CU’s Jefferson Awards honor achievement in academia and beyond
Two faculty members, two students recognized for exemplary service, leadership
Two faculty members and two students from the University of Colorado community have been named recipients of the 2015 Thomas Jefferson Award, among the highest honors given at CU, the state’s largest institution of higher education.
The awardees were chosen for embodying and advancing the ideals of Jefferson, the third U.S. president and a Founding Father who greatly influenced American arts, sciences, education and public affairs. The Jefferson Award recognizes CU faculty, staff and students who demonstrate excellence in the performance of regular academic responsibilities while contributing outstanding service to the broader community.
The 2015 honorees are:
FACULTY:
![Donald C. Bross, 2015 Thomas Jefferson Award Winner](/sites/default/files/2015_tj_bross.jpg)
![Robert von Dassanowsky, 2015 Thomas Jefferson Award Winner](/sites/default/files/2015_tj_von-dassanowsky.jpg)
STUDENTS:
![Michael Dominquez, 2015 Thomas Jefferson Award Winner](/sites/default/files/2015_tj_dominguez.jpg)
![Amber L Ortiz, 2015 Thomas Jefferson Award Winner](/sites/default/files/2015_tj_ortiz.jpg)
A committee of CU faculty, staff and students selects winners. Recipients receive an engraved plaque and a $2,000 honorarium.
The Thomas Jefferson Award was established at the University of Virginia in 1951 by the Robert Earll McConnell Foundation to honor teaching faculty who exemplified the humanistic ideals associated with Jefferson. By 1962, six other institutions – including CU – had established a Jefferson Award. In 1980, the university added a student category; in 1988, the staff category was approved. Funding for the awards is derived from earnings on an endowment provided by the McConnell Foundation and from a bequest by Harrison Blair, a CU alumnus.
Contact:
- Jay Dedrick
(303) 860-5707
Jay.Dedrick@cu.edu - Photos available upon request
About the CU System
The University of Colorado is a premier public research university with four campuses: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. With more than 59,700 students, over 4,900 full-time instructional faculty members and an additional 1,200 research faculty members across the four campuses, CU is the largest institution of higher education in the state of Colorado. CU researchers attracted more than $863 million in sponsored research funding in fiscal year 2013-14. Academic prestige is marked by the university’s five Nobel laureates, nine MacArthur “genius” Fellows, 20 astronauts and 19 Rhodes Scholars. For more information about the entire CU system, and to access campus resources, go to www.cu.edu.