蜜糖直播 Boulder Provost Russell Moore announced earlier this fall that he would be stepping down as Provost at the close of the 2024-25 academic year, as soon as a new provost can be onboarded following a national search. Moore has served as provost for 14 years, making him the longest continuously serving provost among AAU institutions. We sat down with him to get his thoughts on the past, present, and future of graduate education at 蜜糖直播 Boulder and in American higher education. 

What do you think are the major achievements in graduate education at 蜜糖直播 Boulder during your time as provost? 

A: The first is how the Graduate School has transformed in the range of its degrees offered. Today we offer 57 PhD programs, 62 traditional master鈥檚 programs, 31 professional master鈥檚 programs, and 10 fully online graduate programs. Over the last 10 years, our applications have grown 40% and our overall graduate enrollment has grown 30%. 

Besides these metrics, I like how our graduate student experience has transformed under Deans Schmiesing and Adler鈥攊t鈥檚 a more human-centered, personable, grounded experience. We鈥檝e worked to improve pay and benefits, reduce fees, and to improve the relationship between faculty and graduate students to become one of true mentorship. We place the human and interactive aspects of graduate education at the forefront of what we offer; it鈥檚 not just about acquiring expertise, it鈥檚 about learning to share expertise in a more impactful, human, and lasting way.

What is unique about the graduate education experience at 蜜糖直播 Boulder?

A: At a lot of research institutions, graduate education is a gauntlet students have to pass through, and in some of them, leaders take pride in how many students drop out as some kind of measure of excellence and difficulty. 

Here, our first strategic imperative in graduate education is to promote access, inclusivity, and community. We want students to succeed. With that value in mind, we focus on the partnerships that forge that success鈥攑artnerships with graduate faculty, partnerships among students, partnerships of the deans with Dean Adler and his team. 

We have work to do, of course, in extending these partnerships, but the ethos of our graduate programs isn鈥檛 anchored in detached notions of elite achievement and difficulty. We anchor our challenge in breaking through all that鈥攂eing partnership and success-oriented, taking pride in how many graduate students succeed in their programs. 

What are the immediate challenges for graduate education at 蜜糖直播 Boulder in the current moment? 

A: We鈥檝e got to continue to make it accessible and affordable鈥攅specially in a place like Boulder. Chancellor Schwartz has made it clear to us that we need to move faster in creating more graduate housing and healthcare. We are exploring opportunities for health insurance for graduate students鈥� spouses and dependents, expanding medical and mental health resources that include no-cost telehealth (counseling and urgent care) for graduate students鈥� families, and 

providing a new service to support graduate student families to obtain alternative options for health insurance and healthcare, particularly for those with financial need.

We鈥檝e also got new ground to break in online graduate education鈥攐ffering more degrees in that space both on our own and with our partner, Coursera. We need to make sure graduate education is a speartip in breaking down academic silos and offering interdisciplinary master鈥檚 degrees that mirror what our campus is great at and where its programs are going, particularly in the area of sustainability and the environment, but also in the humanities and performing arts. 

Look into your Crystal Ball鈥攚hat does graduate education look like at 蜜糖直播 in 20 years? 

A: I think you鈥檒l see an even more dynamic, interactive, partnership-oriented graduate experience, with fewer barriers to all degrees and with, for example, far more interdisciplinary master鈥檚 degrees. You鈥檒l see great interplay between our online and professional master鈥檚 degrees, and perhaps even with our traditional PhD programs. I think you鈥檒l see easier processes to earning master鈥檚 degrees, and a more exciting, self-invented set of pathways to both master鈥檚 degrees and PhDs. 

I think we鈥檒l see graduate students doing things they鈥檝e never done before, working more closely than ever with faculty in partnerships and mentorships. I think you鈥檒l see more diverse graduate students from all walks of life鈥攁nd from all places in 蜜糖直播鈥攃oming to their state鈥檚 flagship institution in 蜜糖直播 Boulder, which will also be, I hope, among the most-talked about research institutions, and enriching themselves, our university, and their communities. 

