College of Music

Announcing 2026-27 Tiers 3 and 4 PACES Grantees

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 20:09:20 +0000

Announcing 2026-27 Tiers 3 and 4 PACES Grantees Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 08/26/2026 - 14:09

The Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship team in the Office for Outreach and Community Engagement is pleased to announce the 2026-27 Tiers 3 and 4 grantees.

Tiers 3 and 4 fund faculty-led public and community-engaged scholarship that connects research, teaching and creative work with public needs and interests. Proposed projects must connect CU �鶹ӰԺ scholarship with the expressed needs, interests or activities of external communities and be aligned with the campus definition of outreach and engagement. The selection process is guided by the Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Grants Committee.

Based on the committee’s recommendations 22 projects are receiving over $398,00 in funding this cycle.

Tier 3 (formerly CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award: Individual)
2026–27 Recipients

College of Arts and Sciences

Community-Engaged Language Revitalization
Ambrocio Gutierrez, Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics

Literacy Practicum
Rai Farrelly, Teaching Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics

Colorado Law

The Acequia Assistance Project
Gregor MacGregor, Assistant Teaching Professor
Masters of the Environment

Educating Colorado High School Students �鶹ӰԺ Their Rights
Matthew Cushing, Assistant Teaching Professor

Increasing Native Access to Vote
Christina Stanton, Associate Professor
Clinical Education Program

School of Education

Mentor Advisory Boards: Bridging the Gaps in Our Teacher Licensure Programs
Karla Scornavacco, Director
Field Experiences

Reclaiming Heritage, Identity and Community
Andrea Dyrness, Associate Professor
Program in Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice

College of Media, Communication and Information

Colombia Infrastructure Updating for Displaced Communities
Jota Samper, Assistant Professor
Program in Environmental Design

College of Music

Middle School Ensembles Program
David Rickels, Associate Professor
Department of Music Education

Tier 4 (formerly CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award: Group)
2026–27 Recipients

AQuEEN Educators’ Network: Mutual Aid in Action
Elizabeth Meyer, Professor, Program in Educational Foundations, Policy & Practice
Bethy Leonardi, Associate Professor, Program in Educational Foundations, Policy & Practice

Attention, Behavior and Learning Clinic: Affordable Pediatric Evaluations
Nomita Chhabildas, Research Associate, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Erik Willcutt, Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience

Astrosenderos: Cultivating Belonging Through Latinx Co-Created STEM Spaces
Marialis Rosario Franco, Teaching Professor, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
Seth Hornstein, Teaching Professor, Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences
John Keller, Director, Fiske Planetarium

Building AAC Capacity for Adolescents and Adults
Sherri Tennant, Clinical Assistant Professor, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
Christine Brennan, Assistant Professor, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences

Building Community Infrastructure for Air Quality Monitoring at San Lazaro Mobile Home Park
Enrique Lopez, Associate Professor, Program in STEM Education
Shelly Miller, Professor Emerita, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Collaborative Research with/for Multilingual Youth: Adams12 MLSAC
Deborah Palmer, Professor, Program in Equity, Bilingualism & Biliteracy
Michelle Renée Valladares, Faculty Affiliate, Program in Educational Foundations, Policy & Practice
Adria Padilla-Chávez, Assistant Teaching Professor, Program in Equity, Bilingualism & Biliteracy

CU Children's Book Festival 2026
Adam Crawley, Associate Teaching Professor, Program in Literacy Studies
Natalia Umaña, Assistant Professor, Research and Collections Engagement

Indigenous Connections and the Sand Creek Massacre Foundation
Brooke Neely, Research Fellow, Center for the American West
Thomas Andrews, Professor, Department of History
Andrew Cowell, Professor, Department of Linguistics

Listening to Communities: Co-developing Toolkits to Measure Sound and Air Pollution
Evan Coffey, Research Faculty, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Ellen Considine, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography
Shalom Ruben, Teaching Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Pilot Monitoring of Urban Pesticides for Human Health and Biodiversity Protection in �鶹ӰԺ, Colorado
Riley Mulhern, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies
Karen Bailey, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies
Shelly Miller, Professor Emerita, Department of Mechanical Engineering

SCENIC26: Environmental Sustainability Through Rural School Wildfire Inquiry
Daniel Knight, Associate Research Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Michael Hannigan, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Joseph Polman, Associate Dean, Program in Learning Sciences & Human Development

Seeing Justice: Video Evidence in Tribal Courts
Sandra Ristovska, Associate Professor, Department of Media Studies
Christina Stanton, Associate Professor of Clinical Law, Colorado Law

Training Lived Experience Experts as Community Researchers
Dave Ciplet, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Studies
Riley Mulhern, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

Tiers 3 and 4 fund faculty-led public and community-engaged scholarship that connects research, teaching and creative work with public needs and interests. Based on the committee’s recommendations 22 projects are receiving over $398,00 in funding this cycle.

