2010 September: Community News
*Oil spill volunteer*DU history exhibit*Gambling study*Bestselling author*Government panel*Accreditation visit
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Wayne Armstrong
UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R
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NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE
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Inside
• Oil spill volunteer • DU history exhibit • Gambling study • Bestselling author • Government panel • Accreditation visit
Words of justice
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor made an impression on the 250 high school and college students who attended her Aug. 26 lecture at DU’s Sturm College of Law. Sotomayor fielded questions from students and talked about the challenges she endured before she became the nation’s first Hispanic justice. “I kept getting knocked down and I kept getting up,” she said. “That’s really hard to do. But getting up to try again helped me to succeed.” Sotomayor, who came to DU at the invitation of the Colorado Campaign for Inclusive Excellence, urged students to get the best education possible, no matter the cost, learn to write well and actively participate in society. Read more about her talk at du.edu/today.
Nearly a decade has passed since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed lives in many ways. During the 2010–11 academic year, DU’s Bridges to the Future series presents “9/11: Ten Years After,” which will explore why the terrorist attacks happened and how Americans are being challenged to rethink their values. Richard Clarke, chairman of Good Harbor Consulting LLC and a former White House counterterrorism czar, will be the keynote speaker for the fall Bridges event, which will be 7 p.m. Nov. 4 in DU’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts. All Bridges to the Future events are free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required. RSVP by calling 303–871–2357.
Remembering 9/11
U.S.News ranks DU among top 100
U.S.News & World Report’s annual college rankings for undergraduate education — released Aug. 17 — ranked the University of Denver 11th on its national universities “Up-and-Comers” list. DU was tied with the University of Southern California, the University of Georgia, the University of Cincinnati and Binghamton University. The report also placed the University of Denver among the nation’s top 100 universities. DU ranked 86th along with the University of Colorado-Boulder, St. Louis University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Drexel University, Clark University and Binghamton University. DU’s ranking is based on its Carnegie Foundation category as a doctoral/research university with high research activity. U.S.News collects data on as many as 15 indicators of academic quality within each category. DU ranked high for its freshman retention rate (87 percent); percentage of full-time faculty (74 percent) and its percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students (62 percent). DU also was included on the list of “A+ Options for B Students.” “DU is committed to graduating students who are immersed in scholarship, engaged in the community and grounded in ethics,” says Provost Gregg Kvistad. “The academic strength of the University continues to grow, and we are pleased to be recognized for our focus on excellence.”
—Kristal Griffith
Vladimir Mucibabic/iStockphoto
The year that was...
Most of DU’s incoming first-year students are 18 years old, which means they were likely born in 1992. Here’s what else happened that year: • Bill Clinton beat out George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot for the U.S. presidency • People first tuned in to cable mainstays Cartoon Network and the Sci-Fi Channel • Top movies included Aladdin, Basic Instinct and Batman Returns • It was a big year for musical debuts — Tori Amos, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, Pavement and No Doubt all released their first albums • The Bosnian War began • “Long Island Lolita” Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of her lover Joey Buttafuoco • DU had a varsity baseball team — it played on a diamond next to Centennial Towers, where the Cable Center is now located
University College instructor brings Gulf oil spill into the classroom
When Walt Burns arrived in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the oil spill response in May, he was tasked with establishing security and communication for several thousand people coming in and out of St. Bernard Parish’s command base in the middle of the Mississippi River bayou — a base with no Internet access, cell phone service or buildings. From his tent — in 100-degree heat — he used portable satellite dishes and microwave systems to provide connectivity while dodging daily rainstorms and lightning shutdowns. It was a fitting challenge for the University of Denver adjunct faculty instructor who teaches courses in broadband and wireless networks at University College. “I think I get a little bit of real-world experience to bring back this way,” he says. Even though BP recently capped the leaking well, Burns is still in the Gulf, responding to the spill 15 hours a day, seven days a week. Although he’d like to go back to full-time teaching soon, he says, “there’s so much oil in the Gulf that it may take months or even years to complete the clean-up.” But when he gets five or 10 minutes to spare, he’s interacting with the students he’s currently teaching in an online, introductory telecommunications course. “It’s not about me,” he says of the class. “But every now and then I throw something in the discussion groups that provides a little extra insight or perspective on the difference between standard telecommunication and things you have to do in an emergency.” Burns had his first experience in emergency technical response after Hurricane Katrina. He worked for a year and a half helping New Orleans build its information technology and communications infrastructure. “A group of us formed a company called Response Force 1,” he says. “When this situation occurred, we just sort of got the band back together.” Their team consists of about 55 people, 45 of whom are local hires. Among the projects he’s working on are installing GPS transponders to track major vessels and providing satellite communications to several residential barges he calls “flotels” that will house up to 270 workers near barrier islands that have become contaminated. Meanwhile, the tents they’ve been working from are now equipped with DSL broadband and Wi-Fi and are being joined by new structures, including a helicopter pad and firehouse. Their base camp has become a small city where tens of thousands of feet of oil boom, absorbent material and skimmers are maintained, staged and deployed. “There is a strong sense of urgency and commitment by the local workers as well as everyone in camp to saving the threatened wetlands and way of life here,” he says.
—Jessica Glynn
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New DU Zone Card to make merchant discounts count
Beginning Sept. 1, offers you can’t refuse will be offers you can’t accept without a card. A DU Zone Card, that is, which holders can use to snag snazzy benefits ranging from price discounts to outright freebies. On ice cream, pizza, coffee, hotel services — whatever a participating merchant wants to offer. Just flash your card and you’re in. “It’s about bringing the community into businesses and into DU,” says Neil Krauss, assistant vice chancellor for business and financial affairs. “It’s part of our good neighbor program.” The cards are available to students, faculty, staff, alumni, residents — anyone who wants one, in fact — and are free. The only restrictions are for merchants, who have to agree to a menu of rules on how the program works and how long it lasts. The first installment goes until Dec. 30, when merchants will have to sign up again. “We’re asking businesses to provide some type of opportunity or benefit that lasts through the quarter,” Krauss says. “We have about 20 businesses signed up now.” Among these are Ben and Jerry’s, Kaladi Coffee, Jamba Juice, the DU Bookstore, the Pioneer, and Courtyard by Marriott in Cherry Creek. All participating businesses will have to display a DU Zone sticker and will be listed on the zone website, www.du.edu/duzone. Not only will the cards enhance community, but it will also provide a chance for learning, since Randy Williams, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Daniels College of Business, will be giving free monthly seminars to participating businesses on how to develop sales and build business. The cards are available at four locations: the Ritchie Center box office, the Coors Fitness Center, the Leo Block Alumni Center and the Newman Center box office.
