Arts & Humanities

After 20 years as dean of the University of Colorado Boulder College of Music, Daniel P. Sher will step away from the post in June — but he isn’t going quietly. First, student musicians at the college will dedicate their performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver on May 1 to the outgoing dean.

Jeannie and Jack Thompson have made an unprecedented commitment to the Jazz Studies program at the University of Colorado Boulder -- building $1.6 million in combined gifts to trigger a new $2 million program endowment. To honor and recognize this transformational gift, the program will be renamed the Thompson Jazz Studies Program, as announced at yesterday’s annual Spring Swing big band concert. It is CU-Boulder’s first named program.

At first, Kisori Thomas had a difficult time acclimating to the campus climate at CU-Boulder. Initially, other than her coursework, she wasn’t active outside the classroom. Realizing she wanted a more well-rounded education, experience and personal growth, she took a big step outside her comfort zone and began looking for student leadership and multicultural organizations to join. This also included studying abroad in Chicoutimi, Canada, for a five-week French intensive program.

University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore today announced the four finalists selected for the position of dean of the College of Music. The finalists for the position are: Wayne Bailey, professor of conducting and instrumental ensembles, School of Music, Arizona State University; David Myers, director, School of Music, University of Minnesota; Jamal Rossi, executive associate dean, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester; and John Schaffer, director emeritus, School of Music, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Singing in your first professional opera is challenge enough. Throw in a 12-hour, trans-Atlantic flight and a mere two days of rehearsal time — with two different conductors — and you’ve got a grand task indeed. But that’s just what University of Colorado College of Music student Anna Englander will face in January when she travels to Italy to sing the key role of Suzuki for three performances of Puccini’s classic Madama Butterfly in three different cities.

Starting in January 2013 it will become easier for students to earn some double degrees on the University of Colorado Boulder campus so that they can complete their academic goals more quickly and with less cost.

In a new set of way-finding maps, planters at the University of Colorado Boulder are more than decorative containers. The concrete vessels serve as directional prompts for people to navigate central campus. The bronze buffalo statue near Folsom Field is another cue used in the online maps, as well as references like “exhaust fan at 10 o’clock” to guide those who use their sense of sound to move about.

Provost Russell Moore today announced the charge and membership of a visioning committee to consider future opportunities for synergies and collaboration between University of Colorado Boulder environment and sustainability research and academic programs. Sharon Collinge, director of environmental studies and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, will chair the Environment and Sustainability Visioning Committee, or ESVC.

University of Colorado Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore today announced the formation of a search committee to lead a national search for a new dean of the College of Music. Jim Williams, dean of the Libraries, will chair the committee. Dan Sher, who announced his resignation in August, will complete his 20th year as dean of the College of Music in June 2013 and then return to teaching in the college.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will address the role of public lands in American life at the University of Colorado Boulder on Sept. 13 as part of a conference commemorating the 200th anniversary of the General Land Office. Salazar’s talk is part of a conference titled “The Nation Possessed:
The Conflicting Claims on America’s Public Lands” being held at CU-Boulder Sept. 11-14. The conference is sponsored by the Center of the American West and the Public Lands Foundation.