College News

Class of 2026: Honors and Distinction Graduates

Jayden Fortner — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:14:27 +0000

Class of 2026: Honors and Distinction Graduates Jayden Fortner Thu, 04/30/2026 - 10:14

Graduating with Honors

Students graduating with honors have completed an honors project demonstrating independent learning and intellectual insight that makes a contribution to our understanding of media, communication or information. The work must demonstrate intellectual or creative ability as well as analytical skills worthy of the recommended honors designation.

Summa Cum Laude

Lauren Lopez
Owen Barton
Paige Jaeger
Zachary Steiner
Dennis Swanson
Mia Winstead
Julia MacLean
Alexandra Organa
Jack Ziporin
Zachary Chagnon
Daniel Doupe
Teagan Schreiber
Hannah Kijner
Allison Miller
Leah Szabo

Magna Cum Laude

Jordyn Stewart
Channing Miller
Susan Cormack
Louison Leclerq
Lorraine Healy
Morgan Evans
Madeline Flanagan
Michael Robinson

Cum Laude

Mark Goetzler

Graduating with Distinction

This designation recognizes students who earn a 3.75 GPA or higher over at least 60 hours of coursework.

Madeline Ahrens
Essa Ben
Lauren Bingham
Sophia Bolich
Eva Bruce
Noelia Caballero
Curtis Croll
Lily Delgado
Campbell Dokken
Eric Donjuan
Baylee Drevno
Ava Esposito
Sabrina Harris
Erica Isroff
Carter Johnson-Chen
Madeline Krozek
Maya Merta
Hailey Miller
Alyssa Pardo
Timothy Pivero
Macy Place
Jenna Reed
Alexandria Reilly
Ella Revivo
Melanie Scanlon
Kathryn Schaefer
Henry Shellhorn
Jordyn Stewart
Nicholas Talucci
Ella Turgeon
Zoe Turner
Grace Wymore
Arwyn Zaleski
Emilio Adams
Kenzington Alipit
Saleh Alzamil
Julia Anderson
Logan Arel
Jose Banuelos
Kai Bicbic
Olivia Brosnan
Gemma Carlson
Gabriella Carnevale
Benjamen Centeno
Nicole Chung
Amelie Couret
Sienna Fahey
Shira Feinberg
Daniel Fellows
Charlotte Fex
Rikki Gallegos
William Gese
Drew Gorman
Mackenzie Hammond
Tara Hidding
Grace Jackman
Emilie Janzen
Doris Kahler
Emily Kwon
Natalie Madeira
Channing Miller
Rosemary O'Farrell
Ava Pelster
Ian Primer
Lia Rapka
Katherine Ridgway
Caleb Siegel
Grayson Staples
Zoe Swenson
Emma Taylor
Ila Tschirhart
Valerie Warszawski
Margaret Whitfield
Jacquelyne Wynne
Theron Yoder
Laurel Yule
Jacie Zou
Abikael Daniel
Natan Habteyonas
Avery Kissinger
Jaclyn Pereira
Clio Torrance
Ricky Tuka
Christian Valentino
Fnan Yonas
MacKenzie Cole
Susan Cormack
Lacey Daniell
Lily Delgado
Wyatt Duesenberg
Mark Goetzler
Salem Goodman
Sophia Gyuk
Thomas Hinton
Owen Houtakker
Brooklyn Howard
Rowen Kennedy
Greta Kerkhoff
Angelina Kondrat
Jessica Kotmel
Louison Leclercq
Keanna Limes
Linus Loughry
Julia MacLean
Camryn Montgomery
Isabella Piccirillo
Caniya Robinson
Jessica Sachs
Sydney Schrader
Iris Serrano
Harrison Simeon
Ann Vanderveen
Shea Ackman
Emma Czohara
Maya Dank
Zachary Dial
Jason Hoffman
Brooklyn Karraker
Sydney Liebhauser
Frederick Novell
Maximilian Osterman
Andrew Purpura
Jack Remington
Peri Riegner
Olin Silverman
Rylie Stark
Jackson Williams
Kaylee Austin
Lily Becker
Brooke Bursteen
Joanna Conforti
Mackenzie Hanlon
Lorraine Healy
Carter Johnson-Chen
Madelyn Payne
Brandon de Pena
Jaclyn Pereira
Molly Reed
Holly Wininger
Anthony Allen
Audrey Altounian
Alexandra Anaya
Lilyana Anderson
Isabella Barbush
Alexandra Berlin
Miranda Bleau
Reed Bracero
Keeley Brei
Mia Buchholz
Fatima Bugaighis
Grace Cadman
Kaitlyn Carpenter
Kyndal Corkins
Marissa Crenshaw
Kayla Drumke
Riley Eisenstein
Lucy Esquivel
Madeline Flanagan
Lilli Flyer
Jacalyn Gamble
Hildur Garfield
Samson Gear
Olivia Gewanter
Marin Gloor
Lily Goldstein
Kelly Hartigan
Cassidy Hill
Mira Hougen
Emily Howard
Daniela Hunt
Eve Jones
Chase Kanger
Rhett Kaya
Grayson Kern
Alden Koskoff
Kea Margolis
Andrew Marsh
Mia Martinez
Audrey McClure
Oliver McKinney
Julia Meyer
Allison Miller
Nathaniel Mosley
Kailey Murphy
Maximilian Osterman
Rachel Pilik
Zoe Polzin
Marie Riley
Maria Sampson
London Selah
Iris Serrano
Redfield Shaw
Natalie Tapia
Sage Thompson
Annabelle Torgove
Chloe Walsh
Regan Widergren
Owen Wiggans
Halle Wist
Elsie Zerega

Graduating with High Distinction

Graduates with high distinction have achieved a GPA of 3.75 or higher over at least 60 hours of coursework.