—Richard Chapman
DU Archives
The University Hall cornerstore is laid in 1890
Penrose exhibit showcases DU history
“The First 50 Years: Exploring DU History” is on display at DU’s Penrose Library. The exhibit coincides with the beginning of DU’s 2010–11 academic year in hopes new students and visiting parents will stop in to learn about the University. “There is a push across the University to teach students more about our traditions,” says Steve Fisher, associate professor and curator of Special Collections at Penrose Library. “This fall, every new student will get a traditions book with text and historic photos.” The exhibit includes 20 large framed photos mounted on a long wall on the main floor near the Writing Center and 13 objects in four cases on the main floor as well. Most of the photos and information come from DU’s Special Collections, which Fisher uses in his latest book University Park and South Denver (Arcadia Publishing, 2009). The book depicts the history of University Park as it was shaped by the relocation of the University of Denver to the neighborhood, which was finalized in 1892. “One of the main goals of the [Penrose Library] Exhibits Committee is to bring the wonderful lesser-known treasures in Special Collections to the attention of the DU community,” says Jeanne Abrams, DU founder John Evans committee chair and professor at Penrose Library. “As we approach the University of Denver milestone 150th anniversary, we hope to make more visitors to Penrose — including faculty, students, staff and the local community — more aware of the rich history of our own institution as we stand poised for the future.” The plan is for a three-part exhibit — each part covering 50 years of DU history — to lead up to the 150th anniversary in 2014. “Exhibits are important because they bring to life objects and resources that are often unseen or unfound by the general public,” Fisher says. The exhibit will be on display until October.
—Kristal Griffith
DU Archives
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Dining halls recycle everything from boxes to burgers
If you’re not going to finish that hamburger, there are some plants across campus that might want a taste. Last fall, two University of Denver dining halls took recycling a step beyond paper and plastic. At students’ urging, campus food service provider Sodexo moved into “food recycling” of a sort. That doesn’t mean reusing leftovers; it means composting: turning food waste into nutrient-rich soil for trees and plants. Some of the very soil DU buys for its plantings could be the product of its composting program. Everything in Centennial and Nelson dining halls now goes into big composting bins — every scrap of food, every napkin and even the “plastic” drinking straws, which are actually made of biodegradable material. DU campus Sodexo Director of Operations Nori Yamashita says he often gets inspiration from students interested in making campus more sustainable. With each idea, he adds more pamphlets and papers to his thick “sustainability folder,” which is full of catalogs, vendor lists and price guides. “Working on college campuses for 35 years, sometimes I forget how old I am,” Yamashita says with a smile. “I get challenged by the students to do more. They keep me tuned in to what the current issues and concerns are. I hear what they are talking about, then I try to make changes they want.” The idea of composting sounded feasible to Yamashita, but nothing is ever as easy as it sounds. There were a host of obstacles to overcome. Finding a “single stream” composting company — one that doesn’t require the extra step of separating proteins from fruits and vegetables — finally was overcome when Alpine Waste Solutions offered to haul single-stream compost. Diners can dump everything from their plates into one container, even wooden stir sticks for coffee. “We are always interested to hear the ideas from the students,” Yamashita says. “We research everything they come to us with, we’re always exploring, and we do what we can to find what solutions we can come up with.”
—Chase Squires
Chase Squires
Nevitt giving city council a new way to work
New Denver City Council President Chris Nevitt is wasting no time reorganizing the council. Gone is the smorgasbord of 11 committees the panel previously used to do its work, replaced by four standing groups and a special issues committee on medical marijuana. Nevitt sees the new structure as a way to make sure council members focus on a broader range of issues and get their bickering over in committee, not on the council floor. “By combining, we’ll be more comprehensive and more members will be chewing on each issue,” Nevitt says. “We can work quicker, too.” The new standing committees are: Government Affairs and Finance; Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure; Business, Workforce and Sustainability; and Health, Safety, Education and Services. The marijuana committee is chaired by Charlie Brown and includes the entire council, meeting when convened by the chair. The new system went into effect Aug. 1. Nevitt, whose District 7 includes DU west of University Boulevard, announced the changes in late July, one of his first major acts since winning the council presidency unanimously on July 19. The president’s chief duties, in addition to presiding over meetings and assigning committees, are to represent council to the mayor and to keep the council united and effective. Nevitt says he’s eager for the task, which he will spearhead as a voting, ex-officio member of all four committees. Nevitt was first elected to City Council in 2007. His District 7 seat and those of the 12 other members, plus the mayor, clerk and recorder, and auditor, are scheduled to be contested in May 2011 at a citywide general election. For more information, visit www.denvergov.org and click on “City Council.”
—Richard Chapman
Courtesy of the City of Denver
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Solid bet
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For DU professor, gambling is an academic jackpot
sk DU statistics professor Robert Hannum about how academically invigorating the study of probability, data collection and quantitative analysis is, and he can’t bluff. “I freely admit there are many areas of statistics that I find dry and boring,” he says. “That’s part of the reason I ended up doing statistics of gambling and game theory.” Hannum has applied his top-shelf knowledge of statistics and probability to the study of poker. While some professors toil away at microscopes and dusty volumes, Hannum studies the math behind flops, value bets, pot odds, full boats, pocket rockets and the nuts. And, his conclusions have led to him playing a pivotal role in criminal trials around the country. Although similar situations have played out in South Carolina and Pennsylvania, Colorado has its own homegrown version: In 2008 law enforcement stormed a Greeley poker game and arrested organizers. The ensuing charges contended that the organizers — in running weekly games with a $20 buy-in at a local bar — were running an illegal gambling operation. Enter Hannum, who was called to the trial as an expert witness. Calling upon his extensive research on the subject, Hannum argued, as he did in subsequent trials in other states, that poker is a game of skill, not chance. “It’s not like we’re saying chance isn’t involved, but we’re saying it’s predominantly skill that determines the outcome,” Hannum says. “Players determine what other players’ cards are, who’s bluffing, how much they’ll bet, whether they’ll bet at all. Most hands don’t even go to showdown.” The importance to the defense teams of establishing poker as a game of skill is that to do so exempts the games from many gambling laws, which, simply put, define gambling as games of chance. In the Colorado case, Hannum’s testimony resulted in a jury acquittal. However, the prosecution appealed, claiming Hannum should not have been allowed to testify on the grounds that a 20-year-old state Supreme Court case already established poker as a game of chance. The appeal was accepted, although the defendant, Kevin Raley, cannot be retried. Anthony Cabot, a Las Vegas-based gaming attorney, collaborated with Hannum on Practical Casino Math, a reference book on gambling law. Cabot praised Hannum’s contributions to the gaming law field and says lofty math concepts are casino industry’s backbone. “The gaming industry is based on statistics, which results in a positive financial benefit for the casino industry,” Cabot says. “Robert has effectively provided both the courts and the regulatory bodies the proper framework for understanding the statistical nature of the industry.” John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, a national advocacy group with 1.2 million members, has utilized Hannum in the Alliance’s legal work. “We believe poker should not fall under the traditional definitions of gambling because of the skill required to succeed, much like bowling or billiards or golf,” Pappas says. “[Hannum] has been extremely instrumental in providing the statistical and analytical reasoning for why poker is a game of skill.” Hannum says he thinks the next frontier of the skills-versus-chance argument likely is the Internet and how laws will apply to online poker. Hannum can comment on the skills question involving many games, including blackjack, roulette, craps, and James Bond’s favorite, baccarat. One might assume such knowledge would have Hannum frequenting casinos and poker nights. Not so. He says deeper knowledge of gambling has made the pursuit less appealing to him, not more. “I might sit down at table games, but I’m doing it for background research,” he says. Hannum adds that the dream of going to a Colorado casino or spending a weekend in Las Vegas and coming back with more money is a delusion. He says it’s best to view gambling as an endeavor in which losing money is inevitable, and that the money lost (hopefully a small amount) is nothing more than entertainment dollars. “It should be viewed the same as going to the movies: a certain amount of money spent for a certain time period of entertainment,” he says. “In the long run, you’ll lose money gambling. There just aren’t that many situations in which the player has the advantage over the house.”
