The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System will be holding a series of forums to solicit stakeholder input with regard to the characteristics and responsibilities of a Chancellor for the Colorado State University System.
      
Ms. Diane Evans, current Treasurer for the Board of Governors along with Mr. Dick Robinson, past governing board Chair, CSU alum, and Denver businessman, will be serving as co-chairs for these forums. 
      
As a key participant in the Fort Collins community, we’d like to invite your participation in these important meetings.   Please plan to attend the specific session listed below, or if unable to attend at that time, we welcome your input at any of the open meetings. 

Also note, if you are unable to attend one of these sessions you can provide input via the Board website at www.csusystem.edu and click on the link marked “stakeholder input.” 
      
All stakeholder meetings will be held at the Lory Student Center/Grey Rock Room as follows:

February 10, 2009 – Ft. Collins, Colorado – Host: CSU-Ft. Collins
      
8am – 8:45am: Meeting with staff, state classified, AP council

9am- 9:45am: Meeting with faculty, faculty council

10am-10:45am: Meeting with students, student government

11am-11:45am: Meeting with Deans Council and VP Cabinet

12:00-1pm: Luncheon with major donors

1:15pm-2pm: Meeting with business community, elected officials,
and videoconferencing with Grand Junction

2:15pm-3pm: Meeting with alumni, athletics program supporters

We look forward to your attendance and participation in these very important meetings.

A Colorado State University student-run program that introduces all aspects of agriculture to elementary-aged children is on the road at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. A scaled-down version of the Ag Adventure program is currently in full swing at the 2009 National Western Stock Show, which continues through Sunday, Jan. 25.

Hands-on activities

Ag Adventure teaches school groups and other visitors about livestock production, crop production, animal husbandry, land stewardship and the “farm-to-plate” process through a series of hands-on activities.

Last year was the inaugural year for Ag Adventure at the National Western Stock Show. The efforts resulted in educational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of visitors who traveled through the Stock Show during the 16-day event. In 2008, the Ag Adventure booth won the “Most Educational Display.”

“In our first year working with the Ag Adventure program, the National Western was highly impressed by the motivation, professionalism and passion that the CSU students had for their industry,” said Angie Cue, senior manager of Commercial Exhibits at the National Western Stock Show. “We look forward to building a strong relationship with the Ag Adventure program in the future.”

Embarking on 9th year

The Ag Adventure program is embarking on its 9th year overall. Every fall, nearly 1,700 third graders from more than 30 different elementary schools come to the Colorado State Agricultural Research and Development Education Center, or ARDEC, to take part in the adventure. More than 100 Colorado State students coordinate the program each year.

Agricultural and Resource Economics professor Marshall Frasier serves as adviser to the student group that organizes the program. “Ag Adventure upholds two missions of a land-grant university: education and outreach,” Frasier said.

The Ag Adventure booth at the 2009 National Western Stock Show is open to the public on the 3rd Floor, Hall of Education. The booth houses five different stations with age-appropriate, interactive lessons on agriculture.

A Colorado State University student-run program that introduces all aspects of agriculture to elementary-aged children is on the road at the National Western Stock Show in Denver. A scaled-down version of the Ag Adventure program is currently in full swing at the 2009 National Western Stock Show, which continues through Sunday, Jan. 25.

Hands-on activities

Ag Adventure teaches school groups and other visitors about livestock production, crop production, animal husbandry, land stewardship and the “farm-to-plate” process through a series of hands-on activities.

Last year was the inaugural year for Ag Adventure at the National Western Stock Show. The efforts resulted in educational opportunities for hundreds of thousands of visitors who traveled through the Stock Show during the 16-day event. In 2008, the Ag Adventure booth won the “Most Educational Display.”

“In our first year working with the Ag Adventure program, the National Western was highly impressed by the motivation, professionalism and passion that the CSU students had for their industry,” said Angie Cue, senior manager of Commercial Exhibits at the National Western Stock Show. “We look forward to building a strong relationship with the Ag Adventure program in the future.”

Embarking on 9th year

The Ag Adventure program is embarking on its 9th year overall. Every fall, nearly 1,700 third graders from more than 30 different elementary schools come to the Colorado State Agricultural Research and Development Education Center, or ARDEC, to take part in the adventure. More than 100 Colorado State students coordinate the program each year.

Agricultural and Resource Economics professor Marshall Frasier serves as adviser to the student group that organizes the program. “Ag Adventure upholds two missions of a land-grant university: education and outreach,” Frasier said.

The Ag Adventure booth at the 2009 National Western Stock Show is open to the public on the 3rd Floor, Hall of Education. The booth houses five different stations with age-appropriate, interactive lessons on agriculture.

FORT COLLINS – Business Week’s online edition has named AVA Solar, a Colorado State University spinoff, one of the most successful startups in the nation for 2008 and one of 25 “hot” companies.

The online magazine listed the company among an exclusive list of organizations nationally that had raised the most venture capital in the 2008 calendar year. AVA Solar raised $104 million – the most venture capital for any Colorado firm for the year.

AVA is expected to start production by the end of 2009 on pioneering, patented solar panel technology developed by mechanical engineering Professor W.S. Sampath at Colorado State University. Produced at less than $1 per watt, the panels will dramatically reduce the cost of generating solar electricity and could power homes and businesses around the globe with clean energy for roughly the same cost as traditionally generated electricity. The company’s initial market will be large power users.

The company is in the process of retrofitting an existing building in Longmont into a 200-megawatt factory that will make 2-foot by 4-foot panels capable of powering large-scale utility solar power plants.

Based on the average household usage, 200 megawatt panels will power 40,000 U.S. homes.

