PACES original content

How a High-Altitude Observatory Shaped Colorado’s Story

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 18:45:47 +0000

How a High-Altitude Observatory Shaped Colorado’s Story Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 06/05/2025 - 12:45

Elaina Caywood

“A place can be understood as an earthly reality defined by longitude and latitude, with physical features to be detailed by geologists, geographers, and documentary photographers. At the same time, place is affective, defined by a series of experiences in time and their impact on those who linger.” – Hanna Rose Shell, Artist’s Statement

The ��Ƶ strives for innovation, continually looking towards the future. But envisioning the future requires remembering the past. Colorado is home to numerous sites dedicated to scientific advancement—but what were the origins of these places, and what can they teach us about our path forward?

Hanna Rose Shell explores this question through the remarkable story of Walter Orr Roberts, drawing on her background in both historical scholarship with mixed-media artmaking. Shell is a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, jointly appointed in the Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts and the Department of Art & Art History, and recent faculty director of the Stan Brakhage Center for Media Arts.

In 2017, Shell moved to Colorado to teach at CU Boulder, where she was able to transition from a Social Sciences-oriented department at MIT, called Science, Technology and Society, to a new academic home more explicitly in line with her artistic and creative scholarly inclinations. Shell’s transition from Massachusetts to Colorado echoed that of the young astrophysicist who Shell has since made the center of her community-engaged and scholarly projects: Walter Orr Roberts.

Roberts, a graduate student, and his wife, Janet Smock, moved to Climax, Colorado in 1940 to establish North America’s first coronagraph—a specialized telescope used to study the sun’s gaseous halo. Built atop a vast molybdenite mine on the Continental Divide, the small observatory served as a hazardous but groundbreaking scientific base for seven years. During that time, Roberts not only conducted pioneering research on the solar corona but also contributed significantly to the World War II effort. His ionospheric observations enabled him to forecast solar disruptions days in advance, which proved crucial for maintaining radio communications. This achievement, alongside the mine’s role in weapon production with molybdenite, created an unlikely but powerful alliance: the miners of Climax and a Harvard scientist working together to support the Allied Powers. During his time in Climax, Roberts formed strong relationships with the miners, bridging the academic and industrial worlds.

“The kind of project that occurred at Climax in those years brought together so many different kinds of backgrounds, types of expertise and political leanings. It is an inspiring model for how we can find ways to engage with people from a wide range of stakeholders, with distinctive political ideologies,” said Shell.

Through extensive archival research in Colorado and Massachusetts, Shell became captivated by Roberts’ story. With support from the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) and the Research and Innovation Office, she created a multimedia project that explores Roberts’ legacy while prompting reflection about themes such as nature and technology, innovation and destruction, communication and connection.

Shell’s PACES-supported work debuted in April 2025 during Boulder Art Week at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Mesa Laboratory’s Art-Science Gallery. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Flatirons, the exhibit featured photographs of the Climax observatory and mine alongside Shell’s contemplative reflections on Roberts’ achievements and the broader history of scientific exploration. The photos range from personal snapshots by Roberts or Smock, to photos of the observatory, to the actual photos Roberts took of the corona.

Across these materials, the story of the Climax Observatory shines through in all its glory. In the exhibition, beside an archival photograph from the inside of the old Climax observatory, was a pensive statement from Shell: “For me, both the historical legacy and present-day reality of the former site of the Climax Observatory exemplifies a kind of liminality: between darkness and light; between the reaches of the heavens and the depths of the earth; between the vital energies that prompt scientific discovery, and the potential hazards that accompany the human drive for material extraction.”

Hanna Rose Shell presents her work at NCAR Mesa Lab, April 25, 2025.

On April 25, Shell presented her work at the Solar Nexus event, also held at NCAR’s Mesa Lab. Supported by her PACES grant, the event—livestreamed for broader access—brought together researchers from diverse fields of solar science.

Shell discussed Roberts’ life and work, describing the challenges and triumphs he and Smock experienced. The talk featured photos, letters, and archival materials illustrating Roberts’ work and experiences. In a segment titled “Conversations of the Plurality of Worlds,” an actress read Smock’s letters aloud, offering insights into the observatory and the mine and their influence on the surrounding environment. Shell concluded her presentation with a clip from a documentary filmed by Roberts, sharing his solar observations and reflections. The clip was composed of time-lapsed photographs of the corona halo stitched together to showcase the changes Roberts was tracking. Reflections about the future of solar research and nuclear power accompanied the corona visuals.

The presentation was followed by Sarah Gibson, who presented current initiatives at the High-Altitude Observatory (HAO), and Alexandra Lockhart, a dancer who fuses heliophysics with performance art.

Shell’s interdisciplinary exploration of Roberts’ story integrates photography, film, music and letters to illuminate a compelling narrative. “One of my goals for the project is to bring this history to Boulder and to the world of atmospheric and environmental science,” she said. “It's so interesting that the seed of NCAR originated from this great collaboration between the biggest mine in the country, at the time, and a Harvard researcher.”

