Campus News

Rockin' Folsom with the Doobie Brothers

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:28:52 +0000

Rockin' Folsom with the Doobie Brothers Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:28

Julia MacLean

The Doobie Brothers in 1975 in Folsom Field.

The summer of 1975, the Doobie Brothers lit up Folsom Field in a concert that has become a legendary piece of ��ɫ��Ƶ’s musical history. Photographer Dan Fong (Mktg’70), who documented the show, recalled Boulder’s then-mayor introducing the group, setting the stage for a performance that brought the entire crowd to its feet.

“Even the kids in the audience went crazy,” Fong said. “Age didn’t matter. It was good music.”

At the time, Fong was working full-time for the Doobie Brothers and had assumed a new role as the band’s media coordinator. He was in charge of their worldwide photo requests and oversaw interviews and promotional events. He knew how to capture their spirit both on and offstage.

“This concert was the Michael McDonald [lead vocalist] era, and I was in charge of the album cover for ‘Takin’ It To The Streets,’ absolutely their most famous album to date,” Fong said proudly.

But the concert wasn’t just about the Doobie Brothers. The Memphis Horns — an American horn section who played with artists ranging from Elvis Presley to Stephen Stills — were traveling and playing exclusively with the Doobie Brothers, making it an unrivaled experience.

Today, Fong’s photographs from that night are part of a collection he has worked to preserve with the help of ��ɫ��Ƶ archivists. The collection documents his career as a photographer beginning in 1962, with a special emphasis on his photography of the Colorado music scene. When he attended CU from 1966 to 1970, he worked for a company that specialized in photographing fraternity and sorority parties.

“Most of the collection has images no one’s ever seen,” Fong said.

In recent years, ��ɫ��Ƶ has brought a few concerts back to Boulder. Dead & Company played Folsom for several summers starting in 2016 and, most recently, Phish came to Folsom in July. The band was the first to play on the field’s new artificial turf, which CU installed in mid-June.

CU plans to feature more concerts at Folsom Field. On Oct. 18, DJ and songwriter John Summit played the first concert of the academic year.

The Dan Fong Collection is available to the public by appointment.

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Photo courtesy Dan Fong

The Doobie Brothers played a legendary concert at Folsom Field in 1975, captured by photographer Dan Fong, whose archival collection is on campus.

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Fall 2025

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From Rooftop to Relic

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:21:42 +0000

From Rooftop to Relic Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:21

Christie Sounart

��ɫ��Ƶ’s red clay roof tiles are iconic.

More than a century ago, however, other roof tiles — made from glass — could be spotted on campus.

In 1990, Dennis Scheel was selling tools to the ��ɫ��Ƶ maintenance department when he noticed two unique roof tiles stacked under a workbench. The foreman explained that they once belonged to a campus engineering building before the university eventually replaced them with clay. The foreman offered him the pair as a campus storage facility contained more of them.

“I did take them,” said Scheel, who lives in Centennial, Colorado. “I was cu - curious when these were used. I assumed before 1921.”

Scheel donated the tiles to the CU Heritage Center in July. Mona Lambrecht, Heritage Center interim director and curator, researched the tiles and discovered they had been used to create a 4-foot-long by 60-foot-wide skylight for the Engineering Shops building, which opened in 1908 and was later known as Hunter Sciences until it was demolished in 2002. The skylight illuminated a second-floor drafting room with 100 drawing desks and several geometry models.

“The interlocking design of the glass allowed the tiles to link to each other and the surrounding clay tiles, stay waterproof, and offer natural light,” said Lambrecht.

Sunlight reacting with a manganese additive in the once-clear glass caused the tiles to develop a purple hue over time.

The tile’s German designer, Wilhelm Ludowici, was part of a family-run, Chicago-based roofing tile manufacturer prominent in the U.S. starting in the late 1800s.

The Hunter Sciences Building
Previously the Engineering Shops building, which opened in 1908, was demolished in 2002.

