Message from Dean Howard

The Value of Internships

My daughter arrived at the hotel well after midnight, exhausted from a long day of work and a three-hour train ride from New York to Washington, D.C.  Her grandfather and grandmother were going to be buried the next day at Arlington National Cemetery, and she was determined to be there, even though her tenure at her new job with a major financial institution in New York was so short that she had not yet accumulated any leave time.  Fortunately, she had an understanding boss, and he agreed that she should make the trip. 

Afterwards, my wife and I traveled north with our daughter to visit her new home in Hoboken, New Jersey and to acquaint ourselves with her new reality.  She could not be happier.  She has a job she loves, one her finance major trained her to do, in one of the great banks of the world.  At dinner we marveled at her good fortune, and she reminded us it was her internship the summer between her junior and senior year that made all the difference.  Those eight weeks gave her a chance to show what she could do, and even in an economic downturn that has led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the financial sector, her supervisors knew they had to find a job for her. 

As we talked, I could not help but reflect on the value of internships.  They work. They allow students to become familiar with a company, a governmental agency, or a profession.  Students can determine whether the reality of the workplace matches their expectations, whether the company is really one at which the student could be happy as an employee, and they gain valuable skills that will serve them well in the future, whether or not the experience leads to a job offer.  Companies benefit from the enthusiasm, the insights, and the new thinking that interns bring to the table.  Moreover, businesses and agencies have an opportunity to evaluate a potential future employee over a relatively long period of time in a real work setting.  They can be confident, when a job offer is made, that the employee can do the job and has the potential to move up in the organization.

Given the obvious benefits of internships and UC Denver’s proximity to a multitude of small and large businesses, as well as governmental and non-profit agencies, one might think that most of our students would participate in internships.  However, only 300 CLAS students participate annually in internships sponsored by UC Denver, and the lack of integration between institutions of higher education and downtown Denver businesses, particularly small businesses, has become of matter of great concern to the Downtown Denver Partnership.  As a result, the DDP has established a Small Business Development and Higher Education Committee to better connect the two groups.  I am a member of this committee and I look forward to the opportunity to develop stronger ties between UC Denver and the Denver Business Community. 

UC Denver has a good Experiential Learning Center, led by Lissa Gallagher, that will work with me on this effort, but I would also appreciate input from faculty and staff.  If you have overseen students participating in internship programs, I welcome your comments about the programs and ways in which they might be improved from all perspectives (student, business, and faculty/staff).  I also welcome your suggestions with regard to programs we might offer to businesses and agencies that would help them to see UC Denver as a valuable partner in their efforts to recruit, educate, and retain employees. 

With all best wishes,

Dan

Center for Humanities and the Arts: Call for UC Denver Participant

2009-2010 Theme: Migration

In an era of radical globalization and erosion of national boundaries, migration has become a focus for research in many different disciplines.  During the academic year 2009-2010, the Center for Humanities and the Arts (CHA) at the University of Colorado at Boulder will make “Migration” its theme.  In particular, we are interested in the cultural consequences--past, present, and future--of migration, which we interpret broadly to include not only movements of people, but also the transportation of artifacts, ideas, art, music, cultural practices, ideologies, religions, genres, cuisine, crops, stimulants, and narcotics from one place to another.  In our investigation of migration, we hope to historicize “globalization,” which began many centuries ago, but has been intensified in recent centuries by remarkable advances in transportation, communication, and movement of capital.  During the past two decades, migration has become a leading area of interdisciplinary research in relation to transatlantic studies, Caribbean studies, Mediterranean studies, and comparative colonial studies.  Likewise, considerable work has been done on the relation between exile and war, on the one hand, and migration, on the other.  In Colorado and elsewhere, immigration has become a sharply contested issue, one that pits the aspirations of undocumented workers against concerns about border security and domestic social, political, and economic consequences. 
(More information)

If you are interested in being considered to be UCD's participant  for this year, please email a current CV and a letter describing your interest to Mary Coussons-Read no later than Wednesday, August 12.   Thank you for your interest!!

Web 2.0 Inventory Request

Katy Brown is collecting information from the departments in an effort to inventory and catalog all of our various Web 2.0 efforts. Eventually, the campus-wide committee that she's working with for this effort would like to provide the university community with guidelines and advice on how to effectively use these technologies.

By Wednesday, August 12, please send Katy Brown a summary of the technologies you, your department, center, etc, may be involved with, including:
- Blogs
- RSS
- Facebook
- Ning
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
- YouTube
- Other applications – pingfm, flikr, slideroll, google maps, etc.

