Early Bird

Kudos and an important reminder

This month, celebrate Roadrunners who are giving back, winning awards, earning scholarships and hitting career milestones.

By Lindsey Coulter

October 9, 2019

Applause-worthy accomplishments and milestones take place across the Metropolitan State University of Denver campus every day. Faculty and staff are invited to celebrate MSU Denver career milestones in particular at the upcoming Years of Service party. The event honors Roadrunners who have dedicated years, and sometimes decades, to the University and to student success. A light lunch will be provided.

Years of Service

Thursday

Noon-1:30 p.m.

St. Cajetan’s Event Center

Outstanding employees

President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., has been elected to serve as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. The non-profit, congressionally chartered organization is dedicated to improving the performance of public institutions in every branch and at every level. Fellows include more than 900 of the nation’s top public managers and scholars, jurists, current and former cabinet officers, members of Congress, governors, mayors, state legislators and diplomats. Davidson’s introduction to the academy will take place during the 2019 Academy Fall Meeting Nov. 7 in Washington, D.C.

Megan Filbin, Ph.D., associate professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry, received a National Institutes of Health Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15) in August. Over the next three years, the $389,000 award will support her student-driven research, titled “Molecular Mechanisms of Cue-Dependent Translation Regulation.” Filbin and her students will study how protein synthesis is controlled in developing neurons, which ultimately leads to proper neuronal connections/signaling in the brain and spinal cord. This is the first NIH R15 awarded to an investigator at MSU Denver, putting MSU Denver on the national stage for undergraduate human-health-related research.

Lisa McVicker, Ph.D., professor, Management, received the Best Paper award for the Idea/Work in Progress track at the Rocky Mountain Academy for the Legal Studies of Business for her paper “Space Law: A curriculum proposal.” McVicker will present the paper at the organization’s annual conference in Vail next month.

Applause for alumni

MSU Denver alumna Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s (’09) Colorado-centric short-story collection “Sabrina and Corinna” was shortlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for fiction. RED spoke with Fajardo this year about her inspiration and her time at MSU Denver.

On Sept. 28, MSU Denver hosted the Colorado-Wyoming Junior Academy of Science’s 31st Annual Science Symposium. The event welcomed students from all over Colorado and Wyoming to present their scientific research and projects. The organization was founded at MSU Denver by alumna and Program Director Jan Fuller.

Star students

Chef and Professor Jackson Lamb and School of Hospitality students Sheena Ortiz, Ricci Hastings, Savannah Thompson, Paul Mediate, Amine Benmoussa and Dan Hopkins volunteered Sept. 23 at the first-ever Kickin’ It in the Kitchen fundraiser, hosted by the Project McManus foundation. Headed by Denver Broncos star Brandon McManus, the foundation seeks to “empower at-risk and disadvantaged youth through literacy, resource, scholarship and educational programming.” The event allowed students to give back while also sharing the kitchen with Denver’s top executive chefs and athletes - and raised $42,000!

Travel and Tourism Management major Suzanne Miller earned one of only five scholarships to attend the Colorado Tourism Office’s Colorado Governor’s Tourism Conference from Sept. 20-Oct. 1. The event annually brings together experts and leaders from across the country to highlight and assess current tourism trends. Topics range from sustainability practices to effective crisis-communication strategies, and the scholarships help students network and gain industry exposure, while they also learn about tourism business models, social media, advertising, leadership, branding and more.

“It was an invaluable experience because I was able to immerse myself with Colorado’s top tourism professionals,” Miller said. “I now have a new appreciation of my MSU Denver coursework as it directly correlates with the travel-and-tourism business practices. I was able to put into vision the career path of destination selling and marketing that I am passionate about.”

Did we miss your big accomplishment or a chance to celebrate students and alumni? Contact earlybirdeditor@msudenver.edu to share great Roadrunner news.