We want to know! Do you remember these roof tiles or the drawing room?

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Photo by Mona Lambrecht (roof tile)

Factoids:

Color Reaction
Sunlight reacting with a manganese additive in the once clear glass caused the tiles to develop a purple hue over time.

Dimensions
6 lbs, 14 oz each, and they measure 9” W x 16.25” L x 2” D

Patent No. 283,126; Design from 1883

The Heritage Center received a donation of a purple-hued glass roof tile, originally installed in 1908 to create a skylight for the Engineering Shops building.

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Fall 2025

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CU Athletics: Wins, Records and Milestones

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:15:29 +0000

CU Athletics: Wins, Records and Milestones Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:15

Andrew Daigle

Buff Bits

CU Athletics announced Ralphie VI’s retirement in August. Ember ultimately showed “an indifference to running” and retired to ranch life alongside Ralphie V, Blackout. Ralphie VII, Brandy, made her debut at the CU vs. Wyoming game.

In mid-October, the volleyball and soccer teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. Soccer surpassed its 300th win. Soccer’s Hope Leyba (IntPhys’27) was named co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week in August.

Cross country’s Isaiah Givens (EnvSt’26) (15:01.99) and Ella Hagen (MCDBio’29) (17:54.34) led the Buffs with the top men’s and women’s 5-kilometer times at the season-opening Wyoming Invite.

Bill Collins (Bus’70), CU’s first full-season Black football captain, died on July 31.

Men’s basketball completed a four-game exhibition tour of Australia in August. The Buffs went 2-2.

Coach Talk

Wins are fantastic, losses happen, but being a part of this program for as long as I have is really special.

— Volleyball head coach Jesse Mahoney (Psych’95; Law’99) after the Buffs defeated University of Denver in September, his 150th win at Colorado.

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Photo courtesy CU Athletics

Scores

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Men’s golf three-round third-place score at the Washington State Palouse Collegiate.

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Tackles by the Los Angeles Rams’ Nate Landman (Mktg’21) against the Houston Texans in week 1.

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Straight sets won by volleyball to open the 2025 season.

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��ɫ��Ƶ student-athletes named to the 2025 Big 12 Conference Spring Academic Team.

145k

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Pounds of CO2 kept out of the air by Folsom Field’s new turf made with pine pellets instead of traditional rubber pellets.

��ɫ��Ƶ Athletics celebrated multiple milestones this season.

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CU Ceramics: A Living Legacy

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:10:11 +0000

CU Ceramics: A Living Legacy Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:10

The ceramics program at ��ɫ��Ƶ has a long and storied history, shaped in part by the late Betty Woodman, a CU professor and master potter whose work garnered international acclaim in the 1970s. Woodman’s work is displayed in prominent museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art. Her legacy endures through Scott Chamberlin, a former colleague, and two of her former students, Kim Dickey and Jeanne Quinn, who have taught together in the department for 25 years.

In September, the trio unveiled an alumni showcase exhibit: “Shaping Time: CU Ceramics Alumni 2000–2020.” The exhibit is open to the public at the CU Art Museum until Dec. 19.

To support the Betty Woodman Fund, visit cubuffs.org/woodman.

Ashley Jude Jonas, “sailing bare breasted with a gun,” 2023, ceramic, strapping tape, found table, found wood.

Grace Potter, “Desire Stone I,” 2025, stoneware with clay slip.

Liisa Nelson, “The Glorification of Signifiers,” 2025, ceramic.

Rebekah Myers and Tim Berg, “...in plain sight,” 2025, glazed ceramic and maple.

Erica Green, “California King,” 2022, knotted fibers on mattress.

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Installation photos by Wes Magyar, © the artists and CU Art Museum

��ɫ��Ƶ’s ceramics program is celebrating its enduring impact with the alumni exhibit Shaping Time: CU Ceramics Alumni 2000–2020.