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Announcing 2026-27 Faculty, Staff and Graduate Student Fellows and Cohorts

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 19:54:17 +0000

Announcing 2026-27 Faculty, Staff and Graduate Student Fellows and Cohorts Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 08/26/2026 - 13:54

One way the Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) team builds CU �鶹ӰԺ’s capacity for engaged scholarship is through professional development opportunities for faculty members, graduate students and staff members.

Professional development is possible through the PACES Lunch & Learn Series, micro-credential programs, one-to-one consultations or longer-term and in-depth experiences such as fellowships.

PACES is pleased to announce its 2026-27 cohorts who are learning together and extending the resources of our campus in community partnerships around Colorado.

Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars Program

Kelsey Armeni, PhD Student, DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Liz Corrado, PhD Student, DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Asher Firestone, PhD Student, DEPARTMENT OF ETHNIC STUDIES

Laura Meinzen, PhD Student, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Kasra Mirfattahi, PhD Student, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE

Amanda Sturman, Masters Student, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE

Experiential Learning Design Accelerator Program

Yohainna Abdala-Mesa, Teaching Assistant Professor, DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH & PORTUGUESE
Anthony Abiragi, Assistant Teaching Professor, PROGRAM IN WRITING AND RHETORIC
Lisa Corwin, Principle Investigator, RE3ACH lab, DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Rai Farrelly, Teaching Associate Professor, DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS
Loren Intolubbe-Chmil, Assistant Teaching Professor, STUDENT ACADEMIC SUCCESS CENTER
Renice Obure, Assistant Teaching Professor, PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM

Graduate Student Community-Engaged Scholarship Initiative

Danielle Aguilar, PhD Candidate, NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellow, PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS, POLICY & PRACTICE
Kasra Mirfattahi, PhD Student, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE
Anthony Pinter, Assistant Teaching Professor, THE ATLAS INSTITUTE
Kaila Red Bow, Masters Student, Graduate Student Chair, CU Sustainability Council, MASTERS OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Xiaodong Yan, PhD Student, COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION, MEDIA, DESIGN AND INFORMATION

Higher Education and Democracy Fellows

Paul DeBell, Associate Professor of Political Science, FORT LEWIS COLLEGE
Holly Oberle, Assistant Professor of Political Science, COLORADO MESA UNIVERSITY
Leah Sprain, Associate Professor, Lead Higher Education and Democracy Fellow, COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION, MEDIA, DESIGN AND INFORMATION
Christina Stanton, Director of the American Indian Law Clinic, Clinical Professor, COLORADO LAW

Interdisciplinary Arts and Community Engagement Fellows

Kevin Rich, Professor, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE

Heather Pidcock-Reed, English and Theatre Faculty, OTERO COLLEGE

Erin Espelie, Associate Professor, DEPARTMENT OF CINEMA STUDIES AND MOVING IMAGE ARTS

Joy Armstrong, Director, GALLERIES OF CONTEMPORARY ART, ENT CENTER FOR THE ARTS AT UCCS
Michael Sy Uy, Director, AMERICAN MUSIC RESEARCH CENTER

Community Perspectives and Equitable Approaches to Community-Engaged Research cohorts– coming soon!

PACES is pleased to announce its 2026-27 cohorts who are learning together and extending the resources of our campus in community partnerships around Colorado.

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Benjamin Teitelbaum is New Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 22:28:04 +0000

Benjamin Teitelbaum is New Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 09/17/2025 - 16:28

Gretchen Minekime

The Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Benjamin Teitelbaum will serve as the new faculty director for strategic events and public discourse.

Teitelbaum’s role will first focus primarily on planning the Conference on World Affairs (CWA) alongside members of Strategic Relations and Communications (SRC) and committees of volunteers responsible for developing the conference’s programs.