Ellena Bassoukos
Leah Baumann
Elizabeth Brechtel
Juliana Buck
Emily Chang
Alexandra Dolsak
Sydney Dossa
Jennifer Ellis
Carly Gelfand
Callie Gendolfe
Jillian Gerlitz
Arlie Goldman
Hannah Hoffman
Liv Johnstad
Amy Kibort
Amy Labontu
Daniel Laverty
Skyler Longerbone
Lauren Lopez
Jacob Myers
Alina Ouligian
Olivia Randazzo
Lydia Sarbacker
Grace Scott
Jessie Spires
Ashtyn Waddle
Mia Archuleta
Owen Barton
Claire Cameron
Evangeline Christoff
Kara Danford
John Davis
Natalie Free
Gabrielle French
Kaija Galins
Caroline Gilchrist
Maxine Inman
Paige Jaeger
Addison Johnson
Cameron Kolinchak
Ahnnali Lindgren
Taylor Martin
Anna Peragine
Gabrielle Rodriguez
Zachary Steiner
Dennis Swanson
Emi Takaoka
Tyler Tatman
Kaira Theisen
Evelyn Warner
Mia Winstead
Parker Burt
Gilberto Corral
Katherine Davis
Averie Dow
Nicholas Haseman
William Henrickson
Can Lin
Luke Lommatzsch
Emelia Mantz
Rida Rizvi
Charles Bickham
Thomas Bittner IV
Hannah Brennan
Ashley Budy
Hayden Chedid
Emerson Clymer
Sophia Collins
Breah Conradson
Elizabeth Cutting
Nathaniel Hankins
Jordan Houten
Myra Kirk
Samuel Kurtz
Creed Miller
Ruth Murray
Alexandra Organa
Liliane Patrick
Nathan Thompson
Jack Ziporin
Lucy Alagna
Taylor Beamer
Zachary Chagnon
Connie Dolati
Gavin Faulkner
Elena Fisher
Eliana Gianola
Tyler Hibri
Donavon Houston
Bailey Karraker
John Kerklo III
Olivia Meyers
Joaquin Salinas
Lilian Wright
Connor Chase
Natalie Cook
Sydney Dossa
Daniel Doupe
Kaoutar El Ouadi
Norah Hampford
Madison Hays
Alexander Lipka
John McDermott
Teagan Schreiber
Ashlin Swasey
Stasswender
Kelli Alexander
Emily Barnes
Luis Bravo
Caroline Burns
Eryn Cryer
Hannah David
Daniel Doupe
Morgan Evans
Elizabeth Foster
Katelyn Gardner
Lauren Gillespie
Norah Hampford
Mia Chikhani
Emma Kaiser
Hannah Kijner
Marin Kirkman
Kathryn Krochalis
Jane Ludington
Margaret Miller
Morgan Miller
Emily Moore
Madison Moss
Annika Ort
Lauren Paschke
Caroline Pellerito
Katharine Polep-Sawyer
Marissa Rauzi
Ryan Robine
Brynna Roscoe
Samantha Russo
Jenna Shenbaum
Daniel Sher
Matthew Silver
Marie Slotnick
Madelyn Speights
Braden Stirrett
Mary Strasser
Elizabeth Suffian
Olivia Sullivan
Leah Szabo
Elizabeth Travia
Ella Whittall
Amanda Winslow
Lilian Wright

Celebrating the Class of 2026

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2026 Graduation Celebration

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Jail blazers: How reporters’ tenacity is changing laws around pregnancy behind bars

Ellie Chase — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:54:05 +0000

Jail blazers: How reporters’ tenacity is changing laws around pregnancy behind bars Ellie Chase Wed, 04/29/2026 - 10:54

Ellie Chase

When Mackenzie Mays stumbled across a lawsuit about a woman forced to give birth in jail, she had no idea the systemic failure and tragedy she was about to uncover.

In a yearlong investigation, Mays, a Bloomberg Law reporter, and NBC News journalist Jon Schuppe uncovered 54 lawsuits from women and their families alleging severe mistreatment or medical neglect in jails.

The response to their story was swift: Officials at the federal and state level—including lawmakers in eight states—have proposed laws or pledged legislation to prevent more cases of neglect and mistreatment.

“This is part of a system that does not work for women who are pregnant in jail, even though there are court rulings and standards of care that should be preventing it from happening,” Schuppe said.

Mackenzie Mays, left, and Jon Schuppe, right. Photos provided by Mays and Schuppe.

Mays and Schuppe’s in-depth research and tenacious investigative reporting was recognized this spring with the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting, awarded by the journalism department of CU ��ý��’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information and the Denver Press Club.

Luige del Puerto, editor of the Denver Gazette and this year’s guest judge, said the reporters made clear that no one should give birth in jail, without ignoring the choices that put these women behind bars.

“The women in this story are not portrayed as angels. They had problems—drugs, DUI or, in the case of Chasity Congious, a schizoaffective disorder along with developmental disabilities,” del Puerto said. “Whether she belonged in jail is the wrong question. For their sins, their babies paid the price.”

The babies survived in only 21 of the 54 cases examined by the reporters, and two mothers died. Most of the women had been arrested on low-level, nonviolent charges, and told the reporters their medical concerns were dismissed by correctional workers in emergency healthcare situations.

Reliving ‘the worst days of their lives’

The Nakkula judges were impressed by the reporters’ determination to ensure the women behind every case were able to tell their stories.

“We were asking them to relive the worst day of their lives,” Mays said. “It was very important to us to make sure we told every single woman’s story.”

Building that kind of trust took time: Mays accompanied one woman as she went through her daily routine, attending nail appointments and family meals. Schuppe sent handwritten letters to contact a woman who, in recovered body camera footage, writhed on the floor of a jail cell as her cries for help were ignored.

“I was so impressed with the resilience of women and mothers. The survival instincts of some of these women is incredible,” Mays said. “People chewed through umbilical cords. People found ways to survive and do CPR on their babies that were born into toilets.

“That’s what really stuck with me at the end of it—not only did they try to survive, they believed in that fight enough to sue, and then relive it to share it with us.”

As part of their reporting, Mays and Schuppe created a public database so readers and policymakers could learn more about each woman’s story and identify cases that happened in their own states.

The story was published in late November, but already there are signs of its potential impact. Lawmakers from California to Louisiana are exploring policies designed to protect mothers and infants, such as keeping pregnant women accused of nonviolent offenses out of jail during pretrial proceedings.

In 2023, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove introduced the Pregnant Women in Custody Act in Congress. Mays and Schuppe said she plans to bring a new version of the bill to the floor following their story; the measure would require federal data collection on pregnancies in jails and teaching corrections staff about the risks faced by pregnant detainees.

“There are very few concrete aspects of impact that you can point to that are more important than having a law changed. It’s very rewarding to have that kind of work being done because of the journalism we do.”
Jon Schuppe, NBC News

Schuppe said the chance to see that impact, after a year spent chasing the story, has been gratifying.

“There are very few concrete aspects of impact that you can point to that are more important than having a law changed,” he said. “It’s very rewarding to have that kind of work being done because of the journalism we do.”

Their passion for change, and tenacious reporting, reflected the legacy of late Rocky Mountain News reporter Al Nakkula, whose legendary police reporting is honored through the award.