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Andrew Mayock Joined CU to Accelerate Climate Solutions

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:08:00 +0000

Andrew Mayock Joined CU to Accelerate Climate Solutions Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:08

Christie Sounart

In March 2025, Andrew Mayock joined ��ɫ��Ƶ as its first vice chancellor for sustainability. Mayock previously served as chief sustainability officer for the United States government, where he led the Biden administration’s efforts to decarbonize federal operations and accelerate clean energy adoption.

What spurred you to work in higher education?

I see it as a really critical piece of my work to help grow the next generation of leaders in climate sustainability. At ��ɫ��Ƶ, it is a great opportunity to do that at scale. In considering this role, I found CU has an extraordinary foundation of sustainability work that goes back decades, and pent-up demand to build on that legacy.

Where do you see ��ɫ��Ƶ already excelling in sustainability?

We have extraordinary existing efforts and assets across research, education, operations and community engagement — for instance, the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research’s (INSTAAR) work in critical longitudinal atmospheric carbon studies, the Mountain Research Station, the two sustainability master’s degrees recently approved through engineering and business, eliminating single-use plastic beverages campuswide and much more. Also, the kind of progress we’re making in embedding sustainability in the curriculum is taking it right back to where it all belongs — with the students.

What opportunities do you see for improvement?

There were places where we were once at the frontier, but we haven’t kept pace. It’s time for a recharge in these areas, so we can be a leader again. And then there’s areas where we’re at the frontier, and we need to accelerate and define a new frontier. The newly created Buckley Center for Sustainability Education is redefining leadership opportunity, for instance. The Buckley Center is going to help us respond to student demand for more sustainability in the curriculum and experiential learning, and it is also going to serve students interested in non-sustainability-related majors and disciplines across campus.

How do you see ��ɫ��Ƶ leading the way in sustainability to become recognized globally?

One clear initiative is to gain more recognition in work that we’re already doing. I’m thinking of engineering professor Evan Thomas (AeroEngr, Jour’06; MEngr’06; PhD’09) and the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience’s work improving clean water supply in east Africa, for example. Here, through many others’ work, we’re having an outsized global impact across the planet, and we plan to amplify this work in places such as November’s COP 30 climate conference in Brazil and September’s Climate Week NYC.

What role do students have in CU sustainability?

Students are at the center of the efforts. My draw to Boulder included seeing the efforts already underway by the student community, like Ralphie’s Green Stampede or the EcoVisits. Now, it’s time to take it to the next level. The vision is to make this university more of a living lab, bringing research to education on campus and enabling students to help make progress on the Climate Action Plan.

Are there specific innovations or technologies you’re excited to explore at CU?

Boulder startups are moving cutting-edge research from lab to market, like the carbon-negative cement company Prometheus Materials. Their innovation and dynamism are helping solve the climate crisis through research-driven products. [Bill Gates’] Breakthrough Energy’s selection of the university as a new partner is another example of this work. Boulder is approaching the quality and vibrancy of Stanford.

What else should we know about campus sustainability?

It’s a top priority of the chancellor and our office to double down on how ��ɫ��Ƶ delivers sustainability solutions for Colorado communities. We have an ability and obligation, due to the talent and programming we have here, and we have a need in this urgent moment to be an even stronger partner to our state communities.

What are your interests outside of work?

I generally try to keep up with my 10- and 12-year-olds in their many pursuits, like soccer and the arts. We’ve also had the opportunity to get to the mountains, including Eldora and Snowmass, and experienced some of the great hiking and birding and rafting Colorado has to offer.

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Photos by Glenn Asakawa

Andrew Mayock has joined ��ɫ��Ƶ as the university’s first vice chancellor for sustainability, aiming to elevate its global leadership in climate action.

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��ɫ��Ƶ in the Spotlight: Rankings, Research and Innovation

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:06:50 +0000

��ɫ��Ƶ in the Spotlight: Rankings, Research and Innovation Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:06

Julia MacLean

Herd

A Leader in Free Speech

��ɫ��Ƶ ranked fifth nationally for its free-speech climate, the highest in the state. The assessment, based on input from more than 68,000 students, comes from the 2026 College Free Speech Rankings by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and its survey partner College Pulse.

