I have always been fascinated by the natural world and the way each part is simultaneously influenced and affected by every other piece. I grew up in West Texas where I spent my youth exploring the nearby desert. Many years later on a trip to Costa Rica, surrounded by the nightly chorus of jungle insects and frogs, I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life learning about...

Steven graduated from the University of Colorado with his PhD in History in 2011. He has been teaching full-time in Honors at the university since spring 2013. His research interests include labor and working class history, intellectual history, cultural history, the history of Puerto Rico, and the history of poverty in America. In his long and varied career, he has worked as a truck driver, pool guy, teacher, college instructor,...

I’m a cultural anthropologist and earned my Ph.D. in anthropology from CU-Boulder. I like to think that by now I’ve also earned an honorary degree as a coffee-ologist, having worked or researched in just about every part of the coffee commodity chain. I did most of my dissertation fieldwork in Costa Rica, where I looked at how the Costa Rican sense of self as exceptional has been challenged both by...

Alison Hatch received her Bachelors in Sociology and Women's Studies and her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Colorado-Boulder. After the completion of her Ph.D. in 2009, she lived in Savannah, Georgia for eight years where she served as Associate Professor of Sociology for Georgia Southern University. Alison's primary research and teaching interests include gender violence, marriage & family, and the sociology of sexuality. When not in the classroom...

I received my PhD in Geography from the University of Colorado in 2012. My research falls within the environment-society and human geography subfields, and it addresses the complicated overlap between environmentalism, progressive politics, and racism in Boulder, Colorado. I am most interested in understanding how the multifaceted identity norms in Boulder shape the politics of belonging in the city. I love teaching geography because it brings together questions about environment,...

My Ph.D. is in musicology and my Masters degree has a dual focus in musicology and music theory. My specialty as a musicologist is American music, particularly folk and popular musics. While my degrees are in traditional western musicology, I have naturally moved toward a more ethnomusicological viewpoint, one which looks at music not only as sound patterns or great works, but as a cultural activity through which everyday people...

Carmen focuses on students and their experiences as new college students at CU, and provides administrative support for the faculty. She welcomes ideas and feedback to help make the student experience is more fulfilling. Carmen served 4 years on the College of Arts & Sciences Staff Advisory Committee, three of which she was an elected Chair. In her earlier career, Carmen worked in high tech and healthcare new product development...

Christine Macdonald, Senior Instructor in the Program for Writing and Rhetoric, has enjoyed teaching in Honors RAP since 2008. Outside of Honors RAP she teaches a service-learning course in Grant Writing in which students write grants for local nonprofits, and an Academic Proposal Writing course in which students write UROP grants in support of their academic research. In addition to helping students craft analytical writing assignments, she enjoys the outdoors...

Jennifer Schwartz grew up in Boulder and is a proud Boulder High School graduate. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Brown University in 1989 and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Emory University in 1996. Her research has focused on depression among children, adolescents, and medically ill populations. She returned home to Boulder when her oldest daughter, now 23, was 2-years-old. She has been living here and teaching...

In memory of Dr. Paul Strom (1948-2022) Paul Strom came to Boulder from New Mexico to attend CU in 1967 where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics. Along the way, he was also able to take advantage of the first Study Abroad program at the University of Lancaster, England (highly recommended). It was during the turmoil of the Vietnam War era that he became interested in other matters...

I earned my PhD in Psychology from the University of Washington and I am a Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience. I am a clinical psychologist and my research focuses on (a) the interface between intimate relationships and mental and physical health of partnered individuals, and (b) cognitive theory and therapy of depression. I have a long history with the Honors Program, as I chaired the departmental Honors...