“He was a real dogged reporter, and so in the tradition of Al Nakkula, we really try to honor newsrooms or projects that are in his spirit—doing reporting that takes a lot of work,” said contest judge Chuck Plunkett, assistant teaching professor of journalism and director of CU News Corps, the capstone journalism program at CMDI.

“We want to see really great journalism that has the potential to change things. We really value impact.”

That emphasis on impact can also be seen in this year’s runner up, which went to Richard Webster, of Verite News, in collaboration with ProPublica. Webster’s reporting helped nullify a first-degree murder conviction for a man accused of raping, biting and drowning a child; he had been found guilty nearly three decades ago based on expert testimony that was dismissed as junk science.

Each year, Nakkula contest judges look for stories that meet the highest journalistic standards, help readers understand complex issues and solutions, show a commitment to community, and bring about societal change. The award has been presented annually since 1991.

Ellie Chase is studying journalism at CMDI, with a minor in business. She covers students and student news at the college.

Following a yearlong investigation into healthcare for pregnant women in prison, reporting by Mackenzie Mays and Jon Schuppe is drawing attention from lawmakers—and judges for the Al Nakkula Award for Police Reporting.

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Trust the process

Joe Arney — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:02:14 +0000

Trust the process Joe Arney Fri, 04/24/2026 - 11:02

Joe Arney

Henry Ugwu was managing communications for the Nigerian government’s pandemic response when he realized he needed more experience. That led him to CMDI and its PhD in communication. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

It was while managing the Nigerian government’s pandemic-related communication campaign that Henry Ugwu realized he needed more experience.

“I was all of 25 years old, running meetings with ministers and governors, and trying to guide them on what to do,” said Ugwu, who was the technical communications lead on the project. “That’s when I realized I had to up my game.”

To be fair, Ugwu’s game was already highly leveled when he arrived at CU ��ý��. Most notably, he was a senior communications specialist with Credo Advisory—with offices in Nigeria and Washington, D.C.—where he worked on clients such as World Bank and the US Agency for International Development; he also was a youth fellow at the International Monetary Fund.

But coming to the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information for his PhD in communication gave him a theoretical grounding that he said has dovetailed nicely with the practical skills he developed in his professional career. It was still an adjustment for Ugwu to find himself in a classroom, though.

“The industry is all about immediate results—you run a campaign, you see the data in real time, you see the impact of the work you’re doing and behaviors you’re helping to change,” he said. “Now, I apply theories to explain the phenomena of what happens in the field.

“My first semester was a bit of a learning curve, with a lot of reading to do. But I love the academic research side of things, where I explore varying topics, make a hypothesis, test it and try to publish it.”

An early advisor connection

Ugwu credited his advisor, Jolene Fisher, with helping his maturation as a student and researcher. In fact, he already knew of Fisher—an expert in strategic communication for development work and social change—from his career.

“My first introduction to Jolene was through her incredible work, and when I reached out to her to learn more, she could not have been more encouraging and personable,” he said. “I came here with all these broad ideas, and Jolene really helped me narrow things down. She has been extremely instrumental in my success as a researcher.”

Jolene Fisher

Fisher still remembers the Zoom call she took with Ugwu as he was exploring doctoral programs.

“I couldn’t believe, after doing so much research in international development and communication, that I might finally have a student who was just as into this work,” she said.

Ugwu’s work is tailor-made for the crisis development organizations are navigating. His broad interests encompass public relations, health communications and development communications; his dissertation explores issues of trust that multilateral development organizations like USAID and the United Nations are facing at a time of cutbacks and intense scrutiny of their work.

“The legitimacy of organizations like the World Bank and the UN is coming from critics who say that, since they’ve been established, they haven’t met their missions of driving development and eradicating poverty,” Ugwu said, noting the significant positive impact such organizations have had in addressing the world’s most complex issues. “But it’s important to examine the impact and relevance of these organizations from the perspective of communications professionals who are managing this emerging crisis.”

One thing he’s interested in, for instance, is localization—involving stakeholders in a solution, rather than prescribing answers from faraway places.

“It’s listening to what the needs are and having people at the grassroots lead in identifying and working toward solutions,” Ugwu said. “This kind of work is important to anyone working on communications in global health or in international development.”

There is extensive scholarly work on development communication, but Fisher said Ugwu’s work represents a novel approach in thinking about how these kinds of relationships are created and managed through the lens of public relations.

As seismic shifts test those partnerships and strain resources, “it’s more important than ever to understand how we think about who holds the power to make decisions about development projects,” she said. “And his fieldwork really helps him see these challenges and bring them to life for the students in his classes, who may not appreciate the different places their strategic communication education can take them.”

Combining work experience, research insights

The chance to bring the observations from his life and work in Nigeria to the field was a key reason Ugwu was excited about doing a PhD.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to contribute to revisiting, and maybe improving, some existing theories—or potentially developing a new one,” he said.

Henry Ugwu’s work in the field ‘really helps him see these challenges and bring them to life for the students in his classes,’ says his advisor, Jolene Fisher. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

Ugwu hopes to research and teach in academia—he recently won a Graduate Part-Time Instructors Teaching Excellence award from the Graduate School and a research and academic achievement award from CMDI—but plans to keep active in industry so that he’s able to bring trends and insights to his students. He shared the story of fueling up his car during the worst of COVID and overhearing a conversation where a woman claimed the disease wasn’t real, in spite of all Ugwu and his team were doing to change behavior and ensure positive health outcomes for residents.

“That was hard to hear—despite being aware of such skeptics from our polling data—but it forced us to change our approach, which had been really high-level communications,” he said. “We realized we needed more grassroots engagement to complement what we were doing on radio, television and social media.

“Conducting research that helps people better understand the scale of the problem was fulfilling. And that’s something I want to be able to offer to students—because there are some lessons that you can really only learn from being out there and doing the work.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

Celebrating the Class of 2026

The transition from industry to PhD work was an adjustment for Henry Ugwu when he arrived at CMDI. Learning new perspectives helped him create novel research on trust.

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Giving flowers: Introducing CMDI’s outstanding spring graduate

Joe Arney — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 21:46:49 +0000

Giving flowers: Introducing CMDI’s outstanding spring graduate Joe Arney Mon, 04/20/2026 - 15:46

Hannah Stewart

Until she took a class in human resources as a high school student, Lauren Lopez was pretty sure she was going to become either a florist or a welder.

‘CMDI makes it really easy to choose your own path, which I really love,’ says Lauren Lopez, who graduates this spring with both the William W. White Outstanding Graduate Award and as the outstanding senior in the communication major. Photo by Kimberly Coffin.