Authors Earn Spotlight

Historical horror novel The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by ��ɫ��Ƶ English professor Stephen Graham Jones made former President Obama’s 2025 summer reading list. Meanwhile, Ann Schmiesing’s The Brothers Grimm: A Biography earned acclaim as one of The New Yorker’s Best Books of 2024 and a New Statesman Best Summer Read of 2025. Schmiesing is senior vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and professor of German and Scandinavian Studies.

Water Reckoning

Emerging ��ɫ��Ƶ research shows that human pollution, including greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions, has been driving the prolonged megadrought in the U.S. Southwest by altering the Pacific Ocean’s natural cycles that normally bring rain to the region. As a result, the Southwest is experiencing its driest period in over 1,000 years. Study author Jeremy Klavans, a postdoctoral researcher in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences department, suggests that water planners need to prepare now by building stronger water systems and exploring new options, such as desalination plants.

Campus Talk

“I want people to understand that a first-gen student like me — who didn’t have much — can do it if [they] bring passion, grit and skills to the table.”

-Marco Campos (CivEngr’98) and the Campos Foundation donated $5 million to support the Campos Student Center, formerly the BOLD Center, in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The gift will secure the center’s long-term future and bolster its programming to help amplify student success.

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Photo by Casey A. Cass

Digits

Elimination of Plastic Single-Use Beverage Containers

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Start of ��ɫ��Ƶ’s elimination of plastic beverage containers from campus

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All single-use, sealable plastic beverage containers to be eliminated from campus, including vending machines

10yr

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Pouring agreement with PepsiCo Beverages

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Intended percentage of campus emissions by year 2050, per the CU Climate Action Plan

��ɫ��Ƶ news on free speech, faculty author recognition, megadrought research and sustainability initiatives.

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Fall 2025

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A Record-Breaking Funding Year

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:05:52 +0000

A Record-Breaking Funding Year Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:05

Alumni and donors helped ��ɫ��Ƶ achieve a record-breaking fundraising year, raising $228.9 million from 44,055 donors investing in the university. The gifts demonstrate a deep commitment to the university’s vision, and serve as a catalyst for ��ɫ��Ƶ’s future as it heads into 2026 — its 150th year celebration.

This year, the university received gifts that drive student achievement, sustainability leadership, research excellence and community partnerships.

Each gift is guided by donor intent, ensuring private support for student success, faculty and research aligns with ��ɫ��Ƶ’s mission and cannot be reallocated to cover other funding losses.

A $15 million gift from Michael Klump (PolSci’87) was motivated by his experience at ��ɫ��Ƶ. His investment is transforming the Real Estate Center and strengthening student wellness services to prepare business graduates as leaders.

A $1.9 million bequest from the late Donald (A&S’62) and Karen Ringsby (Engl’62) to support the CU Art Museum helps preserve and enhance cultural experiences on campus, ensuring that creativity and access to the visual arts remain a resource for all.

And, the university’s annual giving day, Buffs All In, demonstrated the power of community and collective generosity. This year’s campaign raised the most in its history — over $1 million from 2,500 donors.

Read more stories or give at colorado.edu/advancement.

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Photo courtesy Casey A. Cass

44,055 donors raised $228.9 million for the university.

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��ɫ��Ƶ Spirit on Move-In Day

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 17:59:07 +0000

��ɫ��Ƶ Spirit on Move-In Day Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 10:59

Julia MacLean

This fall, 7,000 first-year students moved into 26 ��ɫ��Ƶ residence halls. According to the university’s Division of Student Life, 95% of first-year students live on campus. Of the remaining undergraduate and graduate students, 23% live on campus.

Move-in day brings a special buzz to campus each year — hundreds of volunteers wheel students’ belongings in giant carts to their residence hall rooms, show them around campus and help them get settled into life as a Buff.