A central theme in Shell’s work is the idea of generative collaboration—between disciplines, communities and even ideologies—and how it shapes Colorado’s identity. Although the state has diversified beyond its mining roots, many towns still carry that legacy. For Shell, this community-engaged project offered an opportunity to “engage and learn about the history, geography and communities of Colorado,” while connecting people across divides through a shared scientific heritage.

“CU Boulder is located in one part of Colorado, so it’s very important to find ways to bring in the local community, and also people from other parts of the state,” she said. “Roberts’ work inspires us to work together on a single interest, despite our differences.”

Shell hopes to bring her exhibit to other Colorado communities, such as Leadville. With its mining history and proximity to the Climax site, Leadville offers a perspective “from the mining extraction side,” reconnecting Roberts’ work with the mining community and extending it beyond the academic community of Boulder.

“This can achieve a number of important things,” Shell explained. “One is to spread the story. Two is to get people thinking about how their perspectives and histories are more connected to those of others—people who may have different jobs, upbringings or political opinions. I really want this work to bridge the state, so to speak. I think that’s an exciting opportunity.”

Beyond its academic and public significance, the project resonates deeply with Shell on a personal level. Like Roberts, she left Massachusetts to pursue an academic career in Colorado. “I felt a lot of connection to this young astronomer and his wife,” she reflected. “Roberts came to Colorado from Massachusetts to build this observatory. He stayed here his whole life and became incredibly impactful to the state. He found direction, meaning and inspiration in a new place. That is what drew me—and continues to keep me—with this story. This project has become a wonderful way for me to connect with Colorado, as Roberts did.”

Looking ahead, Shell hopes her work will inspire Coloradans to transcend cultural and class boundaries in the name of collaboration and progress. Through visual storytelling, she encourages us to reflect on the “historical legacies” and “present-day realities” of the places we inhabit. Her work challenges us to consider not only how scientific progress is achieved—but by whom, and for what purpose.

To learn more about Shell’s project, read her NCAR Mesa Lab Flyer or explore her film project through her article, “Conversations of the Plurality of Worlds."

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Opening Conversations: Empowering Youth with Complex Communication Needs

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Mon, 19 May 2025 16:05:54 +0000

Opening Conversations: Empowering Youth with Complex Communication Needs Arielle Wiedenbeck Mon, 05/19/2025 - 10:05

Elaina Caywood

Communication is one of the most important aspects of life, yet many of us take it for granted. Those with complex communication needs (CCN) secondary to different neurological conditions and/or medical diagnoses, such as cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), typically have co-occurring conditions such as hearing and vision impairments. They face numerous challenges that prevent them from accessing the help they need to communicate effectively with the world. Compounded with economic disadvantages, these difficulties can feel insurmountable, as assistive technology can be expensive.

For the past six years, Sherri Tennant, Assistant Clinical Professor of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences (SLHS) at CU Boulder, and her team have worked in Denver with CCN students who experience economic disadvantages and use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems. AAC systems are various low and high-tech methods for communication that can help those who are unable to speak verbally, such as picture-based communication books, iPad apps and speech generating devices (SGDs). These systems are customized to meet individual communication needs.

In 2019, Tennant began consulting in Denver Public Schools, visiting classrooms and guiding staff who worked with students unable to verbalize through natural speech or reliably use touch screens. Without AAC systems or trained professionals with the knowledge to use them, many students lacked a consistent way to communicate.

Seeing that the growing need was more than one consultant could handle, Tennant and her colleague, Associate Professor Christine Brennan, decided to apply for a grant from the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship.

“We had a couple of goals in mind with different emphasis,” said Tennant. “One was to train our graduate students in the speech-language pathology program in AAC assessments and intervention, as there is a great need in our field, public schools and healthcare settings.”

During the last six years, Tennant and her team have trained more than 38 graduate students and 30 general education peers in AAC systems, many of whom have gone on to work in public schools.

“Second goal, of course, was to meet the needs of the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST), helping those students and empowering them by giving them access to AAC systems through Medicaid,” continued Tennant. “As of now, we have assessed and procured AAC systems for 12 students total.”

“Our third goal then was to do professional development for all the educators, paraeducators and speech language pathologists that work in the school district. And then, finally train the family members to use these systems at home with the AAC users, the adolescents,” explained Tennant.

The project has now involved two high schools and one middle school within the DSST school network. The DSST team of educators has continued to support the project, writing letters of support that demonstrate the need for this kind of work and help in the grant reapplication process.

While some paraprofessionals and teachers initially felt apprehensive about using AAC systems due to their cost and complexity, many have now fully embraced them, actively participating in Tennant’s training and advocating for AAC systems in their schools.

“Seeing the change in attitude and progress [from educators] through consistent teaching, patience and modeling has been one of the biggest rewards,” reflected Tennant.