Truly, I think it鈥檚 going to be amazing. 

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This fellowship provides support for students that are conducting research and creative work in African, African American or African diaspora studies. 

Nigerian immigrants in Japan and formerly segregated state parks were the focus of this year鈥檚 Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) summer fellowships. 

The CAAAS summer fellowships recognize 蜜糖直播 Boulder graduate students that are conducting research and creative work in African, African American or African diaspora studies. The goal of the fellowship, which is co-sponsored by , is to connect 蜜糖直播 Boulder graduate students with a librarian while providing additional research funding so they can explore a topic of their choosing. 

This year鈥檚 recipients are Ubochi Igbokwe, a musicology PhD student who researches Igbo African masquerade music and the cultural impacts of the Igbo African 茅migr茅s in Japan, and Trevor Egerton, a history doctoral candidate studying race and outdoor recreation in the 20th century American South. 

Read more about Igbokwe and her work on the CAAAS website.

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Read more about Egerton and his work on the CAAAS website. 

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Learn more about the fellowship on the CAAAS website. To donate to keep the CAAAS Fellowships going, go to the and choose 鈥淕eneral Funds鈥� with a note that it is directed to the CAAAS Fellowship. 

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The Futures Fellowship offers a 鈥榬elief valve鈥� for students to better focus on their studies and families while in school

For the McLarens, the University of 蜜糖直播 Boulder is a bit of a family affair.

It began with John McLaren鈥檚 father, a retired naval officer, who came to 蜜糖直播 Boulder in pursuit of a PhD in 1983. From there, John McLaren (Geol鈥�93) enrolled and met Karen McLaren (Edu, Psych鈥�94; MEdu鈥�98) during a women鈥檚 studies course. Three of their sons eventually became 蜜糖直播 Boulder students and, in turn, met their significant others within the university walls.

And now, John and Karen are giving back to other families at the university through the Futures Fellowship.

This award, which began this year, provides financial support for graduate students and their immediate families. The idea, according to John and Karen, is not to give a full-ride scholarship, but instead to provide a 鈥渞elief valve鈥� to help students better focus on their studies and families while in school.

鈥淗opefully this award gives them (graduate students) the flexibility鈥攊f they鈥檙e working or pursuing a degree full time and have a family鈥攖o focus on the things that are most important to them,鈥� Karen said.

John agreed, adding that while this award is not designed to take away all the pressures, 鈥渕aybe it provides a little bit of relief to focus on the things that are more productive for you, building a better person or path by doing that.鈥�

For the students who received the award this past spring, the overwhelming consensus was that the award was incredibly helpful.

鈥淚 wanted to express my deepest thanks to the McLaren family for their generous donation to the Futures Fellowship at 蜜糖直播 Boulder,鈥� said one recipient. 鈥淚 am humbled to have been chosen for this award. As an anthropologist, I spend a great deal of time researching and writing about the unique challenges people face in pregnancy and parenthood. This award's recognition of the labor it takes to produce high-quality research while balancing the financial and emotional responsibilities of parenting reaffirms my commitment to my own research topic as well as my family and educational goals. Thank you for your support!鈥�

Another recipient, a PhD candidate, agreed: 鈥淚 hope it may bring you some warmth to know your contribution will help my family thrive as I work to make it toward the finish line.鈥�

From humble beginnings

John first came to Boulder as a young teenager when his father, newly retired from the navy, decided to pursue a PhD. He chose 蜜糖直播 Boulder because, as John put it, 鈥淲ashington was too rainy, Southern California was going to get me into too much trouble, and Boulder was a nice place to be.鈥�

Upon graduation from Nederland High School, John himself enrolled at 蜜糖直播 Boulder, joined the campus Naval ROTC program, and studied geology. His time here, though, did not go as planned.

鈥淟ooking back, in retrospect, I think that I really probably had enough entrepreneur in me that (geology) wasn鈥檛 quite the right fit, but again you look back and say you鈥檙e obviously very fortunate to have earned a college degree,鈥� John said.

