CU School of Medicine Denver Health Residents and Faculty Visit the State Capitol

On January 9 and February 27, two groups of CU School of Medicine Dever Health Medical Center residents and faculty visited the Colorado State Capitol and spoke with legislators as part of an advocacy class taught by Julie Knoeckle, MD. Both groups focused on HB19-1009, Substance Use Disorders Recovery, especially advocating for funding for the housing grant portion of the bill. The groups' experience with recovering addicts is that having a stable housing situation is critical to the recovery process. The bill sponsor, Rep. Jonathan Singer (D-Longmont) addressed the group followed by a meeting with Appropriations' Committee member Rep. Janice Rich (R- Grand Junction).  They then "practiced" their lobbying on Rep. Rich before Rep. Singer hosted them on the floor. The group was then greeted by the four Legislators who represent the districts where they live in Denver - Representatives Leslie Herod (D-Denver), James Coleman(D-Denver), Alec Garnett (D-Denver) and Emily Sirota (D-Denver).

Senator Kevin Priola (R-Henderson) with CU School of Medicine residents

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CU Excellence in Leadership Program Visits Capitol

On February 6, CU faculty and staff from the Excellence in Leadership Program spent the day at the Capitol. They heard Senator Kevin Priola (R-Henderson) share his legislative experience and long history of championing the University of Colorado at the Capitol. Representative Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon) also addressed the group, and discussed the importance of a strong higher education system in the state and creating accessible pathways to education for all students. This was Rep. McCluskie’s first year serving in the legislature. Both legislators discussed the critical state of funding higher education in Colorado and their support for the CU system as a whole.  

Aerospace Day at the Capitol

Representatives Chris Hansen (D-Denver) and Terri Carver (R-Colorado Springs) stopped by to speak with students as part of Aerospace Day at the Capitol on March 11th. The event gave CU Aerospace students the opportunity to showcase their research and program opportunities.

Aerospace Group Shot on the Capitol Steps

Lockheed Martin

Title IX Symposium

On December 10, 2018, over 80 members of Colorado’s higher education community participated in a statewide Title IX symposium where they had the opportunity to interact, share and learn about innovative approaches being employed on Colorado’s higher education campuses to promote education, awareness, and prevention. The day began with a welcome from former Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Dan Baer, followed by a Title IX briefing and Federal Update presentation by Katie Goodwin of Goodwin Advanced Legal Advising, LLC. Participants then heard from a panel of experts highlighting campus approaches from Colorado Mesa University, Colorado Community College System, Western Colorado University and Regis University. The day wrapped up with small group discussions on best practices, covering topics such as Prevention and Awareness; Community Partnerships; Resource; and Innovations. Chair of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Nancy Todd (D-Arapahoe) participated in the event.

Title IX Panelists at the Title IX Symposium

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CU Boulder's Institute of Behavioral Science Advocates for Social Science Research in DC

On April 30, Lori Peek, Director of CU Boulder's Natural Hazards Center, participated in the 25th annual Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) exhibition and reception on Capitol Hill. The event was sponsored by CNSF, an alliance of over 130 professional societies, businesses and universities including CU Boulder, which seeks to increase federal investment in fundamental research and education programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Natural Hazards Center is the nation's NSF-designated natural disaster information clearinghouse and Dr. Peek is the principal investigator for a first-of-its-kind $3 million NSF CONVERGE facility, which will coordinate work among social scientists and engineers who respond to national disasters. The exhibition was attended by Members of Congress and their staff; NSF leadership, including Skip Lupia, head of NSF's Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences directorate; and higher education advocates. While in DC, Dr. Peek also met with professional staff from the House Science Committee, as well as science staffers representing Colorado Sens. Bennet and Gardner and Rep. Perlmutter.

 The following day, Lori Hunter, Director of the CU Population Center, participated in Social Science Advocacy Day, an annual event hosted by the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA). While in DC, Dr. Hunter met with Colorado Rep. Joe Neguse, as well as science staffers representing Colorado Sens. Bennet and Gardner. Hunter also joined colleagues from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University for meetings with several Arizona Members of Congress.

Lori Peek, Director of the Natural Hazards Center at CU Boulder, with Skip Lupia, head of NSF Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate

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Congressman Joe Neguse met with Lori Hunter, Director of CU Population Center

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The Natural Hazards Center and CU Population Center are two of six centers in CU Boulder's Institute of Behavioral Science.

CU Boulder Engineering Dean in DC

In February, Bobby Braun, Dean of CU Boulder's College of Engineering and Applied Science, participated in an "Aerospace 101" congressional briefing sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The more than 90 attendees represented at least 36 different House offices, 15 different Senate offices and four congressional committees. While in DC, Dean Braun also met with top leadership in the U.S. Department of Energy, including Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar, Deputy Director for Science Programs Steve Binkley, and nominee for Office of Science Director Chris Fall. In addition, Dean Braun met with science staffers representing Colorado Reps. Neguse, Perlmutter and Tipton.