Off campus, ��ɫ��Ƶ also offers university-owned apartments and family housing to help students balance their academic lives with family needs.

“Move-in day is so exciting!” wrote Meghan Martelon-Evans (PolSci’89) in a Facebook post welcoming new Buffs.

Tell us your best move-in stories!

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Photo courtesy Patrick Campbell

7,000 new Buffs filled 26 residence halls this fall.

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CU Hosts First Big 12 Women’s Lacrosse Championship

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:14:31 +0000

CU Hosts First Big 12 Women’s Lacrosse Championship Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:14

Andrew Daigle

Jess Peluso was part of CU’s first Big-12 lacrosse team.

On July 27, 2023, Colorado announced it would leave the Pac-12 Conference and return to the Big 12 Conference. The benefits were significant: increased national exposure, renewed conference rivalries and stability in the turbulent world of college athletics.

But the Big 12 did not have women’s lacrosse as a conference-sponsored sport. If that didn’t change, Colorado would play 2024–25 as an affiliate to another conference.

“It was unknown if the Big 12 would take on sponsoring another sport,” said head coach Ann Elliott Whidden. “The administrations for Colorado, Arizona State and Cincinnati were all strong supporters of lacrosse being added and advocated for us through the process.”

The Big 12 revealed on Nov. 9, 2023, that it would add women’s lacrosse in 2024–25 and CU was joined by ASU, Cincinnati and three affiliates — Florida, UC Davis and San Diego State.

The Buffs went 13-6 in 2024, their final Pac-12 season.

When Colorado released its 2025 schedule, it declared Prentup Field would host the inaugural Big 12 Championship, a four-team tournament for an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

“When we moved to the Big 12, everything changed,” said Jess Peluso (Engl’26). “We helped set the tone for this conference. The change pushed me to grow as a player and teammate.”

Colorado’s 2025 season (8-8, 4-1 Big 12) included wins over No. 25 Army and No. 18 Stony Brook and a two-seed in the Big 12 Championship. Madeline Pisani (Comm’24; MSOL’25) pictured above, was named Big 12 Attack Player of the Year, and Peluso earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Despite an 18-12 semifinal loss to ASU on May 1 at Prentup Field, the historic season was remarkable.

“It was very special to be a part of the inaugural season, seeing it all unfold right in front of us,” said Pisani.

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Photos courtesy CU Athletics

Colorado’s move to the Big 12 sparked the addition of women’s lacrosse to the conference.

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Wóinila: A Mural of Silence and Learning

Anna Tolette — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:12:22 +0000

Wóinila: A Mural of Silence and Learning Anna Tolette Mon, 07/07/2025 - 14:12

Julia MacLean

On March 11, ��ɫ��Ƶ unveiled a new mural, Wóinila: In Silence We Learn, on the second floor of the Miramontes Baca Education Building. The mural is an original work created as part of a collaboration between CU’s School of Education and the student-led Cultural Events Board (CEB).

Its title, Wóinila — a Lakota word meaning “silence” — reflects one of the first Lakota values passed down within the culture, said the mural’s creator, Danielle SeeWalker, a Hunkpapa Lakota artist from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

“We sit in silence as we listen to the land, the wind and the stars as they teach us. We learn to listen before we respond and speak,” SeeWalker said.

The painting includes scenes of mentorship, colorful hummingbirds, stars and two buffaloes.

Naisha Naik (BusAna’28) helped lead the project as a member of the CEB, which provides students with opportunities to broaden their knowledge on topics such as diversity and social awareness.

“Having this mural in the School of Education is especially meaningful. It serves as a reminder that education is not just about books and classrooms, but also about the stories, history and knowledge of our communities,” Naik told the School of Education.

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Photo by Patrick Campbell

��ɫ��Ƶ’s new mural Wóinila: In Silence We Learn honors Lakota values by illustrating the power of listening, mentorship and cultural storytelling within the School of Education.

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