Education & Outreach

Helping K-12 educators understand, implement Colorado's inclusive curriculum laws

Megan M Rogers — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:31:47 +0000

Helping K-12 educators understand, implement Colorado's inclusive curriculum laws Megan M Rogers Wed, 04/15/2026 - 09:31

This summer, the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education and A Queer Endeavor, both based in the CU �鶹ӰԺ School of Education, will co-host the Chords of Esperanza: Queering Biliteracy, Centering Justicia conference, designed to support K-12 educators with understanding Colorado's inclusive curriculum laws and how to support their students within the scope of these laws.

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Outreach program brings big engineering dreams to small rural towns

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 19:42:08 +0000

Outreach program brings big engineering dreams to small rural towns Megan M Rogers Thu, 04/09/2026 - 13:42

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Daniel Knight and Michael Hannigan are leading a program that connects CU �鶹ӰԺ students with rural high schools to introduce hands-on engineering experiences in the classroom. The initiative serves 12 schools and nearly 700 high school students across rural Colorado each year.

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CU �鶹ӰԺ's Rural Colorado Workshop Series keeps small-town main streets alive

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 17:46:52 +0000

CU �鶹ӰԺ's Rural Colorado Workshop Series keeps small-town main streets alive Megan M Rogers Thu, 04/02/2026 - 11:46

Coloradan

A volunteer-run program pairs CU business faculty with local organizations throughout Colorado—with implications for entrepreneurship and business vitality.

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The history of public and community-engaged scholarship at CU �鶹ӰԺ

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 20:16:01 +0000

The history of public and community-engaged scholarship at CU �鶹ӰԺ Megan M Rogers Thu, 03/26/2026 - 14:16

Coloradan

Research involving the community has been crucial to the university's ethos since its inception 150 years ago.

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Schoolyards rock! Reimagining play spaces

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 21:15:34 +0000

Schoolyards rock! Reimagining play spaces Megan M Rogers Thu, 02/19/2026 - 14:15

College of Communication, Media, Design and Information

To reimagine play spaces for young students, two �鶹ӰԺ schools enlisted expertise from the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information in redesigning their schoolyards.

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Sexual assault response: OVA expertise benefits campus and Colorado

Megan M Rogers — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 16:37:50 +0000

Sexual assault response: OVA expertise benefits campus and Colorado Megan M Rogers Fri, 01/30/2026 - 09:37

Health and Wellness Services

CU �鶹ӰԺ's Office of Victim Assistance doesn't just provide free and confidential advocacy and counseling on campus. OVA staff are also involved in statewide efforts related to sexual assault response and prevention.

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CU �鶹ӰԺ students offer free tax help through revived VITA program

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 15:07:46 +0000

CU �鶹ӰԺ students offer free tax help through revived VITA program Megan M Rogers Thu, 01/29/2026 - 08:07

Katy Marquardt Hill

Need help with your taxes this season? Starting in mid-February, trained students—many from the Leeds School of Business—will offer free, in-person tax preparation through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, known as VITA.

The service, which runs Feb. 20 through April 11, 2026, is available to qualifying taxpayers, including students, lower-income filers, seniors, people with disabilities, and those with limited English proficiency.

Hosted in the Koelbel Building, home of the Leeds School of Business, the student-led program is part of a nationwide IRS initiative to make tax filing more accessible. CU �鶹ӰԺ’s program offers free tax preparation for the community while giving students hands-on, real-world experience.

“It’s really about helping people navigate the process and get their taxes done correctly,” said Nicole Lazzeri, assistant teaching professor at Leeds who advises the VITA program. “For many taxpayers, filing can feel intimidating or overwhelming. We help them understand their situation and make sure everything is accurate.”

A program with deep roots

Leeds has a long history with VITA, helping �鶹ӰԺ County residents file thousands of tax returns over a 10-year period leading up to 2019. After a pause spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is returning in 2026 with a renewed focus on community impact and experiential learning.

While it was historically led by faculty and community volunteers, graduate students—including Masters in Accounting and Masters in Taxation students—now play a central role in running the program.

