College of Communication, Media, Design and Information

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder partners with Colorado Mesa University for a panel on media literacy that draws hundreds

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 18:10:21 +0000

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder partners with Colorado Mesa University for a panel on media literacy that draws hundreds Arielle Wiedenbeck Fri, 09/25/2026 - 12:10

Arielle Wiedenbeck

On one of television’s biggest fall nights, more than 200 people opt to spend the evening among their community.

The evening of Mon., Sept 14 was a big night for television — the 78th Emmy Awards were airing, and the Denver Broncos were playing their season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. But for more than 200 people in Grand Junction, the most important way they could spend that evening was among their community, strengthening connections and building knowledge about media literacy and journalism.

That Monday, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder's College of Communication, Media, Design and Information (CMDI) and Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) partnered with Colorado Mesa University (CMU) to host "Who's Telling the Truth? What Media Literacy, Authenticity and Gatekeeping Mean Now," one of CMU's Constitution Day activities.

From left: Holly Oberle, Stina Steig, Julia Wildman, Pat Ferrucci, Chuck Plunkett

The collaboration was just the latest involving CMU, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder and community organizations in the Grand Junction area.

David Meens, Grand Junction native and �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder assistant vice chancellor for public and community-engaged scholarship said of the relationship, "Our institutions have an important history of engagement, going back to 1925 when CMU was founded as Grand Junction Junior College. In recent years, we've collaborated on public-facing events through CMU's Civic Forum, Holocaust Awareness Day, Constitution Day lectures and more."

The panel on Sept. 14 featured a variety of experts from across Colorado: Holly Oberle, associate professor of political science at CMU and PACES Higher Education and Democracy fellow; Julia Wildman, editor-in-chief of the CMU student newspaper, The Criterion; Pat Ferrucci, professor of journalism at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder; and Stina Steig, Western Slope reporter at Colorado Public Radio. Chuck Plunkett, assistant teaching professor of journalism at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder moderated the panel, with Laurena Davis, assistant professor of mass communication at CMU acting as convenor.

The accompanying Poynter Institute exhibit Moments of Truth, developed in partnership with CMDI, is on display in CMU's Tomlinson Library through Oct. 8 and was part of a guided experience for hundreds of high school students from Western Slope schools who attended CMU’s Media and Innovation Day on Sept. 24.

More than 200 faculty, staff, students and community members filled CMU's Meyer Ballroom for the moderated panel and table conversations. High school students helped facilitate breakout discussions alongside CMU students, and earlier that day, �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder journalism faculty spoke about media literacy at Grand Junction High School.

Jordan Browning and Elle Unflat, seniors at Colorado Mesa University studying mass communication, expressed a sense of connectedness to the Grand Junction community members who attended the event.

“Being a part of journalism here on campus...we kind of all know each other. I honestly thought it was going to be a lot of our same [crowd]. It gives me hope to know that a lot of other people in my community think this topic is important as well,” said Browning.

“Journalism has a way of bringing the community together. We all saw it here today,” said Unflat.

Through conversations about the role of journalism in politics and panelists’ personal experiences in the field, the event aimed to help communities identify trustworthy news and strengthen media literacy.

“Journalism is a united front,” said Wildman. “We are all guided by the same ethics, the same ethos — we want to seek truth and report it, we want the voter base to be educated and consumers to be educated. This panel did a really good job of bringing in a variety of different aspects of journalism: student journalism, professional radio journalism and academia...it shows that the things that make journalism good are what bind us. And that's what we want people to know.”

For community members, the event was not only an opportunity to participate in conversations about local journalism and media literacy, but a chance to discuss these topics in an intergenerational forum.

Many CMU students led round-table discussions at the event.

“I loved that we had the opportunity to engage with younger people,” said Porcia Chen Silverberg. Chen Silverberg is a resident of downtown Grand Junction and an active participant with Restore the Balance, a local nonprofit that supports alternatives to political extremism. “We [Chen Silverberg and her husband] had all students at our table, and that was phenomenal. Any time you have intergenerational dialogue, it’s just excellent.”