CU Engineering Dean Bobby Braun Spoke at AIAA's Aerospace 101 Discussion on Capitol Hill

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 CU Students "Make Their CASE" for Research

In March, four CU Boulder students participated in the annual Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) workshop in DC hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). CU Boulder is a founding member of the CASE workshop, which teaches upper-class undergraduate and graduate students in STEM disciplines about science policy and advocacy. This was the largest CU Boulder student delegation ever to attend the workshop. Students were competitively selected by CU Boulder's Center for Science and Technology Policy and their participation was sponsored by CU Boulder's Graduate School and Center for STEM Learning. The workshop's capstone experience was an advocacy day on Capitol Hill arranged by CU's Office of Government Relations. The CU Boulder students were joined by students from CU Anschutz and Colorado State University for meetings with science staffers representing Colorado Sens. Bennet and Gardner and Reps. Neguse and Crow.

CU Boulder CASE Workshop Students in DC

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CU Boulder Startup Featured at Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase

In April, Jeanne Barthold, CU Boulder Mechanical Engineering PhD student and co-founder of the startup company TissueForm, participated in the 2nd annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase on Capitol Hill, an event jointly sponsored by the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). TissueForm seeks to help patients suffering from tissue disease, damage or aging through a simple, low-cost, and long-lasting dermal filler technology, which was discovered in the Mechanical Engineering Department's Neu Soft Tissue Bioengineering Lab with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF). TissueForm has also received support from CU Boulder's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative and earlier this year Barthold won the Women's Entrepreneurship prize at the university's New Venture Challenge competition.

At the showcase, Barthold met with federal officials from NIH and NSF as well as AAU and APLU's presidents. Showcase speakers included Oklahoma Rep. Frank Lucas, Phillip Singerman from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). While in DC, Barthold also met with science staffers representing Colorado Sens. Bennet and Gardner and Reps. Neguse, Perlmutter and Crow.

Jeanne Barthould, CU Boulder Engineering PhD Student, spoke with APLU President Peter McPherson at the University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Showcase

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Jeanne Barthould, founder of TissueForm, and AAU President Mary Sue Coleman at the University Innovation & Entrepreneuership Showcase in DC

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Congresswoman DeGette Tours the Sheridan Family Health Clinic 

During the April Recess, Congresswoman Diana DeGette toured Sheridan Family Health Clinic, a nurse-managed Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) run by the CU College of Nursing in Sheridan, CO. While there, DeGette met with the clinic leadership team including CEO Erica Sherer, DNP, CNM and Amy Barton, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate dean for clinical and community affairs as well as providers, patients, and board members to discuss the challenges of providing care in underserved communities. Congresswoman DeGette spoke about many of her efforts to reauthorize Community Health Center funding, protect Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and tackle some of the complex issues in behavioral health and interoperability of health records. 

Sheridan Health Services has been labeled an innovator for their interdisiplinary approach to providing primary care, pharmacy, dental mental health, substance abuse treatment and preventive services to adults and children.  The University of Colorado College of Nursing has run the center since 1995.  As a FQHC it combines resources of local communities with federal funds that support neighborhood clinics. Special thanks to College of Nursing Dean Eli Provencio-Vasquez for helping to organize the tour.  (photo)

Congresswoman Diana DeGette speaks with Erica Sherer, Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice, Director of Sheridan Health Services

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Congresswoman Diana DeGette speaks with patients at Sheridan Health Services

Matthew Kaskavitch, University of Colorado

Congressman Crow Speaks at “Uniting to Prevent School Violence” Symposium

Congressman Jason Crow spoke at the “Uniting to Prevent School Violence” symposium at CU Anschutz Medical Campus. The Congressman discussed addressing gun violence as a public health crisis, as well as implementing more effective interventions with at-risk students.  He highlighted several initiatives in Colorado such as Safe2Tell and the Colorado Firearm Safety Coalition. He challenged the participants of the conference to “engage with unlikely allies” to make progress on school safety issues. 

 The Symposium was a joint effort of the Colorado School of Public Health, the Center for the Study of Prevention of Violence at CU Boulder and the CU Anschutz Medical Campus Center for Bioethics and the Humanities. The event,  which took place on April 16, was held to discuss what has been learned about preventing school violence in the 20 years since the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, CO. Staff from the offices of Senator Cory Gardner were also in attendance. Speakers at the symposium included Colorado Lt. Governor Diana Primavera; Debrorah Prothrow-Stith, MD, Dean of the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science; Frank DeAngelis, MA, retired principal of Columbine High School; and Philip Weiser, JD, Attorney General for Colorado. Many other experts spoke during the full day event.  

Congressman Jason Crow Spoke at the Uniting to Prevent Violence Symposium

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CIRES on the Hill

Dr. Waleed Abdalati, Director of CU Boulder’s Cooperative Institute Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), led a group of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Institute Directors on Hill visits with Senate and House Appropriations staff as well as Colorado delegation offices. During the visits, Dr. Abdalati and his colleagues discussed the importance of maintaining robust federal investment in federally-sponsored research, in particular in NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), which is a major funding source for CIRES and CU Boulder. 

John Horne (University of Washington) with Waleed Abdalati (CU Boulder, CIRES) in front of the U.S. Capitol Building

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