FLC is doing our part to help protect local responders by donating surplus personal protective equipment, including hundreds of goggles, thousands of gloves, and masks and aprons. The Denver Post and The Durango Herald...

The shortened athletics season was especially bittersweet for James Young, the student behind Skyler who didn't get to say his goodbye to fans. Thanks for the life you brought to Skyler and sports at FLC, James!

Stay at home but get outside: Outdoor Pursuits reiterates their call to explore our backyards and reconnect with nature. This year's Seek Your Adventure Award winners set the bar high for the ultimate backyard trip, paddling and peaking their way through the Weminuche Wilderness last summer.

Colleges across the U.S. and in Colorado, including FLC, are realizing major costs as a result of the coronavirus. However, presidents across the state are predicting higher education will be a part of the comeback.

The FLC Board of Trustees has increased from seven Governor-appointed members to nine, and is now required to have at least one trustee be an enrolled member of a federally recognized Native American tribe.

Trillions of dollars have vanished, reappeared, and vanished again in the stock market during the coronavirus global health crisis. Benjamin Waddell, associate professor of Sociology, analyzed how the pandemic's toll on the stock market affects everyone's lives for The Week.

Payson McElveen (Exercise Science, '16) defended his champion title, and rode with the memory of training partner and friend Ben Sonntag (Business Economics, '10), at the muddy Mid South gravel race in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The Center of Southwest Studies' latest exhibit is skateboard deck art, featuring more than 30 Native American artists. Though CSWS is currently closed for coronavirus precautions, the exhibit will be displayed through 2020.

Brian Maitland (Anthropology, '19) discovered in his senior capstone research that Indigenous peoples of the Southwest primarily used piñon pine resin to waterproof baskets. His research was published in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports with Professor of Anthropology Jesse Tune and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Grubb as co-authors.

In Colorado's San Luis Valley, historic discriminatory lending has lost Hispanic farmers and ranchers land and income. Associate Professor of Sociology Benjamin Waddell wrote about these families for High Country News.

FLC librarian Lauren Connolly is a finalist for the 2020 Colorado Book Awards in the romance division for Remembering a Witch.

Water demand is expected to only increase in Southwest Colorado, even though the region is more vulnerable to drought as the climate warms. Gigi Richard, director of the Four Corners Water Center at Fort Lewis College, spoke with the Durango Herald about conservation and planning.

Professor of Environment and Sustainability Heidi Steltzer was interviewed by NPR about the magic ingredient for sustaining water supply - snow.

The Four Corners Water Center at Fort Lewis College celebrated Water Week with Rocky Mountain PBS and local stakeholders with a screening of the documentary "Western Water - and Power."

Students are headed back to the Navajo Nation next week for Solar Spring Break, an alternative program that provides hands-on experiences for students and solar power for low-income families.

The FLC and Durango cycling communities are mourning the loss of Ben Sonntag (Business Economics, '10). Sonntag was a three-time national champion while racing for FLC and was a passionate, joyful competitor in the local and professional cycling scenes.

Kelsey Lansing (Psychology and Native American & Indigenous Studies, '16) was profiled by Westword after receiving the National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2020 Colorado Visionary Voice Award for her work at a local nonprofit with Native American women.

Assistant Professor of Management Carma Claw spoke with BizEd about her personal academic journey and how she's working to create inclusivity and opportunity for her Indigenous students. She is the first Diné doctorate business professor at an AACSB-accredited business school.

The grandeur of mountain and desert sunsets can feel mysterious and mystical, but there's science behind those color bursts. Joanna Gordon Casey, visiting instructor of Physics & Engineering, explains why we see such amazing sunsets in the Four Corners.

First-year student Kellen London is an avid adventure athlete. In the FLC Adventure Education program, he's found both his dream major and academic support to succeed.

Archaeologist Brandon Olson (Anthropology, '03) helped uncover 2,300-year-old fortifications on the southeastern coast of Cyprus, further revealing the military character and date of occupation of the historic site.

