november 2010 community news

8/8/2019 November 2010 Community News

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Daniels microfinance class

named to Forbeslist of most

innovative business classes

The Deutsche Bank Microfinance Class at DUs

Daniels College of Business has been named to the

Forbes.com list of the 10 Most Innovative Business

School Classes.

The list includes courses from business schools

around the country that appeal to a different kind of

student one who increasingly looks to do good

while also doing well.

Students in the Daniels class work directly

with managers from Deutsche Banks Global

Commercial Microfinance Consortium to evaluate

loan applications from microfinance institutions

(MFIs). MFIs borrow from Deutsche Banks $80

million fund and use the money to make small loans

some as low as $50 to individuals and groups

in rural villages.

The idea of microfinance has been arounda while, but were now finding that larger financial

institutions are getting involved, in addition to not-

for-profits, says Professor Mac Clouse, who teaches

the course. The idea is taking hold that you can earn

a rate of return as well as provide benefits to the

poor.

The Daniels-Deutsche Bank partnership was

established five years ago when Daniels Professor

and Dean Emeritus Bruce Hutton was leading an

interterm course to New York. The group met

with the director of Deutsche Banks microfinance

division. The director was so impressed with the DUstudents and their questions that he invited Hutton

and the University of Denver to join as the banks

only academic partner.

The students in the class which is capped

at around 20 graduate students receive a set of

loan applications from MFIs. Following a set of criteria

provided by Deutsche Bank, the students research

the applying organization, compile information about

the economic and political environment in the region;

talk to people from the finance, human resources

and IT side of the MFI and examine past successes to

determine their suitability to receive a loan.

After conducting initial research, the class then

travels to the MFIs location during spring break in

order to conduct on-site due diligence. Student

groups have traveled to Cambodia, Uganda and

Kenya to meet the MFIs and visit local borrowers.

[Students] can see how microfinance can

provide a real benefit to the poor of society, Clouse

says. You can make a difference by approaching a

problem from a business perspective.

Jordan Ames

University dedicates new Nagel Art Studios

The University of Denver celebrated its new center for drawing and painting with a

dedication ceremony Oct. 19 that drew around 300 people to the Ralph and Trish Nage

Art Studios, the new copper-plated structure located between the Shwayder Art Building

and the Ritchie Center. Classes began there in September.

Built along with the University of Denver Soccer Stadium and the Pat Bowlen Training

Center for DUs athletic teams, the 12,500-square-foot structure features a large, open

studio area, high ceilings, concrete floors, movable walls and plenty of natural light.

Equivalent in space to an entire floor in the Shwayder Art Building, the new studio

also frees up space in Shwayder for DUs pioneering program in electronic media art

design (eMAD). The buildings third floor has been turned from a labyrinth of classroom

and hallways into a large open space with the latest in digital equipment.

Chancellor Robert Coombe told those gathered at the ceremony that the art scene

in Denver is absolutely percolating, citing recent developments at the Denver Art

Museum, the Vance Kirkland Museum and the soon-to-be-built Clyfford Still Museum.It is an extraordinary time, and our goal is to once again position the School o

Art and Art History in the center of things for the sake of our students, for the sake o

our faculty, for the sake of our community, he said, referring to the time in the 1950s

and 1960s when DU was the center of modern art in Colorado thanks to Kirkland, the

painter who was the director of the art school from the late 1920s until 1969.

The studio is named for Ralph and Trish Nagel, who donated $2.3 million to the

project. Ralph Nagel also serves on the DU Board of Trustees.

Trish Nagel said the purpose of the studio is to provide a welcoming home for the

art spirit and the students and professors who will do their work here.

Greg Glasgow


4/8

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Heres what we know about theeffects of animal abuse on childrenwho witness it: It cant be good.

Heres what we dont know:

Everything else.What mental health problems arise

when children are exposed to brutality

against a much-loved pet? How do

children cope when they see an animal

beaten or tortured?

These are among the questions

social work Professor Frank Ascione

(pictured) plans to explore in a four-year

study that follows children who have

seen or heard animal abuse at home.

The project, funded by a $1.5 million

grant from the National Institute of

Child Health and Human Development,will allow Ascione, who holds the

American Humane Endowed Chair at the

Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW),

to advance his groundbreaking research

into the dynamics of domestic violence

and animal maltreatment.