By the time she completed that class—offered through a partnership between her high school and Austin Community College, in Texas—she knew she wanted to make a living in HR.

She’s now one step closer to that dream as she graduates from CU ��ý��’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information with a degree in communication, and as the college’s top student.

“CMDI makes it really easy to choose your own path, which I really love,” she said. “I've always been able to do the classes I want to do, and I think that's really built my experience here.”

Each year, the CMDI student with the highest GPA receives the William W. White Outstanding Graduate Award. On top of that, Lopez graduates as the outstanding senior in the communication department, an honor that recognizes students based on academics, professional achievement and service to the college.

Rarely is a graduate recognized at both levels, but it’s hardly surprising, considering how engaged Lopez has been. On top of graduating early, she will walk with two minors—in sociology and leadership studies—completed an honors thesis and held four on-campus jobs, including one as a CMDI ambassador.

Christi Wade, who supervises ambassadors as the college’s student recruitment program manager, said Lopez made an incredible impression right from her initial interview.

“She brings a positive attitude and smile to every interaction with prospective students, and will be greatly missed on our team,” Wade said.

Leaving a legacy

Lopez said she loves her roles as an ambassador and as a peer mentor with the Office of Precollege Outreach and Engagement. Both programs, she said, offer the opportunity to make an impact by leaving a legacy for future students while extending her community. Thanks to her communication and leadership classes, she feels prepared to serve and guide her peers, whether by providing coaching on a resume or advising prospective students on choosing a major.

Her biggest piece of advice is to do the best you can. Lopez said it’s easy to feel burned out, especially when juggling a lot of classes and other responsibilities, but staying curious and putting in the effort pays off. It’s how her honors thesis came together.

“I’ve heard a lot of things in college about intimate partner sexual assault, and I think it’s really important to talk about,” she said. “And then I read Everybody Lies, by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz. He basically says people lie on surveys. I thought, ‘That's amazing, I want to do exactly that, but with this topic.’”

So Lopez turned to Reddit—where she assumed people would be more candid, since the platform is largely anonymous—ultimately analyzing 300 posts and identifying themes. She presented her findings to her thesis committee, which recommended she receive summa cum laude honors.

“We were all impressed with her study,” said Joëlle Cruz, an associate professor of communication and Lopez’s thesis advisor. “Between the amount of the data and type of data, Lauren’s thesis had a level of sophistication I've rarely seen for an undergraduate student. She is so hardworking and it was a pleasure to work with her on it.”

Lopez said she loved the thesis experience—and all of her time at college—and though she’s certain she’ll miss the learning environment CMDI cultivates, she’s excited for what’s next. In her case, it’s a role with the HR team at local marketing firm ��ý�� Heavy Industries.

“Graduating college is such a privilege—I’m so grateful, and I hope I’ve made my family proud,” she said. “CU has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I love the university and the city, and I’m excited to stay in ��ý�� after graduation and keep cheering on my fellow Buffs as an alum.”

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

Celebrating the Class of 2026

Lauren Lopez is graduating a year early after holding four on-campus jobs and completing an honors thesis, in addition to her academic accolades.

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Apart from the heard

Hannah Stewart — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 22:00:53 +0000

Apart from the heard Hannah Stewart Wed, 04/15/2026 - 16:00

Hannah Stewart

Brook Vann has long been interested in sound as a tool for both data analysis and digital storytelling.

“I have some really fond memories of having story time and having something read aloud,” Vann, a PhD candidate in media production, said. And they’re particularly interested in how the accessibility of sound can help a story better resonate with an audience.

Brook Vann curating an art show at D.D.D.D., in New York. Photo courtesy of Brook Vann.

“If your car is making a strange noise, you don’t have to be a trained musician to think about whether something is wrong with it,” they said. “And sound can help make sense of data that might otherwise be impalpable—it allows for a certain viscerality.”

Visceral is a good word for two research projects Vann has collaborated on—the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting and a eugenics campaign North Carolina embarked on a century ago. They said they are motivated to research heavy topics because they believe it’s important to be curious and talk about difficult things. Creative work, they said, brings stories to the public in a digestible way, and inspires a sense of curiosity in viewers—which is even more powerful when that audience is students.

“I get to teach undergraduates why media is important, and how and why you should engage with it,” Vann said. “I love talking to students about their intentions with the project versus how their peers interpreted it. And that’s where my creative practice comes in because I can share my own experiences working through a project and how I can be certain my audience receives the message I intend.”

It was this passion for teaching that led them to be one of six graduate students who represented the college at last year’s Institute on Teaching and Mentoring Conference, in Atlanta. Vann said it was a great opportunity to not only represent the college, but to also network with scholars from different fields, thus gaining new perspectives.

Their advisor, Betsey Biggs, an assistant professor who’s working with them on the Pulse project, said Vann’s perspectives are a reason for their success.

“They are willing to bring a lot of different fields together, such as sound studies, gender studies, music, art, cultural theory, materiality and so on,” Biggs said.

The Pulse team created a 24/7 web broadcast made up of eight individual audio channels. Alone, the channels are abstract, at times eerie and disjointed. For the full experience, users must listen with other participants, each using their own mobile device, in the same setting.

The inspiration for the project was a graffiti wall at the site of the shooting, where survivors and allies left messages in remembrance of the victims. The wall was recently torn down; in contrast, Vann and the team hope to further develop the memorial, expanding the eight channels to 49—one for each victim of the shooting—and integrating voices into the broadcast stream.

“With the graffiti wall, you could see messages, but then they faded with time and new messages,” Vann said. “By allowing the community to contribute, it won’t have an end point—it will continue to be a space that holds memory and grief.

“Community engagement is something that’s always been important to me and has been a big part of the research and work I’ve done here at CMDI.”

And their research has taken them beyond ��ý��. Last summer, Vann was a research fellow for the Digital Justice Lab, at Dartmouth College, where they worked closely with faculty and data scientists on a project called Eugenic States, which tracks forced sterilizations in North Carolina, Iowa and California. There were thousands of historical documents to sort through—many of which were heavily redacted—that had to be rendered into data points.

To make sense of the information, Vann created a booklet as well as an interactive digital platform that shows sterilizations filtered by age, assigned sex and county. Depending on the data’s value, the points vary in size and color, and there’s an ambient sound element Vann created to go with the data visualization.

“I was inspired by the blue ghost fireflies in North Carolina—when you're far away, they tend to have a green hue, but when you're closer, they look blue,” Vann said. “The counties with smaller numbers of sterilizations have a smaller ring with fewer green layers, while the counties with more sterilizations are blue, have more layers and take up more of the screen.”

