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Sights Set on Boulder: Why Two CU Alums Moved Back

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:57:54 +0000

Sights Set on Boulder: Why Two CU Alums Moved Back Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:57

Karen Reid

When my husband, Charlie Reid (PhDMechEngr’89), and I were grad students at CU, leaving Colorado was definitely not on our to-do list. But after graduation, new job opportunities drew us eastward. Our plan was always to return to Boulder, but what started out as an anticipated five-year stint in New Jersey stretched to 10 and continued across multiple states as our careers progressed.

Now, after three decades, we’ve finally moved back. And while we were expanding our horizons, growing professionally and raising a family, Boulder was growing, too. We kept an eye on our town from afar, but now we have the opportunity to see and experience the changes firsthand.

The university’s campus has grown both in size and reputation: CU has doubled down on research, now boasting five Nobel laureates, and has gained international recognition. Students have so many more options for courses, programs and opportunities. The number of buildings, dorms and parking structures has also grown exponentially, and what were once empty fields filled with prairie dogs is now the thriving research hub of East Campus. Other notable changes include the expansion of Folsom Field and the shifting of school colors from sky blue and gold to a more sophisticated palette of gold, black and gray. Even the journalism school (where I studied) has been reincarnated as CMCI.

Things off campus have changed, too. The town of Boulder has put itself on the map. It consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top college towns, is a hotbed for entrepreneurial and innovative endeavors, and is currently in contention to host the Sundance Film Festival.

While change is inevitable, it’s bittersweet to see some of the transformations: Friday Afternoon Club (FAC) events at the Harvest House hotel are no more, Tulagi’s on The Hill is gone, the Kinetic Sculpture Challenge race folded, Crossroads Commons has been razed and reconceived as the 29th Street Mall, and the Pearl Street Mall no longer boasts many of our old haunts.

That being said, the myriad of new restaurants, experiences and shops to explore seem boundless, and old favorites like Peppercorn, Trident Booksellers and Café, and Into the Wind remain. Mike’s Camera is still nearby, and The Sink is as vibrant as ever!

Daily, I meet fascinating people, motivated students and inspiring colleagues. Boulder is bikeable and walkable — and who can deny the spectacular view? Even when things seem unfamiliar, all I need to do is glance at my beloved Flatirons and I am reminded that, while evolution is unstoppable, some things never change. Boulder will always be vibrant, beautiful and, quite simply, home to me.

Karen Reid (Jour’84; MA’90) works for CU Boulder RIO as a marketing and communications specialist and teaches public speaking as a lecturer in the CMCI communication department.

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Photo courtesy Karen Reid

Karen and Charlie Reid graduated from CU Boulder and left town over 30 years ago. Here's why they decided to move back.

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Fall 2024

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Phil DiStefano on the Lifelong Practice of Leadership

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Phil DiStefano on the Lifelong Practice of Leadership Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Philip DiStefano

In the months leading up to my retirement as chancellor of CU Boulder, I’ve had many occasions for retrospection.

The past 15 years leading this incredible campus have been among the most meaningful of my professional career. We have doubled our total research funding, awarded roughly 117,000 degrees, survived a global pandemic and made incredible strides in equity, innovation, athletics, sustainability, town-gown relationships and so much more. I leave this position confident about the state of the campus and optimistic for its future.

When I consider my background — a first-generation college student from a small steel town in Ohio — it’s easy to feel like I arrived here through happenstance.

But what I’ve come to realize over my 50-year career at CU Boulder is that leadership is within each of us. Whether in higher education, business, government or community organizations, leadership is a daily practice that requires courage, compassion, discipline, flexibility and humility. If we’re fortunate, it’s a journey that we continue every day of our lives.

Throughout my career, I’ve been inspired by those who made a commitment to self-improvement and ethical leadership throughout their lives — people like Abraham Lincoln, Malala Yousafzai and the Dalai Lama.

This spring, I had the honor of meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama during a visit to Dharamshala, India, with the Renée Crown Wellness Institute and the Leeds School of Business. I traveled with students and young alumni in the Dalai Lama Fellows Program, a unique one-year fellowship that supports emerging social change-makers.