“Students get real-world experience working one-on-one with taxpayers,” Lazzeri said. “They’re not just learning tax law in the abstract—they’re applying it to situations that really matter for families.”

Who the program helps

CU �鶹ӰԺ VITA program at a glance

What: Free basic tax preparation
Who: Qualifying taxpayers, including those earning about $67,000 or less
Who prepares returns: IRS-certified CU �鶹ӰԺ student volunteers
When: Appointments begin Feb. 20
Cost: Free

The IRS VITA program has operated nationally for more than 50 years, serving taxpayers who typically earn $67,000 or less, as well as seniors, people with disabilities, and those with limited English proficiency. All services are free. Other VITA sites are located throughout Colorado at community centers, libraries and other convenient locations, and campus-based VITA programs are common nationwide, providing both educational opportunities for students and free tax help for community members.

At CU �鶹ӰԺ, student volunteers must pass IRS certification exams before preparing returns. Each return is reviewed for quality and accuracy, following IRS standards for confidentiality and oversight.

“Students in the program are trained and certified, and we guide them throughout the process,” Lazzeri said. “Faculty advisors and experienced VITA volunteers make sure every return is accurate, and students receive support every step of the way.”

More than a refund

While refunds often draw attention, Lazzeri said the program’s value goes beyond the dollar amount.

“It’s really important to get your taxes done right,” she said. “Filing accurately helps people avoid IRS letters or delays, and using VITA gives them confidence that their return is correct.”

For students, the experience offers practical training, particularly for those pursuing careers in accounting, finance and taxation.

“It’s eye-opening for students to see how the tax code affects people’s real lives,” Lazzeri said. “They learn that even technical rules have real consequences for families, and that perspective stays with them.”

How to sign up

Sign-ups open in early February, with in-person tax preparation starting Feb. 20 and running through April 11. For more information and to schedule an appointment, visit the CU �鶹ӰԺ VITA page.

Need help with your taxes this season? Trained student volunteers will prepare tax returns at no cost for qualifying community members.

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Celebrating 25 years of the Program for Teaching East Asia

Megan M Rogers — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 18:22:41 +0000

Celebrating 25 years of the Program for Teaching East Asia Megan M Rogers Thu, 01/22/2026 - 11:22

Lynn Kalinauskas

When Johanna Lohr, a �鶹ӰԺ Valley high school teacher, first visited the Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) offices on the CU �鶹ӰԺ campus in 2001, she was looking for some guidance for teaching the Asia unit of her world history course. Twenty-five years later, Lohr is one of more than 10,000 TEA program alumni who have studied in China, Japan or Taiwan on summer study tours, completed multiple TEA summer institutes or online courses, and developed her own elective courses on East Asia for her school.

Today, a visitor to TEA offices on the second floor of the Center for Asian Studies in the Denison Building is greeted by a visual archive of photos of TEA alumni in East Asia and here on the �鶹ӰԺ campus—showcasing the community and collaboration of educators and academics that are the hallmark of this program, which marks its 25th year on campus.

TEA conducts national, regional and state programs for teachers and students to fulfill its mission of bridging the gap between cutting-edge scholarship in East Asian studies and best practices in education to enhance K-12 curriculum and instruction about East Asia. TEA offers programs that help teachers in all K-12 disciplines integrate Asian content, from literature and the arts to history and STEM.

One factor in its continuing success with educators over 25 years is that TEA has reinvented its programming to meet the changing educational environment and educator needs. As examples, in 2007, TEA developed and implemented its first online course offerings. In 2008, it added Korea as an area of focus.

2001 study tour to China

Early days

On that hallway wall, the first of these photos is from 2001, but TEA predates its time at CU. TEA was founded in 1985 as the Rocky Mountain Japan Project under the umbrella of the �鶹ӰԺ-based nonprofit called Social Science Education Consortium. It became the Program for Teaching East Asia in 1997, with generous funding from the Freeman Foundation to undertake programs focusing on China as well as Japan.