Giedre Tarnauskaite is at the net as FLC's new head volleyball coach. She's been coaching for 14 years and is ready to build a culture of success for Skyhawks volleyball.

Talons up, Skyhawks! The new head football coach is Darrius G. Smith, an offense-minded and passionate football coach with 20 years of experience.

The EPA awarded an FLC student team with $24,824 to develop a portable system that will provide accurate, rapid detection and identification of waterborne bacteria in water systems.

Voting just got easier, thanks to a new on-campus ballot box and voting center set up by the Political Science Department and La Plata County officials. Their collaborative effort to increase voter engagement also involves FLC students teaching local high schoolers how to register to vote.

FLC ranked fifth in Colorado in a study looking at return on investment for students, based on factors like average early career pay and student loan debt at graduation.

Lowering textbook costs for students is a priority for Reed Library and faculty, who received funding from the Colorado Department of Education to implement more free, open education resources at FLC.

Award-winning playwright Lee Blessing has been at Fort Lewis College for a week-long residency with the Theatre Department. He's best known for his work, "A Walk in the Woods," nominated for a Tony award and Pulitzer Prize.

Congrats to the students named to the Dean's List for the Fall 2019 semester! These students took at least 15 credits of gradable hours and achieved a 3.60 or higher grade point average.

To ensure FLC students have access to fresh, nutritious food, Manna staff members are on campus to help students enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Local historic tribal publication The Southern Ute Drum is utilizing the expertise of Fabian Martinez (History, '18) to digitize and preserve the paper's extensive inventory of publications and photographs.

For its standout academics and affordability, FLC is ranked in the top 100 Philosophy bachelor's degrees in the U.S. by Great Value Colleges.

During halftime at a local high school basketball game, two students from the FLC Indigenous Society of Psychologists shed light on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement.

Conceptual artist Trey Duvall (Art, '09) invited his hometown community to explore absurdity and repeated tasks of doing and non-doing in his art installation "Hat On A Hat" at the FLC Art Gallery.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Joslynn Lee (Chemistry and Cellular & Molecular Biology, '06) spoke to Chemical & Engineering News about her path as a student and chemist, and her return home to teach at FLC.

Thanks to his innovative uses of technology as executive principal at Colorado Springs' Falcon Middle School, Brian Smith (Chemistry, '02) was honored as the Change Management Principal of the Year by the National Council on Digital Convergence.

Shelly Thompson (Political Science, '03) is the new Cultural Preservation Director at the Southern Ute Cultural Center and the Southern Ute Museum in Ignacio, Colorado, working to spread culture and share the work of the SUCC with the Ute community.

The only extinct giant wolf from the ice ages ever found in Colorado was recently discovered at a Mammoth dig site. Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Jared Beeton documented and published this and other findings in the Annals of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

Crescent-shaped stone tools were used by people throughout far western North America at the end of the last ice age. Assistant Professor of Anthropology Jesse Tune and Anthropology student Jon Fox published research on the only artifact of this type that has ever been found on the Colorado Plateau.

Professor of Geosciences David Gonzales (Geology, '82) was selected as the winner of The Mountain Geologist Best Paper Award for 2019 for his research on breccia dikes in the western San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Farmers Max Fields (Environmental Studies, '15) and James Plate (Business Administration, '14) are FLC Old Fort farm-incubator program alumni who have found local fame for their carrots grown at 7,600 feet in the Animas Valley and their heritage, grass-fed lambs.

The annual Durango Chamber of Commerce Durango Rocks ceremony awarded FLC Trustee Ellen Roberts Citizen of the Year and Luke Prince (Marketing, '14) Young Professional of the Year.

Representative Barbara McLachlan sponsored a bill that would increase the size of the FLC Board of Trustees from seven to nine members, specifically adding spots for additional local Trustees and a member of a federally recognized Native American tribe.