Through inspirational conversations, the Dalai Lama shared how compassion, connection and contemplation can break through societal barriers to create a more just and benevolent world.

At this stage of my life and career, I can think of no place more valuable to focus my attention than on developing compassion and ethics among the next generation of leaders. I’m excited to do that through my new role with the CU Boulder Center for Leadership starting this summer.

As the Dalai Lama reminded us, our world needs leaders of character who will bring integrity, intellect, empathy and open-mindedness to every challenge we face as a society.May we all embrace and embody those characteristics in our lifelong practice of leadership.

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Photo by Glenn Asakawa

Chancellor Phil DiStefano reflects on compassionate leadership, his years at CU and a meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

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Becoming a Boulder Climber

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Becoming a Boulder Climber Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Chris Weidner

I woke up in my VW van parked behind the Boulder Rock Club and started making coffee, map in hand, plotting the drive to Eldorado Canyon. I’d arrived a week earlier from my home in Seattle to spend the summer guiding for the Boulder Rock School. It was my first day, and I was nervous — not about the climbing (though I’d be leading clients up routes I’d never climbed before), but about the drive.

It was July 2001 (when paper maps were still a thing), and I didn’t know Broadway from Baseline. And though I’d been guiding in Washington since the mid-1990s, I feared being “found out” as an outsider in Colorado. Nothing scared me more than getting lost en route to one of the country’s most famous climbing areas with a van full of clients paying good money for local knowledge.

To my immense relief, all went well that day. So well, in fact, that by the time another week had passed, I’d ditched the map and had logged dozens of routes in Eldo (mostly “onsight” guiding), Boulder Canyon, the Flatirons and on Longs Peak. I couldn’t believe the volume and variety of climbing so close to town. I would guide in the morning, climb with friends in the afternoon and repeat. I’d never climbed so much in my life.

Admittedly, I used to roll my eyes whenever I heard Boulder being called the “Center of the Universe” for American climbing. It couldn’t be that good. But by the end of that summer, my skepticism had turned to pride: I owned 14 guidebooks covering thousands of climbs, all within 90 minutes of Boulder. I felt like I was just getting started.

So I did that classic Boulder thing: I never left.

I stayed because being a climber in Boulder feels limitless; it means as many different things as there are climbers. We’re scramblers and ice hogs, first ascensionists and gym rats, alpinists and Olympians. We’re young and old, fast and slow, inexperienced and elite. We’re of every color, gender, shape and size, and yet somehow we’ve all chosen climbing as our medium to face fears, challenge our beliefs and build meaningful friendships.

Above all, being a climber in Boulder means taking part in a wild and wonderful community invigorated by our unique vertical playground. Here, there’s a synergy at work — a motivating power that strengthens relationships well beyond the “Off belay!” on top of a climb.

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Photo by Jon Glassberg, Louder Than Eleven

Local climber and writer Chris Weidner reflects on his first months participating in Boulder's incredible outdoor climbing scene.

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Editor's Note: Summer 2024

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Editor's Note: Summer 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Maria Kuntz

This summer, we examine powerful leadership skills: empathy, humility and emotional intelligence. I’d like to add one to that list — kindness. A few years back I found my favorite T-shirt: it’s charcoal gray with simple white lettering that reads, “kindness is magic.”

Kindness takes many forms: asking about someone’s day, giving the benefit of the doubt or offering help. In a bustling world, even a little can leave a lasting impact. I vividly remember a moment when a supervisor shared tough feedback with me. They communicated with kindness — enabling me to soak up their gift. I’ve never forgotten it.

This issue is packed with leaders who display kindness alongside strength and tenacity. Read about Philip P. DiStefano’s 15-year tenure as chancellor and enjoy other inspiring alumni profiles, including Ally Chapel, founder of jazz group Brass Queens, cycling legend Sepp Kuss, and chef and entrepreneur Bruce Bromberg.