In 2001, founding director Lynn Parisi collaborated with CU East Asian Studies faculty to relocate TEA to CU �鶹ӰԺ. Asked about the decision to move, Parisi, who retired in 2023, explains, “With TEA's expanded funding to provide national programs on China and Japan, moving to a university offered opportunities and advantages.” She adds, “CU faculty had been presenting at our workshops and summer institutes for many years. By formally affiliating with CU, TEA could benefit from stronger ties and partnerships with faculty. The expertise of CU's Asian studies faculty has been one of TEA's strengths throughout its history on campus. In 2000, faculty at CU were working on re-establishing the Center for Asian Studies, so the timing for a move for TEA was opportune.”

‘You've gotta have teachers’

In 1997, Freeman Foundation President Houghton Freeman brought together leading national Asian education programs from around the country, many at university National Resource Centers, but also those at private nonprofits. He challenged them to conceptualize a national effort to improve teaching and learning about East Asia at the K-12 level. In his words, “If you’re going to teach the nation something about another country, or teach them anything, you’ve gotta have teachers.”

Parisi and four colleagues pitched an idea for a national campaign that would reach 100 teachers in 17 states in its initial year through seminars about East Asian history and culture and then expand annually to reach all 50 states within 10 years. It took vision to see teachers as the main actors in a project that is now in its 28th year of funding.

The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia was thus established. It is now based in seven universities—including TEA at CU �鶹ӰԺ—and six partner sites, which the Freeman Foundation has funded since its inception. NCTA’s “feet on the ground” approach demanded coordinated, behind-the-scenes work.

TEA staff trained classroom teachers and academic specialists as seminar coordinators, who managed evening and weekend programs primarily in 13 states, including Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. When TEA created hybrid and fully online courses that teachers could access from anywhere in the country, its reach increased. In its first year, TEA recruited 93 teachers from 21 school districts. Last year, in 2025, TEA reached 967 teachers from across the nation.

While the Freeman Foundation-funded NCTA is TEA’s biggest program, grants from other sources have enabled TEA to offer diverse programs and new initiatives, including a robust curriculum development program and several Fulbright Hays group projects abroad for K-12 teachers.

Most recently, with funding from the CU Office of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship and the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, TEA’s current director Lynn Kalinauskas and TEA staff have developed programming focused on Teaching East Asia through Picture Books. This includes an in-person workshop for teachers, online courses and a community service program bringing CU undergraduate interns into elementary classrooms on the Front Range. In March 2026, TEA staff will bring their in-person workshop, Teaching Biography through East Asian Picture Books, to teachers in Tucson, through a collaboration with the University of Arizona.

TEA is one of the few institutional forces in the Rocky Mountain region (and really the nation) that systematically strengthens what students know before they arrive at CU. TEA helps K–12 educators transcend overly simplified or stereotypical narratives and equips them to teach East Asia(s) with nuance, depth, and integrity.

“In doing so, TEA shapes the intellectual ecosystem from which CU �鶹ӰԺ draws its students. TEA’s engagement with hundreds of educators over decades enriches the learning conditions of the very communities whose graduates become our undergraduates. Ultimately, TEA exemplifies what it means for a university to take responsibility for the broader educational landscape it inhabits. In a moment when global understanding is both urgently needed and increasingly contested, TEA’s work is indispensable.”

–Lauren Collins, program director and teaching assistant professor, Asian Studies

Faculty research goes beyond the campus

During its time at CU, TEA has worked closely with its faculty members, drawing on their expertise to deliver cutting-edge scholarship to program participants. They have given countless presentations in person and online, accompanied TEA staff on study tours to China, Japan and Taiwan, and have been crucial components of on-campus summer institutes and local workshops.

In 2002, Tim Oakes, professor of geography, brought TEA teachers to Guizhou, China, to share his fieldwork. Reflecting on his experience, he noted, “It always felt like a really unique opportunity to see if I could translate or distill the kind of work that I do in a way that could be useful for teachers and ultimately young learners.” He adds, “A large part of what TEA workshops can inculcate in young learners is a curiosity about the world that they can then carry forward to the university. To me, that’s a central thing that universities need to be doing for their communities.”

