Dean's Letter

With design in mind

Amanda J. McManus — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 06:42:06 +0000

With design in mind Amanda J. McManus Wed, 02/26/2025 - 23:42

If you鈥檙e a regular reader of our magazine, you know I鈥檝e used this space several times in the past to talk about CMCI鈥檚 forthcoming integration with the environmental design program at the university.

And I can鈥檛 tell you how exciting it is to stop talking about it and start doing the work of bringing us together.

In this issue, you鈥檒l read more about the name change and why we felt it was important to become the College of Communication, Media, Design and Information. But allow me to reiterate how important it was to me to make this change. We鈥檙e a college that prides itself on teaching our students to tell good stories, whether through a podcast, a documentary, an algorithm or a social media account. Well, design is just another way of telling a story鈥攐ne that helps us understand why we鈥檝e made certain choices about the built environment, and what those choices say about our priorities going forward.

As a college, when we look at some of the big problems facing us鈥攍ike how to make the built environment work better for people, how to incorporate sustainability into everyday solutions, or how to elevate equity into what we build and create鈥攊t鈥檚 clear that design is an important part of developing effective solutions. Hands-on learners, innovators and problem-solvers are at home in both CMCI and ENVD, which will allow our communities to seamlessly collaborate in seeking sustainable solutions to the great challenges facing our society and the world. By adding ENVD鈥檚 majors to CMCI, we will cultivate faculty and student collaborations that encourage us to explore new areas, look at problems from a different perspective and marshal creativity in developing innovative solutions.

And while it took some time for us to get to this point, I鈥檓 pleased that we鈥檙e already seeing some positive impact and exciting collaboration between environmental design and the college. ENVD students will be using augmented reality tools in our Immersive Media Lab this semester on a project to develop better models for retrofitting neighborhoods in Denver. A joint career fair is already in the works, and the undergraduate Design Club is bringing students from both areas together to learn how to use their skills to complement their talents and create beautiful designs.

I鈥檓 excited to usher in this new chapter for the college, and am excited for July 1 when our rebranding becomes official. Keep an eye out for more news as we continue work on this!

Warm regards,
Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

We鈥檙e excited to announce a new name for the college, one that showcases the importance of design.

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If you build it...

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 19:21:49 +0000

If you build it... Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/13/2024 - 13:21

When I wrote the introductory note in the first edition of CMCI Now, I opened with a well-known quote from Heraclitus: 鈥淭he only constant is change.鈥�

It feels like I was writing that note just yesterday. In reality, this fall marks the beginning of CMCI鈥檚 10th year at 51吃瓜网. Our journey from a brand-new college to a powerhouse of scholarly and creative excellence has been all about managing and anticipating change鈥攆rom pandemic-driven lockdowns, to improving student outcomes, to ceaseless advances in technology.

The most important step on that journey may have been the first, when we sought to combine the various disciplines into CMCI and challenge our faculty, students and alumni to create impact and find value in the places where those areas overlap. Today, as we grapple with wicked problems like generative A.I. and artistic creation or how to address polarization and rescue democracy, it鈥檚 clear that one discipline doesn鈥檛 have all the answers. And when I look at the successes of our alumni鈥攍ike Jordan Campbell navigating war-torn Ukraine to tell stories of resistance and resilience, or Shamika Klassen bringing a human-centered approach to a big tech company鈥擨鈥檓 both inspired and validated by the choices we made that led us to where we are now.

If it was a big change to put information science, critical media practices, journalism and the others under one academic umbrella, then our next change may be the biggest yet. Over the summer, our integration with the university鈥檚 environmental design program鈥� where students learn to solve design problems of the built environment鈥攂ecame official. I鈥檓 excited to learn from our new colleagues how the built environment represents another way for us to connect with communities, influence experiences, and advance principles like justice and sustainability. It鈥檚 already started鈥擨 had the pleasure of visiting the 51吃瓜网 Dushanbe Teahouse over the summer to see the work our students were doing to restore the iconic building.

Here鈥檚 to the next chapter!

Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

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Inspired by our graduates

Anonymous — Thu, 30 May 2024 22:55:26 +0000

Inspired by our graduates Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 05/30/2024 - 16:55

Each year, at commencement, I reflect on just how far our graduates have come in just four short years. This year, I found myself more impressed than ever. Many of the young men and women who tossed their caps in the air this May arrived in 51吃瓜网 as the pandemic made their first college moments virtual. Their adaptability and resilience was a source of inspiration for all of us at CMCI.

That鈥檚 why we decided to share so many of their stories in the summer edition of our magazine. You鈥檒l hear from each of our outstanding seniors, including our top student, Andrew Schwartz, and Bianca Perez, the first student to earn outstanding student honors for two CMCI majors. Our Trending section looks at two graduating PhD students鈥�Saima Kazmi, who competed in 51吃瓜网鈥檚 Three Minute Thesis event, and Shamika Klassen, who is bringing her interests in tech, religion and ethics to Google.