Vann plans to continue working with the lab after graduating from CMDI in May, helping the Dartmouth team to integrate the interactive platform onto the servers there.

Biggs said their contributions to the college extend far beyond their creative successes.

“They’ve really helped the culture of our department for the graduate students, and so we'll miss them, but we know they're gonna go out and do great things,” she said.

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

PhD candidate Brook Vann was one of six students to represent CMDI at a national teaching conference last fall. Their research and creative work blends sound with social justice, which makes them a stronger instructor.

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Throwing shade

Joe Arney — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:05:36 +0000

Throwing shade Joe Arney Tue, 04/14/2026 - 10:05

Joe Arney

When you’re thinking about urban infrastructure, the first things that come to mind are probably related to transportation, utilities, communications and public services.

Shade is probably not on that list. But if you’re a mile closer to the sun, as Denver is, it should be, according to an expert in environmental health and urban greenness.

“As the climate changes, many cities have increased their focus on studying sun exposure,” said Sara Tabatabaie, an assistant teaching professor of environmental design. “But they’re doing so mainly from a heat mitigation standpoint, and not necessarily for skin cancer prevention.”

Earlier this year, Tabatabaie received a third grant to continue studying how Denver, and other cities, can engage in sun safety planning and shade design to make the outdoors a less hazardous place for your skin. Worldwide, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer; in Colorado, it is a rising problem, per the National Cancer Institute.

Creating novel guidelines

It’s such a novel consideration for designers and public health officials that Tabatabaie’s work really had to start at the beginning. In the early phases of this project—a partnership between the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Community Engagement, Design and Research Center—she developed an intensive methodology to assess ultraviolet exposure in different urban environments, or typologies. From there, she proposed design guidelines—customized for different public space typologies—to help neighborhoods hit appropriate sun safety thresholds.

“This work incorporates lived experiences of shade and place into real design guidelines,” she said. To do so effectively, she and student researchers from CEDaR completed extensive surveys—audits, observation, environmental modeling and parametric simulation—to establish design guidelines that could improve UV safety for each typology as the sun moves through the sky during the day.

Sara Tabatabaie’s research looks at sun mitigation from the standpoint of UV protection. Other research has mostly focused on heat prevention. Photo by Nathan Thompson.

Project visualizations illustrate the placement of shade structures related to play areas. This one shows shade at Scott Carpenter Park, in ��ý��, in the afternoon.

The current phase of the project is translating her evidence-based findings into actionable strategies that can guide policy and transform neighborhoods for sun safety. Tabatabaie hopes that, through this work, CDPHE can craft stronger urban forestry initiatives, improve streetscape requirements and invest in neighborhoods that lack sun protection.

“In this next phase, I’ll be investigating the institutional and political pathways for shade interventions, so we understand how to integrate these findings into urban policies, regulatory codes and planning frameworks,” she said.

She also plans to perform a cost-benefit analysis of shade.

“We want to be able to share the cost of implementing shade against the health benefits that shade offers to residents,” she said. “We know cost will be an important consideration for helping people understand the value of introducing shade into these typologies.”

Jota Samper

In the first phase of the project, the team—Tabatabaie; Jota Samper, associate professor and co-director of CEDaR; and a team of environmental design students—surveyed six different neighborhoods throughout the city to assess shade and sun risk. The orientation of streets, walkability and sidewalk types were shown to directly affect the sun risk index; the survey also revealed neighborhoods with a higher percentage of children provided limited shade—problematic, as children are more susceptible to sun damage than adults.

“What I found fascinating about Sara is that she took tools that are used in other fields”—like Rhino, a versatile 3D modeling tool, and related applications like Grasshopper and Ladybug—“and applied them to her interest in research,” Samper said. “It was amazing to see how she implemented them not just to measure sun exposure, but to show how different modalities of design could have different impacts, and help us visualize and understand that in a more complex way.”

The work may seem simple on its face, but there are a number of quirks that become apparent the more you look at shade. Cover from trees, for instance, is variable on windy days and mostly disappears in the winter. Meanwhile, surfaces designed to reflect sunlight, and protect from heat, may reflect those UV rays back at people.

“Until now, shade thresholds have not been consistently defined across all typologies, which has made it more difficult to design sun-safe places,” Tabatabaie said.

“Community engagement, and using people’s lived experience, is so important in the design process. Because if people don’t believe in the design, they won’t use it.”

Sara Tabatabaie, assistant teaching professor, environmental design

All this is happening against the backdrop of cities embracing the outdoors and encouraging residents to spend time outside by investing in parks, multiuse trails and micromobility options. But based on average UV levels in Denver, more than 20 minutes of direct sun exposure is not recommended, especially for fair-skinned people.

Balancing more time outdoors with more awareness of sun risk is something Tabatabaie takes seriously in her work.

“Community engagement, and using people’s lived experience, is so important in the design process. Because if people don’t believe in the design, they won’t use it,” she said. “We can’t just design something that looks great. We have to observe how people behave and interact with a design to ensure we’re creating something people want to use.”

Student research impact

That’s a lesson she imparted to the students working alongside her on the project. Gabby Rodriguez, a senior majoring in landscape architecture, studied urban trail systems to help guide recommendations for that typology.

“Looking at the climate we live in today demonstrates that smart landscape architecture projects are more needed than ever—especially at a time when everything is changing so rapidly,” said Rodriguez, who hopes to do more public-oriented projects after graduating this spring. “But the challenging part is definitely putting the scientific processes and methodologies into terms that the general public can understand, so you can convey that importance to people.”

The work is especially important to Rodriguez, who—like many native Coloradans—never turns down an opportunity to be outdoors.

“It’s exciting to see a project like this come to the surface,” she said. “I loved the opportunity to work with Sara, who is one of the most intelligent people I’ve known and is focused on cultivating a good space to bring design solutions for important problems to light.”

Tabatabaie’s gift for encouraging her students to become passionate about these issues speaks to her teaching ability, Samper said.

“The rigor Sara brings to her research really rubs off on her students,” he said. “The students understood the stakes were high, that this was a real client with a serious issue, and that their research was really going to impact policy in Colorado. That elevated the whole output of the students, which was really wonderful.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

More cities are studying ways to mitigate heat from intensely sunny days. One expert is more focused on the dangers posed by UV exposure.

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Beyond the game

Joe Arney — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:03:06 +0000

Beyond the game Joe Arney Tue, 04/07/2026 - 10:03

Iris Serrano

Lincoln Roch reviews his notes by the Ralphie statue outside Folsom Field. Despite being a rookie on the sports beat, he captured a prestigious Hearst award for a feature story on fan behavior after the Buffs hosted Brigham Young University in the fall. Photo by Hannah Howell.

