Academics

<p>On June 6, Staff Council reviewed this past year’s accomplishments and set goals for FY2015. Randi Viola, the outgoing co-chair, acknowledged the accomplishments of council committees and individuals with small trinkets, including little CU megaphones for our outspoken staff advocates. Newly elected co-chair Sarah Douvres and reelected co-chair John McKee, who planned the retreat as their first assignment of the year, served as moderators for the goal-setting process.</p>

<p>The Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education has awarded nearly $5 million to the University of Colorado Boulder, the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and Northwestern University to create a new center that will study how educational leaders—including school district supervisors and principals—use research when making decisions and what can be done to make research findings more useful and relevant for those leaders.</p>

<p>A NASA-funded miniature satellite built by University of Colorado Boulder students to scrutinize solar flares erupting from the sun’s surface is the latest example of the university’s commitment to advancing aerospace technology and space science through strong partnerships with industry and government.</p>

<p>“Goodnight room, goodnight moon. Goodnight cow jumping over the moon...”</p>
<p>A children’s classic that already is a candidate for the all-time best feel-good book, “Goodnight Moon,” has gotten a boost: A University of Colorado Boulder team printed the first 3D version of it, allowing visually impaired children and their families to touch objects in the story -- like the cow jumping over the moon -- as it is read aloud.</p>

<p>English alumnus Dick Shahan recently made a $75,000 gift commitment to CU-Boulder — $50,000 of which established an endowment to create the Dick Shahan CU-Boulder Undergraduate Writing Competition, expected to generate an annual prize of $2,000 for a prose piece that features Boulder. The additional $25,000 will fund the Shahan Graduate Fellowships in the CU-Boulder English Department, providing an annual $1,000 research grant for an English graduate student.</p>

<p>Children who spend more time in less structured activities—from playing outside to reading books to visiting the zoo—are better able to set their own goals and take actions to meet those goals without prodding from adults, according to a new study by the University of Colorado Boulder.</p>

<p>Interested in exploring the basic concepts of our legal system? Have you always wondered what it would be like to go to law school? University of Colorado faculty, staff and friends are invited to enjoy <strong>priority registration</strong> for Mini Law School 2014. Registration opens to the public on June 30 and the class is expected to fill up quickly. <a href="http://www.colorado.edu/node/2987943">Learn more >></a></p>

<p>A new educational partnership at the University of Colorado Boulder will provide expanded degree options for working professionals interested in specialized graduate education focused on energy and water.</p>
<p>Beginning this fall, qualified students can earn both a Master of Engineering (ME) degree and a Professional Certificate in Renewable and Sustainable Energy or a Professional Certificate in Water Engineering and Management. The degree and certificates can be earned either via distance education or in campus classes and may be pursued either part- or full-time.</p>

<p>A new study on obesity and people’s happiness by CU-Boulder sociology researchers suggests that it’s not obesity by itself that determines whether a person is happy with their body image but where you live.</p>
<p>According to study co-author Philip Pendergast, a doctoral student in sociology at CU-Boulder, if a person who is obese lives in a community where people share the same body type they are more likely to be happier.</p>

<p>If the state of the world is flat, hot and crowded, the field of public health is large, diffuse and complex. That’s why the University of Colorado Boulder is giving students the ability to earn an interdisciplinary certificate in public health.</p>