in recognition of distinguished service in achieving the society's strategic goals. Edmonds has taken a leadership role with the El Paso/Teller Unit of the American Cancer Society since 1990, having served on the board of directors, the cancer control committee, the major gifts committee and currently, the Rocky Mountain Division board. He has helped increase awareness and foster relationships with corporations; developed long-range approaches to fund-raising; and advocated diversity by working with youths and bringing forth African American and Hispanic involvement through his work with Urban League and as chair of the Cinco de Mayo celebration in Colorado Springs. See a news release for more.

Alumni Come Home to Vintage Planes,
a State-of-the-Art Building, Traditional Events

Approximately 2,000 alumni, parents, and friends took part in CC's Homecoming /Parents Weekend Oct. 9-12. Among the highlights: Pie-the-President, a fundraiser for Children’s Literacy Center in which participants purchased raffle tickets for a chance to throw a pie at Colorado College President Richard F. Celeste. The newly resurfaced Washburn Field -- the oldest collegiate athletic field in continuous use west of the Mississippi -- was rededicated, and three World War II North American T-6 airplanes flew over the field in military formation, led by alumnus Chris Barton ’83. At half-time, the 1943 CC Football Team was inducted into the CC Athletic Hall of Fame. Five members of the college family were honored by the CC Alumni Association for outstanding contributions to their fields and service to Colorado College -- see a release for more.

The college also dedicated the new 51,000-square-foot Russell T. Tutt Science Center, a new “green” facility that provides labs and smart classrooms for the psychology/neuroscience, mathematics, environmental science, and geology departments. See more about the new building.

See photo coverage (including a QuickTime movie!) of the weekend events.

Coretta Scott King Delivers Capstone Address

Coretta Scott King, one of the most influential African-American leaders in our world today, delivered The William Jovanovich Lecture in Public Affairs as the capstone address for Colorado College's new student orientation on August 24. In her talk, "Diversity, Social Justice and the Challenge to Fulfill the Dream," King shared experiences from her productive career and life as they pertain to liberal learning.

“I must urge you to get involved in the political process and most importantly, use the power of the ballot," Mrs. King told the overflowing crowd of mostly students. “The torch of leadership is being passed to your generation -- rise up and take a stand against poverty, war, and racism. If we can’t expect leadership from you, where will we get it?”

See news coverage from KRDO TV, and a college news release about about Mrs. King's campus visit.

Opening Convocation Features Honorary Degrees, Remarks by Alumni, President, Student Body Leader

CC's 2003-04 academic year officially opened on Monday, Sept. 1, with convocation ceremonies in Shove Chapel. Among the highlights were welcoming remarks by President Richard F. Celeste and senior Matthew Synenberg, president of the Colorado College Campus Association. Honorary degrees were presented to alumni Douglas Levi Obletz '77 and Carol Annette Petsonk '79. Obletz was honored for his work as an urban planner and economist in Portland, Oregon, while Petsonk was lauded for her accomplishments as an attorney, teacher, and environmentalist. Petsonk, who currently is international counsel for Environmental Defense in Washington, D.C., also addressed the college community in a talk, "Time, Precious Time."

As part of New Student Orientation 2003 the previous week, all 450 first-year students at CC embarked on either a four-day community service trip or a four-day backpacking experience (except for 49 athletes already on practice schedules, who performed a day of community service in Denver). These four-day activities include restoring fencing at a wildlife refuge, helping build houses, connecting migrants to library services, and feeding wolves. See more about NSO community service.

Colorado College Receives Music Library

The Colorado Springs Symphony Guild has donated a library of orchestral scores and parts to CC. The Guild was able to organize the purchase of the collection at auction through the generous support of their members and a grant from the Colorado Springs Foundation, says Jane Beeder, a Symphony Guild board member and one of the auction bidders. “The Guild felt the works would best be housed at CC where they can be preserved for use by future generations,” says Beeder.

CC looks forward to making this collection — in all approximately 1,400 works — available to orchestras free of rental charge, says Michael Grace, CC professor and chair of the music department. CC President Richard F. Celeste sees this gift as an affirmation of the importance of symphonic music in the community. “We expect to work closely with leaders in the community to ensure that this asset can be used to continue the wonderful musical heritage here in Colorado Springs,” he says.