As faculty worked with TEA, they were also thinking of the long-term impact of their efforts. Helping K-12 teachers with the latest scholarship or specific research, Oakes says, is one of the most important things scholars can do at a university. One scholar, Tim Weston, was influenced by such a teacher when he was a high school student in Iowa City. This teacher later became a consultant for TEA, coordinating seminars in Iowa. Weston is now a professor of history here at CU �鶹ӰԺ.

Faculty interviewed for this article also noted the importance TEA has had on their careers. Lauren Collins, now Asian studies program director and teaching assistant professor at CU, worked for TEA early in her career. She explains: “I first began working with TEA in 2008 after completing my MA in China studies from the University of Washington in Seattle.” At Collins’ very first TEA summer institute, one of the keynote speakers was the legendary historian John Dower. She says, “Learning from Dower, along with several other experts on Japanese history and digital humanities, and being exposed to this incredible resource, completely reshaped how I thought about teaching and studying Asia.”

Sungyun Lim, associate professor of history, says, “I consider myself very fortunate to have met TEA as I began my career…because I learned to think about the pedagogical impact of my research and teaching from early on. From engaging with the teachers in the program, I came to better understand where my students were coming from—what they learn about Korea and East Asia, as well as where Korea and East Asian contents fit into the secondary education curriculum in the U.S.”

She continues to note a synergy created between faculty: “Being part of the TEA program also gave me the valuable opportunity to meet other scholars in the field and learn from them about how they approach teaching in general and teaching about Korea in particular. As they were coming from different disciplines and different kinds of institutions with varying length of teaching experiences, it gave me exposure to a diverse array of teaching approaches, perspectives and content focus, which all enriched my own teaching. I think the program really puts CU on the map for scholars who are interested in pedagogy and gives our faculty an invaluable opportunity to engage with many scholars in the field in a meaningful and unique way.”

Tom Zeiler, professor of history, echoes these sentiments on his work as lead faculty on a summer institute: “I remember teaming up with Marcia Yonemoto, with Lynn Parisi supervising, on lectures on the Pacific War. The high school teachers were just wonderful, and every time we did it, there was somebody with a “hook”—a teacher, for example, who was writing a book based on the memoirs of her great uncle who fought in that conflict on some island now long memorialized but being forgotten. Honestly, I learned more from the students, and from my colleagues like Marcia and Lynn, than I likely taught others!”

Marcia Yonemoto, professor of history, says, “I came to CU in 1995 as an assistant professor of Japanese history and began participating in TEA programs almost immediately. I have continued to work with TEA almost every year since. Over the course of these decades, I have learned so much from the TEA staff and from the participating teachers from all over the country. Being a faculty consultant and instructor for TEA means I am always trying to figure out what is essential for high school students to know about Japan and East Asia, and how to convey that content clearly and concisely to teachers who will turn the information into lesson plans and activities. I have consistently been impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of the teachers who participate in TEA programs, and I have learned so much from their responses to the readings and lectures I and other instructors provide.”

2025 study tour to Taiwan

Engaging CU students

Moving to CU in 2001 offered TEA the opportunity to work closely with students—as graduate assistants but also as undergraduate interns on several school outreach programs—who continue to contribute energy and fresh ideas to the program.

“TEA initiated its first service-learning project building on an idea suggested by one of our undergraduate assistants in 2001,” says Parisi. In 2004, TEA organized an exhibit, “Facing East, Facing West: Visualizing Early Encounters between Japan and the United States,” at the �鶹ӰԺ Library. Student interns learned about the historical period and art of the exhibit and trained to work as docents for public school field trips, CU course assignments and general public tours.

Christy Go, TEA’s current graduate assistant, has been central to the Teaching East Asia through Picture Books project. “Having the opportunity to work with TEA has been life-changing and made a tremendous impact on my career as a music educator. TEA has given me the opportunity to truly bridge the fields of music education and ethnomusicology in my work and research as a PhD student. I have learned so much not only about the history and culture of East Asia and how to apply that to my music teaching but also how to engage teachers and students in professional development and learning that has made me a better teacher and teacher educator. I know my time at TEA will extend to my future teaching and research both in academia and K-12 education. Truly grateful for such a fantastic and impactful program!”