As executive director of GSSWs

Institute for Human-Animal Connection,

Ascione has emerged as the nations

go-to authority on questions related to the topic. His research has fueled a nationwide campaign to increase the number of domestic

violence shelters extending the welcome mat to family pets. And thanks to his publications and expert testimony, more than a dozen

states have passed legislation that makes it possible to include at-risk pets in civil protection orders.

For his new study, Ascione will partner with the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence to interview 300 mother-child pairsfrom domestic violence shelters around the state. Participants will be required to have had pets within the last year and be willing to be

re-contacted for two years following the initial interviews. Children will range in age from 712.

By the time the study ends, those children will be ages 914, allowing researchers to examine mental health over time. To Asciones

knowledge, no other study on animal abuse and domestic violence has attempted to follow its participants for such an extended

period.

We may see serious behavioral issues at first, Ascione says. Two years later it may be very different.

GSSW Dean James Herbert Williams considers the grant a breakthrough for scholars studying the human-animal connection

whether they work at DU or elsewhere.

This is the first time that federal funding has been put forward to look at this kind of issue, Williams explains, noting that such

funding signals the importance of foundational research in this emerging field.

Asciones new project comes on the heels of his 2007 study revealing the strong connection between animal abuse and intimate

partner violence. From that project, Ascione learned that abusers often use animals to manipulate or terrorize family members. Troubled

by that information, Ascione felt compelled to address the next logical question: How is exposure to animal abuse related to a childs

mental health?

Preliminary findings with adults suggest that witnessing animal abuse has lasting consequences for the individuals involved and

for society. True, the majority of children who have seen their pets mistreated grow up to have healthy relationships, but others become

abusers themselves. Earlier interventions will help professionals reach these young people.

One of the findings that has been emerging is derived from studies of men who reminisce about their childhoods. If they were

exposed to animal abuse before age 13, that exposure is linked to a greater likelihood that they perpetrate abuse, Ascione says. Curiously

he adds, the same findings do not hold true for women who witnessed animal abuse.

The study will also examine how adults shape childrens responses to the violence. It really is going to provide information that has

not existed in the scientific community in this field, Ascione says.

Tamara Chapman

New hopeProfessor receives $1.5 million grant to study children exposed to animal abuse


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Penrose hosts Weavers latest installation

Timothy Weaver, a DU associate professor of electronic media arts and design and digital media studies

has installed his art in museums and festivals from Ecuador to Germany.

Fans wont have to travel nearly that far for his latest creation, Hylaea (pictured). The video, print and

rare book installation opened Oct. 14 at DUs Penrose Library; it runs through Feb. 14, 2011.

The exhibition will be distributed across three levels of Penrose in four media clusters. Weaver also

incorporates two different types of archives into the exhibit: rare books in the Penrose Library Specia

Collections and the remains of extinct birds from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

The project is an interactive video and print installation that seeks to reanimate the residues, recordand archives of lost ecological memory from the extinct species cabinets of the museum and the rare book

shelves of the library, Weaver says.

Professor Peggy Keeran, an arts and humanities reference librarian at Penrose and coordinator of the

exhibit, says Weaver causes people to think about heritage and the cost of not preserving wildlife and the

environment.

Keeran saw Weavers installation that was part of the Embrace exhibition at the Denver Art Museum and asked him if hed show the work at Penrose

Instead, Weaver created an entirely new installation.

My intention in seeding motion, sound, interaction and macroscopic detail across the library is for viewers to recall that within less than a century o

the publication of the first written and painted records of the astounding bird life of North America, both common and mythological species became the

icons of human-induced extinctions, Weaver says.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Kristal Griffit

Alumnus takes slice of local pizza market

For Phil Coan (BSBA finance 07) and Mark Huebner, a good business idea is simple:

Create a good product and bring it to the masses.

The rest, they say, should fall into place, and that is exactly what is happening for the partners

who own and run the Denver Pizza Co., a Denver-based takeout and delivery pizzeria. They

have two locations at 5022 E. Hampden Ave. and 309 W. 11th St. with a third in the

works. They say the short-term goal is to be running five stores within two years. Long-term

planning? Global expansion.

Weve been doing great, Coan says. We started profiting at our second location in the

first month of operation [in August 2010].Despite a slumping economy, the partners werent worried about whether their business

would thrive.

