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Letters

Editor’s note: When the University of Denver debuted its new logo and branding platform in August, we asked subscribers to our email newsletter for alumni to share the ways in which the University has been a catalyst for their purposeful lives.

 

I am a graduate of the Women’s College (prior to the DU expansion) and the Sturm College of Law. As a double graduate, I can hardly say that DU has not been a catalyst for me. I wanted my college experience to be relatively free of the social distractions of being 18–22 that were posed by men in the classroom. I’ll admit it: I knew I was easily distracted by social opportunity. I wanted to learn to “be myself ” before going out into the wider world. I learned in small class settings and with ample faculty contact just how unique and valuable my own skills and interests could be. I pursued the true purpose of a liberal arts education by taking a wide variety of classes and interacting with a very diverse student body. This took me through the social sciences (and one class short of a double major in English) and gave me a solid grounding in “emotional intelligence” skills that I use to this day in my professional work. After being in the job market for a number of years, I returned to the University of Denver to attend the College of Law. By then, I’d had several years of many different jobs. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted to learn more about the legal system and how to help people with legal problems. Now I work on loss prevention, doing training and consulting in civil rights, employment and risk management with an insurance pool owned by local governments. It offers the right size of organization, the right amount of new projects and challenges, and the opportunity to continue to learn to be an “expert” in new areas. None of this would have happened without the unique opportunities that were offered by the diverse and talented University of Denver community. I now know DU faculty, through a variety of community contacts, who are similarly committed to the success of their students in the individual pursuit of their dreams.

 

Cynthia Barnes (CWC ’77, JD ’85), Denver

 

 

DU instilled in me a healthy respect for people of all nations, races, colors, creeds and cultures, which has been invaluable in building a successful law practice with clients from Africa, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Romania and Vietnam, as well as the U.S.

 

Carl Pipoly (BA ’77, JD ’80), San Antonio, Texas

 

 

Each time I get a message from DU, it brings to my mind so many things I can’t keep up with them all. I graduated from DU in 1947 — almost in the dark ages, isn’t it? My degree is in business administration and education. My degree certainly has been a catalyst in my purposeful life. I met so many helpful and nice people in the four years I was there. At that time the Army had all the dorms, so we lived in housing approved by DU, and that also was a very interesting experience. I’ve always felt that the education I got at DU has been something that no one could take away from me. Of the people with whom I kept in touch, all are deceased — the last one about a year ago. Wherever I’ve lived, I’ve always been proud to be able to say that my college degree is from the University of Denver. I’ve never had anyone say, “Where is that?”

 

Doris Reed Forsyth (BS ’47), Port Orchard, Wash.

 

 

I am really offended by the email notices that I have recently received from the “Division of Marketing and Communications” proclaiming DU’s “new brand strategy.” Talk of “branding platforms” and “visual identity” to “define and differentiate the institution for local, national and international audiences” is Madison Avenue gobbledygook and is beneath the dignity of a great university. When did DU become a commodity product like the soap that Proctor & Gamble sells at Wal-Mart? Come off it; this is ridiculous.

 

Ned Perkins (BA ’73), Bennington, Vt.

 

 

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