CC Film Studies Program Produces TV Spot

Professor Tom Sanny and several of his film studies students produced a one-minute video for Colorado College to air during television coverage of some CC Tiger's hockey games. Created in cooperation with the college relations office, the video focuses on distinctive qualities of the college and features an interview with President Richard F. Celeste.

The video, a file about 2.8 MB, is available for download and viewing on the free QuickTime player for either PCs or Macs (to download the player, go to the QuickTime page).

CC Professor, Alumni Publish a Study in Science

Two Colorado College alumni and a geology professor are co-authors of a study on Antarctica published in the January 2003 issue of the journal Science.

Seth Cowdery and Louis Sass III, recent CC graduates and geology majors, contributed to the glacial geology research along with Professor Christine Siddoway. They conducted field research in Antarctica in fall 1999 with Professor Siddoway, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

"The thing that makes me the happiest about this article is that two CC students are co-authors ahead of me. I offered a research opportunity that they took up and made the work their own." Siddoway said.

CC Senior Profiled in Job Search Feature

Emily Steed, a recent CC graduate, is featured in a four-part series on CollegeJournal.com (part of the Wall Street Journal), the premier free site for undergraduate, graduate, and MBA students who want job-search and career-guidance information. CollegeJournal.com followed three college seniors during their job hunt. Read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV.

Three CC Alumnae Make
Discover's Top 50 Women in Science

Discover magazine's November 2002 issue lists the "50 Most Important Women in Science." Out of those 50 women, three are Colorado College alumnae -- Margaret Liu '77, Jane Lubchenco '69, and Marcia McNutt '74. The total of three graduates from CC was topped only by MIT with four. Four other colleges and universities had two undergraduate alumnae each who made the list. See a news release.

Margaret Liu gave the opening convocation keynote speech this September. Denver native Jane Lubchenco received the eighth annual $250,000 Heinz Award for the Environment for her groundbreaking research on ocean ecosystems. Read a news release. Marcia McNutt, CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, was featured in the CC publication, Success: Colorado College Stories, which profiled 15 extraordinary alumni. Read a news release about a lecture she gave at CC in October.

Tiger Tales

Sejna Wins 2003 Hobey Baker Award
Peter Sejna, who collected at least one point in 41 of 42 games this season while leading Colorado College to the NCAA quarterfinals and 30 victories overall, became the first Tiger ever to win the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as college hockey’s most outstanding player.

He accepted the award during a nationally televised ceremony in Buffalo, N.Y. One of three CC players to named to the West All-America First Team, the junior left winger led the nation with 36 goals and 82 points. A three-time all-league selection, Sejna was named WCHA Player of the Year last month after winning the conference scoring title and helping the Tigers claim the program’s seventh regular-season championship. He finished his collegiate career with 190 points (91g,99a), which ranks eighth on the school’s all-time chart. Sejna is the first European ever to win the Hobey Baker Award.

In addition, he signed with the NHL St. Louis Blues, playing his first professional game and scoring against the Colorado Avalanche. Sejna was featured in a Rocky Mountain News story.

Four CC hockey players earned 2003 All-America honors following one of CC’s most successful seasons ever. Senior right wing Noah Clarke, senior defenseman Tom Preissing and Sejna comprised half of the All-America West First Team, sponsored by JOFA and the American Hockey Coaches Association. Sophomore goaltender Curtis McElhinney was named to the Second Team. Read more.

Colorado College and its hockey program have been featured in the New York Times -- see the story online. Read another Times piece about CC hockey and coach Scott Owens, and two more recent New York Times stories mentioning CC (#1 and #2). CC is also featured on NHL.com -- click here to read that story. The Colorado Springs Gazette's hockey coverage is also available online. Also see the CC hockey homepage.

Four members of the CC cross country team -- Sarah Fitzgerald, Brennan Galloway, Tony Krupicka and Carl Leivers -- recently returned from a special "road trip" during spring break. The group left campus on March 12 to attempt a trip across the United States (10,000-plus miles of driving) with hopes of running a timed mile on a track in each of the lower 48 states, plus the District of Columbia, in only 11 days! They posted periodic updates, pictures and more extensive accounts of their adventures at www.geocities.com/race_the_us.