The team is working to organize and lead a larger workshop in summer 2026 to introduce critical AAC information and provide advanced training to professionals who are new to AAC as well as give more information to families who may be struggling with adopting the AAC systems. This will continue to increase the number of people who will benefit from this grant project.

Alongside professional training for paraeducators and teachers, the team created multimedia training modules to assist with AAC system use, and they plan to expand this online resource into Spanish. Marcella Manzur, a Spanish-speaking collaborator in Mexico City, has frequently assisted the team by interpreting and translating content for family support and training groups. She is also working with her team in Mexico to translate the multimedia training modules into Spanish. Due to the linguistic importance of this work, Tennant ensures that the team remains sensitive to cultural and linguistic identities when interacting with students and their families. Manzur supports this goal by acting as a translator during therapy sessions, helping students and their families feel as comfortable as possible while learning about how to use an AAC system.

Despite the wide scope of their goals, Tennant and her team have achieved great success, giving a voice to economically disadvantaged adolescents with complex communication needs in the community while helping educators and CU Boulder students gain critical hands-on experience with AAC systems. In February of 2023, Tennant, Brennan and five graduate students presented the outcomes of this work at the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) national conference in Orlando. The team plans to present their findings again at ATIA in 2026. Graduate students working on this project not only get the chance to present their work at important conferences in the field but also gain extremely valuable experience in a relatively niche area, leading to great opportunities.

“I’ve received emails from [past students] saying it’s because of this grant project that they were able to get their position or that they felt so comfortable and confident working with the school team. That has been really rewarding,” remarked Tennant.

The collaboration between many different professionals across the SLHS and education spheres provides a uniquely impactful experience for the program’s youth participants. This work is inherently community engaged, heavily depending upon consulting and interacting with the community; Tennant stressed the importance of “family-centered treatment as much as possible.”

Tennant shared an example of a teenager whose progress depended on being consulted within her natural setting outside of highly structured therapeutic activities with a community- and family-centered approach. While being assessed in a local hospital to demonstrate how she could benefit from an AAC system, the teen exhibited noticeably aggressive behavior. However, at school, the teen had successfully communicated and responded with the trial AAC systems. The teacher, with whom the student had built trust, asked to be included in the hospital assessment but was denied due to post-COVID policies. The hospital’s assessment incorrectly concluded that she would not benefit from an AAC system due to her behavior, which was a result of the teen’s trusted companion, her teacher, being unable to assist. Tennant’s team was then able to assist in completing the AAC assessment at school where the student was comfortable and included her mother as well. The student was very cooperative, using the AAC system effectively with a smile.

“Sometimes these policies in outside organizations can be obstacles to what’s beneficial for a client or a patient. The beauty of our grant project is it allows us to go into their [the patient's] most comfortable setting. If that’s home, if that’s school, we can do that. When we do that, we get a clear picture of their potential,” explained Tennant. “ We were able to procure a system for her [the teen] through Medicaid, and she was using it really effectively. She ended up graduating and moved on and out of the school. That conveys one very powerful benefit of this grant project.”

Students who may have been resigned to silence in their classrooms can now communicate and even make jokes in class, happily surprising the educators who have watched them grow and progress.

The work of Tennant and the rest of the team has provided hope to these teens and opened doors for them to participate and interact with the world around them. In a world so consumed with communication, everyone deserves access to the human flow of connected ideas—thanks to this grant project, those with complex communication needs can overcome economic barriers to join in on the conversation, too.

This crucial work continues on. For more information about the multimedia modules, SLHS pathology trainings for graduate students, family-centered trainings at DSST or information on future conference presentations, visit: Empowering Economically Disadvantaged Adolescents with Complex Communication Needs.

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Maintaining the Balance: Investigating the Language of Political Extremism on the Western Slope

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:14:16 +0000

Maintaining the Balance: Investigating the Language of Political Extremism on the Western Slope Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 04/30/2025 - 11:14

Elaina Caywood

Amid rising political polarization, a team of CU Boulder researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

A study by David Rozado and Eric Kaufmann shows that U.S. news outlets increasingly use terms that denote far-right and far-left extremists, regardless of their political leanings. News outlets have increasingly used extremist terms and language since 2015, with a rapid increase since 2019. The study demonstrates a strong polarizing dynamic regarding how news outlets discuss political extremism. Polarization can result in a communicative standstill.

How can people discuss politics without falling into extremist language? And how can news outlets and public forums maintain their neutrality when referencing instances of political extremism? These are tough questions, but we can look to the work of Leah Sprain and her team, who conduct community-engaged research surrounding the language of political extremism on Colorado’s Western Slope.

The work originated during Sprain’s fellowship with the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship’s Higher Education and Democracy Initiative (HEDI) and community partners on the Western Slope. One group that particularly interested Sprain and her team was Restore the Balance.

Restore the Balance is a group with members from across the political spectrum. According to its website, the group works together for the purpose of “building an alternative to political extremism” through their political candidate rankings, petitions and letters to the editor, which can be found on their website.