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Photo courtesy Maria Kuntz

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A Solutions-Based Approach for Western Water

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

A Solutions-Based Approach for Western Water Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Philip DiStefano

Glance at a photo of campus from the late 1800s, when only Old Main stood, and it may take a moment to orient yourself. Soon you’ll spot familiar landmarks: the Flatirons rising to the west, Boulder Creek flowing to the north.

Far before the university’s earliest days, the natural landscape — and water, specifically — has played an important role across Colorado and the West.

More than wayfinding aids or scenic features, our rivers, reservoirs and rainclouds have defined the direction and pace of economic development, supported the agricultural needs of the nation and provided fertile ground for collaboration and conflict.

Today, water — or the absence of it — continues to be a defining factor for communities across the West. And now, CU Boulder faculty, staff and students are lending their expertise to help communities make smart, data-informed decisions about this precious and often imperiled natural resource.

In CU’s environmental journalism program, students and alumni are exploring how declining water supplies and climate change will impact our lives and livelihoods in the years to come.

Across engineering and the sciences, researchers are examining how water quality is impacted by oil and gas or mining operations, wildfires and other natural and human activities.

For 20 years, the Western Water Assessment team within CU Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) has partnered with researchers from multiple disciplines in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah to conduct innovative water research and make the findings more accessible to decision-makers across the region. The work directly aids communities seeking greater resilience in the face of climate change.

And for the last several years, instructors from CIRES also have taught a free online course through Coursera that allows students worldwide to examine scientific, legal and cultural issues around water using the Colorado River Basin as a case study. More than 3,000 people are currently enrolled.

Those are just a few examples of how members of the CU Boulder community are helping to address the West’s toughest questions related to water needs, bringing creativity, courage and commitment to bear as we seek to positively impact humanity.

In the face of climate change, these matters become more consequential. And it becomes even more essential that we bring diverse voices and perspectives into the conversation that have been neglected or ignored.

Too often, discussions on water in the West can leave us feeling concerned, distrustful or apprehensive.

But when I consider how CU Boulder’s faculty, students and staff are becoming part of the solutions, I find myself once again with reason to hope — and that’s a river that will never run dry.

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Photos by Matthew Rossi/CIRES (right); Jeroen Geeraert/CIRES (top)

Far before the university’s earliest days, the natural landscape—and water, specifically—has played an important role across Colorado and the West.

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Ensuring a Reliable Water Supply for the City of Boulder

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Ensuring a Reliable Water Supply for the City of Boulder Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Kim Hutton

As I drive up Boulder Canyon with my daughter to ski at Eldora Mountain, I relish pointing out features of Boulder’s water supply system that I’ve had a role in managing for the past 19 years. The hydroelectric plant on the left, the pipeline up on the hillside, the reservoir at the top of the canyon — and Boulder Creek at the heart of it all. Fascinating, right?! She listens to me good-naturedly every time, and I hope one day she comes to appreciate the intricacies that go into providing that clean glass of water she sips every morning.

The Boulder community enjoys a high-quality and reliable drinking water supply due to 150 years of visionary planning. However, as the climate shifts, the challenge of providing clean and reliable water becomes increasingly complex.

Boulder’s drinking water originates from alpine lakes, reservoirs and the Boulder Creek headwaters west of the city of Boulder, as well as from the upper Colorado River. Each year, approximately two-thirds of Boulder’s water supply comes from Boulder Creek and one-third from the Colorado River. Water from these sources flows via pipes to one of Boulder’s two water treatment plants before it is sent to customers for drinking water or irrigation use.

While Boulder’s multiple water sources offer flexibility and resilience in the face of climate change and extreme weather events, the city of Boulder is actively pursuing additional ways to secure its water supply.

One way is through protecting our sources to ensure safe and high-quality water. As most of Boulder’s water supply comes from outside the city, Boulder partners with many organizations and community members to improve forest health and reduce pollution to creeks and reservoirs.