I鈥檓 so inspired to reflect on these stories of overcoming adversity, becoming leaders in our community and dreaming big about solving the challenges of tomorrow. I hope that these stories remind you of your own college experiences and how CU inspired you to become the person you are today.

Have a great summer!

Warm regards,
Lori Bergen
Founding dean, CMCI

The Class of 2024 overcame unique challenges when they arrived in 51吃瓜网. In this issue, we celebrate their successes.

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Our alumni don鈥檛 stay on the bench

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 21:14:47 +0000

Our alumni don鈥檛 stay on the bench Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/22/2024 - 14:14

CMCI is changing the game. Literally.

This issue of CMCI Now looks at the world of sports media, which has undergone incredible transformation鈥攏ot just for athletes, but for the professionals who cover sports, whether journalists, public relations experts or social media gurus.

The challenges facing the sports media landscape are exactly the sort of topic CMCI was designed to address鈥攃omplex problems that require expertise from multiple disciplines to get a complete picture of the dynamics involved. To that end, faculty from multiple departments are involved with both our just-concluded Sports Media Summit and a new course, Prime Time: Public Performance and Leadership, that started this semester.

Notably, neither initiative would have gotten off the ground without support from our alumni, who were featured guests in the classroom and the summit. It fills me with pride to see the pleasure our accomplished graduates have when returning to 51吃瓜网 to meet with our students and seeing up close their enthusiasm about helping the next generation.

I hope we can count on your support in changing the ways we prepare students for the opportunities awaiting them after graduation. A great way to start is Buffs All In, the university-wide day of giving on March 6, which helps support scholarships and student programs, as well as travel expenses to bring these high-profile speakers to campus. Please consider supporting CMCI during Buffs All In, and if you鈥檇 like to share your experience with our students directly, contact our advancement team.

Warm regards,
Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

CMCI is changing the game.

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Primed for change

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 03:09:46 +0000

Primed for change Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 10/29/2023 - 21:09

CMCI was founded amid change鈥攁n answer to how we could best organize the various communication- and information-related disciplines at 51吃瓜网 in ways that enabled faculty collaboration and student success. We鈥檙e no stranger to disruption, so as generative A.I. tools like ChatGPT captured the public imagination early this year, I started wondering what the next chapter for communication鈥攁nd education鈥攎ight look like.

The dominant theme in the headlines has been one of concern, but as usual, I鈥檝e found the best perspectives come from our alumni, students and faculty, who are on the front lines of change in these fast-moving times. In this issue, we asked members of our community for their reflections on change, and they shared insights on everything from A.I. and algorithms, to work and water.

If you find yourself overwhelmed by the enormity of the changes you鈥檙e facing, I hope you鈥檒l find insight in this issue, which showcases how our community is researching the ways algorithms shape our worldview and the technology transforming how creative projects get done. It also offers a chance for you to reconnect with how our college is changing, including our new Washington, D.C., program.

Reading these stories helped me feel re-energized about the direction of our college and the ways our community is poised to lead through change. I may not have a crystal ball, but I鈥檓 confident that CMCI will continue to be a place where new ideas and tools are celebrated, not feared, and where possibility is embraced. I鈥檓 excited to be part of this community and to see where we go from here. And change is exciting鈥攋ust look at the energy and attention Coach Prime has brought to the Buffs!

What about you? I鈥檇 love to hear your thoughts on CMCI and its future. Drop me a line or come say hello next time you鈥檙e in the 51吃瓜网 area.

Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

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Here鈥檚 to the next 100 years

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 06:25:14 +0000

Here鈥檚 to the next 100 years Anonymous (not verified) Sun, 11/20/2022 - 23:25

This year, we鈥檙e celebrating the centennial of the Department of Journalism, established April 21,1922, by the Board of Regents. As we have explored archival documents dating to the 1920s, it鈥檚 been fun to go through photos and see the changes in technology (and fashion!) over the past 100 years.

What hasn鈥檛 changed is the importance of both universities and journalism in upholding democracy. As I said in our coverage of the department鈥檚 history, the journalism industry has seen tremendous change over the past 10 decades, but our goal has remained steady: teach students to find truth and hold power to account.

Thousands of our graduates have gone on to become working journalists, and I had the opportunity to talk with three of them鈥�John Branch (MJour鈥�89), Jackie Forti茅r (MJour鈥�13) and Vignesh Ramachandran (Jour鈥�11)鈥攁bout topics ranging from what challenges they face as journalists to how they find joy in their jobs.