Leah Sprain speaks to former congressional candidate Adam Frisch and PACES executive director David Meens at the Upper Colorado River Basin Water Forum at Colorado Mesa University, Oct. 30-31, 2023.

“They [Restore the Balance] try to bring together a group of people to think differently about how they engage in politics,” explained Sprain. “That effort really sparked this research project—thinking about how to make sense of when community groups try to call out things in their community.”

Calling out extremism within the Western Slope resonated with the community, drawing people to Restore the Balance meetings and encouraging responses to their petitions. Since its inception in 2022, Restore the Balance has gained 2,974 signatures for their pledge to address political extremism. However, the universal approach of Restore the Balance didn’t so easily “jibe with local politics.” The more the group tried to call out extremism, the more critics called them extremists.

Sprain’s research provokes questions surrounding the trade-offs of calling out extremism. While the effort deeply connects with many people, it also faces certain types of politicization, which could dampen the message. Should people accept this, or are there ways to work against these phenomena without using the language of extremism?

By analyzing Restore the Balance and Letters to the Editor in Grand Junction’s The Daily Sentinel, Sprain expands her view into the community’s conversation. These differing media outlets help frame research questions about what political extremism means to people on the Western Slope, what it means to address it, and more broadly, “how people think about democracy in times of crises.”

Given the nature of political communication, the research team takes an interdisciplinary approach. Professor of Journalism Mike McDevitt focuses on media aspects of communication, Associate Chair of Political Science Janet Donavan examines the political aspects, and Associate Professor of Communication Leah Sprain leads the team. The team also studies political theory approaches and measures laid out by Rod Hartin his book Civic Hope to compare Hart’s observations with their own observations made on the Western Slope.

“We look at the language of extremism and the dynamics within Restore the Balance and the Letters to the Editor,” said Sprain. “We can trace how people discussed political extremism before and after the creation of Restore the Balance and how the community reacted. From those reactions, we explore who gets called an extremist, the discursive practices around it, and what it means to think of political extremists as a category.”

To better understand some of these issues, the team engaged the CU Boulder community. By directly involving students, they gained valuable insight into the opinions of a younger generation of politically-engaged people. During Donovan’s fall 2024 class focused on civic engagement, political science students reacted to some concepts of civic hope and political extremism, analyzed Letters to the Editor and even wrote their own letters. By comparing the ideas generated by CU Boulder students with those in the Letters to the Editor—written primarily by older, white men—the team observed different perspectives about civic engagement. From this, new questions arose, such as: What makes a good community member or political conversation? Are these ideas tied to generational aspects? Connecting this back to the political situation in Grand Junction, these insights sparked discussions about which political theories are most relevant and useful when tackling political extremism today.

“We’re trying to take the research through all the ways in which students can help us think about these concepts and how we can generate pedagogical insights from that engagement,” explained Sprain.

CU Boulder students both challenged and affirmed the concept of civic hope, which contributed to their development of the concept. In turn, they learned about the relationship between internal efficacy — the extent to which people think they can make a difference in politics — to the broader notion of civic hope. These pedagogical and political insights from the students will be presented by Donovan at a regional political science conference this April.

Sprain’s previous work with Restore the Balance, during her HEDI Fellowship, examined what organization members were trying to accomplish, how they had responded to political events in their community and how best to communicate their responses. The team’s current research seeks to further understand the organization’s goals and develop approaches to addressing political extremism.

“Restore the Balance is deciding what kind of organization they want to be. So, thinking about this research might help them figure out their own issues. We’re asking questions they might not immediately consider,” said Sprain.

Through this model of community engagement, Sprain’s team collaborates with other groups on the Western Slope, such as the League of Women Voters. “Community-engaged research keeps us from being narrowly focused and allows us to think about how this research might address broader questions surrounding strategies for organizing and conducting civic work,” Sprain reflected.

Another aspect of this project involves writing workshops with people at Restore the Balance. In April, the team shared initial findings with the Restore the Balance board to observe their reactions, creating a reciprocal exchange in which the researchers learned more about community perspectives while those at Restore the Balance enjoyed a conversation that helped inform their ongoing civic work.

Following the success of their April workshop, the team will continue to plan more workshops for the fall. Their goal is to share their empirical research while involving the community, gauging reactions, and generating a productive conversation about the language of political extremism.

These conversations will help situate political dynamics within the community context so that academic insights don’t stand alone but become part of the communal conversation, all while maintaining an open, bipartisan attitude.

“The workshops will bring people together and allow them to talk across different perspectives,” Sprain described. “As researchers, we sincerely hold space for a broader range of reactions, as our research can benefit from these different perspectives, much like how democracy can benefit from multiple perspectives.”

This work raises big, important questions. While the research remains in the question-asking phase, the most important part is asking these questions and learning how to best engage communities in political conversations.

“So many parts of civic life and community democracy feel difficult and fraught. Because of what’s happening on the national level, many people are turning locally,” reflected Sprain. “I hope this effort provides research that helps people think about which types of civic action respond most effectively to what’s happening in their communities.”