An alpine flower is helping Heidi Steltzer, professor of Environment and Sustainability, determine the availability of water to the rest of the world as the climate warms.

Hearts raced as the FLC Exercise Science faculty and staff led lactate threshold testing for the Durango Nordic Ski Club. The tests help athletes train and recover more effectively.

The Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs was one of 10 organizations chosen for a national initiative on rural economic development. SCAPE is housed under FLC's new Center for Innovation in downtown Durango.

Three FLC undergraduate students are now published authors in the journal RNA for their research conducted through the Chemistry & Biochemistry Department.

Professor of Environment and Sustainability Heidi Steltzer testified on the importance of climate science and action at the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

When filmmaker Alexandria Bombach (Business Administration, '08) isn't directing a documentary about the Indigo Girls or Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, she's at home in Santa Fe, working to shape the future of New Mexico's filmmaking industry.

The Center of Southwest Studies, founded in 1964 as the first research center in the U.S. to focus exclusively on the Southwest, is looking at how its records and mission can be more accessible to community members and the students of FLC.

FLC was ranked fourth in the state of Colorado in a study released by LendEDU that looks at the best colleges in the nation for financial aid.

After struggling with drug addiction and serving time in jail, Jamie Matthews (Accounting, '15) enrolled back in school and turned her life around. She was one of four people to receive pardons from Governor Polis in December.

Callie Morris (Journalism & Multimedia Studies, '19) produced a video feature story on a local baker as part of a student project with Rocky Mountain PBS. The segment aired on Arts District and can be viewed online.

Shirena Trujillo Long (Spanish and English, '00), longstanding student mentor and program coordinator of El Centro de Muchos Colores for 15 years, was profiled in the Durango Herald.

The School of Business Administration and partners held the annual Southwest Economic Summit on campus last week, where economists forecasted the trends expected for Colorado and the Southwest in 2020.

Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies Jared Beeton presented his research on climate change at the quadrennial meeting of the International Quaternary Congress, in Dublin, Ireland, in July.

FLC was named to the 2019–2020 list of Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students by Winds of Change, the journal of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society.

Renowned ragtime pianist Adam Swanson (Music, '14) was profiled by The Syncopated Times for his remarkably accomplished career, including a performance at Carnegie Hall, a solo program at the Kennedy Center, a featured headliner at major jazz and ragtime festivals, and the only four-time winner of the World Championship Old-Time...

Four students in the new student group Indigenous Society of Psychologists and a Psychology faculty member attended the Society of Indian Psychologists national retreat and conference in June at Utah State University.

Brandon Castle (Anthropology, '19), a tour guide at the Totem Heritage Center, in Ketchikan, Alaska, is the 2019 recipient of the $5,000 Patricia Roppel Scholarship from the Tongass Historical Society.

FLC placed in the top 100 of Great Value Colleges' ranking of the "Most Affordable Small Colleges West of the Mississippi."

School of Business Administration Dean Steve Elias has been named Vice Chair of the AACSB Small School Network for 2019-2020.

When Assistant Professor of Management Carma Claw started teaching at FLC this summer, she became the first Navajo business professor in the country.

Shane Seibel (Business Management, '13) was named executive director of the Southern Ute Growth Fund, which operates and manages the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s businesses and business investments.
 

Nearly 400 students were named to Fort Lewis College's Dean's List for the Spring 2019 semester. These students took at least 15 credits of gradable hours and achieved a 3.60 or higher grade point average.

Professor of Music and president-elect of the Colorado Music Educators Association, Mark Walters convened with more than 100 national music education leaders to meet with Congressional lawmakers in...

Elementary schoolers are learning how to identify physical characteristics of people from simulated human remains through a program at Durango's Powerhouse Museum designed by Anthropology students.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Callie Cole received a $20,000 Primarily Undergraduate Institution grant from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry to support undergraduate research.

Durango is #1 on Livability.com's list of "Best Home Base Cities for Adventure Enthusiasts."

