President's Blue and Red Gala to Honor Dr. Rick Kreminski and Wife alongside Other University Champions

PUEBLO – Colorado State University Pueblo professor of mathematics and physics, Rick Kreminski will be honored as part of the 2022 President’s Blue and Red Gala on Saturday, May 21, alongside his wife, Anne Casey, Judy Hildner, an alumna from the class of ’70, Black Hills Energy, and the educators of Pueblo School Districts 60 and 70. Proceeds from the Gala directly benefit future generations of CSU Pueblo students through scholarships and programs.

The 2022 President’s Blue and Red Gala will begin at 5:30 p.m. with cocktails in the Occhiato Student Center Ballroom Foyer. Tickets for the event are $125 per person or $1,500 for a corporate table of eight. Information on tickets, sponsorships, and corporate tables is available through the CSU Pueblo Foundation at 719-549-2380 or at the gala website.

Entertainment for the evening will feature Spinphony, a dazzling female electric string quartet who are breaking down barriers between classical, rock and pop music, and mixing and mashing catchy melodies into their own unique arrangements. Whether the audience is a fan of Bach, AC/DC, Journey or Mozart, the virtuosic quartet will have them rocking out to the greatest melodies of all time. For the ninth year, through the generosity of alumnus Chris Turner, a reunion of former Associated Students’ Government members will begin at 5 p.m.

Dr. Rick Kreminski and Mrs. Anne Casey will receive the President’s Award for Distinguished Service to the University for their unwavering support of CSU Pueblo. Dr. Kreminski currently serves as a professor of mathematics and physics and formerly served as the Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and was the first-ever director of the Institute of Cannabis Research. Dr. Kreminski and Mrs. Casey have generously supported CSU Pueblo since moving to the community in 2009.

Black Hills Energy will receive the President’s Award for Distinguished Service to the Community. Black Hills Energy’s dedication to the Pueblo community is evidenced in the millions of dollars invested, both direct and in-kind, in dozens of nonprofit organizations making an impact on the lives of those living in the Pueblo community. Recent contributions to the 23-acre solar array project on the CSU Pueblo campus has controlled energy costs and helped the University to become the first campus in Colorado to reach net-zero efficiency.

The Educators of Pueblo School Districts 60 and 70 will receive the President’s Award for Distinguished Service to Education. The educators of Pueblo School Districts 60 and 70 made extraordinary commitments and dedicated their talents, energy and resources to address the needs of students and families in the community in the days, weeks and months following the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. This dedication ensured students received exemplary educational instruction during an unprecedented time in our history.

Alumna Judy Hildner, ’70, will receive the President’s Award for Distinguished Alumni Achievement posthumously. Hildner received her degree in mass communications at Southern Colorado State College, now CSU Pueblo, and will always be one of the most widely respected and knowledgeable media professionals in the state. Hildner was a sports reporter throughout the 1980s. She was a Colorado High School Activities Association 2016 Hall of Fame inductee and a Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame 1997 inductee. Hildner became the first female sports editor in Colorado when The Pueblo Chieftain promoted her in 1990. Hildner paved the way for many young female professionals as they pursued their passion in the sports journalism world. Hildner passed away on December 22, 2020.