As Sprain and her team continue researching political extremism on the Western Slope, we can all meditate on how best to participate in civic action without resorting to political extremist language. This engaged research is ongoing but will hopefully result in valuable insights that can help us navigate daily, changing political interactions.

To stay informed about Sprain’s work on political extremism on the Western Slope, visit the project website, Overcoming Extremism: Visibility and Voice on the Western Slope.

Amid rising political polarization, a team of CU Boulder researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

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Members of the Restore the Balance board. Photo Credit: Restore the Balance

Outdoor Recreation Offers a Path to Community Resilience

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 12:54:33 +0000

Outdoor Recreation Offers a Path to Community Resilience Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 04/30/2025 - 06:54

Arielle Wiedenbeck

CU Boulder’s Rural Technical Assistance program helps rural Colorado towns use their natural assets to strengthen local economies, deepen partnerships and define their own futures.

In small towns across Colorado, where economic challenges and limited resources often run deep, a new kind of planning is taking root — one that blends grassroots visioning with technical support, and centers outdoor recreation as a tool for long-term resilience.

The Colorado Rural Technical Assistance Program, or RTAP, was informed by a growing interest in outdoor recreation as a driver for rural economic development — an interest reflected in national-level programming, such as the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) planning assistance initiative. More than 100 communities applied for the RERC pilot program in 2019, with many Colorado communities among them. While several were strong candidates, the program aimed to achieve a broad geographic distribution with only a limited number of spots available. As a result, many Colorado applicants were not selected despite the strength of their proposals.

This information was shared with the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office (OREC) and Natalie Ooi, a teaching associate professor in the Masters of the Environment Graduate Program (MENV), who saw an opportunity to create a Colorado-specific initiative that could support more communities across the state. In partnership with Matt Nuñez, senior program manager at the OREC, RTAP began to take shape. Using RERC as a model, they designed an accelerated timeline that enables MENV graduate students to co-create, facilitate and execute a community action plan with a community-driven process in a one-semester course.

“It kind of came together sort of perfectly,” Ooi said.

Although the course lasts one semester for students, for Ooi and her partners, it’s a yearlong endeavor. From July to December, they work closely with the selected communities to lay groundwork before students begin. This includes building relationships, forming a steering committee and completing a self-assessment.

“Communities need time to decide if this program is right for them. This isn’t a marketing plan; it’s not a trails development plan,” Ooi said. “At a broad level, we’re really focused on what outdoor recreation means to the community and what they would like to see in terms of tying together outdoor recreation and economic development. We want to give every community the attention they need.”

Emily Glass, a graduate student in her final year of the MENV program, said she joined the 2025 RTAP cohort after many recommendations from peers.

“I have always been intrigued by how durable outdoor recreation can be in the midst of the complex social and environmental issues we find ourselves facing,” Glass said. “I believe that a love of being in nature can be a universal human experience, and the joy from that helps bridge our own divides.”

Community members from Lake City, CO, attend RTAP's two-day community visioning workshop in 2024. Photo credit: Natalie Ooi

In Colorado, outdoor recreation is a powerful tool for economic development, Ooi explained. Outdoor recreation assets and amenities encourage people to spend time and money in these communities — but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. According to Glass, this makes outdoor recreation “a great moldable option for rural communities to build resilience around.”

In the workshops, which were held in mid-March, topics such as community-identity, sustainable development and responsible recreation, environmental concerns and infrastructure capacity often underpinned the conversations about outdoor recreation development. Sometimes, the focus was on better aligning economic development and tourism initiatives to avoid duplicative efforts.

“In Leadville, one of their biggest challenges was that it’s a really dedicated bunch of people. But … it’s the same group of 20 to 30 people who do everything,” Ooi said. “Some of our focus was on how do we better coordinate [everyone] to come together and identify who is doing what?”

In La Junta, RTAP helped connect community organizations with regional partners working toward similar goals, like the broader Regional Partnerships Initiative from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In Rangely and Dinosaur, RTAP facilitated a joint effort to organize a clean-up day and strengthen the towns’ relationships with the Bureau of Land Management.

“Part of the work we did was bringing key stakeholders from across the two communities into the same room … and realize, ‘Hey, we have common aims and interests and previous misunderstandings,’” Ooi said. “It’s helped to establish kind of this precedent of ‘we work together out here, even if we’re in different counties.’”

Now in its third year, Ooi said she is blown away by how communities have shown up to the workshops.

“We’ve had the best attendance at our community workshops than we’ve had historically,” Ooi said. She credits the rise in attendees to improvements in RTAP’s process and more engaged community contacts.

Despite strong engagement, Ooi said gaining community trust remains an ongoing challenge — one RTAP is uniquely positioned to meet.

“The key point of difference [for RTAP] is this plan is entirely community-driven,” Ooi said. “The graduate student team and our partners, we’re just facilitators. We’re not here to say, ‘this needs to go in the plan.’ Nothing should be in there that the community or someone in the community isn’t passionate about.”