A team of engineering students competed in the First Nations Launch competition at the Richard Bong State Recreation Area, in Wisconsin.

Professor of History Andrew Gulliford's book The Woolly West: Colorado’s Hidden History of Sheepscapes won the 2019 Colorado Book Award for History.

The reasons for the resurgence of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua is the topic of an essay in The Conversation by Associate Professor of Sociology Benjamin Waddell. 

Five students braved cool, wet spring weather and mud to volunteer their time with San Juan Mountains Association and BLM staff to plant native trees and shrubs along the Dolores River.

Professor of Biology Cynthia Dott was interviewed by KSJD about the effects of high water releases from McPhee Reservoir on riparian health on the Dolores River.

Professor of Gender & Sexuality Studies Keri Brandt and Professor of Sociology Janine Fitzgerald, both ranchers, discussed “zombie agriculture," which raises food from dead soil, on the Radio Cafe's "Down to Earth" podcast.

Associate Professor of Biology Heidi Steltzer has been selected to author a section of an upcoming special report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on climate change in high mountain areas.

This year's Boston Marathon included two FLCers: Associate Professor of Biology Steven Fenster and Assistant Professor of Mathematics Matthew Welz, who finished with times of 2:55:45 and 3:09:27.

KDUR journalist Sarah Flower, Journalism & Multimedia Studies majors Ryan Simonovich and Alex Semadeni, and Shane Benjamin (English, '99) won top awards from the Colorado Press Association and the Colorado Associated Press Editors for their reporting with The Durango Herald.

A portfolio by Design major and Marketing & Communications intern Christina Lopez that included a brochure promoting FLC's Graduate Studies programs took Best in Show at the AIGA Student & Young Professionals Portfolio Review in Colorado Springs.

Cyclist Sarah Sturm (Art, '12) won the pro women's criterium road race at the Sea Otter Bicycle Classic, in Salinas, California.

Long-distance runner Megan Finnesy (Psychology and Exercise Science, '92) was profiled by irunfar.com for her ultra running competition and work, and for founding the 62-mile Silverton Ultra Marathon, which launches this year.

Assistant Professor of English Stacey Sotosky and several of her students helped produce a Rocky Mountain PBS documentary about former Colorado Congressman Ben Nighthorse Campbell.

Runner's World featured a story about research by Assistant Professor of Geosciences Mickey Campbell that analyzes crowd-sourced information from Strava users to develop ways to better direct firefighters in the field toward safer evacuation routes.

Nine students presented at the Rocky Mountain Section of the Geological Society of America meeting, in Manhattan, Kansas, in March. Senior Geology major Connor Broaddus won best poster presentation.

Adventure Pro Magazine profiled the Adventure Education and Outdoor Pursuits programs for their merging of academics and adventure.

FLC was named a "Hidden Gem of the Southwest" by the Online Schools Center for having "passionate and dedicated students" while being "off the beaten path."

Former ASFLC President Connor Cafferty (Business Administration, '17) was recently elected president of the Student Bar Association at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law.

To celebrate National Athletic Training Month, The Durango Herald profiled Brandi (Calderwood) Wenzlau (Athletic Training, '14), who worked with state championship-winning football, basketball, track, and dance teams at Bayfield High School last year.

Assistant Professor of Geosciences Jon Harvey's reasearch on a rockslide north of Durango is helping officials and residents deal with the ongoing geologic problem.

Renowned ragtime pianist Adam Swanson (Music, '14) is now playing live scores to weekly silent films at Durango's Henry Strater Theatre, in addition to his regular performances at the Diamond Belle Saloon.

Shane Benjamin (English, '99) was promoted to deputy editor at The Durango Herald, overseeing the reporting staff.

Doug Landin (Recreation Administration, '88) was named chief information security officer at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, overseeing the law and lobbying firm’s new security team.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol selected Alyssa (Green) Meyers (Business Administration, '13) as the agency's first-ever Agricultural Safety Program Coordinator, a new program to improve agricultural transportation safety in Wyoming.