Other ways include investing in Boulder’s water infrastructure (some components are over a century old), promoting water-saving measures — including using water-saving fixtures, fixing irrigation system leaks and landscaping with low-water-use vegetation — and strategic planning. Boulder’s Drought Plan, for instance, helps the city respond to water shortages and preserve water for high-priority uses such as human health and safety, maintaining creek flows and trees.

Water management in the western United States is an intriguing puzzle. While I thrive on the challenge, I’m most gratified by the mission of serving a community that prioritizes sustainable use of this precious resource. Through collaboration, innovation and engagement with passionate community members, Boulder is addressing climate challenges to safeguard its water supply for future generations.

Kim Hutton (Chem, EnvSt’98) is the water resources manager for the City of Boulder.

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Photo courtesy the City of Boulder

Kim Hutton, water resources manager for the City of Boulder, reflects on what it takes to provide water for Boulder.

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Editor’s Note: Spring 2024

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000

Editor’s Note: Spring 2024 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/04/2024 - 00:00

Maria Kuntz

It was June in Utah, and the midday heat was blistering. The AC on “La Tortuga Azul” — the pet name for my family’s lifted #vanlife 2002 Safari — struggled to keep the heat at bay. This road trip took us from the San Rafael Swell to Capitol Reef National Park and the northern end of Lake Powell. Expecting summer crowds, houseboat revelers and water jets, I was surprised by the dusty tributaries, abandoned boats and roadside communities turning to ghost towns. After a few tries, the map confirmed we were not lost — instead the water had nearly disappeared.

Water in the West is a complex, evolving and non-linear system as water levels rise and fall with each year’s rainfall. May these images in our photo feature pique your curiosity and lead to a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of water access, justice and human rights.

And don’t miss profiles on the class of 2024, CU’s resident bee expert and a bone archaeologist.

Maria Kuntz
Contact the editor at editor@colorado.edu.

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Photo courtesy Maria Kuntz

Water in the West is a complex, evolving and non-linear system as water levels rise and fall with each year’s rainfall.

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John Parker

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

John Parker Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00

Robert Truett

When you were hungry and didn’t have any money, the Pied Piper had your back.

The owner of the small Pennsylvania Street diner on The Hill, John Parker, had a book where you could chalk up your debts. Although, in the late 1950s, most people seldom let it get past $20, Parker never squawked, and a couple of people, it is told, ran it up to $100. But as long as you paid Parker before summer break or made some arrangement with him, it was OK.

I have only heard it referred to as the Pied Piper once or twice. True enough, the red letters above the door said that, but nearly everyone called it Parker’s.

Parker — a small man with ruddy cheeks and a hard-worked face — worked every day from 6a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Friday afternoons, when he closed at 2 p.m. because that’s when many of his customers were drinking.

Parker’s place had seven stools, a cash register and a small upraised counter on the right side of the diner where “the book” was kept. In addition to the money owed for food, various bets were placed under different customers’ names. One could open the book to their name, for example, and the total owed would be near the bottom of the page: “$13.72.” The right side of the page could read, “White Sox to win the pennant, $5.”

The place had a small grill where Parker cooked hamburgers, eggs, ham, bacon, steak, hot dogs and morning rolls. He turned the grill on in the morning with a pair of pliers. He had a tin to cook poached eggs, along with a toaster, coffee pot, small freezer, shelf for rolls and pies, and a milkshake maker. That was it. The menu remained the same; the prices remained the same. You could get a hamburger steak dinner, which included a double hamburger portion, fries, bread and butter, soup or juice for $0.65 or a small steak with the same extras for $1.25.

You had to take two napkins and throw them down on the fries before you ate them. But you only did this when Parker was facing the grill, otherwise he’d tell you to “get the hell out” if you didn’t like the food. Jack Wyrick (A&S’61) was the expert at sopping up the grease before Parker turned around.

But everyone, especially CU athletes and fans, went to Parker’s. His coffee was good, his prices were cheap and, of course, you could eat on credit.

The last time I ate at Parker’s was the summer of 1960. Sadly John died suddenly in January 1962 and Parker’s was no more.