Both attendees and panelists shared a strong sense of enthusiasm for keeping the night's energy going through future opportunities for engagement.

“I just hope that �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder will do more collaborations with CMU and have the opportunity for more community engagement activities,” Chen Silverberg said. “It’s so important to have events like this. To do a one-off would be such a shame!”

Partnerships like the one between CMDI and CMU represent an integral part of �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s responsibility to serve all of Colorado’s communities.

“As faculty members at the state’s flagship university, it’s our responsibility to share what we’re doing and make it useful for the whole state, not just the Front Range,” said Ferrucci.

Who’s Telling the Truth? What Media Literacy, Authenticity and Gatekeeping Mean Now was made possible with support from Colorado Public Radio, The Daily Sentinel, Restore the Balance and Western Colorado Journalism Foundation.

This event was part of the Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship Higher Education and Democracy Initiative in the �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Office for Outreach and Community Engagement. Learn more.

Featuring a variety of experts from across Colorado, the event aimed to help communities identify trustworthy news and strengthen media literacy.

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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 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder 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 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder 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 About 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 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder 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

�鶹��Ѱ��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 Boulder, 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 �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’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 & 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, �鶹��Ѱ��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

Joy Armstrong, Director, GALLERIES OF CONTEMPORARY ART, ENT CENTER FOR THE ARTS AT UCCS
Michael Sy Uy, Director, AMERICAN MUSIC RESEARCH CENTER
Kevin Rich, Professor, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE & DANCE
Erin Espelie, Associate Professor, DEPARTMENT OF CINEMA STUDIES AND MOVING IMAGE ARTS
Heather Pidcock-Reed, English and Theatre Faculty, OTERO COLLEGE

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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Jota Samper Receives Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 21:01:06 +0000

Jota Samper Receives Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Arielle Wiedenbeck Fri, 10/18/2024 - 15:01

Jota Samper receives his award

Gretchen Minekime

Associate Professor Jota Samper, Program in Environmental Design, is the 2024 recipient of the Excellence in Faculty Community Engagement Award from the Engagement Scholarship Consortium (ESC). This national award is one of the most prestigious of its kind.

Samper’s research concentrates on sustainable urban growth, focusing on the intersection between urban informality and violent conflict. �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder’s Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship nominated Samper for 15 years of connecting his scholarship and study abroad programs (at �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, Duke University, Emerson College and MIT) with multiple unplanned settlements near Medellin, Colombia. Violence prompted Medellin residents to flee and set up informal dwellings outside the city limits.

Settlements in the region face issues such as landslides and access to potable water, healthcare, public spaces and education. Samper’s Colombian Displaced Communities: Planning and Urban Design Seminar students collaborate with residents to create community development plans and infrastructure designs and help build physical interventions. Communities decide which ideas make it to the building phase. Examples include a rain collection system, paving roads, reconditioning a community kitchen that serves more than 200 youth, and building sewers and potable water lines.

The seventh to win the faculty award nationally and the first from �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder, Samper joined other Awards for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship recipients in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 10 at the annual ESC conference.

The grant selection committee for public and community-engaged scholarship has funded Samper’s work eight times since 2018.

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Jota Samper receives his award

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College of Communication, Media, Design and Information

�鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder partners with Colorado Mesa University for a panel on media literacy that draws hundreds

Off

Announcing 2026-27 Tiers 3 and 4 PACES Grantees

Tier 3 (formerly �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder 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 �鶹��Ѱ�����Boulder Outreach Award: Group)2026–27 Recipients

Off

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

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

Off

Jota Samper Receives Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship

Off

�鶹��Ѱ��Boulder partners with Colorado Mesa University for a panel on media literacy that draws hundreds

Tier 3 (formerly �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Outreach Award: Individual)
2026–27 Recipients

Tier 4 (formerly �鶹��Ѱ��Boulder Outreach Award: Group)
2026–27 Recipients