A year and a half ago, Lincoln Roch walked into a Sko Buffs Sports meeting not knowing what a third down was. The story of how he got from there to winning one of the most prestigious awards for collegiate sports writing is a bigger story than any game he has covered.

In the fall, the ��ý�� was fined $50,000 by the Big 12 Conference after hateful and discriminatory language targeting The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was chanted from the stands during a football game against Brigham Young University.

Lincoln Roch, a senior studying journalism at the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information, was sitting in the student section at Folsom Field during the game, and could hear fans shouting derogatory chants. When the fine was announced, he wrote about it before moving on to other news.

It wasn’t until later that week that Jake Shapiro (Jour’18), his sports practicum professor and advisor of Sko Buffs Sports, encouraged the class to dig deeper and find a new angle about the human impact. Roch searched BuffConnect and found Institute, a campus organization affiliated with the church.

The group was meeting that night, so he rushed to his apartment to change out of a football jersey and shorts and headed to Wolf Law, hoping someone would talk. When one of the organization’s leaders asked who had been to the game, Lucy Reese raised her hand, and agreed to speak with Roch afterward.

“That’s where I realized this was way worse than I had thought,” Roch said.

This was the first of many conversations that reframed the story: Less than a week after the fine was announced, Roch published “Slurs and Harassment at BYU Game Alienate Mormon CU Students,” featuring firsthand accounts from sources who felt alienated or threatened by the behavior during the game. The article won first place in the sports writing competition of the 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

He credited Shapiro and Harrison Simeon, president and editor-in-chief of Sko Buffs Sports, for pushing him to find a story with deeper meaning and helping him perfect the piece.

A willingness to learn

“Lincoln joined the club with no sports background whatsoever—he didn’t know what a third down was a year and a half ago,” said Simeon, also a senior in journalism. “But what he did was learn. He's our best journalist, in terms of willingness to learn.”

The article is the most-viewed story on Sko Buffs Sports, with more than 8,000 views. The story was also shared on X by the assistant athletic director at BYU and the governor of Utah.

“I’m incredibly proud of the impact it had. It kind of restored my faith to see a lot of dialog between BYU and CU fans in the comments on social media,” Roch said.

Roch received a $3,000 scholarship for the article and qualifies for the National Writing Championship, in San Francisco, in June, when he has the chance to be one of the top three intercollegiate winners.

For Vicky Sama, associate teaching professor and director of student media at CMDI, this recognition comes as no surprise.

“The Hearst awards are prestigious acknowledgements of student journalism nationwide, so it’s very competitive,” said Sama, whose journalism career included a producer role at CNN and extensive freelance work. “Lincoln shows a lot of promise. He’s going to make the university proud when he graduates.”

Iris Serrano is studying strategic communication and journalism at CMDI. She covers student news and events for the college.

Lincoln Roch took home a first-place award in the Hearst Sports Writing Competition with a powerful story that highlighted the impacts of discriminatory chants at a CU football game.

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‘Good evening, I’m an A.I., and this is your nightly news’

Joe Arney — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:40:58 +0000

‘Good evening, I’m an A.I., and this is your nightly news’ Joe Arney Tue, 03/31/2026 - 07:40

Joe Arney

Most Americans haven’t yet encountered A.I.-generated news anchors, but the popularity of the technology abroad—and the potential cost savings—mean that’s likely to change, says PhD student Muhammad Ali. Here, he showcases his work at the university’s Three-Minute Thesis competition. Photo by Glenn Asakawa.

The rigors of pursuing a doctoral degree leave even the most dedicated students occasionally questioning what brought them on this difficult path.

For Muhammad Ali, a PhD student in journalism, motivation is never far from the surface. His father, Malik Sajid Diyal, was killed in 1990 after being the driving force for establishing the first girls’ schools in his conservative Pakistani hometown.

“My father was a government contractor, he was a social worker—but more than that, he was a person who believed education can transform society,” Ali said. It’s a reason he left a career in public relations behind, seeing education as “not just a way to give information, but a powerful tool for resistance, hope and transformation.”

“This degree is not just a piece of paper for me. It is a legacy I have to carry forward, and a change I can make to society.”

As he prepares to graduate this May, Ali’s research work, which explores how news stations are using generative artificial intelligence—especially in on-air broadcasting—is shedding light on an area with enormous implications for how the news is delivered in the future.

‘A completely A.I. newsroom’

His interest was piqued when he was watching Channel 1, out of Los Angeles, and realized something was a little off about the telecast.

“It’s a completely A.I. newsroom, where they are producing, disseminating and gathering news content through A.I.,” Ali said. “You could see it if you looked closely at the anchors’ mouths, and some of their gestures.”

‘A.I. videos are generating views on social media, they’re making money on social media—and the business managers will be paying close attention to that,’ Muhammad Ali says. Photo by Glenn Asakawa.

Muhammad Ali, right, accepts a best paper award at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s annual conference. Photo courtesy Muhammad Ali.

It’s the sort of thing Ali had never seen in American journalism before, but A.I. anchors have been in use throughout Asia and the Middle East, including his native Pakistan, for years, and they’re quickly getting better at mimicking human speaking behaviors.

“What’s really unknown, especially in the US, is how audiences will react to these changes, and whether they will accept A.I. news presenters,” he said. “It’s one thing for a movie or cartoon, another when it’s the nightly news.”

Even if you have been following the rise of A.I. journalists and anchors, you may not be aware that stations have required anchors to sign deals giving the company the rights to their faces, to build digital versions that are available day and night, don’t require holidays, health insurance or sick time, and don’t have long commutes.

You probably have an idea of where this is going, but Ali said A.I. will create new kinds of jobs in journalism without replacing editorial judgment or human curiosity. Stations in Pakistan, for instance, have started employing “prompt managers” who use A.I. to create and refine content for the digital anchors to read.

“The influence of technology companies on the news is much more than what we ever expected.”

Muhammad Ali, journalism

Even if job displacement is minimal, there are many ethical considerations to moves like this—and given the speed at which A.I. is rolling out in news and elsewhere, research like Ali’s is critical to slowing down and challenging us to ask the right questions about how this technology could change our relationship with the news.

“If something goes wrong, who will be responsible?” he said. “The organization is requiring the journalist to give his face, but that face doesn’t come with his integrity and objectivity and beliefs. There is real potential for misuse.”

