Press Releases:
September 2007
Sept. 20, 2007
METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE of DENVER
REVAMPED DEPARTMENT SPIKES ENROLLMENT AT METRO STATE
Enrollment up 56 percent in African and African American Studies Department
DENVER – Numbers are up in the African and African American Studies (AAS) Department at Metropolitan State College of Denver according to the Census Fall 2007 report released by the Office of Institutional Research on Monday, Sept. 10. The report shows that enrollment for full-time equivalent students in the department is up 56 percent over last fall, the largest percentage increase of any department.
According to Akbarali Thobhani, interim department chair and emeritus Professor of African American Studies at Metro State, the increase can be attributed to a “variety of factors from the addition of African studies in late 2005 to enriched classroom experiences that not only take you out of the classroom, but to other states and abroad for first-hand experiences.”
One such class is the “Gullah Experience” taught by Professor Ella Maria Ray. It offers students the experience of visiting African descendants living along the coastline of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. It’s an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the Gullah culture beyond the realm of textbooks, films and class lectures. In November, the class will travel to St. Helena Island and the Penn Center in South Carolina and also to Savannah, Ga.
“The commitment of this faculty is tremendous,” says Ray. “We really want students to leave Metro with a kind of academic rigor that will allow them to be anywhere. But beyond that we want them to have a deep understanding of the vastness of humanity.”
In that effort, this past summer, 16 Metro State students traveled to Kenya on a month-long study abroad program organized by assistant professors Lucas Shamala and Derrick Hudson. The group studied politics and culture, in part, by visiting universities and museums, volunteering at an orphanage and listening to Kenyan politicians speak. One result of that trip was a campus visit and keynote presentation by presidential candidate, the Honorable Raila Odinga on September 11.
These ongoing events play a major role in marketing of the department according to Thobhani. “The events continue to build bridges in the community.”
Thobhani also attributes increased enrollment to the fact that many AAS courses fulfill general studies requirements in four categories: multicultural, historical, arts and letters, and social sciences. “That connection provides a tremendous support base,” says Thobhani. “Initially, there were students that resisted having to take a multicultural class, but a number of students have since come to me and other faculty to tell us how pleased they were for the exposure to a different set of knowledge.”
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Metro State is a fully-accredited, four-year institution, serving more than 21,000 students. It has the second-largest undergraduate enrollment in Colorado and is one of the largest four-year public colleges in the nation. Metro State enrolls the highest number of students of color among four-year colleges in the state. It boasts 60,000 alumni, 90 percent of whom stay in Colorado after graduation.
Sept. 17, 2007
METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE of DENVER
Metro State hosts immigration debate series
First debate features former Colorado Gov. Lamm and economist Benjamin Powell
DENVER - Metropolitan State College of Denver’s School of Business is sponsoring a debate regarding immigration between economist Benjamin Powell and former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm. “Immigration: Economic Boom or Bust – Separating Myth from Reality” will be held on Thursday, Sept. 27 in the Tivoli Turnhalle. This will be the first in a series of debates at Metro State on the immigration issue. The series is open to the public.
Costs range from free for general admission to $26 for lunch with reserved seating for Metro State faculty, staff and students; $30 for all others. To register for lunch and for more information go to www.mscd.edu/news/debate. Registration for lunch ends Sept. 21.
The program, which will run from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., begins with each side presenting theory and facts supporting their respective positions. After lunch, an open forum will give Powell and Lamm the opportunity to provide rejoinders and respond to questions from the audience.
“This event and the programs to follow in the series will place Metro State in the spotlight for assuming leadership in addressing this complex and divisive issue as the U.S. moves into the important 2008 election cycle,” said School of Business Dean John Cochran.
Benjamin Powell, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University, is an assistant professor of economics at Boston’s Suffolk University and an economist with the university’s Beacon Hill Institute, an economics think tank. He has written widely about immigration including “How to Reform Immigration Law” in the April 2006 Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Economic Myths of Immigration” in the December 2005 San Diego Union-Tribune and “Immigration Reform that Both Sides Can Support” in the May 2005 Phoenix Business Journal.
Richard Lamm was governor of Colorado from 1975-87. Currently he is co-director of the Institute for Public Policy Studies and executive director of the Center for Public Policy Issues and Contemporary Studies, both at the University of Denver. He is chairman of the Advisory Board of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), and on the Board of Directors of the Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America (DASA).
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Metro State is a fully-accredited, four-year institution, serving more than 21,000 students. It has the second-largest undergraduate enrollment in Colorado and is one of the largest four-year public colleges in the nation. Metro State enrolls the highest number of students of color among four-year colleges in the state. It boasts 60,000 alumni, 90 percent of whom stay in Colorado after graduation
September 10, 2007
Metropolitan State College of Denver
METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE OF DENVER NAMES MICK JACKOWSKI INTERIM DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR INNOVATION
(Denver, CO) – Metropolitan State College of Denver President Stephen Jordan announces Mick Jackowski, Ph.D., as interim director for the College’s Center for Innovation (CI). The center offers students cutting-edge and creative curricula in entrepreneurship education.