—Jeff Francis
Jeffrey Morgan/iStockphoto
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Writing history
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Author says he was an ‘ambitious but bad’ writer before DU
ichael White’s latest novel idea came to him while he was watching a show on the History Channel. While watching a special, White (PhD creative writing ’88) became captivated by Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper who killed 309 Germans during World War II and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history. After being injured in combat, Pavlichencko was sent to the United States for a publicity visit and became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a U.S. president. Later, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to tour the country and talk about her experiences. “I was struck by her and her story,” White says. “I knew this would be an interesting and relevant topic.” So White used Pavlichenko as the inspiration for Tat’yana Levehenko, the protagonist of his sixth novel, Beautiful Assassin (William Morrow, 2010). He took the idea and “fictualized the American part of it,” he explains. “It’s a war story, a love story and a story about espionage.” It’s not the first time that history has influenced White; in fact it’s quite a common occurrence for the writer. His last novel, Soul Catcher (William Morrow, 2007) centered on American slavery. Another of his novels, The Garden of Martyrs, (St. Martin’s Press, 2004) recounts actual events of religious intolerance in early New England. “I go where my interests lead me,” he says. In Beautiful Assassin, his primary interest was getting inside the character’s head. “Here’s a woman who came from this oppressive place. I felt very close to her. I was in her head; I felt her through each motion — she’s a wife, a lover and a warrior.” He says understanding the character is often the hardest part of writing. In fact, the most important lesson he ever learned, he says, was about working on building a character —“not just through dialogue, but through action.” That lesson — among others — was learned during his time in DU’s prestigious creative writing program. Most of all, though, he says: “DU taught me I was an ambitious writer, but also a pretty bad one.” His first attempt at writing a book came before he enrolled at DU. When he got to the University, he showed his work to John Williams, the only National Book Award-winning author in Colorado’s history and one of the founders of DU’s PhD program. “He basically took my story apart,” White admits. “I quickly realized how much I had to learn.” He likens great storytelling to a diamond. “You can get a huge diamond, but until you cut it, polish it and fix it up, it’s not going to be very good,” he says. After learning the rules of writing and applying them to his own work, he now has a new use for them. White founded Fairfield University’s creative writing master’s program in December 2008. It’s a low-residency program, meaning that students only come for two weeks twice a year, for two years. The experience, he says, makes him think about his own writing — all while encouraging his students to have their work published. White is currently working on his ninth book, about a woman who loses her child and travels cross-country in a spiritual journey. A screenplay is underway for A Dream of Wolves (Perennial, 2000), a novel about a man choosing between his past and his future, a woman he once loved and the woman he now loves. Additionally, The Garden of Martyrs is being turned into an opera. “I love classical music but I admittedly know nothing about opera,” White says. “But I would love to be there on opening night.”
—Kathryn Mayer
Courtesy of Michael White
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Strategic Issues Program opens to gloomy fiscal forecast
The University of Denver’s Strategic Issues Program (SIP) began its fifth major study Aug. 12, aiming to understand the role of state governments in the 21st century and develop recommendations for governance. From what panelists heard from the program’s first speakers, Colorado — in its current incarnation — just might be doing it wrong. SIP Director Jim Griesemer (pictured) and a nonpartisan panel of 20 leaders in government, academia, business and public service will explore every facet of state governance, hoping to have findings and recommendations ready by next summer. During the panel’s opening session, Director Charlie Brown and panelist Henry Sobinet, president of Colorado Strategies LLC, explained that the current state fiscal policy isn’t just struggling, it’s been virtually designed to fail. Laws limit how the state can raise funds, through the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, while another rule, Amendment 23, mandates that the state keep adding funds to K–12 education. Other rules mandate paying Medicare’s skyrocketing bills. With costs rising and new revenue through taxes restricted, there is a growing gap between what the state must pay for and what it can pay for, and something’s got to give, Sobinet said. “There’s a billion-dollar chiropractic adjustment coming,” he warned. The only real places to trim spending are in public higher education and in infrastructure maintenance. Brown piled on more gloomy news, pointing out how the state’s economic climate has been in a downward spiral since 2008 and there’s no indication of an upturn soon. Colorado’s distrust of a centralized state government has led to restrictive state spending and revenue rules ever since the state was founded, Brown said. But that doesn’t stop voters from demanding services. Meanwhile, the state is struggling to pay its bills, said Todd Saliman, director of the Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. In the past two years, his office has had to revise budget estimates 14 times because of dwindling revenues and rising Medicare and school costs. As federal stimulus packages and state aid dries up, things are going to get worse, and budgeters are running out of creative ways to cover costs, he said. “The flexibility? That disappeared a long time ago,” Saliman said. “The only choice now is what to cut.” >>www.du.edu/issues
—Chase Squires
Wayne Armstrong
Nonprofit helping seniors works as ‘insurance,’ alumna says
Elizabeth Kelchner understands that for some older adults losing a home means losing freedom. That’s where Washington Park Cares steps in. Washington Park Cares is a nonprofit that offers service for people 55 and older and helps them stay in their homes by offering transportation and other services, Kelchner says. Kelchner (PhD social work ’02) is Washington Park Cares’ executive director and an adjunct professor at DU’s Graduate School of Social Work. “A lot of our members see us as insurance,” Kelchner says. “At some time, they might need the kind of help we provide and they will be all set if that happens.” Yearly membership costs are low at $100 per person and $200 per household, she explains. Membership includes unlimited services, which includes shoveling walkways during the winter, minor home repair and the most frequently requested service, transportation. Additionally, the organization provides social activities for seniors and a chance to learn new things. There are book clubs, dinners at area restaurants, cooking classes and lectures. Although the organization is called Washington Park Cares, it serves more than 10 Denver neighborhoods. For Kelchner, though, the organization is more than just a kind of insurance — it’s a passion she’s had for years. Most of her career has been spent with the elderly population. She served as a nursing home executive director for 10 years, taught aging courses at Syracuse University and worked in state hospitals and disability centers. When she heard about Washington Park Cares (WPC) in 2008, it was just starting up. A board of directors had just formed that included Bill Eichelberger, who served as DU’s computing center director for 25 years. Eichelberger helped start the foundation and now volunteers for the organization. “From the beginning of WPC, I maintained a database of contacts, members and volunteers — and I still do that at the age of 88,” Eichelberger says. He currently volunteers helping members with technology. The organization currently has about 135 members and 40 volunteers. Kelchner says she’s talked with other social workers from around the country who are trying to start the same kind of organization. A fundraiser for the organization will be held Sept. 24 at DU’s school of Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Management from 5–9 p.m. Tickets are $60 each and include parking, food and drinks and participation in the live and silent auction. >>www.washingtonparkcares.net
—Kathryn Mayer
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[Events]
September
Around campus
24 Flo’s Underground. 5 p.m. Williams
Salon. Free.