Thats the thing about the quick service industry you can serve a family for as much as

you can go out to eat yourself, Coan says. Pies range from $5 (8-inch personal) to $15 (18-inch

extra-large). Specialty pies cost more. Coans favorite is The Hero, which has tzatziki sauce,

lamb, feta, kalamata olives, tomato and basil leaves. Huebners favorite is The 5280, which has

mozzarella, pepperoni, mushrooms and a special blend of spices.

Calzones, salads and Glacier ice cream also are offered.

Their competitors, the partners say, are the places that are locally grown and owned

say, an Anthonys Pizza and Pasta but Coan and Huebner are confident they can take them

over eventually. Thats because they claim the highest quality ingredients they shred their

cheese daily off the block, bake dough daily and use Wisconsin mozzarella, which is not only

delicious but has a lower fat content, Coan says.

The toughest part is getting the doors open and people in them, Coan says. But thats

been taken care of, in part due to Huebners national exposure as a contestant on season five

of ABCs The Bachelorette, which he admits he did for Denver Pizza Co. publicity. On the show, Huebners profession was simply dubbed as pizz

entrepreneur, a fitting description since neither partner had any prior culinary experience.

We cooked for nine months straight so we knew what we were serving, Huebner says.

Recently, the duo has been making their presence known by donating food to charity fundraisers and events throughout the Denver area. Im willing

to do whatever it takes to make people happy, Coan says. I love hearing people who eat our food say that it was a great experience and that they love

the food.

The Denver Pizza Co. is open FridaySaturday from 11 a.m.midnight and SundayThursday from 11 a.m. 11 p.m.

Kathryn Maye

Coan, in the drivers seat, is pictured with two of hisemployees

CourtesyofTimWeaver


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Before he even set foot on the University ofDenver campus this fall, freshman PioneerBeau Bennett became a National Hockey League

first-round draft pick and then met the Pittsburgh

Penguins Sidney Crosby, arguably hockeysbiggest superstar.

Not a bad summer.

It was really an unreal moment, Bennett

says of his meeting with Crosby. You grow

up watching him and seeing all the things hes

doing, and then you end up meeting him and

hopefully playing with him down the road. Just

the opportunity to play with him down the road

would be unbelievable.

Bennetts still got a ways to go before he

plays for the Penguins, who took the 18-year-

old forward with the 20th overall pick. But DU

coach George Gwozdecky says hell get his chance

to develop this season, one of a talented trio of

offensive newcomers, along with Jason Zucker,

a second round pick of the Minnesota Wild, and

Nick Shore.

The coach says the Pioneers still have plenty

of upperclassmen to provide leadership and

shoulder the burden on the offensive end of

the ice, and no one is expecting any one first-

year player to bear too much of the burden. Instead, Gwozdecky says Bennett will get time to learn and develop, while still getting an

opportunity to contribute.

Weve got three freshman forwards who are all very, very good offensively, Gwozdecky says. I think Beau is going to share his role

with a lot of different forwards on this team. Beau is a very gifted offensive player, but its not going to fall on his shoulders. Weve got

three very experienced seniors in Kyle Ostrow, Anthony Maiani and Jesse Martin, and we expect them to carry a lot.

Highly touted by scouts, Bennett brings quickness and hockey smarts to a Pioneers team that needs to replace starters lost over

the summer to graduation or the professional ranks.

But listed at 6-feet, 1-inch tall and 180 pounds, Bennett says he knows he needs to add muscle and hone his game. Coming out of

California and wearing the same No. 9 sweater worn last year by fellow Californian Rhett Rakhshani, who graduated, Bennett says hes

adapting well to Denver and settling in to school.

Ive got great roommates, great teammates, and Denvers not so much different from California yet at least until the winter hits.

So its been a smooth transition so far, and Im loving every minute of it.

For the record, his roommates are Shore, Zucker and freshman netminder Sam Brittain, all guys he knew before arriving on

campus.Without declaring a major just yet, Bennett says hes taking core classes and getting used to college life, with an eye toward earning

a business degree. Someday, he says hed like to open a chain of restaurants with his brother, Wade. Bennett says he knows hes expected

to hit the books and that DUs hockey team has a reputation for excelling in the classroom as well as on the ice.

We do expect a lot from each other academics-wise. The captains especially are staying on us and making sure were going to class

and doing the right thing.