A lasting impact on teachers

Through hand-written letters, cards and emails, teachers have expressed their gratitude for TEA’s professional development opportunities.

Catherine Ishida, TEA assistant director for Japan and Korea projects, who has been with the program since 2005, emphasizes that, “The lasting impact of TEA’s work in K-16 exchange is the enhancement and enrichment of the study of Chinese, Japanese and Korean culture and history in secondary and elementary classroom instruction and the university’s expanded reach of international education opportunities to communities of teachers and students beyond campus boundaries.”

Ishida also notes TEA’s role in informing the movement to shift secondary western civilization courses to world history by providing current scholarship and resources for teachers. Parisi expands on this, noting, “TEA has had an impact on how area studies ‘outreach’ was conceptualized and programmed. Our program began working at a time in the mid-1980s when there was a focus on global education and an effort to move professional development for teachers beyond basic introductions to other countries and cultures. I think our work in the early years of TEA, along with our colleagues at other Asia-focused programs, changed ‘outreach’ into in-depth professional development for teachers, bringing them into conversation with scholars and specialists about new scholarship that went beyond textbooks to enrich and complicate their own teaching and student learning.

“TEA's biggest contribution,” she says, “has been as a co-founder and as a national site of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. As collaborating members of a national program, TEA and our colleagues at the six other national NCTA sites have offered hundreds of seminars, workshops, study tours and other programming for teachers. NCTA has developed curriculum and curriculum resources. It has established a national book award for children and young adult literature about Asia. NCTA has raised awareness of education about East Asia. At the same time, it has established a program that recognizes teachers’ accomplishments for in-depth study of East Asia and in so doing, has motivated teachers across the country to study and teach about East Asia and to become involved in a professional community of educators.”

Teachers write to TEA staff and the Freeman Foundation every year to express their thanks.

A dedicated staff

The TEA office on Broadway is modest but the staff work tirelessly to deliver quality programs that make that lasting impact. Parisi notes, “East Asia is our content focus, but if TEA and NCTA were just teaching teachers about a geographic area, it would be doing a lot, but not enough. Through the years, the TEA has benefitted from professional staff who have been outstanding cross-cultural educators as well as content specialists, and this has been reflected in TEA programming. TEA makes a difference because its programs teach the attitudes, skills and habits of mind of cross-cultural understanding and global citizenship.”

Looking ahead

The state of area studies is currently uncertain as funding for programs that supported education about the world is critically cut or eliminated. AI brings with it new educational challenges. TEA is looking to continue its work and establish new partnerships to sustain the gains that have been made through its outreach efforts. The commitment to its mission has never been stronger and is certainly needed today as much as it was 25 years ago. Onward!

The TEA program has reached thousands of educators through 25 years of successful programming at CU �鶹ӰԺ. Learn more about its history and impact.

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We are water: How a Colorado community is reimagining its relationship with water

Megan M Rogers — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 19:12:13 +0000

We are water: How a Colorado community is reimagining its relationship with water Megan M Rogers Wed, 01/07/2026 - 12:12

A new exhibit devoted to water issues recently opened at the Alamosa Public Library and focuses on place-based education and storytelling to bring together multi-generational audiences.

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Physics conference brings 120 undergraduates to �鶹ӰԺ

Megan M Rogers — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 16:20:57 +0000

Physics conference brings 120 undergraduates to �鶹ӰԺ Megan M Rogers Tue, 11/11/2025 - 09:20

Undergraduate researchers from eight regional universities put their research on display at the first Colorado Undergraduate Physics Conference, organized by CU �鶹ӰԺ physics students.

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Education & Outreach

Helping K-12 educators understand, implement Colorado's inclusive curriculum laws

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A program with deep roots

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Celebrating 25 years of the Program for Teaching East Asia

Early days

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Faculty research goes beyond the campus

Engaging CU students

A lasting impact on teachers

A dedicated staff

Looking ahead

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