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Photo courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History

In the late 1950s, a tiny diner on The Hill called the Pied Piper was a hangout for CU students.

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Editor's Note: Fall 2023

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Editor's Note: Fall 2023 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00

Maria Kuntz

In an age of technological advances, progress still hinges on an essential human experience — trust. In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving at a rapid pace, the poignant ques-tions remain: How should we be using it, and can it be trusted?

Imagining an era without AI is akin to returning to June 28, 2007 — the day before the first iPhone hit the market. New modes of living and working, as well as new challenges, have unfurled since the advent of the now ubiquitous smartphone.

Join us for the ride as we explore the ways CU researchers are studying AI, from classrooms and art studios to cities and highways. Buffs across campus are reshaping the world as we know it.

Did you know CU Boulder ranks fifth nationwide among universities for startup creation? Don’t miss this story and profiles about the Buffs behind Casa Bonita’s revival, Star Trek’s science expert, plus students making an impact in rural Colorado.

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Photo by Misha Photography

In an age of technological advances, progress still hinges on an essential human experience — trust.

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The Buzz Is Back in Boulder

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 06:00:00 +0000

The Buzz Is Back in Boulder Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/10/2023 - 00:00

Pat Rooney

Parking was a pain. Finding tickets, at least at the eleventh hour, was even more so.

And, as often happens in a Colorado spring, the weather refused to cooperate.

No matter. This was a moment Colorado football fans had been pining for over the better part of two decades.

On April 22, Boulder became something it hadn’t been since the early 1990s: the focus of the entire college football world. And this was for a spring game — held about five months after the Buffaloes turned in arguably the worst season in the program’s rich history, and four months before the Buffs were set to kick off the 2023 season with a whole new set of expectations.

The reason, of course, was the new coach in town — Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, hired on Dec. 2 to reinvigorate the CU program. He’s done that already without yet coaching a real game.

A total of 47,277 fans attended the sold-out spring game at Folsom Field. The comparative numbers are staggering: An estimated 1,950 fans watched the previous year’s spring game. Even fewer, an estimated 1,000, did so in 2021. The most recent spring game attendance would have been the third-biggest crowd at Folsom during the 2022 regular season, and it was less than 600 fans off from topping the No. 2 crowd in 2022.

In fact, the previous seven springs combined featured an attendance of 30,450. This year, the Buffs’ spring game was the only one in the nation broadcast live on ESPN, and the Buffs have suddenly become a regular feature on national talk shows.

Already “Coach Prime” has done the impossible. CU football once again is relevant nationally. What does it mean for Boulder? There will be a significant financial impact, but anyone who has been trying to rent in town or who pays property taxes understands the city isn’t exactly hurting.

Still, new revenue streams will help both the city and the campus (CU hadn’t even sold spring game tickets since the 1980s). And football often remains the gateway to major universities. Like myself, my wife, Andrea Nozykowski (Jour’99), is from South Bend, Indiana. She fell in love with CU Boulder while watching the epic Notre Dame-Colorado battles of the late 1980s and early 1990s, then following the Rashaan Salaam (Soc ex’95) and Kordell Stewart (Comm ex’95; BA’16)-led Buffs while she was in high school.

Much to the chagrin of her parents, she traveled the roughly 1,100 miles to Boulder for college, in large part because of what she watched during football games. She graduated from CU in 1999.

No doubt, the buzz is back. If Coach Prime sees his vision through, the Buffs will be as well.

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Photos courtesy Tyler Davis, CU Athletics

On April 22, Boulder became something it hadn’t been since the early 1990s: the focus of the entire college football world.

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Summer 2023

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Column

Sights Set on Boulder: Why Two CU Alums Moved Back

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Phil DiStefano on the Lifelong Practice of Leadership

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Becoming a Boulder Climber

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Editor's Note: Summer 2024

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A Solutions-Based Approach for Western Water

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Ensuring a Reliable Water Supply for the City of Boulder

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Editor’s Note: Spring 2024

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John Parker

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Editor's Note: Fall 2023

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The Buzz Is Back in Boulder

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