Although not every community member attends the meetings, Ooi said the steering committees are composed to provide a “broader and more representative cross-section" than what is typical in community planning.

One of the most frequent questions RTAP gets is about funding. While RTAP currently doesn’t have the capacity to provide funds to implement the community action plans, the team hopes to work with OREC to establish seed funding in the future. For now, representatives from Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Regional Partnership Initiative and other state agencies attend workshops to help guide long-term funding strategies. In addition, the community action plans developed by students include tools and tips for finding funding and resources, setting priorities, measuring impact and identifying timelines. Colorado State University Extension has recently partnered with RTAP to provide implementation support for the following 12-24 months.

Despite the challenges, community feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“It has brought communities together. It has gotten them to understand what meaningful stakeholder engagement can look like, and it’s helped them go for other grants in areas they otherwise wouldn’t have,” Ooi said.

Like the communities they serve, RTAP has had a lasting impact on students.

“The RTAP project directed my career after school,” said Conner Borkowski, former MENV student who worked with Leadville in 2023. Borkowski now works as the program and special projects coordinator with the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance.

Glass shared that working with the Beulah community shaped her understanding of what impactful community-engaged scholarship looks like.

“When designed meaningfully, community-engaged work is an opportunity to weave together different perspectives, ideas and expertise that otherwise may not have come together … the backbone of community-engaged work is collaboration.”

The Colorado Rural Technical Assistance Program is funded in part by the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship. Applications for the 2025–26 cohort open Summer 2025.

CU Boulder’s Rural Technical Assistance program helps rural Colorado towns use their natural assets to strengthen local economies, deepen partnerships and define their own futures.

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MENV graduate students Abigale Purvis, Emily Palanjian, Jessica Hertzberg and Sarah McLaurin help facilitate the Keystone Workshop, March 12-13, 2025. Photo Credit: Natalie Ooi

Announcing the Spring 2025 Tier 1 and 2 Grantees

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 19:32:03 +0000

Announcing the Spring 2025 Tier 1 and 2 Grantees Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 03/18/2025 - 13:32

Arielle Wiedenbeck

From an AI literacy platform to a community short film, 13 total projects received over $50,000 in funding. See the full list of grantees below.

Tier 2 (formerly Community Impact Grants)
Spring 2025 Recipients

Colorado Climate Seal & Resilient Futures Teacher Workshop
Tory Nau, Program Manager for the We Are Water Project
CIRES Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation (CEEE)

Community-Driven LGBTQ+ Creative Technology Workshops
Shaz Zamore, Assistant Teaching Professor
The ATLAS Institute

Co-designing Compassion & Dignity Professional Learning for PK-12 Educators
Ashley Potvin, Research Associate
Renée Crown Wellness Institute

Toward Community-Informed Science Teaching & :earning
Erin Marie Furtak, Professor
School of Education

Building a Tangible Platform for AI Literacy
Krithik Ranjan, PhD Student
The ATLAS Institute

Cognitive Health and Aging: A Multi-generational, Community-based Study
Analicia Howard, Predoctoral Trainee
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Mentoring Indigenous Students in Wolf Conservation Research
Alma Rose Sanchez, PhD Student
Department of Environmental Studies

Building Community Capacity to Reduce Heat & Smoke Risks
Valentina Serrano Salomon, PhD Student
Department of Sociology

Tier 1 (formerly Micro Grants)
Spring 2025 Recipients

Cherry Yogurt: An integrated community short film
Francesca Hiatt, Undergraduate Student
Cinema Studies and Moving Image Arts

Community Roundtable on Indigenous Reparations and Restoration
Christina Stanton, Clinical Associate Professor
School of Law

Evaluating water lead risks in transitional housing communities
Riley Mulhern, Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Studies, Institute for Arctic & Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Public Art Event at National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
Hanna Shell, Professor
Department of Art & Art History

Rendered Embodiment of Social Interaction (RESI)
Cass Bliss, Undergraduate Student
Creative Technology & Design

From an AI literacy platform to a community short film, 13 total projects received over $50,000 in funding.

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Application Process: Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 20:17:01 +0000

Application Process: Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement Arielle Wiedenbeck Mon, 02/24/2025 - 13:17

Gretchen Minekime

At Chancellor Schwartz’s request, the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship and the Research and Innovation Office are co-leading CU Boulder’s first application for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.

The application committee appreciates the deans, chairs, and directors who are currently responding to the survey request sent on Feb. 11 by the Chancellor’s Office. As a reminder, survey responses are due on Feb. 28.

Applying is a significant milestone, as the Carnegie classification is the national standard by which higher education community engagement is assessed and recognized. Campuses that receive the classification are nationally recognized leaders in community engagement and exemplars of higher education’s mission of contributing to the public good.

Please direct questions to Co-chairs Katie.Kleinhesselink@colorado.edu and Alicia.Adelman@colorado.edu.

