I&S Employee Newsletter - April 2021

Grieving for our community, caring for each other

Dear Infrastructure and Sustainability team,

One of the things I’ve been most proud of about our Infrastructure and Sustainability team during the pandemic has been your resilience and ability to meet every obstacle we’ve faced with an innovative and positive spirit. Yet I know the tragic events in Atlanta and Boulder over the last month impact us on a much deeper level. They are not something we can simply turn the page on to get back to business as usual. I know they affect each of us in different ways and perhaps even at different times, with some experiencing delayed responses to what occurred.

I’m writing to you this month recognizing that many of you are still hurting and grieving following the terrible tragedy at King Soopers on March 22 in which 10 members of our community lost their lives. Boulder is a small, close-knit community where our ties to each other run deep, and an event like this impacts all of us. Both of my kids go to school within a mile of the shopping center. My older daughter tutored kids at the library across the street. And we have so many great memories of birthday parties and activities at Tinker Art Studio and Abo’s Pizza, breakfast at Moe’s Broadway Bagel and lunch at Snarf’s. It could have been any of us there that day. I know many of you likely have similar connections to the shopping center.

The events of March 22 came just days after the senseless killing of eight people in Georgia, including six women of Asian heritage, as acts of violence and harassment against our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have grown over the last year.

As you can imagine, these events have really had an immense impact on my family and me personally. We are still grappling with unanswered questions about how we are supposed to deal with these tragedies, what we can do to support our community and what we can do to prevent things like this from happening again. If you’re experiencing similar thoughts, please know that you are not alone.

The hardships and social isolation brought on by the pandemic have already taxed so many of us mentally and physically, and events like these only exacerbate the strain we’ve all experienced over the past 13 months.

Our Faculty and Staff Assistance Program is available to you if you need help. The campus has also compiled a traumatic events resources webpage where you can find updates and avenues for support, as well as ways you can donate to the families of the March 22 victims. I want you to know that my door is also open to you if you want a shoulder to lean on or just need a friendly ear to listen.

We must now more than ever show each other grace and empathy as we try to heal. Many of you are already deeply involved in planning as we gear up to prepare our campus for a more traditional in-person experience in the fall. I urge you, though, to take time off if you can and make time for yourself to reflect and heal -- and I encourage our supervisors to provide flexibility. Check in on your friends, family and colleagues, and lean on them for support. The strength of this team is in the value each of you brings, and your self-care and care for each other are vital during this time.

With gratitude for all you do,

David Kang, vice chancellor for infrastructure and sustainability

Ralph Bogle – Chemical Treatment Specialist, Environmental Health & Safety

How long have you been working at CU?

Started as a contractor in 1997. Then became a full-time employee on Jan. 6, 1998.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?

Mostly catch up on sleep, sometimes I combine the two and sleepwork.

Glued too much to the computer and would like to travel again. I have family in Europe from Iceland to Greece – most in Germany and some in Switzerland. Sister in Iceland.

Eating strange things like Hákarl, raw shark. According to tradition before setting sail for a raid, Vikings would eat this to be fierce or what at least I recall through the haze of local brews mandatory to consume the dish. The shark is fermented over 6 weeks and questionable to its capacity to incite battle prowess. But I guess enough of it and the drinks would make anyone ready to rumble…

Tell us something that might surprise us about you?

I was a German citizen for a time. Held dual citizenship until I was 18 years old.

What do you love about CU Boulder?

Location, location, location; where else can I do my chosen craft and see such majestic scenery at the same time?

The students, yes the students, we always hear about the few bad ones but I have come to meet promising young minds. I especially enjoy watching them grow from grad to PhD.

Meeting Nobel Prize winners – people that have changed the world for the good through hard work and dedication. Recognized on International level by their peers for their achievements. Early on I had the privilege to meet Thomas Cech over at Cristol. An honor indeed.

Thermal waste treatment. About twice a year I have the privilege to work with some of the finest in Boulder County. Treating CU research waste sometimes leads me to no other choice then to use some proactive/aggressive methods. As I tell people when they ask me – what do I do? I tell them I make bad things behave….

What is your favorite type of music?

Let me ask you “What if 6 were 9?”

People can pigeonhole you based on the music you like but I prefer to open my mind to all forms and if I had to pick a single genre it would be Classical. The masters like Mozart, Beethoven, Bach or Hendrix, BB King, Keith Richards… you know those Classic guys…Moonlight Sonata, Piano Sonata No. 14 to Rock Me Baby. I can listen to Jimi Hendrix or Chopin. Both to me have a beautiful quality, each is special. Embrace life like that – in each person there is something more than just what we are told. See them with your ears, hear them with your eyes, and feel what your spirit perceives.