Please provide
- the technology being used
- a link or example
- when you started (if possible)
- why and how you’re using it
- your estimation of success/failure with the technology (if possible)

We recognize that some of this may not be “official;" we want to survey the landscape of the various contacts with which audiences may be intersecting that are related to the university.

CLAS in the Spotlight

Chair of Sociology Sharon Araji will attend the American Sociological Association meeting in San Francisco from August 7 - 12. She will participate in activities related to her position as president-elect of the Pacific Sociological Association and immediate past president of Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Honor Society for the field of sociology.

Study: Redheads' extra pain may cause fear of dentists
CNN.com, 07/30/09
Abbie Beacham, assistant professor of psychology, has recently received some media attention for her publication in the Journal of the American Dental Association on how redheaded patients have a genetic variation associated with a fear of dental pain and care. She was a co-investigator on the NIH grant.

UC Denver hosts summer camp for budding writers
YourHub.com, 07/28/09 and YourHub print, 08/05/09
Drew Bixby, assistant director of the Writing Center, was interviewed about the writing camps co-hosted by the Writing Center and the Metro Denver Promotion of Letters (MDPL) on our campus in July.

Take a Deep Breath and Exhale
Living Healthy, August/September 2009
Associate Dean Mary Coussons-Read was interviewed for her expertise about coping with stress.

Akihiko Hirose, assistant professor of sociology, will present his paper, "Structure, Agency, and Micro-Macro Distinction: Some Principles of Social Structure" at the American Sociological Association meeting in San Francisco from August 7 - 12.

Steven G. Medema, professor of economics, has a new book published by Princeton University Press called The Hesitant Hand: Taming Self-Interest in the History of Economic Ideas. Related, on July 24, he had a blog post published by the Wall Street Journal called The Invisible Hand Isn't Broken.

Robert Metcalf and Mark Tanzer, associate professors in the department of philosophy, have published the first English translation of Martin Heidegger's Basic Concepts of Aristotelian Philosophy, an influential lecture course presented at Marburg University in 1924.  The publisher, Indiana University Press, describes it as follows:  "A sophisticated and conscientious translation that captures Heidegger's subtle expressions of detail and nuance.  Available in English for the first time, these lectures make a significant contribution to ancient philosophy, Aristotle studies, Continental philosophy and phenomenology."  

Students get an experience in compassion
KUSA-TV CH 9 (NBC), 7/17/09
Tam Barthel, MA, internship advisor in the Experiential Learning Center, interviewed with KUSA-TV CH 9 (NBC) about a new internship program offered this summer at Shalom Park in which 10 of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' pre-health undergrad students are shadowing Certified Nurse Assistants. The students get hands-on experience, basic health coursework and learn safety regulations, CPR, infection control and patient care education and at the end of the internship, the students are qualified to take the exam to become CNAs.

New Study: Migraines Impact Education (written copy)
School Work Suffers In Teen Migraine Sufferers (video)
KCNC CH 4 (CBS), July 24
Daniel Rees, associate professor of economics, interviewed with KCNC CH 4 (CBS) for a story on his recent study linking migraine headaches to reduced academic performance.

David Tracer, associate professor of anthropology, was interviewed on July 27 on the Radio New Zealand program "Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan" about his work on the unique early child development pattern among the Au tribe of Papua New Guinea. (Listen to the complete interview)

Events

"Make my Way"
A super-short play by Cate Wiley
as part of 10-12 short play readings
Saturday, Aug. 8
6:00 pm
Curious Theatre, Denver
Tickets: $17.50
(more info)

CLAS Chairs Retreat
Monday, Aug. 10
9:00 am - 1:30 pm
TIV 640

CLAS New Faculty Orientation
Monday, Aug. 10
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
TIV 440

CLAS Chairs’ and New Faculty Reception
Monday, Aug. 10
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
TIV 640

"The Decisions of Migration and Remittances in Rural China"
Department of Economics Seminar Series
Qi Qin, International College at Beijing Instructor
Friday, Aug. 14
3:30 - 5:00 pm
Lawrence Street Center, 4th Floor Conference Room
1380 Lawrence Street
Info: 303-315-2030

IN THIS ISSUE:

Message from Dean Howard

CHA: Call for Participant

Web 2.0 Technologies

CLAS in the Spotlight

Events

ARCHIVES:

Past issues since Jan 21, 2007.

USEFUL LINKS:

CLAS Event Calendar

CLAS News

Faculty Resources

Staff Resources

Campus News

The CLAS Deans' Notes is a bi-weekly newsletter
for college faculty and staff.

EDITOR:

Katy Brown
303.556.6663
Katy.Brown @ucdenver.edu