CC has completed improvements to Washburn Field, home to CC's football and lacrosse programs. Click here to read more about the new artificial turf surface.

Go to the athletics home page for more news about CC athletics, including schedules for all the Tigers teams.

Vice President Accepts Position in Australia

9/29/2003 -- Don Wilson, CC vice president for alumni, development, and college relations, has accepted a new appointment as vice principal for university relations at the University of Sydney in Australia, effective January 5, 2004. Wilson will lead a team responsible for fundraising, alumni relations, and public relations at the University of Sydney, an institution of 44,000 students and numerous undergraduate colleges and graduate schools, including highly regarded medical and law schools.

"This is an impressive appointment at one of the top universities in Asia, and Australia's oldest," said President Richard F. Celeste. "I am proud of Don for being selected for this new challenge and enormously appreciative of his service to Colorado College." Celeste has appointed Stephen Elder, associate vice president for development, as acting vice president, effective Nov. 1. See a release for more.

Nearly 500 Graduate at CC's 2003 Commencement

At CC's 122nd annual commencement on Monday, May 19, 452 undergraduates and 17 MAT (master of arts in teaching) students received degrees. Honorary degrees were presented to Andrew Shue (see below), Margaret Sayre Marshall, and Cleo Parker Robinson. Read a news release for more on the entire weekend's events -- and click here for more photos.

Senior class president Quana Rochelle passed on advice from her great grandmother, who said "you'll fall, but you get back up again." Rochelle, a philosophy major from Columbia, Mo., told her classmates, "There will always be roadblocks or things that discourage us. But sometimes they are mixed blessings that allow us to become stronger." See a transcript of Rochelle's complete remarks.

Shue — actor, activist, athlete, and entrepreneur — encouraged the Class of 2003 to “reach out beyond yourself and build the bonds of community” during his speech to the graduating class in Armstrong Quad. The co-founder of the national community service organization, “Do Something,” as well as an actor on the hit TV series “Melrose Place,” Shue confided that there had been times during his life that he had been scared and wanted to stay inside his comfort zone. But he found the courage to take the first step, to connect with others different from him, and learned to live “a meaningful, adventurous life.” See a transcript of his remarks, along with a news release. Also see a story in USA Today.

For the first time, CC's commencement was Webcast live -- while the archived footage is no longer available, upcoming CC commencements most likely will be Webcast, so stay tuned. Also read about some of the "best and brightest" of the Class of 2003, and see a list of past commencement speakers.

CC President Addresses
Proposed State Education Budget Cuts

President Richard F. Celeste writes about how proposed state budget cuts would affect private colleges and their students in editorials that appeared in late March in the Colorado Springs Gazette and the Pueblo Chieftain. He also recently examined the college's economic role in the community -- read a transcript of his remarks. Read a piece in the Chronicle of Higher Education and a profile in the Pueblo Chieftain.

Celeste was inaugurated as the 12th president of the college during Homecoming in October 2002 on the CC campus. Read a transcript of Celeste's inaugural address. Click here to see photos and other resources from the event. Read a story in Access

See photos from his campus visit for the announcement last May, and news coverage in the Akron Beacon Journal, the Columbus Dispatch, and the Colorado Springs Independent. The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article and an editorial and the Denver Post also printed an editorial.

Celeste succeeds Kathryn Mohrman, who stepped down in June 2002 after nine years as CC's president. Mohrman received a Fulbright fellowship to spend the 2002-03 academic year in Hong Kong. Read a news release for more.

Woman's Club Donates House, Endows Scholarship

The Woman's Club of Colorado Springs donated a property to Colorado College, continuing the club's 100 years of philanthropy in the community. Colorado College will establish a scholarship in recognition of the gift starting next academic year. Read a news release.

"Colorado College and the Woman's Club of Colorado Springs are both venerable institutions in our town, each with a history spanning more than 100 years," said CC President Richard F. Celeste at a media event and reception in honor of the Woman's Club of Colorado Springs on Wednesday, January 15, 2003. "The scholarship advances the mission of both of our organizations."

Click here to see photos and transcripts from the event.

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