Jackowski is an associate professor of marketing at Metro State, specializing in brand, reputation and relationship management. He co-founded Brand Spankin New (BSN), a lead CI program, and one of the first student-operated businesses in the country operating as part of an undergraduate curriculum. BSN (www.brandspankinnew.org) students design, manufacture and market home and office furnishings.
“I hope to build on CI’s strong foundation, enhance its innovative reputation and develop more relationships in the community,” Jackowski said.
Metro State’s Center for Innovation makes entrepreneurship education a college-wide and community-wide experience. CI’s cross-curriculum endeavor provides a myriad of benefits to students in a variety of academic disciplines. CI reaches out to under-represented populations as part of the College’s diversity initiative.
Before joining Metro State’s faculty in 2003, Jackowski was co-CEO of a management consulting firm recognized by the Boulder County Business Report in 2002 as the second fastest growing company in the county. His marketing career began in professional sports. Jackowski has been director of media relations for the Arena Football League, director of communications for the National Lacrosse League, and electronic media coordinator for the National Football League International’s NFL Europe (formerly World League).
Jackowski earned his Ed.D. from University of Northern Colorado; a master’s degree from University of Massachusetts and a bachelor’s degree from University of Buffalo.
Metro State College is a fully-accredited, four-year institution, offering 52 majors and 72 minors for 21,150+ students. It has the second-largest undergraduate enrollment in Colorado and is one of the largest four-year public colleges in the nation. Metro State enrolls the highest number of students of color among four-year colleges in the state. It boasts 61,000 alumni, 90 percent of whom stay in Colorado after graduation. Visit http://www.mscd.edu.
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September 10, 2007
Metropolitan State College of Denver
METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE IS SYSTEM ONE OF FEW IN U.S. TO RECEIVE ABET ACCREDIATION
(Denver, CO) – Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Computer Information Systems (CIS) program is one of a small number of such programs in the country to earn Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accreditation. The University of Nebraska at Omaha is the only other institution in the western U.S. with ABET accreditation.
CIS joins the College’s other ABET-accredited programs – computer science and three engineering technology programs (civil, electrical and mechanical).
“It was a team effort,” said Professor Abel Moreno, Ph.D., and CIS department chair. “All 16 of the department’s full-time faculty participated in varying degrees.”
ABET is composed of four accreditation commissions: applied science, computer, engineering and technology. It began accrediting information systems programs in 2002-03. A year ago, only 20 of 1,000 or more programs in the country had earned ABET recognition.
Metro State College is a fully-accredited, four-year institution, offering 52 majors and 72 minors for 21,150+ students. It has the second-largest undergraduate enrollment in Colorado and is one of the largest four-year public colleges in the nation. Metro State enrolls the highest number of students of color among four-year colleges in the state. It boasts 61,000 alumni, 90 percent of whom stay in Colorado after graduation. Visit http://www.mscd.edu.
September 7, 2007
Metropolitan State College of Denver
METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE OF DENVER RECEIVES ADDITIONAL LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FUNDING
(Denver, CO) – Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Teaching with Primary Sources-Colorado (TPS-Colorado) receives Library of Congress funding through 2010.
The $350,000 grant funds this pilot program that trains area teachers to use the over 11 million online primary source materials from the Library of Congress. Metro State was one of 10 U.S. higher education institutions awarded an initial four-year $2,000,000 Library grant in 2003 to develop TPS-Colorado (then called Adventure of the American Mind-Colorado).
“The Library of Congress considers us a model program, and the extension of our funding confirms this,” said Peggy O’Neill-Jones, TPS-Colorado director.
TPS-Colorado training benefits teachers, school districts and students. Primary sources are snippets of history that may include letters, manuscripts, diaries, journals, newspapers, speeches, photos, interviews, and others. They often come with minimal context. Working with primary sources requires students to be analytical, to examine sources thoughtfully, and to determine what else they need to know to make inferences from the material.
The Library of Congress chose TPS-Colorado as one of four pilot regional centers this past June. That distinction allows the program to work with teachers in western states, including Utah, Arizona, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and New Mexico.
Metro State College is a fully-accredited, four-year institution, offering 52 majors and 72 minors for 21,150+ students. It has the second-largest undergraduate enrollment in Colorado and is one of the largest four-year public colleges in the nation. Metro State enrolls the highest number of students of color among four-year colleges in the state. It boasts 61,000 alumni, 90 percent of whom stay in Colorado after graduation. Visit http://www.mscd.edu.
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