Despite his undergraduate struggles, he still pushed forward and eventually completed his MBA at Regis University in Denver.

Karen鈥檚 path to 蜜糖直播 took a bit longer. Born in Massachusetts, Karen first attended a small school in North Carolina called Guilford College. But when her father got a job in 蜜糖直播, she decided the distance was too far and followed, along with her two brothers. It was at 蜜糖直播 Boulder that she and John met, and they eventually married at St. Aidan's Episcopal Church. She then stayed on campus to pursue a master鈥檚 in education.

They began growing their family while in graduate school which, they both acknowledge, was challenging, both timewise and financially. It was a 鈥渂andwidth creating moment,鈥� John said, adding: 鈥淏ut somehow we did it.鈥�

Giving back

Although the McLarens moved out of state years ago to pursue careers in teaching and commercial real estate, their attachment to 蜜糖直播 Boulder never faded.

Even after leaving, they still came back to Boulder frequently to visit John鈥檚 father, who lived in Boulder Canyon. And when it came time for their sons to begin their college searches, all three ended up coming to 蜜糖直播 Boulder and, as John had when he was an undergraduate, joined the Naval ROTC program. Their youngest son graduated and was commissioned into service this past May. 

For years now, ever since their oldest became a student, the McLarens have given back to the university. At first it was just toward the Naval ROTC program, but it eventually grew to sponsoring the room within the 蜜糖直播 Law library where they had their first date, and then to the Graduate School and the Futures Fellowship.

And those charitable contributions have been deeply appreciated.

鈥淚 want to thank the donors of this fellowship from the bottom of my heart as this fellowship will help me thrive in my career,鈥� said another recipient of the Futures Fellowship, an international student. 鈥淚 really appreciate them for taking such a beautiful step to encourage students like us.鈥�

More information on the 2025 Futures Fellowship will be announced by the Graduate School in the fall.

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蜜糖直播 Boulder doctoral student takes first prize in state 3MT competition for presentation on the urea molecule

Zach Schiffman, a doctoral candidate in chemistry, beat out participating universities within 蜜糖直播 to win the state Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition last month. He won with his presentation, 鈥淭he Urea Molecule: From Fertilizer . . . to Climate Change?鈥�

This is the second win for Schiffman, who took first prize in the Graduate School鈥檚 annual 3MT competition earlier this year. As part of his winnings, he was then invited to represent the university at both the regional (Western Region of Graduate Schools) and state (蜜糖直播 Council of Graduate Schools) competitions.

The 3MT event, which began at the University of Queensland in 2008, challenges graduate students to describe their research within three minutes to a general audience. To prepare, 蜜糖直播 Boulder graduate students participate in a series of workshops focusing on storytelling, writing, presentation skills and improvisation comedy techniques. The Graduate School then holds a preliminary competition to whittle down the competition to ten finalists, who participate in the final competition at the beginning of February.

More information about the 3MT competition, including how to get involved in the 2024鈥�25 school year, is available on the 3MT webpage.

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The biennial gradSERU survey examines graduate students鈥� experiences across the entire spectrum of their graduate career and found students largely pleased鈥攂ut identified some areas for improvement.

The 2023 gradSERU (Student Experiences in the Research University) survey results are now available.

The survey found that while students reported feeling a strong sense of belonging at 蜜糖直播 Boulder and are satisfied with the advising, education and research opportunities that they are receiving, there were still areas for improvement. These include compensation and general campus climate for students of color or those with disabilities.

Administered in spring 2023, this biennial survey was designed to examine students鈥� experiences across the entire spectrum of their graduate career. It was sent to all enrolled graduate and professional students (excluding business administration and law students), totaling 3,848 students. Overall, 36% of students responded鈥攗p from 28% in 2021.

"Thank you to everyone who responded to the gradSERU survey last spring. Your feedback is critical in allowing us to better understand the graduate student experience at 蜜糖直播 Boulder,鈥� said E. Scott Adler, the dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate affairs.