Read on to learn more about Teitelbaum, what we can expect from CWA 2026 and how you can be involved.

____________________________________________________________________________

What are the responsibilities of the Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse?

My job is to provide a voice for faculty and to contribute to the intellectual profile of a series of public-facing events on campus, first and foremost the (CWA).

How is this role an extension of your scholarship?

I am an ethnographer of culture and politics, which is to say that I study political ideas and expressions through face-to-face observations and conversations. During my career this brought me into contact both with a range of politicians and strategists, as well as writers, artists, and musicians who play (I came to think) a much larger role in shaping our political life than they are often given credit for.

Because the work I do ended up not fitting neatly into any academic discipline, and because much of it commented on current events, a lot of my writing appears in public rather than academic forums. CWA embodies much about the way I’ve gone about my work, in other words: it seeks to understand our world by bringing a diverse range of voices into dialogue with each other and the public.

What can our campus community look forward to for CWA 2026?

Though our planning is still in progress, I think you should expect two broad changes: the first is that I want the conference to be built to a greater extent by input from CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty. We have an exceptional concentration of expertise and insight in our midst, and I think we can do a better job of mobilizing it for the conference. That’s my priority.

Second, I want us to increase the diversity of our speakers. And I mean “diversity” in all ways: politically, socially, disciplinarily, etc. Part of the story of politics and culture during the past 10 years or so has been the exploding or transformation of establishments. To me, this means that any effort to understand how we got here, and where we might be going, needs to pay more attention to voices at the margins—people who we might have dismissed as irrelevant yesterday, but who could find themselves in positions of exceptional power or insight today.

How can faculty members, staff members and students be involved in CWA?

The best way to get involved is to join one of our six programming subcommittees (Arts, Business, Politics and Media, International Affairs, Human Condition, and Science and Technology). Joining will give you a direct role with identifying topics and speakers to feature at the conference.

Students can also volunteer during the conference itself, such as by being an on-campus guide for visitors.

But I especially want to add that even faculty who can’t volunteer can still submit recommendations for guest speakers.

Volunteer at CWA | Nominate a speaker for CWA

Why is it important for our campus community members to participate in public and community-engaged scholarship?

Part of the motivation could be purely selfish—you will learn more about the things you are studying and care about if you open yourself up to the ideas, experiences and wisdom of more people. Some scholars or professionals are used to doing that within their professional networks, but there is more to be gained by expanding. Another motivation comes from responsibility: the public, in various ways, supports our work and research, and one hopes that our aspirations in some way align with those of our wider community. For that reason, I think we ought to consider enhanced communication, and even collaboration and coordination, with the public impacted by our work.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Consider getting involved with CWA in the planning stages or during conference week. You can submit ideas for topics and speakers, request a classroom visit, volunteer on a program committee and more.

Learn more about the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship and how it supports the work of CU �鶹ӰԺ faculty, staff and students.

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Notes of Growth: CU �鶹ӰԺ Students Lead Middle School Musicians to Success

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 17:41:05 +0000

Notes of Growth: CU �鶹ӰԺ Students Lead Middle School Musicians to Success Arielle Wiedenbeck Mon, 04/29/2024 - 11:41

Jane Appel

On April 26, the participants of the Middle School Ensemble (MSE) program fine-tuned their pieces one last time. There was a nervous, yet exciting, energy running through the middle school, high school and college students as they prepared for their audience to arrive. When the doors opened and the lights dimmed, the middle schoolers giddily looked around for their families and waited for their turn to shine on stage.

The MSE program at CU �鶹ӰԺ meets the desire young musicians have for more advanced ensemble experience, as well as the need for classroom experience among future music teachers.

The program brings together middle school music students interested in a free after-school music activity, high school students interested in teaching music and CU �鶹ӰԺ students pursuing a Bachelor of Music Education degree.

CU �鶹ӰԺ student volunteer Becky Donoho described the MSE program as a “no-pressure environment” where she can experiment with ideas and ways of teaching. She, and many others, plan on teaching middle school music in the future. By participating in this program, she can observe and practice what works.

A grant recipient of the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship, the MSE program meets weekly for two hours from January through April. CU �鶹ӰԺ students and high school students prepare the middle schoolers for the end-of-session concert. Middle schoolers learn and grow immensely during the program. That growth is among the CU students’ favorite parts of volunteering. At the start, especially with the sixth graders, the middle schoolers do not have a lot of music experience. By the end of the program, they improve so significantly that their teachers hear it in rehearsals and their parents hear it in concert.