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Graduate Students Benefit as Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Fri, 21 Feb 2025 20:20:59 +0000

Graduate Students Benefit as Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars Arielle Wiedenbeck Fri, 02/21/2025 - 13:20

Alexandra Wilson

Since its launch in 2018, the Engaged Arts and Humanities (EAH) Graduate Student Scholars Program at CU has given 40 students the opportunity and resources to combine their academic disciplines, the tools of the arts and humanities, and their unique individual interests and apply them to public and community-engaged scholarship projects.

“I believe the program’s focus on lived experience, equity-oriented partnerships and mutually beneficial community-engaged scholarship has been key in creating an inclusive community of learners,” said Lisa Schwartz, Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Program Manager and EAH founder.

The two-year fellowship, now co-administered by the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) and the Center for the Humanities & the Arts (CHA), encourages students to work collaboratively with communities to create meaningful, lasting change and allows students to broaden their networks on and off campus. Students co-design mutually beneficial projects with community partners, receiving a $5,000 stipend over two years and up to $1,000 in project funding.

Professor Jennifer Ho, CHA’s faculty director, works with the CHA team and Schwartz to oversee and implement the program. “I’m thrilled that the CHA is partnering with PACES on this program. When Lisa Schwartz first told me about the program, I could see the vitality and mutual intellectual and creative aims of having graduate students use their expertise in service to community-engaged projects. Lisa’s leadership of the program is part of the secret sauce to its success, as is the passion of the EAH scholars for work outside the traditional walls of academia.”

EAH Fellow Amy Hoagland’s 2021-22 project with CU Science Discovery and Cal-Wood Education Center serves as a prime example of the program’s impact on the surrounding community and her future as an artist and advocate for environmental justice. Combining her passions for art and science, Hoagland initiated a series of outdoor events with youth and families, providing opportunities for the “mourning, celebration and collective recognition of the impact of climate change.”

Hoagland creates artwork to “provoke thought and change in people’s relationship with the surrounding landscape.” While continuing her work inspired by EAH Scholars, Hoagland received a 2022 Windgate Fellowship for sustainable art presented by Honoring the Future.

“I cannot express my gratitude for EAH Scholars and Lisa Schwartz’s mentorship. It has all been incredibly impactful on my practice. It will positively impact my future projects, too,” said Hoagland.

A key aspect of EAH Scholars is the experience of selecting, interviewing and developing a relationship with a mentor who is a community-engaged scholar within the university or broader community (Read the EAH scholar mentor interviews here). PhD student Idowu Odeyemi shared his experience working with Professor Briana Toole, founder and director of the Corrupt the Youth program.

“Professor Toole’s community greatly intersects with mine; it was very easy to form a connection with her. She was helpful in terms of how I can develop my ideas for the sort of community work that I want my project to be about,” said Idowu.

A number of scholars have incorporated their work with EAH into their MFA thesis and PhD research. Brenda Aguirre Ortega is one such student. Through sharing and developing her ideas with members of the EAH cohort, as well as securing additional funding, Aguirre-Ortega’s multitude of interests evolved into her establishing and co-facilitating an after-school program at Columbine Elementary School, combining her passions of teaching, music composition and mathematics. In an interview discussing her experience with community-engaged scholarship, Aguirre-Ortega emphasized the program’s impact on her.

“At first, I only knew that I wanted to create a project in a school and that it would have something to do with music production,” said Aguirre-Ortega. “The idea became more tangible when I started sharing it with the EAH cohort. We were all beginning projects, and we helped each other develop ideas.”

EAH Scholars is now welcoming new graduate students for the 2025-2027 cohort. Visit the program’s webpage to learn more about deadlines, eligibility and the application process.

Since 2018, the Engaged Arts and Humanities Graduate Student Scholars program has given 40 students the opportunity and resources to apply tools of the arts and humanities to public and community-engaged scholarship projects.

The program is now welcoming new graduate students for the 2025-2027 cohort. Visit the program webpage.

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Harveen Gill leads a group meditation during a presentation on her work as an Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholar at Research and Innovation Week.

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Harveen Gill leads a group meditation during a presentation on her work as an Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholar at Research and Innovation Week. (Photo Credit: Arielle Wiedenbeck)

Announcing the Data + Art + Science for Youth Fellow Teams

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:24:20 +0000

Announcing the Data + Art + Science for Youth Fellow Teams Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 01/28/2025 - 13:24

Gretchen Minekime

The Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship and CU Science Discovery are pleased to announce the 2024-25 cohort of Data + Art + Science for Youth Fellows.

The fellows consist of teams of K-12 art and STEM teachers and university scientists. Teachers will lead teams to develop data-driven art and science activities for K-12 classrooms and for the public in partnership with museums or libraries.

Learn more about the program and teams of fellows here.