3 “The Way of What is to Come” by
Dr. Sonu Shamdasni. 7 p.m. Lindsay Auditorium, Sturm Hall Room 281. $15 for DU faculty and staff; $10 for DU students. Move in day for first-year students. 8 a.m.–noon.
25 Mike David’s Spirit of Adventure:
Accreditation team invites comment about DU
This fall DU will undergo a comprehensive re-accreditation evaluation by a visiting team representing the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The public and members of the University community are encouraged to provide comment about the University in advance of the November visit. For more than two years, DU has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the commission’s requirements and criteria for accreditation. The evaluation team will visit campus Nov. 8–10 to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will make a recommendation to the commission about continuing DU’s accreditation status. The HLC is one of six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that provides institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Institutional accreditation — a voluntary process — evaluates an entire institution and accredits it as a whole. Other agencies provide accreditation for specific programs. The commission accredits approximately 1,100 institutions of higher education in a 19-state region. The University has held HLC accreditation since 1914. Submit comments about the University to: Public Comment on the University of Denver, The Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604. Comments must be received by Oct. 8 and should address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. They must be in writing and signed, should include the name, address and telephone number of the writer, and cannot be treated as confidential. >>www.du.edu/accreditation2010
—Jim Berscheidt
6 Labor Day. University closed. 13 Classes begin. 16 “A Mighty Long Way” by Carlotta
an Unforgettable Journey of the World. 2:15 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. Additional performance at 7:45 p.m. $38.75–$66.75. Thile. 7:30 p.m. Free behind the curtain lecture at 6:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. $32–$48.
30 Punch Brothers featuring Chris
Walls LaNier. Hosted by the Women’s Library Association and Friends of Penrose Library. 2 p.m. Wellshire Inn, 3333 South Colorado Blvd. $10 for WLA non-members. RSVP to Pam Burklund at 303–733–5660 or [email protected]. Ruffatto Hall Dedication Ceremony. 11 a.m.
Unless otherwise noted, performances are $18 for adults; $16 for seniors and free for students with ID.
Sports
3 Men’s soccer vs. California
Polytechnic State University. 7 p.m. Ciber Field. Ciber Field.
17 Women’s College classes begin. 18 Book discussion with Helen Thorpe,
author of Just Like Us. 1 p.m. Iliff Great Hall. Free and open to the public.
4 Women’s soccer vs. Colorado. 7 p.m. 5 Men’s soccer vs. Houston Baptist.
1 p.m. Ciber Field.
6 Women’s soccer vs. UNLV/Drake.
12:15 p.m. Ciber Field.
21 Book discussion with Chaplain Gary
Brower. Talking about The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Noon. Driscoll Student Center South, Suite 29. Free. Unveiling ceremony for the peace pole, the 2010 class gift. 5 p.m. Evans Chapel. Free.
10 Volleyball Invitational. Hamilton
Gymnasium. Texas A&M vs. Jacksonville State, noon; Gonzaga vs. Notre Dame, 4 p.m.; Denver vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
11 Volleyball Invitational. Hamilton
28 Labyrinth Meditative Walk. 9 a.m.
Iliff Great Hall. Free.
Exhibits
1 “A Woman’s World” presented by
Artists on the Move. Through Sept. 30. Hirschfeld Gallery, Chambers Center. Opening reception Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. Gallery hours: 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday– Friday. Free. Through Nov. 14. Myhren Gallery. Opening reception Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. Gallery hours: Noon–4 p.m. daily. Free.
Gymnasium. Denver vs. Gonzaga, noon; Jacksonville State vs. Notre Dame, 2 p.m.; Gonzaga vs. Texas A&M, 4 p.m.; Denver vs. Jacksonville State, 6 p.m.
12 Gonzaga vs. Jacksonville State. 17 Men’s soccer vs. Oral Roberts.
7 p.m. Ciber Field.
11 a.m.; Denver vs. Notre Dame. 1 p.m. Hamilton Gymnasium.
30 2010 Juried Alumni Exhibition.
Volleyball vs. Middle Tennessee. 7 p.m. Hamilton Gymnasium.
18 Volleyball vs. Long Beach State.
1 p.m. Hamilton Gymnasium.
19 Men’s soccer vs. Penn State. 1 p.m.
Ciber Field.
Volleyball: $8; free for DU students. Soccer: $5 for adults; free for DU students and children 2 and under. For ticketing and other information, including a full listing of campus events, visit www.du.edu/calendar.
Arts
10 Colorado Ballet Presents Triple
Bill. 7:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. Additional performances Sept. 11–12 at 2 p.m. and Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. $27.65–$155.25. Recital Hall.