鈥淲e continuously work on the services and support that the university provides our graduate students, so it is imperative that we know more about who they are and their career goals. Findings such as these help to shape our priorities and initiatives in the Graduate School and the wider university."

Findings such as these help to shape our priorities and initiatives in the Graduate School and the wider university.

The gradSERU survey is administered every two years, with the first being in 2021 and the next in 2025. Since receiving the 2021 gradSERU results, the Graduate School has implemented several changes, including:

• Student concerns regarding cost of living and compensation have resulted in continued stipend increases, expanded benefits and the remission of mandatory fees.
• Physical and mental well-being concerns of our graduate students led to embedded counselors in all schools and colleges, including the Graduate School. With the demand for ongoing counseling services increasing, the insurance co-pay for community providers was eliminated in this year鈥檚 insurance plan.
• Aware of the importance of the advising relationship to graduate student well-being, the鈥疓raduate School鈥檚 new advising and mentoring initiative consists of a working group of cross-campus collaborators tasked with identifying and promoting best practices in mentoring. The Graduate School was also recently named a Sloan Center for Systemic Change, which will provide funding to further develop its mentoring program for both faculty and students.
• The Graduate School hired a diversity, equity and inclusion faculty director to coordinate, promote and assist those efforts both within the college and in the departmental programs. The Graduate School also welcomed the 蜜糖直播 Diversity Initiative, formerly in the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE), which strives to recruit and retain a dynamic community of students from diverse backgrounds.

The gradSERU survey provides 蜜糖直播 Boulder with various sources of information about students and programs, which is important to its ongoing planning and decision making. The Graduate School is committed to keeping the graduate student community informed of its progress as it works on crucial issues identified in the data. 

A full breakdown of the data is available in the announcement sent earlier this year. More information is available on the gradSERU web page. 

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Christina Alston reflects on her first few months with CDI and what the future holds

The 蜜糖直播 Diversity Initiative (CDI) has been a fixture on the University of 蜜糖直播 Boulder campus for close to two decades, bringing in and nurturing the next generation of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) leaders. During that time, the program鈥檚 seen many changes, but nothing quite like what鈥檚 happening now.

Now part of the Graduate School after moving from the Office of Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement (ODECE), CDI oversees several programs, including the Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) program and the 蜜糖直播 Advantage program. These programs promote diversity at 蜜糖直播 Boulder by preparing undergraduates for graduate school, offering learning and mentoring opportunities for graduate students, and providing broader research support for faculty and staff.

In July 2023, Christina Alston became the director of CDI after former director Barbara Kraus retired and immediately began transforming the program, rebranding it from a preparation program to one that also fosters community and belonging.

We asked Alston about her plans for the program, including where she sees the program going.

Question: You鈥檝e been the director of CDI for a few months. How鈥檚 it going?

Answer: It's going fast! I'm quickly transitioning from the learning phase to the direct-action phase. That is not to say that I am not still learning or that I do not have things about 蜜糖直播 Boulder to learn to aid in my facilitation of student recruitment and retention. However, things are currently moving at such a rapid pace that direct programmatic action change is required.

CDI has been on an exciting journey during my time here, from remodeling my office to instituting new programs for staying in direct contact and engagement with potential 蜜糖直播 Boulder graduate students, and creating belongingness events for our current historically minoritized and marginalized students.

Q: What are your future goals for CDI? Anything you鈥檇 like to accomplish?

A: As part of my five-year plan, one of my objectives is to ensure that the programs, activities and support provided by this office are socially just and equitable. To help support that goal, I intend to form an external advisory board to ensure that I, as director of this office, am not biased in my advocacy for historically marginalized and minority students and am inclusive of their full range of support needs.

Q: What do you think is the significance of CDI?

A: One of the most important aspects of CDI is its potential for growth. CDI has had a relationship with the STEM community for a long time, but it was still in a bubble. Everyone who participated in the engagement was thankful for their efforts and support. CDI has long been the small fish in a large pond, moving upstream quietly. People are now ready for transformation and change.