In fact, he’s finding examples of that already, including authoritarian regimes and terrorist groups that are using A.I. anchors to disseminate misinformation and propaganda in ways that look convincing.

A matter of perspective

Ali’s advisor, Patrick Ferrucci, said the work is important because there is little scholarship on this topic in western Europe or the United States, where free presses have historically helped journalists push back against these kinds of innovations. And his background—not only growing up in a place where A.I. anchors are more common, but bringing years of leadership and industry experience in public relations—make his perspectives especially valuable, in class and as a researcher.

Patrick Ferrucci

“Journalism here historically fights new technology well past losing that fight,” said Ferrucci, a professor and chair of the journalism department. “Because of the economics of the news, you can absolutely see A.I. anchors coming to journalism.

“But I see some of the things A.I. can do and I think, ‘That would have helped me when I was a journalist,’” he added. “Understanding how to use these technologies without making yourself irrelevant is something we talk to our students about, and Ali’s research is really important, especially as the topic is so understudied outside of Asia.”

The interdisciplinary nature of a CMDI education—where students are encouraged to explore the intersections of different industries and schools of thought, to better uncover innovation—helped Ali bring a tech-oriented perspective to the craft, and business, of journalism.

“The influence of technology companies on the news is much more than what we ever expected, and means we have to answer for new kinds of biases or hallucinations in the data that aren’t being fact checked,” he said. “And like we’ve heard about in other industries, editorial decisions are being impacted by these technologies, as well.”

He’s already started to make his mark in academic circles, including earning a best student paper award at the conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Kappa Tau Alpha Award for top student paper.

Motivated by his father’s memory, Ali is committed to using his PhD—which he expects to complete in May—to teach future generations of students to work with these technologies and become smart consumers of news who are aware of A.I.’s inroads into the nightly news.

Especially because, as he’s found, younger viewers are more accepting of their headlines coming from a machine.

“The younger generation wants to experience new things, see new things, and they’re used to using their technology and social media to do it,” he said. “These A.I. videos are generating views on social media, they’re making money on social media—and the business managers will be paying close attention to that.”

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

More stations are experimenting with A.I. anchors, and a PhD student says the trend has finally reached the United States.

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Documenting deportation as it comes to hospitals

Ellie Chase — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 16:15:49 +0000

Documenting deportation as it comes to hospitals Ellie Chase Thu, 03/26/2026 - 10:15

Hannah Stewart

Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StComm’18) and Jessi Sachs

Months before Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were going through Minnesota neighborhoods, Jessi Sachs was going through Reddit threads searching for a niche angle to investigate immigration under Donald Trump.

That was when she first learned about medical deportations.

Sometimes called medical repatriation, medical deportation is when hospitals and medical transport companies attempt to—or successfully—return an uninsured, noncitizen patient to their country of origin.

“Not only did we tell a story that was really impactful for Junior, but we spoke truth to power in the niche intersection of healthcare and immigration.”

Ann Marie Vanderveen (Jour'25)

“I found the post and thought how crazy it was,” Sachs, a senior majoring in journalism, said. “I didn't even know that people could be deported out of the hospital without the involvement of ICE in any way.”

Last year, Sachs and Ann Marie Vanderveen (Jour’25) participated in the prestigious Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellowship hosted by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Their story about medical deportations was picked up by multiple outlets, including The Associated Press.

“It felt really impactful that it was picked up by so many media organizations once it went out on the AP wire,” Sachs said. “I wanted to write about something people weren’t super knowledgeable about and bring awareness to a unique facet of the immigration conversation.”

First launched in 2005, News21 is a two-semester intensive experience where student journalists investigate a topic such as hate groups, juvenile justice, gun rights and, last year, immigration under the Trump administration. In the spring, students attend weekly workshops and classes to develop knowledge around the theme before embarking on a 10-week reporting fellowship based in Phoenix that culminates in a published story.

Jessi Sachs, left, and Ann Marie Vanderveen, right. Photo taken by Kimberly Coffin and provided by Ann Marie.

Vanderveen wanted to be a journalist since she dressed up as a reporter for an elementary school career day, and she quickly found her people by joining the CU Independent in her first year, which is where she met Sachs.

The News21 piece wasn’t the first time the reporting duo worked together—at the CUI, they collaborated with another writer on a story about a sexual assault investigation involving a Ralphie handler. But covering medical deportations was definitely the most challenging piece either had written while still in college.

“It took a long time to find people to talk to us,” Vanderveen said, as they looked for sources on social media and GoFundMe. “Our breakthrough came when we found an activist coalition in Philadelphia, but it took time to build trust with them. Eventually, they connected us with other people.”

Legally, only the federal government can remove an individual from the United States, and Medicare-participating hospitals are required to treat people—including uninsured noncitizens—with emergency conditions. But federal cuts mean there’s less money to reimburse hospitals for costs associated with those treatments—and through their reporting, the pair learned some hospitals have been attempting to repatriate patients without searching for other pathways for medical coverage.

Vanderveen and Sachs spent one week in Philadelphia, eventually building their story around Junior Clase and his wife, who was being threatened with medical deportation. While in the field, they also spoke with attorneys and activists. By the time they returned to Phoenix they had copious notes and interviews, but between the training from News21 mentors and their own experiences reporting in ��ý��, they felt prepared to take on such a delicate story.

“To be able to tell someone's story who doesn't normally get to speak in the media is exactly what I want to do with my life,” Vanderveen said.

According to student journalist Ann Marie Vanderveen, it took time to develop trust with sources, but their hard work paid off. She and her peer Jessi Sachs traveled to Philadelphia, where the duo spent time with Junior Clase and his wife, who was being threatened with a medical deportation. Photo by Jessie Sachs.

Within two weeks of publication by News21, it was picked up by The Philadelphia Inquirer, AP and others.

“When we saw our names published in the AP, Jessi and I dropped everything and went to get Champagne, because we were so overjoyed,” Vanderveen said. “It was definitely the hardest summer of my life, but it was also the best. Not only did we tell a story that was really impactful for Junior, but we spoke truth to power in the niche intersection of healthcare and immigration. It also gave me a lot of confidence for the future.”

Jessi Sachs in the field. Photo provided by Sachs.

Professor Patrick Ferrucci, chair of the journalism department, said he was impressed when he read the piece.

“Our students in News21 always do really good work, but this particular year—with the timeliness of the story and the story itself—they did an amazing job,” he said. “When you have students like Jessi and Ann Marie who are super involved in student media—really caring about journalism beyond what they're doing in a classroom—it sets a culture for the department.”