19 Organist Jurgen Essl. 3 p.m. Hamilton
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Wayne Armstrong
UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R
0 9 . 2 0 1 0
CAMPUS
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NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE
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RESEARCH
ARTS
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EVENTS
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PEOPLE
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Inside
• Oil spill volunteer • DU history exhibit • Gambling study • Bestselling author • Government panel • Accreditation visit
Words of justice
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor made an impression on the 250 high school and college students who attended her Aug. 26 lecture at DU’s Sturm College of Law. Sotomayor fielded questions from students and talked about the challenges she endured before she became the nation’s first Hispanic justice. “I kept getting knocked down and I kept getting up,” she said. “That’s really hard to do. But getting up to try again helped me to succeed.” Sotomayor, who came to DU at the invitation of the Colorado Campaign for Inclusive Excellence, urged students to get the best education possible, no matter the cost, learn to write well and actively participate in society. Read more about her talk at du.edu/today.
Nearly a decade has passed since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed lives in many ways. During the 2010–11 academic year, DU’s Bridges to the Future series presents “9/11: Ten Years After,” which will explore why the terrorist attacks happened and how Americans are being challenged to rethink their values. Richard Clarke, chairman of Good Harbor Consulting LLC and a former White House counterterrorism czar, will be the keynote speaker for the fall Bridges event, which will be 7 p.m. Nov. 4 in DU’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts. All Bridges to the Future events are free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required. RSVP by calling 303–871–2357.
Remembering 9/11
U.S.News ranks DU among top 100
U.S.News & World Report’s annual college rankings for undergraduate education — released Aug. 17 — ranked the University of Denver 11th on its national universities “Up-and-Comers” list. DU was tied with the University of Southern California, the University of Georgia, the University of Cincinnati and Binghamton University. The report also placed the University of Denver among the nation’s top 100 universities. DU ranked 86th along with the University of Colorado-Boulder, St. Louis University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Drexel University, Clark University and Binghamton University. DU’s ranking is based on its Carnegie Foundation category as a doctoral/research university with high research activity. U.S.News collects data on as many as 15 indicators of academic quality within each category. DU ranked high for its freshman retention rate (87 percent); percentage of full-time faculty (74 percent) and its percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students (62 percent). DU also was included on the list of “A+ Options for B Students.” “DU is committed to graduating students who are immersed in scholarship, engaged in the community and grounded in ethics,” says Provost Gregg Kvistad. “The academic strength of the University continues to grow, and we are pleased to be recognized for our focus on excellence.”
—Kristal Griffith
Vladimir Mucibabic/iStockphoto
The year that was...
Most of DU’s incoming first-year students are 18 years old, which means they were likely born in 1992. Here’s what else happened that year: • Bill Clinton beat out George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot for the U.S. presidency • People first tuned in to cable mainstays Cartoon Network and the Sci-Fi Channel • Top movies included Aladdin, Basic Instinct and Batman Returns • It was a big year for musical debuts — Tori Amos, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine, Pavement and No Doubt all released their first albums • The Bosnian War began • “Long Island Lolita” Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco, the wife of her lover Joey Buttafuoco • DU had a varsity baseball team — it played on a diamond next to Centennial Towers, where the Cable Center is now located
University College instructor brings Gulf oil spill into the classroom
When Walt Burns arrived in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the oil spill response in May, he was tasked with establishing security and communication for several thousand people coming in and out of St. Bernard Parish’s command base in the middle of the Mississippi River bayou — a base with no Internet access, cell phone service or buildings. From his tent — in 100-degree heat — he used portable satellite dishes and microwave systems to provide connectivity while dodging daily rainstorms and lightning shutdowns. It was a fitting challenge for the University of Denver adjunct faculty instructor who teaches courses in broadband and wireless networks at University College. “I think I get a little bit of real-world experience to bring back this way,” he says. Even though BP recently capped the leaking well, Burns is still in the Gulf, responding to the spill 15 hours a day, seven days a week. Although he’d like to go back to full-time teaching soon, he says, “there’s so much oil in the Gulf that it may take months or even years to complete the clean-up.” But when he gets five or 10 minutes to spare, he’s interacting with the students he’s currently teaching in an online, introductory telecommunications course. “It’s not about me,” he says of the class. “But every now and then I throw something in the discussion groups that provides a little extra insight or perspective on the difference between standard telecommunication and things you have to do in an emergency.” Burns had his first experience in emergency technical response after Hurricane Katrina. He worked for a year and a half helping New Orleans build its information technology and communications infrastructure. “A group of us formed a company called Response Force 1,” he says. “When this situation occurred, we just sort of got the band back together.” Their team consists of about 55 people, 45 of whom are local hires. Among the projects he’s working on are installing GPS transponders to track major vessels and providing satellite communications to several residential barges he calls “flotels” that will house up to 270 workers near barrier islands that have become contaminated. Meanwhile, the tents they’ve been working from are now equipped with DSL broadband and Wi-Fi and are being joined by new structures, including a helicopter pad and firehouse. Their base camp has become a small city where tens of thousands of feet of oil boom, absorbent material and skimmers are maintained, staged and deployed. “There is a strong sense of urgency and commitment by the local workers as well as everyone in camp to saving the threatened wetlands and way of life here,” he says.
—Jessica Glynn
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New DU Zone Card to make merchant discounts count
Beginning Sept. 1, offers you can’t refuse will be offers you can’t accept without a card. A DU Zone Card, that is, which holders can use to snag snazzy benefits ranging from price discounts to outright freebies. On ice cream, pizza, coffee, hotel services — whatever a participating merchant wants to offer. Just flash your card and you’re in. “It’s about bringing the community into businesses and into DU,” says Neil Krauss, assistant vice chancellor for business and financial affairs. “It’s part of our good neighbor program.” The cards are available to students, faculty, staff, alumni, residents — anyone who wants one, in fact — and are free. The only restrictions are for merchants, who have to agree to a menu of rules on how the program works and how long it lasts. The first installment goes until Dec. 30, when merchants will have to sign up again. “We’re asking businesses to provide some type of opportunity or benefit that lasts through the quarter,” Krauss says. “We have about 20 businesses signed up now.” Among these are Ben and Jerry’s, Kaladi Coffee, Jamba Juice, the DU Bookstore, the Pioneer, and Courtyard by Marriott in Cherry Creek. All participating businesses will have to display a DU Zone sticker and will be listed on the zone website, www.du.edu/duzone. Not only will the cards enhance community, but it will also provide a chance for learning, since Randy Williams, adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the Daniels College of Business, will be giving free monthly seminars to participating businesses on how to develop sales and build business. The cards are available at four locations: the Ritchie Center box office, the Coors Fitness Center, the Leo Block Alumni Center and the Newman Center box office.