Of course, the unique strength of our new college is the synergy formed by all of our academic programs. Across the board, our faculty members are educating the next generation of communicators and exploring how they can have a positive impact on humanity. Be sure to check out Associate Professor Stephen Voida鈥檚 work on improving mental health therapy through technology, and the climate-focused projects taken on by faculty and students in Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design; Communication; Critical Media Practices; and Journalism.

As CMCI enters its seventh year and becomes more mature as a college, I can鈥檛 wait to see what the next century holds and what important stories, projects and research the faculty, students and alumni from all of our disciplines will pursue!

Please keep sending us your updates to feature in Alumni News and let us know if you鈥檒l be on campus. I鈥檇 love to hear from you.

Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

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In the end, you'll always find a story

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 21:04:03 +0000

In the end, you'll always find a story Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/10/2021 - 14:04

When I joined CMCI in 2015, I didn鈥檛 know what I was getting myself into as the founding dean of the first new 51吃瓜网 college in over 50 years! I did know that I believed in the mission of the new college and was excited to take on the challenge.

From undergraduates to doctoral candidates, the college equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to produce, gather, archive, curate, analyze and evaluate the flood of information, messages, data, images, sounds and ideas that populate our complex and rapidly evolving global media landscape.

Six-and-a-half years after arriving in 51吃瓜网, I鈥檓 constantly amazed by the creativity and enthusiasm of our students, the important work of our alumni and the critical research our faculty are undertaking. In this edition of CMCI Now, I鈥檓 delighted to share a few of those stories.

After moving from a village in Tanzania to the U.S. in 2012, Angel Mollel launched the foundation 1 Love to improve the livelihood of Maasai people and empower women and girls to pursue their dreams. Now a sophomore studying media production, she鈥檚 learning visual storytelling to help preserve her culture.

Communication alumna Carey Candrian is focusing on the stories not told as she reimagines how scripts used in medical intake conversations鈥攕cripts that tend to overlook the critical life experience of LGBTQ people鈥攃an be redesigned.

See Faculty Now for an overview of the research and creative works of our over 100 faculty members鈥攆rom Professor Robin Burke鈥檚 study of recommender systems and other personalized information systems in e-commerce to Senior Instructor Jamie Skerski鈥檚 creation of a speaking lab that will offer students speech coaching and communication workshops.

As always, I鈥檇 love to hear from you. Send us an update to your story to share in Alumni News and let us know if you have an idea we should cover!

Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

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Letter from the Dean: Summer 2021

Anonymous — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 22:42:56 +0000

Letter from the Dean: Summer 2021 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/06/2021 - 16:42

As we in CMCI prepare for another fall semester, I want to share some updates about our campus, as well as a few stories about our alumni, students and faculty.

All of our students will be back in just a few short weeks, and the campus is doing so in a way that prioritizes the well-being of our entire community and our ability to continue delivering an excellent education. Although it will not be a completely typical semester, the majority of classes will be held in person and a number of events will return. Our campus leadership continues to work closely with local and state public health officials on COVID-19 related developments and will keep the campus and community updated.

I was thrilled that this summer we were able to bring our Pathways to Excellence students back on campus after holding the program virtually last year, as well as launching Connections: CMCI Summer Academy, which was delayed last summer due to the pandemic. The academy was created to support and host historically underserved sophomore and junior high school students鈥攅specially those who may not know if college is the right fit for them. You can read about their week-long experience in 鈥�Making Connections.鈥�

As we pulled together 鈥�Sharing Stories of the Games,鈥� we were reminded of the many alumni who have a long tradition of covering the Olympics, including AP photographer Gregory Bull (Jour鈥�91), Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist John Branch (Bus鈥�89; MJour鈥�96) and USA Volleyball Communications Manager B.J. Hoeptner Evans (Jour鈥�90). It was also fun to celebrate Olympic newcomers like NBC Sports Event Management Assistant Lina Takahashi (Jour鈥�19), who has long dreamed of covering the Tokyo Games, and student Abbie Snyder, who attended the swimming trials as a production runner for NBC. Other veteran Olympic storytellers, such as CMCI Instructor and Sports Media Minor Director Marina Dmukhovskaya and producer and director Peter Lasser (Comm鈥�76), shared updates about the unique challenges and benefits of this year鈥檚 virtual coverage.

If you鈥檝e got a five-minute break and are looking for something fascinating to watch, I recommend our story and video feature on media production major Taylor Passios, who turned her apartment into an immersive exhibit to illuminate the role of online information overload in COVID-related hypochondria. And for some great summer reading, don鈥檛 miss our roundup of books recently published by CMCI faculty (including one I co-authored), and more!

I hope you enjoy this issue of CMCI Now and these stories of creativity, innovation and success that celebrate our alumni, faculty, staff and student accomplishments!

Warm regards,
Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

As we in CMCI prepare for another fall semester, I want to share some updates about our campus, as well as a few stories about our alumni, students and faculty.