Bennett says NCAA hockey is also providing him with the on-ice education he sought.

The guys are a lot older, a lot stronger, and a lot faster, he says. Being in the gym has helped a lot and being with the guys has

helped a lot [The WCHA] is one of the best leagues. Youve got to bring it every night, and its a short schedule, so youve got to make

every game count.

Chase Squire

Sports BeauFreshman Pioneer contributes to success of the team, Gwozdecky says


7/8

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A humanitarian effortAlumna rescues woman from coursing floodwaters

Elizabeth Tromans has sterling credentials: an MA in international human rights with a humanitarian assistance certificate fromDUs Korbel School of International Studies, a stint in the Peace Corps, numerous international service trips, fluency in Spanish andBengali, and now an International Development Fellowship with Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

But its the experience gained during her summer job as a teenager in Hamilton, Ohio, that has proved most valuable so far in her

work for the CRS in India.On Sept. 19, while she was helping distribute humanitarian aid supplies in the northern part of the country, she rescued a woman

from rushing floodwaters and saved her life. All part of a days work for the former lifeguard, who says she didnt anticipate having to

use this skill in India.

Tromans began serving her yearlong fellowship in July and was assigned to India to support the Disaster Management team. In non-

disaster times, shes part of a team that helps communities vulnerable to disasters better prepare. During recent flooding in the Gonda

district of Utter Pradesh state, she assisted in emergency response efforts.

Just before the rescue, her group

had hiked past a stretch of road with

knee-deep rushing water where a

small bridge had been washed out. She

recounts the incident this way:

We stopped because a phone

was ringing in my backpack. As my

colleague fished it out, I turned and

saw a man coming quickly on a bicycle

with his wife sitting sidesaddle on the

back. He came into the water quickly,

perhaps not realizing how strong or

deep the water was. As he teetered,

the wife fell off the bike right away

and was immediately under the water.

I ran over, and as I approached she

had managed to get one hand above

the surface and so I could see her

location in the murky water.

Tromans jumped in and, although

she couldnt reach the bottom because

of the deep water, grabbed the woman.

She managed to pull and carry her 500

to 1,000 yards to a house surrounded

by shallower water, where the womans

husband met them.

Tromans had long planned on a

career helping people, although perhaps not in such a direct way. After earning her bachelors degree in psychology and considering a

career in clinical counseling, she served in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh and started thinking about development as a career. Amongher travels during her graduate study were trips to Costa Rica and Colombia for research.

Tromans credits her education at DU for preparing her well for her current work. She recalls with admiration the work of Associate

Clinical Professor Ted Zerwin, with whom she had several courses. Upon hearing of Tromans actions in India, Zerwin said, That

doesnt surprise me at all. He described her as a very conscientious person who was serious about her studies even as she looked for

opportunities to learn and serve.

That fit with the qualities the CRS looks for in its fellowship candidates, according to spokeswoman Laura Sheahen, who listed them

as flexibility, resourcefulness, intelligence, kindness, and a good sense of humor so you can roll with the punches when things get

crazy.

Leslie Lyon


8/8

Events[ ]

Around campus4 Bridges to the Future: Richard Clarke.

7 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. Free and open tothe public. RSVP to 3038712357.

5 An Academic Adventure for theGenerations, a WLA event. FeaturingElise Wiggins, Corbin Douglass and LeonardBarrett. Knoebel School. 9:30 a.m.1:30p.m. $75, benefiting DUs Penrose Library.

9 Book discussion with Chaplain GaryBrower.Talking about Speaking of Faith byKrista Tippett. Noon. Driscoll Center South,Suite 29. Free.

Labyrinth Meditative Walk. 9 a.m. IliffGreat Hall, Iliff School of Theology. Free.

RSVP to Barbara Gish at [email protected] or3037653115.

11 Soul and Role. 4 p.m. Fireside Room,Driscoll University Center. Free. For infor-mation, contact Gary Brower at [email protected].

12 Jackson/Ho China Forum. ChinasReturned Foreign Scholars: Contributions,Roles and Influences. By Wang Huiyao.Noon. Cherringon Hall, Room 150. Free.RSVP to Dana Lewis at [email protected] or3038714474.

