Notable Lectures and Performances at Colorado College

Mike Shum '07 is a Chinese-American filmmaker who specializes in documentary directing and cinematography. He started in video journalism in 2009, working in and out of east and central Africa. Since then he's covered stories ranging from Eastern Congo's (DRC) M23 rebels to the rise of ISIS in Northern Iraq to a feature documentary about legendary war photographer Chris Hondros, which won the Audi...

CooXooEii Black '20 recently garnered acclaim by winning the Rattle Chapbook Prize for his work, “The Morning You Saw a Train of Star Streaking Across the Sky.” His victory in this highly competitive contest, which drew over 2,000 entries, is a testament to his profound talent in poetry. At Colorado College, he pursued a creative writing track, deeply influenced by his mixed-race heritage and comm...

Sheldon Kerr ’07 majored in feminist and gender studies at CC, and since graduation has made outstanding achievements as a mountain guide. In 2020, she became the 13th American woman to earn an American Mountain Guide certification — the highest level of credential attainable by a professional mountain guide, recognized in more than 20 International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA...

Mike Slade '79 was Microsoft's director of corporate marketing (1983-90); VP- Marketing, NeXTComputer, Inc, reporting to Steve Jobs (1991-93); chairman and CEO of Starwave, Corp., a Paul Allen venture (1993-98); a consultant for Apple's CEO, Steve Jobs (1998-04); and partner and co-founder of the Seattle-based venture capital firm Second Avenue Partners (2000-current). His board memberships includ...

In this final episode of Mic on the Mic, Professor Steve Hayward takes over the host duties as Senior VP Edmonds reflects on his long and successful time at Colorado College.

In Part 2 of this episode of Mike on the Mic, host Mike Edmonds is joined by Colorado College professors Santiago Guerra and Heidi Lewis to explore the intersection of race and higher education. They delve into the significance of inclusivity and equity, and how these issues manifest at Colorado College. The conversation also tackles the broader implications of race in America. Don't miss this tho...

In this episode of Mike on the Mic, host Mike Edmonds is joined by Colorado College professors Santiago Guerra and Heidi Lewis to explore the intersection of race and higher education. They delve into the significance of inclusivity and equity, and how these issues manifest at Colorado College. The conversation also tackles the broader implications of race in America. Don't miss this thought-provo...

In this episode, Senior VP Edmonds is joined by Elizabeth Coggins, professor of Political Science at Colorado College for a conversation about the state of American politics and this past year’s midterm elections. Professor Elizabeth Coggins joined the faculty of Colorado College in the fall of 2014. She studies United States politics, public opinion, ideological identification, and political psyc...

In this episode, Senior VP Edmonds is joined by Margaret Sabin and Dr. David Steinbruner – two pillars of healthcare in Colorado Springs – for a conversation about mental health and its effects on our college community. Margaret Sabin is the past president of Children’s Hospital Colorado Springs and former President and CEO of Penrose Hospital. Dr. David Steinbruner is the Chief Medical Officer at...

English Professor Dave Mason gives a hypothetical “last lecture.”

After reflecting on what matters to them, speakers give a hypothetical “last lecture,” conveying whatever insights they want to impart to the world as a culmination of their thinking on the topic of their choosing. Although a history major when he attended CC, he took many courses in the Political Science department, to which he returned as a teacher in 1983. He received tenure some years later in...

On February 20th, 2020, New Mexico Senator Tom Udall delivers the keynote speech "A 'Quiet Crisis' No More: Conservation and Climate Change in the West" at the Celeste Theatre in Cornerstone Arts Center for a symposium celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Conservation in the West poll by the State of the Rockies Project.

“All People’s Breakfast,” featuring keynote speaker Ryan P. Haygood ’97, Esq. presenting “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” One of the nation’s leading civil rights lawyers, Haygood is the executive director and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. An advocate for equity, he works to empower urban communities; Haygood also speaks and writes regularly...

Are we talking about Indians, American Indians, Natives, Native Americans, Indigenous Peoples, First Peoples, or Original Peoples? Are we talking about “tribes” or sovereign nations? Are we talking about what we call ourselves or what the colonial powers named us? Furthermore, are we talking about race, ethnicity, cultural identity, tribal identity, national identity, or some other form of identit...

Citizens of today and tomorrow need to be able to solve the challenges of the world, including the existential threats of a changing climate, depleted biodiversity, and disrupted communities with the vision of a scientist, the discipline of an engineer, the heart of a humanist, and the creativity of an artist. This is the goal of a liberal arts education. In this session, Provost Alan Townsend wil...

The campaign and presidency of Donald Trump has ushered in a new white supremacist era, manifesting white supremacist rhetoric, policies, and violence. What lessons from the past can we employ? What does resistance look like? How can we envision and create a political, economic, and social justice movement rooted in resistance? Rosa Alicia Clemente is an organizer, political commentator, and indep...

This year's Sabine Distinguished Lecture in Psychology is "Flow and the Quality of Life" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph. D., one of the world's leading authorities on the psychology of creativity. His life's work has been to study what makes people truly happy. Drawing upon years of systematic research, he developed the concept of "flow" as a metaphorical description of the rare mental state assoc...

David Axelrod gives the Abbott Memorial Lecture, speaking on the 2016 election, and what the results will mean. David Axelrod is a veteran of American politics and journalism and the former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Barack Obama. He currently serves as director of the University of Chicago's non-partisan Institute of Politics; senior political commentator for CNN; and host o...

Veteran Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, vice chair for civic engagement and voter participation at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and former interim national chair of the DNC as well as the former chair of the DNC’s Voting Rights Institute. Aside from working to rebuild her beloved home...

The bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and accomplished mountain climber discusses his adventurous life in letters. The author of Into Thin Air, Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven, and, most recently, Missoula, appears on stage with his long-time editor and friend, Mark Bryant, the award-winning former editor of Outside, for a revealing look at one of America's master craftsmen o...

Mr. Forbes is currently associate vice president in the Office of Government and Community Affairs at Columbia University. At 16 years old he became the youngest member of the Black Panther Party's Central Committee and was a senior member of that organization for a decade. He spent 4 years as a fugitive after being dispatched by Huey P. Newton to assassinate a witness against him and ultimately 4...

The Journalist-In-Residence Lecture Series presents Daniel James Brown, New York Times bestselling author of "The Boys in the Boat". "The Boys in the Boat" celebrates the 1936 U.S. men's Olympic eight-oar rowing team-nine working class boys who stormed the rowing world, transformed the sport, and galvanized the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers...

Vincent Stanley, the current VP of marketing at the clothing company Patagonia, and co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company: What We've Learned From Patagonia's First 40 Years" will speak on his recently published book and his experiences with Patagonia since the company's founding in 1973. Patagonia, named by Fortune in 2007 as the coolest company on the planet, has earned a rep...

America is at a crossroads in its history. The world is changing rapidly. How we react to these changes, among them global climate change and shortages of key energy resources, will determine whether we prosper or flounder. Unfortunately, extremely powerful forces now prevent us from enacting the measures required to build a truly sustainable future based on a renewable energy economy. Dan Chiras...

This year President Richard Celeste will award the 2011 Champion of the Rockies Award to conservationist, advocate for free speech, and author of "Refuge," Terry Tempest Williams. Terry Tempest Williams will then address the audience with several selected readings. Recorded April 4, 2011.