K-12 Teacher and Scientist Fellows

Byers

Natalia Chavez
PhD Student
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico

Tiffeny O’Dell
High School Teacher, CTE Health Science Coordinator
Byers Jr/Sr High School

Emily Reynebeau
PhD Student
Department of Biology, University of New Mexico

Shatzie Wardall
Family and Consumer Science, Digital Photographer
Byers Jr/Sr High School

Carbondale

Tayla Dornbush
Art Teacher
Carbondale Community School

Ben Livneh
Associate Professor
Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Cyndy Miller
Math & Science Teacher
Carbondale Community School

Colorado Springs

Cathy Banoczi
Art Teacher
Bristol Elementary School

Jared Collins
PhD Student
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Michael Gooseff
Professor
Department of Civil Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Cherie Lane
Teacher
Bristol Elementary School

Anna Wright
PhD Student
Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Gunnison

Rain Bodine
1-5th STEAM Teacher
Gunnison Community School

Noah Molotch
Associate Professor
Geography Department

Sarah Strong
Teacher
Gunnison Elementary School

Longmont

Amanda Aves-Linder
Photography Teacher
New Meridian High School

Brandon Grossman
Science Teacher
New Meridian High School

Keith Musselman
Assistant Professor
Geography Department

Lyons

Bryan Gager
Undergraduate Student
Geography Department

Adeline Kelly
Professional Research Assistant
Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Baiba Lennard
Media Tech, Blended Library
Lyons Elementary School

Isabelle A. Oleksy
Assistant Professor
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Abby Ross
PhD Student
Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Sarah Wegert
STEM Coordinator/Teacher
Lyons Elementary School

Northglenn

Brittany Brewer
5th Grade Teacher
North Mor Elementary

Edgart Flores
Post-Doctoral Student
Department of Geological Sciences

Danielle Scotland
K-5 Visual Arts Teacher
North Mor Elementary

Julio Sepúlveda
Associate Professor
Department of Geological Sciences

Salida

Holly Barnard
Professor
Geography Department

John Callen
Educator
The Crest Academy

Samantha Lane Bahn
Educator
The Crest Academy

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Applications Now Open for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants, Tiers 1-4

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 19:13:32 +0000

Applications Now Open for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants, Tiers 1-4 Arielle Wiedenbeck Mon, 01/13/2025 - 12:13

Gretchen Minekime

Applications open on Mon., Jan. 13 for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) Grants, Tiers 1-4.

PACES funds public and community-engaged scholarship that connects CU Boulder research, teaching and creative work with partners in Colorado communities and beyond.

Tier 1 grants are for public outreach events and partnership development and will be awarded on a rolling basis until funds have been expended this semester. Faculty, staff and all students are eligible to apply.

Tier 2 grants are for seeding or extending public and community-engaged scholarship. Faculty, staff and graduate students are eligible to apply. Applications will be due Sun., Feb. 16.

Tier 3 and 4 grants are for faculty-led public and community-engaged scholarship and support individual or group projects. Applications will be due Fri., April 18.

See our website for more information and application deadlines.

PACES funds public and community-engaged scholarship that connects CU Boulder research, teaching and creative work with partners in Colorado communities and beyond.

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PACES Reading Group Kicks Off Jan. 30

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 19:18:32 +0000

PACES Reading Group Kicks Off Jan. 30 Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 12/17/2024 - 12:18

Gretchen Minekime

Start off the new year by joining the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) for the inaugural meeting of our monthly reading group.

Connect with colleagues for an in-person kick-off with food, drink and good company.

Our first article will be “Re(building) Trust with Indigenous Communities: Reflections From Cultural Brokers” (Riley & Kaneakua), from The Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement (JHEOE), Special Issue – Volume 28, Number 3, 2024. We will discuss how boundary spanner identity and intersectionality impact research collaborations with community partners. Our own Associate Director Jeanne McDonald was among the guest editors for this special edition of JHEOE.

Subsequent readings related to the themes of boundary spanning, reciprocity and mutual benefit—key concepts in community-engaged scholarship—will be selected by group members.

We’ll meet from noon to 1 p.m. on the last Thursday of each month.

Please respond before Jan. 23.

Start off the new year by joining the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) for the inaugural meeting of our monthly reading group.

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PACES original content

How a High-Altitude Observatory Shaped Colorado’s Story

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Opening Conversations: Empowering Youth with Complex Communication Needs

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Maintaining the Balance: Investigating the Language of Political Extremism on the Western Slope

Amid rising political polarization, a team of CU Boulder researchers partner with community organizations on Colorado’s Western Slope to examine how language, activism and civic engagement intersect in the fight against political extremism.

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Outdoor Recreation Offers a Path to Community Resilience

CU Boulder’s Rural Technical Assistance program helps rural Colorado towns use their natural assets to strengthen local economies, deepen partnerships and define their own futures.

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Announcing the Spring 2025 Tier 1 and 2 Grantees

Tier 2 (formerly Community Impact Grants)Spring 2025 Recipients

Tier 1 (formerly Micro Grants)Spring 2025 Recipients

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Application Process: Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement

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Graduate Students Benefit as Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars

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Tier 2 (formerly Community Impact Grants)
Spring 2025 Recipients

Tier 1 (formerly Micro Grants)
Spring 2025 Recipients