From Nancy Kellogg
As your ARCS Colorado President, I’m excited to showcase our many 2024 accomplishments.
Our May 2nd Gala at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science was a great success. During the cocktail hour, 14 ARCS Colorado scholars presented their excellent research posters. Our ARCS honoree, Dr. Temple Grandin, distinguished professor of Animal Science at CSU, interviewed the scholars about their posters. Her presentation to the guests included stories about her life-long work as an advocate for individuals on the autism spectrum, and her development of revolutionary livestock handling systems. We thank our many donors, corporate sponsors, ARCS Universities, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, MC Dave Aguilera, and ARCS member volunteers for an outstanding event. ARCS raised over $300,000 in support of our 52 scholars from the six major Colorado universities. Each scholar receives a $7500 ARCS award.
Four ARCS board members, Susan Howard, Shirleen Tucker, Amy Tucker, and Nancy Kellogg attended the ARCS National Conference in Chicago in early June. Amy Tucker and Rachelle Pulver (not in attendance) were honored during the ARCS Light ceremony. It was great to engage with ARCS members from other chapters during a variety of sessions, field experiences, and a special dinner. The next national conference will be in Seattle.
Our annual ARCS all member luncheon meeting was held on June 19 at the Mt. Vernon Canyon Club. Board members for 2024-25 were elected. Marco Salgado, a Colorado School of Mines (CSM) scholar, told us his inspiring story about moving from Texas to CSM to become the first member in his family to attend college. He is an incredible young man with a passion for electrochemistry research!
We held six fall “Meet and Greet” sessions that showcased the exemplary research scholars are doing on each campus. ARCS members and university faculty and administrators interacted with these amazing scholars both during their presentations and informally. ARCS thanks each university event planner for their support and work. ARCS members love to attend these sessions!
Elnore Grow hosted the fall member meeting and potluck luncheon at her beautiful home. ARCS members, guests, and Dr. Ying Shang, Dean College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS), attended the event. Dr. Lakshmi Krishna, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research Scholars at CSM, described how their campus enables undergraduates to conduct research by pairing them with faculty advisors. This is a great pipeline to future graduate work.
The Colorado School of Mines hosted our Scholar Recognition Luncheon on November 12. ARCS scholars, members, donors, university faculty and administrators, co-honorees, and guests interacted informally before the luncheon. The event included a welcome from CSM President Dr. Paul Johnson, remarks by ARCS president Nancy Kellogg, and a presentation of the work being conducted by this year’s co-honorees, United States Geological Survey scientists Jeff Pigati and Kathleen Springer. Melanie Westergaard, President of the CSM Alumni Association, acted as MC, and interviewed the first year ARCS scholars. ARCS thanks Colleen Budzinski, Kyle Tons, Lakshmi Krishna, and Melanie Westergaard for their great work on the luncheon.
I am honored to be the ARCS Colorado president. It’s a joy to work with our incredible volunteer board members, ARCS members, university contacts, scholars, and donors. Team work, advocacy for our ARCS scholars, and communication are keys to our success. Our mission is to provide ongoing support for our great scholars who spark STEM innovation!