—Richard Chapman
DU Archives
The University Hall cornerstore is laid in 1890
Penrose exhibit showcases DU history
“The First 50 Years: Exploring DU History” is on display at DU’s Penrose Library. The exhibit coincides with the beginning of DU’s 2010–11 academic year in hopes new students and visiting parents will stop in to learn about the University. “There is a push across the University to teach students more about our traditions,” says Steve Fisher, associate professor and curator of Special Collections at Penrose Library. “This fall, every new student will get a traditions book with text and historic photos.” The exhibit includes 20 large framed photos mounted on a long wall on the main floor near the Writing Center and 13 objects in four cases on the main floor as well. Most of the photos and information come from DU’s Special Collections, which Fisher uses in his latest book University Park and South Denver (Arcadia Publishing, 2009). The book depicts the history of University Park as it was shaped by the relocation of the University of Denver to the neighborhood, which was finalized in 1892. “One of the main goals of the [Penrose Library] Exhibits Committee is to bring the wonderful lesser-known treasures in Special Collections to the attention of the DU community,” says Jeanne Abrams, DU founder John Evans committee chair and professor at Penrose Library. “As we approach the University of Denver milestone 150th anniversary, we hope to make more visitors to Penrose — including faculty, students, staff and the local community — more aware of the rich history of our own institution as we stand poised for the future.” The plan is for a three-part exhibit — each part covering 50 years of DU history — to lead up to the 150th anniversary in 2014. “Exhibits are important because they bring to life objects and resources that are often unseen or unfound by the general public,” Fisher says. The exhibit will be on display until October.
—Kristal Griffith
DU Archives
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Dining halls recycle everything from boxes to burgers
If you’re not going to finish that hamburger, there are some plants across campus that might want a taste. Last fall, two University of Denver dining halls took recycling a step beyond paper and plastic. At students’ urging, campus food service provider Sodexo moved into “food recycling” of a sort. That doesn’t mean reusing leftovers; it means composting: turning food waste into nutrient-rich soil for trees and plants. Some of the very soil DU buys for its plantings could be the product of its composting program. Everything in Centennial and Nelson dining halls now goes into big composting bins — every scrap of food, every napkin and even the “plastic” drinking straws, which are actually made of biodegradable material. DU campus Sodexo Director of Operations Nori Yamashita says he often gets inspiration from students interested in making campus more sustainable. With each idea, he adds more pamphlets and papers to his thick “sustainability folder,” which is full of catalogs, vendor lists and price guides. “Working on college campuses for 35 years, sometimes I forget how old I am,” Yamashita says with a smile. “I get challenged by the students to do more. They keep me tuned in to what the current issues and concerns are. I hear what they are talking about, then I try to make changes they want.” The idea of composting sounded feasible to Yamashita, but nothing is ever as easy as it sounds. There were a host of obstacles to overcome. Finding a “single stream” composting company — one that doesn’t require the extra step of separating proteins from fruits and vegetables — finally was overcome when Alpine Waste Solutions offered to haul single-stream compost. Diners can dump everything from their plates into one container, even wooden stir sticks for coffee. “We are always interested to hear the ideas from the students,” Yamashita says. “We research everything they come to us with, we’re always exploring, and we do what we can to find what solutions we can come up with.”
—Chase Squires
Chase Squires
Nevitt giving city council a new way to work
New Denver City Council President Chris Nevitt is wasting no time reorganizing the council. Gone is the smorgasbord of 11 committees the panel previously used to do its work, replaced by four standing groups and a special issues committee on medical marijuana. Nevitt sees the new structure as a way to make sure council members focus on a broader range of issues and get their bickering over in committee, not on the council floor. “By combining, we’ll be more comprehensive and more members will be chewing on each issue,” Nevitt says. “We can work quicker, too.” The new standing committees are: Government Affairs and Finance; Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure; Business, Workforce and Sustainability; and Health, Safety, Education and Services. The marijuana committee is chaired by Charlie Brown and includes the entire council, meeting when convened by the chair. The new system went into effect Aug. 1. Nevitt, whose District 7 includes DU west of University Boulevard, announced the changes in late July, one of his first major acts since winning the council presidency unanimously on July 19. The president’s chief duties, in addition to presiding over meetings and assigning committees, are to represent council to the mayor and to keep the council united and effective. Nevitt says he’s eager for the task, which he will spearhead as a voting, ex-officio member of all four committees. Nevitt was first elected to City Council in 2007. His District 7 seat and those of the 12 other members, plus the mayor, clerk and recorder, and auditor, are scheduled to be contested in May 2011 at a citywide general election. For more information, visit www.denvergov.org and click on “City Council.”
—Richard Chapman
Courtesy of the City of Denver
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Solid bet
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For DU professor, gambling is an academic jackpot
sk DU statistics professor Robert Hannum about how academically invigorating the study of probability, data collection and quantitative analysis is, and he can’t bluff. “I freely admit there are many areas of statistics that I find dry and boring,” he says. “That’s part of the reason I ended up doing statistics of gambling and game theory.” Hannum has applied his top-shelf knowledge of statistics and probability to the study of poker. While some professors toil away at microscopes and dusty volumes, Hannum studies the math behind flops, value bets, pot odds, full boats, pocket rockets and the nuts. And, his conclusions have led to him playing a pivotal role in criminal trials around the country. Although similar situations have played out in South Carolina and Pennsylvania, Colorado has its own homegrown version: In 2008 law enforcement stormed a Greeley poker game and arrested organizers. The ensuing charges contended that the organizers — in running weekly games with a $20 buy-in at a local bar — were running an illegal gambling operation. Enter Hannum, who was called to the trial as an expert witness. Calling upon his extensive research on the subject, Hannum argued, as he did in subsequent trials in other states, that poker is a game of skill, not chance. “It’s not like we’re saying chance isn’t involved, but we’re saying it’s predominantly skill that determines the outcome,” Hannum says. “Players determine what other players’ cards are, who’s bluffing, how much they’ll bet, whether they’ll bet at all. Most hands don’t even go to showdown.” The importance to the defense teams of establishing poker as a game of skill is that to do so exempts the games from many gambling laws, which, simply put, define gambling as games of chance. In the Colorado case, Hannum’s testimony resulted in a jury acquittal. However, the prosecution appealed, claiming Hannum should not have been allowed to testify on the grounds that a 20-year-old state Supreme Court case already established poker as a game of chance. The appeal was accepted, although the defendant, Kevin Raley, cannot be retried. Anthony Cabot, a Las Vegas-based gaming attorney, collaborated with Hannum on Practical Casino Math, a reference book on gambling law. Cabot praised Hannum’s contributions to the gaming law field and says lofty math concepts are casino industry’s backbone. “The gaming industry is based on statistics, which results in a positive financial benefit for the casino industry,” Cabot says. “Robert has effectively provided both the courts and the regulatory bodies the proper framework for understanding the statistical nature of the industry.” John Pappas, executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, a national advocacy group with 1.2 million members, has utilized Hannum in the Alliance’s legal work. “We believe poker should not fall under the traditional definitions of gambling because of the skill required to succeed, much like bowling or billiards or golf,” Pappas says. “[Hannum] has been extremely instrumental in providing the statistical and analytical reasoning for why poker is a game of skill.” Hannum says he thinks the next frontier of the skills-versus-chance argument likely is the Internet and how laws will apply to online poker. Hannum can comment on the skills question involving many games, including blackjack, roulette, craps, and James Bond’s favorite, baccarat. One might assume such knowledge would have Hannum frequenting casinos and poker nights. Not so. He says deeper knowledge of gambling has made the pursuit less appealing to him, not more. “I might sit down at table games, but I’m doing it for background research,” he says. Hannum adds that the dream of going to a Colorado casino or spending a weekend in Las Vegas and coming back with more money is a delusion. He says it’s best to view gambling as an endeavor in which losing money is inevitable, and that the money lost (hopefully a small amount) is nothing more than entertainment dollars. “It should be viewed the same as going to the movies: a certain amount of money spent for a certain time period of entertainment,” he says. “In the long run, you’ll lose money gambling. There just aren’t that many situations in which the player has the advantage over the house.”
