In addition to Faculty Citings, the Early Bird frequently shines a spotlight on the accomplishments of Metropolitan State University of Denver faculty and staff members, students and University partners.
If the Early Bird missed an award, accolade or opportunity to celebrate an accomplishment big or small, please submit the announcement by completing the Service Request Form.
Fantastic faculty members
Rosemarie Allen, Ed.D., associate professor in the School of Education, was named the winner of the T. Berry Brazelton Friend of Children Award for contributions to the field of early-childhood education. Previous recipients include Fred “Mister” Rogers, Dolly Parton and two U.S. first ladies. Allen is a nationally sought-after speaker who does weekly segments on 9News about issues related to race and education. MSU Denver also established an endowed scholarship in her name in 2021 to support students of color who want to be educators.
Members of MSU Denver’s Gamelan Tunas Mekar were presented a Denver Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture Global Award on Dec. 7. The group includes:
- Elizabeth Macy, Ph.D., assistant professor, Ethnomusicology
- I Made Tangkas Ade Wijaya, affiliate and director of MSU Denver’s Gamelan Manik Kusuma and artist in residence with Gamelan Tunas Mekar
- I Made Lasmawan, former affiliate, Music, and artist in residence with Gamelan Tunas Mekar
- I Putu Tangkas Ade Hiranmayena, former affiliate, Music, and artist in residence with Gamelan Tunas Mekar
- Aaron Burris-DeBoskey, 2014 graduate, Music
- Jakey Wherry, December 2022 graduate, Music
- Ashley Stitts, student, Music
The Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Arts & Culture recognize individuals and organizations that make significant and lasting contributions to the arts in the City and County of Denver. The Arts & Culture Global Award is presented to an individual or organization that has brought Denver’s arts and culture to the national or world stage.
Standup staff members
Michael Benitez, Ph.D., vice president for Diversity and Inclusion, earned an Alumni Achievement Award from the Iowa State University College of Human Sciences. The award recognizes alumni for meritorious service and/or distinguished achievements in areas such as business and industry, education, family and consumer sciences, and health.
Manuel Del Real, Ph.D., executive director for Hispanic-Serving Institution and Inclusion, was named an honoree of the Mayor’s Diversity and Inclusion Award after being nominated by the Denver Latino Commission.
MSU Denver’s online newsroom, RED, received an honorable mention by PR Daily for Best Online Newsroom or Media Center. RED is produced by the University Communications and Marketing team.
The RED team also won a 2022 Colorado Public Relations Society of America Silver Pick Award in the media-relations category. The entry, “Building a runway for enrollment success with brand journalism,” highlighted how Tim Carroll, director of Media Relations, generated media coverage of the Aviation program with the help of this RED story.
Matt Watson, associate director of Executive Communications, and photographer Alyson McClaran earned a Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VI award and a national CASE Award for their RED story about standardized testing.
The University Advancement Team also earned a CASE District VI award thanks to the success of MSU Denver’s Day of Giving.
Ashly Carrera, Peer to Peer counselor, was named the College Admissions Professional of the Month for November by the Colorado Council on High School/College Relations.
Superstar students
Naomi Jacquez, Justin Guy, Lidet Rida, Biruk Reda and Jesus (Tony) Sandoval have been accepted into the Patton Scholars Program. The program’s goals include providing opportunities for students to develop leadership skills; promoting community-building through engagement among Patton Scholars, faculty mentors and peers; providing Patton Scholars with easier access to research opportunities by removing barriers; and fostering academic success by supporting courses that have traditionally high D-grade, F-grade and withdrawal rates.
Amazing athletes
MSU Denver’s volleyball team (30-2 overall, 18-0 conference) spent four weeks as the No. 1 team in NCAA Division II before coming up just short of the division’s version of the Elite Eight.
Individually, Rylee Hladky, Ember Canty, Ashlyn Cianciulli and Kaylee Corsentino were included on the academic all-district list. Hladky, Corsentino, Riley Anderson and Kelsey Gordon were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-South Central Region team. Hladky’s honors don’t stop there. She was also tapped as NCAA Division II Academic All-America Team Member of the Year by College Sports Communicators and was named to the AVCA All-America first team for the second consecutive season. Anderson earned AVCA All-America third-team honors, and Corsentino and Gordon rounded out the list with both receiving All-America honorable mention.
The Roadrunner cross-country team’s Heidi Yagen has been named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Summit Award winner. Yagen, a sophomore in cross country, is a third-year student who carries a 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in Aviation. The RMAC’s Summit Award goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average who is competing at the league’s championship event.