Q: What would people like to know about CDI?

A: I want current graduate students to know that CDI is more than just a place to get mentorship and career guidance; it also helps you feel like you belong at 蜜糖直播 Boulder by hosting at least three social events each semester to help you form community.

I want faculty members to know that CDI is here to help them understand how they can improve the departmental climate for their graduate student populations. CDI will provide honest and unbiased feedback on your department's recruitment plan through one-on-one or departmental discussions.

Learn more about CDI and their current projects on their website.

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Graduate students from music and education receive funding to study educational systems abroad and music at the tip of the world

Two University of 蜜糖直播 Boulder graduate students have been awarded the 2023-24 , the Department of Education announced.

The DDRA fellowship provides doctoral candidates who have shown mastery of a language with the opportunity to conduct dissertation research in area studies or foreign languages for six to 12 months abroad.

Lydia Wagenknecht from the College of Music will use the award to travel to Chile to study the effect of climate change on local music while Kyle Kopsick from the School of Education will go to Costa Rica to research international education organizations.

Both expressed gratitude for the fellowship, commenting that this funding offered them a chance to do research that might not be otherwise possible.

Affordances and limitations of international education organizations

Originally from Chicago, Kopsick arrived at 蜜糖直播 Boulder by way of Quito, Ecuador, where he taught history and philosophy at a school run by an international education organization for roughly five years.

International education organizations are organizations, mainly from Europe, that affiliate with schools throughout the world to accredit, assess and offer diplomas or certificates to students who successfully go through their programs.

鈥淪ome are known to be pretty demanding, and while they do certain academic things very well, there are also all sorts of questions about what it means for teachers to have to follow educational standards that are set by governing bodies outside their local and regional contexts,鈥� Kopsick commented.

And it is those questions about the affordances and limitations of the organizations that Kopsick will be researching with the help of the DDRA fellowship.

Kopsick will conduct qualitative research at a school in Costa Rica, working with teachers to do class observations and focus groups, and talking with them 鈥渁bout their experiences teaching under these kinds of organizations.鈥� Kopsick will use this information to figure out how it ultimately affects their teaching practices, which, in turn, affect how and what students are learning.

鈥淚 came (to 蜜糖直播 Boulder) with the intention of doing international field work, which I knew I could. But I also knew things needed to be set in place properly, and having the support of Fulbright really clarifies that,鈥� said Kopsick. 鈥淒issertation work can often be a challenging and isolating pursuit, so anytime you have this kind of additional support, it鈥檚 nice validation.鈥�

Sound at the edge of the world

For Wagenknecht, an ethnomusicologist (someone who studies music and sound in culture), the route to the DDRA fellowship was a bit more serendipitous.

Already a Fulbright student grant recipient, she first heard about the fellowship during an orientation for Fulbright scholars where other DDRA fellows were present. Aware that her research was going to take longer than nine months, which is what the student grant provides, she decided to apply and was accepted.

鈥淚t was a really big relief,鈥� said Wagenknecht, who was also the people鈥檚 choice winner during last year鈥檚 Three Minute Thesis competition.

During the DDRA fellowship, Wagenknecht will be researching the music and sound in Punta Arenas, Chile, which is at the southern tip of South American. In particular, she鈥檒l be working with a diverse array of artists and researchers to explore how the sound and music of humans and nonhumans (e.g., landscapes) is changing in response to climate change.

鈥淧unta Arenas is a major jumping off point for Antarctic research, so the city has branded itself as an Antarctic city and there鈥檚 a bunch of Antarctic research initiatives going on here,鈥� said Wagenknecht, adding, 鈥淭his is a part of the world where there鈥檚 a lot of really dramatic climate change events happening.鈥�

Through field recordings, ethnographic interviews and concerts, Wagenknecht will pull together a series of case studies, one of which will be Antarctic soundscape projects.

