Business schools top 10
BusinessWeek has ranked Colorado State University's marketing and business law programs in the nation's top 10 among business colleges. The marketing department ranked second in the report; the business law program ranked ninth. The April report, "Undergraduate Business Specialties: The Best of the Best," followed BusinessWeek's overall ranking of CSU's College of Business as one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country. The magazine surveyed more than 85,000 graduating seniors on such topics as the quality of teaching and overall student satisfaction and interviewed 600 corporate recruiters on where to find the best graduates, curricula, and career services. Senior business majors graded their academic programs in such areas as marketing, accounting, calculus, financial management, and corporate strategy. In the overall 2009 BusinessWeek rankings, Colorado State moved up to 67th on the list — 30th among all public schools. CSU was ranked 14th among all colleges and universities in the West and Southwest.
New CSU System chancellor
 The Colorado State University governing board in May named Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce President Joe Blake chancellor of the three-campus, 30,000-student CSU system. The newly created position separates what formerly was the dual position of president of the CSU Fort Collins campus and chancellor of the CSU system, previously held by Larry Penley. Based in Denver, the chancellor will interact with Colorado's executive-branch officers, legislators, business and civic leaders, and alumni. Colorado has more than 100,000 CSU alumni, with nearly 70,000 in Denver alone. "Each member of our board knows the importance and impact a strong leader can have in directing a premier academic and research university," says Douglas Jones, chair of the CSU System Board of Governors. "Today marks an opportunity to redefine the leadership of a university system of CSU's caliber. The CSU System will be well served by the leadership skills and passion of Joe Blake." With dwindling state budget support, the chancellor will have an increasingly important role as a financial advocate for all three CSU campuses and higher education in Colorado.
Innovation honors
CSU Professor Bryan Willson, co-founder of Envirofit International and Solix Biofuels, joins President Barack Obama, Microsoft mogul Bill Gates, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the "Scientific American 10" — an honor roll of 10 Americans who are leading innovations that benefit humanity. As founder and director of the CSU Engines and Energy Conversion Lab, Willson helped create Envirofit International — a non-profit organization that designs, builds, and disseminates efficient, clean-burning two-stroke engine retrofit kits and cookstoves in the developing world. Willson also co-founded Solix Biofuels to commercialize algae-to-biodiesel technology. Willson now serves as director of CSU's Clean Energy Supercluster, which supports research-to-market innovations.
Clean energy seed grants
The Colorado State University Clean Energy Supercluster has distributed $192,300 in a second round of seed grants for 10 projects that will foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and jump-start larger research initiatives. More than 100 CSU researchers support the academic advancement of the Clean Energy Supercluster, contributing in such diverse disciplines as economics and policymaking to new energy sources. Cenergy, the business arm of the Supercluster, assists faculty members with the commercialization of technological innovations.
2009 seed grants:
Biofuels and emerging technology
- A highly efficient, selective, and green process for conversion of cellulosic biomass to high-energy-density sugar molecules ($17,000). Researcher: Eugene Chen, Department of Chemistry
- Chemical fixation and programmed release of CO2 for sequestration ($17,000). Researcher: Tomislav Rovis, Department of Chemistry
- Evaluation of miscanthus as a bioenergy crop in Colorado and development of genetic resources ($18,000). Researchers: Nora Lapitan, Joe Brummer, and Junhua Peng, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
- Overcoming the bottleneck of oilseed crop development for biofuels through mutagenesis and interspecies crosses ($15,300). Researchers: Patrick Byrne and Shusong Zheng, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
Solar, wind, and efficiency
- Applying structural reliability methods to improve the design of wind turbine gearboxes ($17,000). Researcher: Rabecca Atadero, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- A combined wind and turbine monitoring radar system for an integrated turbine management ($18,000). Researchers: V. Chandrasekar Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Dusanka Zupanski, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere
- Conformal coating of polymer electrolytes for applications in high surface area li-ion rechargeable batteries ($17,000). Researcher: Amy Prieto, Department of
Chemistry
- Environmental and social monitoring at Maxwell Ranch Wind Farm ($29,000). Researchers: Ken Wilson, Liba Pejchar Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology; Peter Newman, Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources; Jeremy Siemers, Colorado Natural Heritage Program; Boris Kondratieff, Andrew Norton, Thomas Holtzer, Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management; Kurt Fistrup, National Park Service; and Paul Cryan, U.S. Geological Survey
Cross-discipline
- Training Extension agents to educate Coloradans ($15,000). Researchers: Leigh Fortson and Irene Shonle, CSU Extension
- Organizational innovation for energy conservation ($29,000). Researchers: Jennifer Cross, Department of Sociology; Zinta Byrne, Department of Psychology; and Bill Franzen and Stu Reeve, Poudre School District
Industrial psychology online
Colorado State University is offering a new online Master of Applied Industrial and Organizational Psychology. The two-year terminal degree program, offered through the Division of Continuing Education, addresses workplace diversity, anti-discrimination policies, worker productivity, and employee retention and provides tools for program evaluation and statistical analysis. The online format allows working professionals anywhere in the world to pursue the master's degree from the convenience of a computer. The program covers training and leadership development, organizational development, selection and placement, performance measurement, organizational health, quality of work life, and talent management. Students network with industry professionals and gain research experience. Instructors provide specialized attention with a ten-to-one student/teacher ratio. Learn more about the program at http://www.learn.colostate.edu/degrees.
Volunteer unity
Nearly 2,200 Colorado State University students volunteered about 13,000 hours of service April 18 at agencies throughout Larimer County. The work was on behalf of CSUnity, now in its 13th year of serving Northern Colorado. CSUnity also has made its way across the country. This year marks the third year of alumni participation, where alumni in Denver, Kansas City, San Diego, and San Francisco volunteered in rescue missions, community food agencies, local elementary schools, and downtown city centers. In Denver, 170 volunteers completed 735 hours of community service, worth nearly $15,000. Since its inception, the program has encouraged thousands of students and alumni to work with such nonprofit organizations as the Food Bank for Larimer County; Open Door Mission; American Diabetes Association; Northern Colorado AIDS Project; and Trees, Water, People.
|