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Celebrating the Past and Present

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:53:31 +0000

Celebrating the Past and Present Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/22/2020 - 13:53

CMCI was founded in 2015 at a moment of revolutionary change in the ways we communicate and see ourselves as a society.

In our first five years as a college, we established new academic programs that allow students to apply their skills in a broader range of industries, including data science, documentary filmmaking and sports.

Our faculty are dedicated to research that matters on climate change, public health, representation and identity, dis- and misinformation, visual ethnography, and data ethics.

And we鈥檝e expanded precollegiate opportunities that set students up for success and help create a more vibrant, equitable and inclusive college community.

What鈥檚 next? New initiatives include developing an online master鈥檚 in corporate communication, establishing a media innovation laboratory and exploring virtual frontiers through extended reality.

As we celebrate the new college, we realize that our successes would not be possible without the strong foundation established by our legacy programs in the Department of Communication and the former School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the thousands of alumni who graduated from these programs and remain supporters of CMCI today.

Our alumni and students are creators, problem-solvers and storytellers. They鈥檙e researchers and entrepreneurs. And every day they use words, images and data to tell stories that matter.

To mark the milestone of five years鈥�cover to cover鈥�this issue of CMCI Now features the designs, images and stories of over 25 students and recent alumni.

You can view more of their work in our Student Work Gallery, which represents a selected collection from the last several years of ad campaigns, data visualizations, photojournalism and graphic design.

As always, I鈥檇 love to hear from you.

Be safe and well,

Lori Bergen
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

Read the Fall 2020 issue Class Notes

CMCI was founded in 2015 at a moment of revolutionary change in the ways we communicate and see ourselves as a society. To mark the milestone of five years鈥攃over to cover鈥攖his issue of CMCI Now features the designs, images and stories of over 25 students and recent alumni.

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Summer 2020: Letter from Dean Bergen

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 21:16:59 +0000

Summer 2020: Letter from Dean Bergen Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/12/2020 - 15:16

I hope that during these trying times this email finds you well. As we prepare for the fall semester, I wanted to share some updates about our campus, as well as a few stories about the outstanding creative work and research our CMCI community continues to produce.

Many of you have probably heard that in a few weeks students will return to campus for a mixture of in-person, remote and hybrid classes. We all know these aren鈥檛 typical times and this won鈥檛 be a typical semester. Our campus鈥� leadership team spent the summer consulting with epidemiologists and other health officials, facilities managers, professors and staff to ensure that, as we return to campus, we do it the right way鈥撯€搃n a way that prioritizes safety, and our ability to continue delivering an excellent education. They have my confidence, and if you鈥檇 like to learn more about their plans, you can visit the Roadmap to Fall 2020 as well as the Protect Our Herd public health campaign.

Here鈥檚 something I鈥檝e been thinking about a lot this summer鈥撯€揳nd I鈥檝e spoken to CMCI professors who are thinking about this, too. Although the situation we鈥檙e in presents challenges, this is also an incredible time to be doing the work that we do.

We鈥檙e experiencing an historic moment, and the lessons our students learn will position them to emerge as adaptable leaders when the world needs them most. So many of you have demonstrated this鈥撯€揳s local reporters providing the information we need to stay safe, as national storytellers amplifying the voices of those who are often underheard, as business leaders pivoting to meet the moment, as strategic communicators promoting public safety, and as information scientists turning complex data into messages that ring true. Thank you for this important work, and for showing our students what鈥檚 possible.

It may be apropos that during this time of change we marked five years since the official launch of the College of Media, Communication and Information. When the college officially launched on July 1, 2015, it was created as a place to break out of the mold of traditional media schools and instead bring together entrepreneurial and innovative faculty and students from across disciplines to learn, create and analyze media and technology content in all its many forms.

Shamika Goddard, who is earning her PhD in CMCI鈥檚 Department of Information Science with a focus on technology, social justice and spirituality, is one of the many CMCI students and faculty who exemplify these qualities. Read the story of how she launched the Tech Chaplaincy Institute on June 19, 2020, a day to choose to commemorate both Juneteenth and her grandmother鈥檚 71st birthday. 鈥淲e use the best practices of pastoral care and chaplaincy to usher people through technological crises with dignity and grace,鈥� she says.

Also in this issue, read about students reporting from the field on COVID in their communities and others creating 3D models for the CU Museum that can be integrated into virtual and augmented reality experiences, a Q&A with the faculty member creating a new online master鈥檚 in corporate communication and a roundup of news stories about our faculty.

I hope you and your family are safe and well,

Lori Bergen, PhD
Founding Dean
College of Media, Communication and Information

Here鈥檚 something I鈥檝e been thinking about a lot this summer鈥撯€揳nd I鈥檝e spoken to CMCI professors who are thinking about this, too. While the situation we鈥檙e in presents challenges, this is also an incredible time to be doing the work that we do.

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