“During the past year, we’ve successfully raised $104 million to fund the completion of our first 200 megawatt manufacturing facility, recruited industry-leading global customers and grown from a small team of 35 to more than 150 as we continue to ramp-up in preparation for manufacturing in 2009,” said Russ Kanjorski, vice president of marketing at AVA Solar. “We welcome the opportunity to take on new challenges this year as we transition from a startup perfecting its technology to a high-volume manufacturer competing with the leading manufacturers in the solar industry.”

Of AVA, Business Week editors said the company “has perfected a process for producing solar photovoltaic modules at a cost below $1/watt, significantly reducing the cost of generating solar electricity. Its founders are optimistic about its prospects, despite the recession, with Vice-President of Marketing Russell Kanjorski explaining in an email that ‘while some things have gotten tougher and valuations have certainly suffered, the outlook for solar PV is still very strong in Europe. Plus, the environment in the U.S. and other parts of the world appears to be growing as well.’”

For the ranking process, Business Week “followed the money, looking at deals that took place in the four most recent quarters available, from October 2007 to September 2008, based on the MoneyTree Report from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers. We then reached out to a selection of the seed and early-stage companies that raised the most money.”

To read the AVA Solar profile, go to http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/12/1217_hottest_startups/2.htm.

Click here to read more!

At the end of the 2008 football season, Steve Fairchild and the CSU football team had a 6-6 record and became bowl eligible; far exceeding expectations for our first- year football coach and his team.  On December 20, CSU beat Fresno at the New Mexico Bowl to the surprise of many, and delight of all, including 3.43 million viewers.   However, some rightly question why attention and funding are directed toward athletics, especially when most public universities today are facing severe budget issues. 

I have to confess that my husband Joe and I are die-hard Ram fans.  And indeed, winning is fun.  But there are a number of reasons why I believe sports can elevate universities in unique ways.  First, sports for the right reasons and in the right way, teach team work, leadership, hard work and commitment toward common goals.  Certainly winning a conference title and a bowl game are goals of athletic programs and their fans.  However, even more important is the “student” side of student-athlete.  Sports in the right way – the CSU way—educate athletes to become engaged and productive graduates and citizens.   At CSU, the graduate rate for our student- athletes is 66% compared to 63% of our student non-athletes and second highest four-year grad rate in the Mountain West conference.  This is not the case at all universities, but for CSU, education always remains our highest priority.
 
Athletics also helps tell the University story to a diverse and large audience.  It is common practice now to see university advertisements during a televised game.  These advertisements highlight university values and academic programs of excellence and serve as important communication and recruiting vehicles.    This type of broad exposure is invaluable to universities as today they must compete in an academic world, just as companies compete in the business world. 
  
However, what draws me most to athletics is its ability to create community.     The students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends who came to the New Mexico Bowl immediately formed a strong bond because of our pride in our athletes, our fabulous band and cheerleaders – and ultimately, in CSU.  And athletics was the vehicle that brought us all together — as well as those watching in Colorado, nationally, and world-wide. 

The best athletic programs are not about wins and loses.  The best athletic programs are those who win while not only maintaining an academic standard of excellence for their student- athletes, but who also are an integral part of the entire University Community.  The best universities don’t choose between athletics and academic programs.  Instead a synergy is created that makes both better and stronger.  That to me is the CSU Way under Athletic Director Paul Kowalczyk and his coaches and the standards set by Interim President Frank.   

To learn more about Athletic Director Kowalczky’s vision for CSU Athletic program go to http://csurams.cstv.com/index.html

Go Rams!
       

FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University’s reputation for outreach and community partnerships has earned it a label as a Carnegie Community Engagement university, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has announced.
The elective Community Engagement University classification was first offered in 2006. Such classification, offered every two years, is designed to assist universities in demonstrating and enhancing outreach and partnership efforts.
A Carnegie Community Engagement University is one that encourages collaboration between the institution and the larger communities “for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity,” according to the organization. In Colorado State’s case, engagement includes curricular engagement as well as outreach and partnerships.
CSU is one of 119 organizations recognized as a Community Engagement university in 2008.
“Credit for this honor goes to our faculty and staff who have embraced the land-grant university mission of engaging campus and the surrounding community for the benefit of the state, nation and globe,” said Tony Frank, interim president of Colorado State. “The value of community partners in creating an educated community is critical to our land-grant mission of improving lives though research.”
“I want to thank the campuswide committee that worked on this effort and the new opportunities for coordination that resulted,” said Lou Swanson, vice provost for Outreach and Strategic Partnerships who chaired the committee. “As we build on the achievements of CSU Extension, the Colorado Water Institute and other longstanding outreach partners, we have a better understanding of the ways in which CSU actively pursues and benefits from community engagement.”
Highlights of Colorado State University’s community outreach in recent years:
-Creation of the vice provost for Outreach and Strategic Partnerships, a position charged with engaging state residents with assistance on economic development and agriculture, among other areas.
-Partnership between the CSU Office of Economic Development and the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corp. to create and fund a regional economist.
-Participation in the Northern Colorado Clean Energy Cluster, a group of business, government and economic development leaders devoted to promoting clean energy business in the region.
-New University Center for the Arts, which provides theater, music and dance performance space for community-university collaborations as well as classes for student and community arts courses.
-Participation in UniverCity Connections, which is a unique “town and gown” partnership designed to create sustainable and meaningful connections for community building such as participation in Fort Collins’ Zero-Energy District, known as FortZED.
-Three research Superclusters for cancer, infectious disease and clean energy, which ensure that the business community can effectively navigate the complexities of academia to more readily obtain access to key university discoveries.
-CSU Global Campus, a virtual campus that was created for learners who cannot physically attend campus to obtain professional development, complete degrees and obtain in-demand degrees.
-A Community Relations Coordinator in the Office of Public Relations to provide more effective two-way communications between the university and such organizations as the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association and Poudre School District.