—Jeff Francis
Jeffrey Morgan/iStockphoto
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Writing history
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Author says he was an ‘ambitious but bad’ writer before DU
ichael White’s latest novel idea came to him while he was watching a show on the History Channel. While watching a special, White (PhD creative writing ’88) became captivated by Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper who killed 309 Germans during World War II and is regarded as the most successful female sniper in history. After being injured in combat, Pavlichencko was sent to the United States for a publicity visit and became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a U.S. president. Later, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to tour the country and talk about her experiences. “I was struck by her and her story,” White says. “I knew this would be an interesting and relevant topic.” So White used Pavlichenko as the inspiration for Tat’yana Levehenko, the protagonist of his sixth novel, Beautiful Assassin (William Morrow, 2010). He took the idea and “fictualized the American part of it,” he explains. “It’s a war story, a love story and a story about espionage.” It’s not the first time that history has influenced White; in fact it’s quite a common occurrence for the writer. His last novel, Soul Catcher (William Morrow, 2007) centered on American slavery. Another of his novels, The Garden of Martyrs, (St. Martin’s Press, 2004) recounts actual events of religious intolerance in early New England. “I go where my interests lead me,” he says. In Beautiful Assassin, his primary interest was getting inside the character’s head. “Here’s a woman who came from this oppressive place. I felt very close to her. I was in her head; I felt her through each motion — she’s a wife, a lover and a warrior.” He says understanding the character is often the hardest part of writing. In fact, the most important lesson he ever learned, he says, was about working on building a character —“not just through dialogue, but through action.” That lesson — among others — was learned during his time in DU’s prestigious creative writing program. Most of all, though, he says: “DU taught me I was an ambitious writer, but also a pretty bad one.” His first attempt at writing a book came before he enrolled at DU. When he got to the University, he showed his work to John Williams, the only National Book Award-winning author in Colorado’s history and one of the founders of DU’s PhD program. “He basically took my story apart,” White admits. “I quickly realized how much I had to learn.” He likens great storytelling to a diamond. “You can get a huge diamond, but until you cut it, polish it and fix it up, it’s not going to be very good,” he says. After learning the rules of writing and applying them to his own work, he now has a new use for them. White founded Fairfield University’s creative writing master’s program in December 2008. It’s a low-residency program, meaning that students only come for two weeks twice a year, for two years. The experience, he says, makes him think about his own writing — all while encouraging his students to have their work published. White is currently working on his ninth book, about a woman who loses her child and travels cross-country in a spiritual journey. A screenplay is underway for A Dream of Wolves (Perennial, 2000), a novel about a man choosing between his past and his future, a woman he once loved and the woman he now loves. Additionally, The Garden of Martyrs is being turned into an opera. “I love classical music but I admittedly know nothing about opera,” White says. “But I would love to be there on opening night.”
—Kathryn Mayer
Courtesy of Michael White
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Strategic Issues Program opens to gloomy fiscal forecast
The University of Denver’s Strategic Issues Program (SIP) began its fifth major study Aug. 12, aiming to understand the role of state governments in the 21st century and develop recommendations for governance. From what panelists heard from the program’s first speakers, Colorado — in its current incarnation — just might be doing it wrong. SIP Director Jim Griesemer (pictured) and a nonpartisan panel of 20 leaders in government, academia, business and public service will explore every facet of state governance, hoping to have findings and recommendations ready by next summer. During the panel’s opening session, Director Charlie Brown and panelist Henry Sobinet, president of Colorado Strategies LLC, explained that the current state fiscal policy isn’t just struggling, it’s been virtually designed to fail. Laws limit how the state can raise funds, through the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, while another rule, Amendment 23, mandates that the state keep adding funds to K–12 education. Other rules mandate paying Medicare’s skyrocketing bills. With costs rising and new revenue through taxes restricted, there is a growing gap between what the state must pay for and what it can pay for, and something’s got to give, Sobinet said. “There’s a billion-dollar chiropractic adjustment coming,” he warned. The only real places to trim spending are in public higher education and in infrastructure maintenance. Brown piled on more gloomy news, pointing out how the state’s economic climate has been in a downward spiral since 2008 and there’s no indication of an upturn soon. Colorado’s distrust of a centralized state government has led to restrictive state spending and revenue rules ever since the state was founded, Brown said. But that doesn’t stop voters from demanding services. Meanwhile, the state is struggling to pay its bills, said Todd Saliman, director of the Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. In the past two years, his office has had to revise budget estimates 14 times because of dwindling revenues and rising Medicare and school costs. As federal stimulus packages and state aid dries up, things are going to get worse, and budgeters are running out of creative ways to cover costs, he said. “The flexibility? That disappeared a long time ago,” Saliman said. “The only choice now is what to cut.” >>www.du.edu/issues
—Chase Squires
Wayne Armstrong
Nonprofit helping seniors works as ‘insurance,’ alumna says
Elizabeth Kelchner understands that for some older adults losing a home means losing freedom. That’s where Washington Park Cares steps in. Washington Park Cares is a nonprofit that offers service for people 55 and older and helps them stay in their homes by offering transportation and other services, Kelchner says. Kelchner (PhD social work ’02) is Washington Park Cares’ executive director and an adjunct professor at DU’s Graduate School of Social Work. “A lot of our members see us as insurance,” Kelchner says. “At some time, they might need the kind of help we provide and they will be all set if that happens.” Yearly membership costs are low at $100 per person and $200 per household, she explains. Membership includes unlimited services, which includes shoveling walkways during the winter, minor home repair and the most frequently requested service, transportation. Additionally, the organization provides social activities for seniors and a chance to learn new things. There are book clubs, dinners at area restaurants, cooking classes and lectures. Although the organization is called Washington Park Cares, it serves more than 10 Denver neighborhoods. For Kelchner, though, the organization is more than just a kind of insurance — it’s a passion she’s had for years. Most of her career has been spent with the elderly population. She served as a nursing home executive director for 10 years, taught aging courses at Syracuse University and worked in state hospitals and disability centers. When she heard about Washington Park Cares (WPC) in 2008, it was just starting up. A board of directors had just formed that included Bill Eichelberger, who served as DU’s computing center director for 25 years. Eichelberger helped start the foundation and now volunteers for the organization. “From the beginning of WPC, I maintained a database of contacts, members and volunteers — and I still do that at the age of 88,” Eichelberger says. He currently volunteers helping members with technology. The organization currently has about 135 members and 40 volunteers. Kelchner says she’s talked with other social workers from around the country who are trying to start the same kind of organization. A fundraiser for the organization will be held Sept. 24 at DU’s school of Hotel, Restaurant, Tourism Management from 5–9 p.m. Tickets are $60 each and include parking, food and drinks and participation in the live and silent auction. >>www.washingtonparkcares.net
—Kathryn Mayer
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[Events]
September
Around campus
24 Flo’s Underground. 5 p.m. Williams
Salon. Free.