鈥淓thnographic research can take a long time,鈥� Wagenknecht commented. 鈥淚 feel like this grant will help me build more reciprocal relationships. I can help my community partners, they can help me, and we can trust each other more. That鈥檚 really important.鈥�

For more information, including how to apply, please visit the or reach out to Patty Stanfield at patricia.stanfield@colorado.edu. Applications for 2024 cycle typically open in the spring.

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Sanggay Tashi, a doctoral candidate in anthropology, will use this award to do on-the-ground research into Tibetan nomads as they adapt to a changing world

A Tibetan scholar at the University of 蜜糖直播 Boulder is part of the inaugural class of dissertation innovation fellows, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and Mellow Foundation announced recently.

Sanggay Tashi, a doctoral candidate in anthropology, is one of 45 recipients of this award, which supports doctoral students in the humanities and interpretive social sciences as they pursue bold and innovative approaches to dissertation research.

Tashi will use the $50,000 award to learn from Indigenous scholars and travel to his home on the Tibetan plateau to study how Tibetan nomads creatively assert their cultural identity amidst structural and developmental modernization. He鈥檒l do this by immersing himself in the culture, working with and within the community, and involving himself as part of the projects already underway there鈥攚hich, he says, are innovative in-and-of themselves.

鈥淗istorically, research in Tibetan studies in the West has been conducted predominantly by outsiders,鈥� said Tashi. 鈥淚 believe that the enthusiastic support for this project is a promising sign for the future of Tibetan studies.鈥�

Growing up in a Tibetan nomadic family, Tashi says that he became interested in this subject because 鈥渋t鈥檚 part of who I am,鈥� adding:

鈥淚 have a special kind of connection to the people, and I understand what they鈥檙e going through because it鈥檚 also part of my experience of growing up in that culture.鈥�

Tashi studied at Duke University before coming to 蜜糖直播 Boulder, but his Tibetan roots continue to inspire him to this day, which led him to apply for this fellowship.

The Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellowship is designed to intervene at the formative stage of dissertation development and promote research methodologies, project formats and areas of inquiry that challenge traditional norms of doctoral education.

As part of the award, each fellow receives a $40,000 stipend for the fellowship year; $8,000 for project-related research, training, professional development and travel expenses; and a $2,000 stipend to support external mentorship and advising that offers critical perspectives and expertise on the fellow鈥檚 project.

Tashi will use this fellowship to take part in comparative and collaborative research with other Indigenous communities and scholars, including at the University of Hawai'i at M膩noa. There, he鈥檒l learn how to do ethical, practical, meaningful and community-based research while also participating in several community-based and community-supported projects in Hawaii.

鈥淚 will be trained in cultural protocols, research ethics, ethnographic methodologies and the practice of responsible relationship building. Additionally, I will help share my knowledge and research as a Tibetan PhD student that will benefit UH Manoa and the local communities,鈥� Tashi added.

He鈥檒l use what he learns in Hawaii when he returns to Tibet to research Tibetan communities from both an insider and outsider鈥檚 perspective. This exchange, he says, is part of his innovative approach to learning how to do ethical, practical and meaningful research, which will advance anthropological research knowledge and skills.

Formed a century ago, the ACLS is a nonprofit federation of 79 scholarly organizations that is committed to principles and practices in support of racial and social justice. As the leading representative of American scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences, ACLS collaborates with institutions, associations and individuals to strengthen the evolving infrastructure for scholarship, upholding the core principle that knowledge is a public good.

The Mellon Foundation is the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Mellon believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence and freedom to be found there. Through its grants, Mellon seeks to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive.

鈥淎CLS is thrilled to partner with the Mellon Foundation to support these exceptional emerging scholars as they pursue pathbreaking research,鈥� said ACLS President Joy Connolly in the press release. 鈥淏y expanding the range of research methodologies, formats and areas of inquiry traditionally considered acceptable for the dissertation, we can forge pathways toward a more diverse and inclusive academy.鈥�

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