Academic News - February 2020
Students Showcase Native American Art
By Daniel Minich
Students in the fall 2019 ART 412 course, Native American Art, created an art exhibition entitled, “Arts of the Indigenous America,” celebrating the role of indigenous cultures in our regions past and present. These students studied art and visual design in Native North American cultures from prehistory to contemporary times. As a capstone assignment for this course, the students created an art exhibition curating the work of local contemporary artists.
“The exhibition ‘Arts of Indigenous America’ celebrates the role of indigenous cultures in our regions past and present,” Rachel Zimmerman, Assistant Professor of Art History explained. “Students in my Native American Art class last semester are responsible for much for the exhibition’s research and organization, and have been involved in all stage of the project.”
The exhibition runs from Jan. 30 through Feb. 28. A reception will be held on Feb. 6 from 5-7 p.m. Dr. Zimmerman will have a Brown Bag Gallery talk on Tuesday, Feb. 11 from 12 -1p.m. in the gallery to answer any questions about the exhibition.
“The show includes object from governor Orman’s collection as well as the work of local contemporary artists,” said Zimmerman.
The Orman Native American Artifact Collection was gifted to the University in 1964 by Colorado governor, James B. Orman and has over 200 items included. The collection includes Western Apache baskets, pottery, Navajo rugs and textiles and other art artifacts of the early 20th century.
To learn more about the Fine Art Gallery, contact Caroline Peters, Professor of Contemporary Theory and Art History, Fine Art Gallery Director at 719-549-2404 or caroline.peters@csupueblo.edu. The Fine Art Gallery is located in Hoag Hall, Art and Music Building on the CSU-Pueblo campus, 2200 Bonforte Blvd. Pueblo, CO 81001.
Professor Accepted into 2020 Cohort Fellowship of the Latino Leadership Institute
By Haley Sue Robinson
Danilo León, Assistant Professor of Spanish at Colorado State University-Pueblo, was recently accepted as a Fellow for the Latino Leadership Institute at the University of Denver as part of the 2020 Cohort.
Latino Leadership Institute Fellowship Program is a nine month professional development experience specific for Latino professionals in the state of Colorado. This Fellowship prepares Latino professional for elevated roles of influence in varying industries including education, government, non-profit, and private sectors. León is the first individual from CSU-Pueblo to be chosen to participate in the Latino Leadership Institute Fellowship Program, which is in its fourth year of existence.
“I am honored and humbled to be a 2020 Latino Leadership Institute Fellow and to represent CSU-Pueblo,” said León. “This institute, hosted at the University of Denver, will be a great professional development opportunity.”
Professional development continues to be a high priority for CSU-Pueblo in line with the Vision 2028 guiding principle of develop people. CSU-Pueblo develops people who have meaningful lives and make significant contribution to their families, communities, and world.
“Faculty development is an important CSU-Pueblo priority," said Mohamed Abdelrahman, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs for CSU-Pueblo. "Dr. León’s participation in the Latino Leadership Institute reflects a strong commitment on his part to developing as a faculty and as a leader. I am excited to see how Danilo will utilize this opportunity to support his students, colleagues and CSU-Pueblo in general.”
The Fellowship experience focuses on Latino culture, history and pride. Curriculum focuses on personal and professional development, leadership skills, confidence, business acumen, public policy and board service. Latino Leadership Institute emphasizes four competencies including Cultural Intelligence (CQ), Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Social Intelligence (SQ) and NeuroLeadership Intelligence (NQ).
In addition to training, the Fellowship provides access to networking with other Latino professionals. The Latino Leadership Institute also offers foundational understanding of Colorado economy, state budget, non-profit management, and philanthropy. The Institute offers one Fellowship per year and each cohort includes up to 30 Fellows. Courses run one Friday afternoon and full-day Saturday for nine consecutive months.
“I can’t wait to learn from the instructors and from other Colorado Latino professionals,” said León. “My ultimate goal is to learn as much as possible in order to better serve our CSU-Pueblo community, particularly our Hispanic/Latino students.”
The Latino Leadership Institute is led by an advisory board comprised of accomplished leaders who represent multiple sectors and industries in Colorado. A total of 179 Fellows have gone through the Fellowship program. For more information about The Latino Leadership Institute or the Fellowship please visit www.latinoslead.org/fellowship.
HSB Economics Professor Awarded Highest Honor
Dr. Kevin Duncan, professor of economics in the Hasan School of Business (HSB) at Colorado State University-Pueblo, is the recipient of the inaugural CSU-Pueblo Distinguished University Professor award. The award is the University’s highest honor bestowed on a CSU-Pueblo faculty member and recognizes teaching, research/scholarship/creative activity, and service to CSU-Pueblo and the community. CSU-Pueblo president Timothy Mottet presented Duncan with the award on Monday, January 6 at CSU-Pueblo’s opening spring 2020 Convocation held in the Occhiato Student Center Ballroom on the CSU-Pueblo campus.
“Through a rigorous and competitive peer-reviewed process, Dr. Kevin Duncan emerged as our University’s first Distinguished University Professor. I’m incredibly proud of Dr. Duncan who is most deserving of this honor and title,” said Mottet.
“Receiving the Distinguished University Professor award recognizes Dr. Duncan’s outstanding and exceptional record of sustained teaching, research, and service, including 14 performance and teaching awards at CSU-Pueblo; his research impacting national, state, and local economic policy, specifically in the areas of labor and wages; and his work overseeing student research in numerous economic impact studies,” said Mottet.
"All faculty make unique and significant contributions, so I am honored and humbled by this award,” said Duncan. “I wish to thank President Mottet and Dean Raymond for their efforts in creating this award that will benefit future faculty as well as the university. I am grateful to professors Hassan and Shah for their award nomination and endorsement," Duncan added.
Duncan, who began his career at CSU-Pueblo in 1994, teaches business and regional economics in the HSB and has been a visiting scholar at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley. Noted for his exceptional teaching skills, Duncan has earned six awards since 1996 for teaching excellence. Duncan’s teaching is guided by the belief that the best way to learn and understand the usefulness of economic concepts is through application. As a consequence, projects in all his graduate and undergraduate classes involve data collection, analysis, and write ups. As examples of his work, students have completed economic impact studies. Other student research has measured tuition sensitivity at CSU-Pueblo, the ability of Pueblo to attract primary employers, and other studies of the local economy.
In addition to his acclaimed teaching skills, Duncan’s research has been used to inform construction labor market policy in 24 states and the U.S. House of Representatives. His research on prevailing wage laws has appeared in leading national and international peer-reviewed academic journals such as Construction Management and Economics (University of Reading, UK), Industrial and Labor Relations Review (Cornell University), and Industrial Relations (UC Berkeley). In June of 2019, Colorado House Speaker KC Becker appointed Dr. Duncan to the Family and Medical Leave Implementation Task Force. He received his Ph. D. in Economics from the University of Utah and his BA in Economics from the University of California, Riverside.
In addition to a monetary award, Duncan will be asked to conduct a workshop in a topic of his choice for faculty during this spring semester, as well as deliver the Distinguished University Professor Lecture, which is open to the public, on a topic of his choice during fall 2020. Duncan will also serve on the Distinguished University Professor Selection Committee.
The Distinguished University Professor designation will be part of his formal title and will remain part of his title upon retirement, at which time he will become Distinguished University Professor Emeriti.
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