Archive for April, 2017

DU stakes a claim in the world of social enterprise

DU stakes a claim in the world of social enterprise

Social enterprises create value for underserved, underrepresented or disadvantaged people or for the environment. And among students and recent college graduates, they have never been more popular than they are today.

Robin Tinghitella is especially interested in how environmental change — such as habitat fragmentation, noise and light pollution, and climate change — impacts the mating environment. Stock photo

Biology professor leads students in research on cricket mating habits

Robin Tinghitella, a professor in DU’s Department of Biological Sciences, is accustomed to the fact that her research attracts a lot of curiosity. After all, who doesn’t want to learn about the courtship rituals of crickets? For Tinghitella, mating habits are the perfect hook for introducing students and the public […]

In February, Ved Nanda celebrated his 50th anniversary of teaching at DU. Photo: Wayne Armstrong

Ved Nanda celebrates 50 years at DU

It was the only spanking he ever got from his mom, jokes Ved Nanda, international law professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law. As a young boy living in Gujranwala, India, Nanda got a tattoo from a man on the street. He was proud of the artwork. […]

Her Honors Program thesis, says senior Ashlyn Stewart, was a project that allowed her "to find my own interest and run with it." Photo by Wayne Armstrong

Honors Program lets students satisfy their intellectual curiosity

Knee-deep in her cross-disciplinary Honors thesis for her two majors, history and English, senior Ashlyn Stewart finds herself digging deeper, stretching further and thinking harder. Which is precisely why, four years ago, Stewart applied to DU’s Honors Program. She wanted to immerse herself in academic challenges and to study alongside […]

Students dance at the Founders Formal, part of the two-day Founders Celebration in May. Photo: Wayne Armstrong

Students part of the fun at Founders Celebration

Thanks to an expanded list of fun and educational programs, students had the chance to exercise their bodies and brains at the 2017 Founders Celebration, held March 1 and 2 on campus and elsewhere in Denver. The festivities included a student formal dance at the Cable Center and two separate […]

"The secret of longevity and a successful brand is ...hard work, passion, commitment to family and humanitarian efforts,” says alumnus Marc Schulman. Photo courtesy of Eli's Cheesecake

Alumnus Marc Schulman carries on a cheesecake legacy

Family is a way of life for Marc Schulman, president of Chicago-based dessert empire Eli’s Cheesecake. Schulman (BSBA ’76) inherited the business from his father, the late Eli Schulman, owner of several now-shuttered Chicago-area eateries that played host in the ’60s and ’70s to celebrities such as Woody Allen, Barbra […]

"Volunteer with a variety of organizations until you find out what really pulls at your heartstrings,” says Yvette Cook. Photo courtesy of Usher's New Look

Alumna helps Usher shape next generation of leaders

For Yvette Cook, there was no choice growing up but to serve her community. She says her civic-minded parents encouraged her to follow a path of altruism. Now Cook (BA ’82, MA ’85) heads up Usher’s New Look (UNL), an Atlanta-based nonprofit started by the multiplatinum-selling performer at the age […]

Alumni shaping Denver: Brian Vicente, Amendment 64

Alumni shaping Denver: Brian Vicente, Amendment 64

Brian Vicente (JD ’04) has been fighting the marijuana fight for more than a decade, most significantly as co-director and one of two primary authors of the 2012 measure that made Colorado the first state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana. These days Vicente and his 50-person firm, Vicente […]

"It’s been really cool to see those artists being able to take what they’re doing at Nocturne and further their art and their careers." Photo: Anthony Camera

Alumni shaping Denver: Nicole Mattson, Nocturne

Two years ago, Nicole Mattson (BSBA ’03, business; MBA ’12) and her husband, Scott, opened Nocturne, an upscale jazz club in Denver’s up-and-coming RiNo (River North) neighborhood. A hotspot for local jazz artists and aficionados — including faculty and students from the Lamont School of Music —t he club has […]

"As somebody who cares about connecting foreign-trained professionals to the same work they’ve been doing in their home countries, it’s a perfect time [in Denver]." Photo: Anthony Camera

Alumni shaping Denver: Hillary Frances, Emily Griffith Technical College

Hillary Frances (MA ’09, international and intercultural communications) is instructional dean of adult education and the Language Learning Center at Emily Griffith Technical College, where she helps prepare nontraditional students — including refugees and immigrants — for the workforce. The school’s bridge classes are designed to help adults who worked […]

"LoDo is one of the hottest markets in the country right now, and I think the Union Station development was the paramount catalyst for that." Photo: Anthony Camera

Alumni shaping Denver: CJ Chapman, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

A Denver native and East High School graduate who went to Princeton to play basketball, CJ Chapman (JD ’06) returned to his hometown after college to pursue a law degree at DU. He is now a partner and real estate lawyer at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he has negotiated […]

Alumni shaping Denver: Candi CdeBaca, Project VOYCE

Alumni shaping Denver: Candi CdeBaca, Project VOYCE

Candi CdeBaca (BS ’09, sociology; MSW ’09, social work) is co-founder and executive director of Project VOYCE, a nonprofit that mobilizes and trains Denver youth to work on problems in their schools and communities. Her goal is to prepare kids from Denver’s poorer neighborhoods to claim their seat at the […]