3 “The Way of What is to Come” by
Dr. Sonu Shamdasni. 7 p.m. Lindsay Auditorium, Sturm Hall Room 281. $15 for DU faculty and staff; $10 for DU students. Move in day for first-year students. 8 a.m.–noon.
25 Mike David’s Spirit of Adventure:
Accreditation team invites comment about DU
This fall DU will undergo a comprehensive re-accreditation evaluation by a visiting team representing the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The public and members of the University community are encouraged to provide comment about the University in advance of the November visit. For more than two years, DU has been engaged in a process of self-study, addressing the commission’s requirements and criteria for accreditation. The evaluation team will visit campus Nov. 8–10 to gather evidence that the self-study is thorough and accurate. The team will make a recommendation to the commission about continuing DU’s accreditation status. The HLC is one of six regional accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education that provides institutional accreditation on a regional basis. Institutional accreditation — a voluntary process — evaluates an entire institution and accredits it as a whole. Other agencies provide accreditation for specific programs. The commission accredits approximately 1,100 institutions of higher education in a 19-state region. The University has held HLC accreditation since 1914. Submit comments about the University to: Public Comment on the University of Denver, The Higher Learning Commission, 230 S. LaSalle St., Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604. Comments must be received by Oct. 8 and should address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. They must be in writing and signed, should include the name, address and telephone number of the writer, and cannot be treated as confidential. >>www.du.edu/accreditation2010
—Jim Berscheidt
6 Labor Day. University closed. 13 Classes begin. 16 “A Mighty Long Way” by Carlotta
an Unforgettable Journey of the World. 2:15 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. Additional performance at 7:45 p.m. $38.75–$66.75. Thile. 7:30 p.m. Free behind the curtain lecture at 6:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. $32–$48.
30 Punch Brothers featuring Chris
Walls LaNier. Hosted by the Women’s Library Association and Friends of Penrose Library. 2 p.m. Wellshire Inn, 3333 South Colorado Blvd. $10 for WLA non-members. RSVP to Pam Burklund at 303–733–5660 or [email protected]. Ruffatto Hall Dedication Ceremony. 11 a.m.
Unless otherwise noted, performances are $18 for adults; $16 for seniors and free for students with ID.
Sports
3 Men’s soccer vs. California
Polytechnic State University. 7 p.m. Ciber Field. Ciber Field.
17 Women’s College classes begin. 18 Book discussion with Helen Thorpe,
author of Just Like Us. 1 p.m. Iliff Great Hall. Free and open to the public.
4 Women’s soccer vs. Colorado. 7 p.m. 5 Men’s soccer vs. Houston Baptist.
1 p.m. Ciber Field.
6 Women’s soccer vs. UNLV/Drake.
12:15 p.m. Ciber Field.
21 Book discussion with Chaplain Gary
Brower. Talking about The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Noon. Driscoll Student Center South, Suite 29. Free. Unveiling ceremony for the peace pole, the 2010 class gift. 5 p.m. Evans Chapel. Free.
10 Volleyball Invitational. Hamilton
Gymnasium. Texas A&M vs. Jacksonville State, noon; Gonzaga vs. Notre Dame, 4 p.m.; Denver vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m.
11 Volleyball Invitational. Hamilton
28 Labyrinth Meditative Walk. 9 a.m.
Iliff Great Hall. Free.
Exhibits
1 “A Woman’s World” presented by
Artists on the Move. Through Sept. 30. Hirschfeld Gallery, Chambers Center. Opening reception Sept. 11 at 4 p.m. Gallery hours: 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Monday– Friday. Free. Through Nov. 14. Myhren Gallery. Opening reception Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. Gallery hours: Noon–4 p.m. daily. Free.
Gymnasium. Denver vs. Gonzaga, noon; Jacksonville State vs. Notre Dame, 2 p.m.; Gonzaga vs. Texas A&M, 4 p.m.; Denver vs. Jacksonville State, 6 p.m.
12 Gonzaga vs. Jacksonville State. 17 Men’s soccer vs. Oral Roberts.
7 p.m. Ciber Field.
11 a.m.; Denver vs. Notre Dame. 1 p.m. Hamilton Gymnasium.
30 2010 Juried Alumni Exhibition.
Volleyball vs. Middle Tennessee. 7 p.m. Hamilton Gymnasium.
18 Volleyball vs. Long Beach State.
1 p.m. Hamilton Gymnasium.
19 Men’s soccer vs. Penn State. 1 p.m.
Ciber Field.
Volleyball: $8; free for DU students. Soccer: $5 for adults; free for DU students and children 2 and under. For ticketing and other information, including a full listing of campus events, visit www.du.edu/calendar.
Arts
10 Colorado Ballet Presents Triple
Bill. 7:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. Additional performances Sept. 11–12 at 2 p.m. and Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. $27.65–$155.25. Recital Hall.
19 Organist Jurgen Essl. 3 p.m. Hamilton
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