Vanderveen, now a reporter for The Journal, in Cortez, said News21 developed her technical skills, but her experiences with the CUI and networking opportunities with CMDI deepened her love for the craft.

Sachs, who will graduate in May, agreed.

“I felt very prepared going into News21 because of my classes, and especially the CUI,” Sachs said. “I walked away from the experience not only with an impactful story I was proud of, but also as a more mature writer."

“Wherever I end up, I have what it takes to find sources, be creative and get the story done.”

Hannah Stewart graduated from CMDI in 2019 with a degree in communication. She covers student news for the college.

Photographer Kimberly Coffin graduated from CMDI in 2018 with degrees in media production and strategic communication.

Two students collaborated on an investigative journalism project that was ultimately picked up by The Associated Press.

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Junior Clase spends all his free time caring for his wife, who is being threatened with medical deportation. Student journalists Jessi Sachs and Ann Marie Vanderveen traveled to Philadelphia to hear their story. Photo by Jessi Sachs

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An education in empathy

Joe Arney — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 07:00:00 +0000

An education in empathy Joe Arney Tue, 03/24/2026 - 01:00

Joe Arney

Ross Taylor, left, runs an on-camera interview as part of his latest documentary project, A Refuge of Scouting. The film, which has been screened around the country and will be on PBS in the fall, draws on the strong sense of empathy Taylor, an associate professor of journalism, brings to his work and his classes. Photo by Pat Clark.

By his own admission, Ross Taylor was not a very successful Boy Scout, having never advanced beyond second class.

“I went on one camping trip, and it rained a lot and I didn’t like that the weather was bad,” said Taylor, now an associate professor of journalism at CU ��ý��’s College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. “So, I went home and complained to my parents and asked if I could stop.”

His own time with the Scouts may have been short lived, but he’s returned to the organization—not to tie knots or pitch a tent, but to tell the story of an all-refugee troop in Aurora.

“This film is about reframing how we see American identity through a traditional lens,” Taylor said. “Scouting brings with it a lot of traditional norms and preconceived ideas of identity in America. And this troop works within a lot of that framework, but helps expand our understanding of what it means to be an American.”

A Refuge of Scouting was accepted to, among others, the Maryland International Film Festival, which takes place this month, and, like Taylor’s other documentary work, will be shared via Public Broadcasting Service beginning in the fall.

The film, which Taylor co-directed with fellow CMDI professor Pat Clark, is a continuation of work he did with P.J. Parmar, a medical doctor who owns and operates Mango House, a shared space for refugees in the western United States. The property is run for, and by, refugees, and was the subject of Taylor’s 2021 documentary, Mango House.

“Parmar was a Boy Scout himself, and he often said scouting was a safe space from facing racism, and he wanted that experience for refugees,” Taylor said.

Building trust within refugee communities

“To engage in these spaces requires me to be a better person, a more empathetic person.”

Ross Taylor, assistant professor, journalism

Doing this kind of work, and immersing yourself in a community of refugees—especially children who have fled significant trauma—requires a special kind of personality. It’s an approach to work—and life—that Taylor brings to his projects and his classes from his nearly 20-year career as a photojournalist.

“Building trust within the populations I work with requires a high level of empathy—I’m working in spheres that involve traumatic events, or the aftereffects of trauma,” Taylor said. “To engage in these spaces requires me to be a better person, a more empathetic person.”

It’s a lesson he learned the hard way. As a photographer, Taylor was once scolded by a mother for taking a photo of a crying boy after striking out during a youth baseball game. He credits that experience with teaching him to bring a more empathetic perspective to what he’s capturing.

And in class, that means showing students they can be empathetic, but also confident in using their voices to tell important stories. It shows up even in the simplest acts, like opening classes by asking students to share something good in their lives.

“It really warms up a classroom environment, and it sets an example of how I conduct myself in the work that I do,” Taylor said. “I want them to see empathy in action and think about what it means for them when they become professionals and leaders.”

CU ��ý�� Chancellor Justin Schwartz, right, recognized Ross Taylor with an End Zone Innovators Award at a Buffs home game in the fall. Photo by Vivenne Malone.

Ross Taylor credits his sense of empathy with helping him build trust among the people whose stories he tells in his work, including his most recent documentary about a Boy Scout troop made up of refugees.

In A Refuge of Scouting, Taylor shows how the values of scouting look through the eyes of young refugees from around the world. Early work on the film began before Donald Trump returned to the White House, but it’s hard not to see this project as a rebuke of the othering that the federal government has engaged in, from Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, to sealed borders, to deportations and mass incarceration.

“We are all much more alike than we are different,” Taylor said. “When you spend time with a young kid who’s a refugee from another country, you begin to quickly realize, they’re a kid just like any other kid you would know.

“Working within the refugee community has given me a lot more respect, care and admiration for the people I’ve met and the contributions they make to our culture. My hope for this film is to help more people have the same experience I’ve had, so that we have more compassion for each other.”

Clark, an award-winning filmmaker and assistant professor of critical media practices, joined the college at the same time as Taylor, and they’ve taught and collaborated before—but said seeing up close the sense of empathy and connection his colleague brings to his projects was inspiring.

A model for authenticity

“Ross, the journalist, is able to unpack all these threads and find the people who help tell the story,” Clark said. “But it’s his personality that makes him so good at what he does. I talk about it in my classes a lot—the more you spend time with the folks you’re working with on the film, the more authentic they will be on camera. And that’s who Ross is. He gets people comfortable, he brings them in close and he makes everybody feel good about him being there. That’s how you really tell the story.”

For his part, Taylor said he appreciated Clark’s immense technical knowledge. It’s part of what makes CMDI special—the encouragement of authentic collaboration between separate, but related, disciplines to create meaningful impact.

“We are stronger as a unit than as individuals, because some projects require a substantial amount of expertise that crosses departments,” Taylor said. “This is definitely an example of that.”

Taylor is already thinking about his next documentary project, though his immediate plans are more centered on photography projects. He remains in awe of the medium’s power to make the world a better place; A Refuge of Scouting is his third documentary.

“Documentary—and, by extension, journalism—is a wonderful way to see a shared experience,” he said. “And it can help break down the preconceived notions we have about each other, and help us care for one another as we navigate the very real and challenging daily life we all experience.”

Ross Taylor and Pat Clark are no stranger to classroom collaboration, but A Refuge of Scouting is their first documentary together. Here, Taylor, left, and Clark are kneeling in the front row, off to the right, with the scouts in a theater.

Joe Arney covers research and general news for the college.

A hard lesson from his days as a journalist has helped a CMDI professor tell moving stories through documentary.

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