Sixth grader Stella Vissers said, “My favorite part is that I can be challenged a lot more here than in school. Since this is an after-school program everyone wants to be here.”

There are three different roles that CU �鶹ӰԺ students can take within the program. The first is called a section coach. The students who assume this role are normally first- or second-year students who come to college knowing one instrument best. During the first hour of rehearsal, the section coach oversees a mixed group of instrumentalists to learn how to teach instruments they might not be completely comfortable with yet. In the second hour, section coaches are assigned a group of middle schoolers who play the same instrument as them.

More advanced CU �鶹ӰԺ music education majors can also serve as conductors.

Associate Professor of Music Education David Rickels has run the Middle School Ensembles (MSE) program for the last 12 years.

“The roles are what we call downward inclusive,” he said. “Every conductor is also assigned one of the sections, but during full ensemble rehearsal the section coaches sit next to the kids while the conductor is up on the podium leading a class like a teacher in public school would.”

The final role is the area director. Rickels describes it as “the conductor-plus,” meaning they have the same responsibilities as the conductors, but they also take on logistical and administrative responsibilities. Area directors get a feel for a teacher’s broader scope of responsibilities such as taking attendance, communicating with parents, passing out music and setting up chairs in the correct formations.

Rickels has observed his students growing in real-time—from experiencing their first time in a position of authority and their first time being called Mr., Ms. or Mx. to having fun with the middle schoolers while gaining valuable teaching experience.

Logan Indge, CU �鶹ӰԺ student and area director said, “You can learn all the theory. You can learn all the practice. But what’s really important is being in the classroom with the kiddos.”

High school students get involved in the College of Music’s Trying on Teaching program. These students are normally juniors recommended by their teachers and interested in music-education careers. They are given roles like those of the first-year CU �鶹ӰԺ students, but only in their primary instrument.

With the help of the high school and college volunteers, the middle schoolers receive individual attention, and their music skills develop quickly.

Middle schooler KJ Tyler said, “At first, I was a little skeptical, because at my school we have after-school clubs, and one of them is basketball, which is one of my favorite sports. But eventually my mom convinced me to do this [MSE program], and it’s awesome. I am extremely glad that she did.”

Tyler went on to say that his biggest struggle while playing percussion was timing, and that the MSE program has advanced his skills greatly.

For some, like CU �鶹ӰԺ student Sofia Eyl, involvement in MSE continues over the years.

“I was involved in this program when I was in middle school, and meeting some of the people who are in my position now really got me excited about music,” said Eyl.

The quality of MES and the resulting longevity of participation is what stuck out on April 26 to CU �鶹ӰԺ staff member Arielle Wiedenbeck.

“There were stories of students who stuck with the program from middle school through college, which really speaks to the lasting quality of a program that’s been around for so many years,” said Wiedenbeck.

For more information, visit the Middle School Ensemble program’s webpage.

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College of Music

Announcing 2026-27 Tiers 3 and 4 PACES Grantees

Tier 3 (formerly CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award: Individual)2026–27 Recipients

College of Arts and Sciences

Colorado Law

School of Education

College of Media, Communication and Information

College of Music

Tier 4 (formerly CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award: Group)2026–27 Recipients

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Announcing 2026-27 Faculty, Staff and Graduate Student Fellows and Cohorts

Engaged Arts and Humanities Scholars Program

Experiential Learning Design Accelerator Program

Graduate Student Community-Engaged Scholarship Initiative

Higher Education and Democracy Fellows

Interdisciplinary Arts and Community Engagement Fellows

Off

Benjamin Teitelbaum is New Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse

What are the responsibilities of the Faculty Director for Strategic Events and Public Discourse?

How is this role an extension of your scholarship?

What can our campus community look forward to for CWA 2026?

How can faculty members, staff members and students be involved in CWA?

Why is it important for our campus community members to participate in public and community-engaged scholarship?

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Notes of Growth: CU �鶹ӰԺ Students Lead Middle School Musicians to Success

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Tier 3 (formerly CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award: Individual)
2026–27 Recipients

Tier 4 (formerly CU �鶹ӰԺ Outreach Award: Group)
2026–27 Recipients