22 Soul and Role. Noon. Fireside Room,Driscoll Student Center. Free.

25 Thanksgiving Holiday. University closed.Also Nov. 26.

Arts2 Friends of Chamber Music presents

Kremerata Baltica with Gidon Kremer,violin. 7:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall.Contact 3033889839 or [email protected] for ticket informa-

tion.

3 Buika: El ltimo Trago, a tribute toChavela Vargas. 7:30 p.m. Free behind-

the-curtain lecture at 6:30 p.m. GatesConcert Hall. $32$48.

4 William ShakespearesJulius Caesar.Presented by DUs theater department.8 p.m. Byron Theatre. Additional perfor-mances Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. andNov. 13 and 14 at 2 p.m. $10$15. Students,

staff and faculty may pick up two free ticketswith Pioneer ID at the box office for open-ing weekend.

6 Mizel Arts and Culture Center at theJCC presents David Broza. 8 p.m. GatesConcert Hall. $27.50$47.50.

10 Moscow Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra.7:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. $49.75$80.25.

14 Colorado Youth Symphony Fall Concert.3:30 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. $12.

20 Lemon Sponge Cake ContemporaryBallet presents Vertical Migration.8 p.m. Byron Theatre. $33.75; $28.75 forstudents.

Exhibits1 The Art Group. Through Nov. 30.

Hirshfeld Gallery, Chambers Center. Galleryhours: MondayFriday 7 a.m. 7 p.m.;

weekend hours vary. Free.

2010 Juried Alumni Exhibition. ThroughNov. 14. Myhren Gallery. Gallery hours:Noon4 p.m. daily. Free.

Sports5 Womens swimming vs. Colorado State

University. 4 p.m. El Pomar Natatorium.

Hockey vs. Colorado College. 7:30 p.m.Magness Arena.

6 Mens soccer vs. Air Force. 7 p.m. CiberField.

7 Womens basketball vs. Regis University.2 p.m. Magness Arena.

12 Hockey vs. Minnesota State. 7:30 p.m.Magness Arena.

13 Hockey vs. Minnesota State. 7 p.m.Magness Arena.

16 Womens basketball vs. Colorado. 7 p.m.Magness Arena.

18 Mens basketball vs. Colorado State.7 p.m. Magness Arena.

19 Hockey vs. Bemidji State. 7:30 p.m.Magness Arena.

20 Hockey vs. Bemidji State. 7 p.m. MagnessArena.

24 Mens basketball vs. Alcorn State. 7 p.m.Magness Arena.

26 Hockey v. Lake Superior State. 7:30 p.m.Magness Arena.

27 Hockey vs. Air Force. 7 p.m. MagnessArena.

Swimming: free. Soccer: $5 for adults; free for DUstudents and children two and under. Hockey: $18$27;$5 for DU students. Mens basketball: $9$15; free for

DU students. Womens basketball: $8$11; free for DUstudents.

For ticketing and other information, including a full listingof campus events, visit www.du.edu/calendar.

Correction: The October issue ofCommunityNews incorrectly stated that the class of 2014

was the largest in DUs history. DU had some ofits largest first-year classes in the late 1940s when

World War II veterans attended college on theGI Bill. The incoming 201011 class is one of thelargest since that era. We apologize for the error.

8

November

DU opens Center forWorld Languages

and Cultures

DU students have a significan

new campus resource: the Cente

for World Languages and Cultures.

The centers goal is to promote

intercultural communication through

a University-wide resource cente

that supports languages and litera

tures education and builds bridgebetween disciplines across campus.

Professor Kathy Mahnke, direc

tor of the center, says it will enhance

students preparation when studying

abroad and in their mandatory lan

guage studies. It will also leave DU

graduates better prepared for the

global citizenship that is their inheri

tance as adults of the 21st century,

Mahnke says.

The center located on the

second floor of Sturm Hall is de

signed to be a welcoming and comfortable place for undergraduate and

graduate students to spend time in

groups or individually.

We also have a goal of reaching

out to the large international com

munity here on campus, Mahnke

says. Their potential for contribut

ing to and gaining from the vitality o

this campus is limitless.

The center also will examine

DUs current language placemen

and proficiency assessments with an

eye toward making them more efficient and effective for students.

The center also will be an

important resource for faculty by

offering guidance on how to inte-

grate technology into languages and

culture education, finding tutors fo

students and assessing language pro

ficiency.

Kristal Griffit

november 2010 community news

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