FLC and Durango were named a Top 50 Bike Friendly College and Town by Great Value Colleges.

19 Skyhawks riders were named to USA Cycling's Fall 2018 class of Collegiate Academic All-Stars for competing in at least one national championship while maintaining a high academic standing.

Professor of Biology Julie Korb will be spending three weeks of her sabbatical, along with her three children and a small group of volunteers, in Nepal, on a three-week trek to eight villages to work with women and girls on women’s health and economic challenges.

Marissa Molina (Political Science, ’14) was appointed to the Board of Trustees for Metropolitan State University of Denver, making her the first DACA recipient to serve on a state board.

FLC was ranked #3 among graphic design schools in Colorado for 2019 by Animation Career Review.

Jonny Radding (Sociology, '95) of Durango Organics has teamed up with with Matt Vincent (ATT '91-'95) of Ska Brewing to create Oh Hi Beverages, a line of THC-infused sparkling seltzers.

Professor of Anthropology Kathy Fine-Dare and Board of Trustees member Ernest House, Jr., were interviewed for a Colorado Sun story about the impact of the Native American Graves Protection & Repatriation Act.

Professor of Engineering Laurie Williams discussed her experiences and the future of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields in The Durango Herald.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Ruth Alminas published an editorial explaining the legal rights of asylum seekers seeking refuge in the United States.

Artist Tracy Weil (English, '88) was profiled in Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine for using his art to build community.

Don Roberts (Business Administration, '89) talked about Wellness Toolbox, his guide to health and fitness based on his experiences as a personal trainer, nutritional coach, weight management consultant, bodybuilder, and gym owner.

Steve Schwartz, vice president for finance & administration, was interviewed for a story in The Colorado Sun about the unique challenges facing higher education in Colorado.

Professor Emerita of Music Linda Mack Berven, artistic director and conductor of the Durango Choral Society, was named as a judge for the 4th annual Durango Voice singing competition.

The Durango Herald profiled Gender & Sexuality Resource Center Coordinator Nancy Stoffer, telling the story of how she got to FLC and her work helping its diverse student body feel confident and comfortable.

The FLC Marketing & Communications Department won three gold and one silver from the 2018 Collegiate Advertising Awards for excellence in higher education marketing.

Outside magazine featured a video looking at graduate student Anna Ortega (Biology, '14) and her team at the University of Wyoming, who are doing National Science Foundation-funded field research on mule deer migration.

Professor of History Andrew Gulliford's book The Woolly West: Colorado’s Hidden History of Sheepscapes was chosen as the Outstanding Nonfiction category winner for the 2019 Western Heritage Awards, from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Richard Julian Martinez III (Sociology & Human Services, '05) was named a fellow in the 18-month Community Leadership Network program by the Center for Creative Leadership and W.K. Kellogg Foundation for his gift of bringing people together.

Ben Burkett (Business Administration, '02) just started a new job as finance director for the town of Cortez, Colorado.

Environmental Studies major Kashia Caljesuseso has been accepted to Global Sustainability Scholars, a highly selective paid, three-year summer experiential learning program held at sites located in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Professor of History Andy Gulliford talked with Carbondale's KDNK public radio about the time Teddy Roosevelt spent in western Colorado on the centennial of the 26th U.S. president's death.[AUDIO]

The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted FLC's new Borders & Languages program in a story about the struggles of language studies at small colleges.

Mike Boone (Exercise Science, '05) is now the program director of Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Associate Professor of Sociology Ben Waddell published an article in the journal Rural Sociology about discriminatory lending against Hispanic farmers and ranchers in the San Luis Valley, based on fieldwork with undergraduate students in and around Alamosa, Colorado.

Seth Damon (American Indian Studies and Anthropology, '08) was named to a two-year term as speaker of the Navajo Nation Council in January.

More than 400 students were named to Fort Lewis College's Dean's List for the Fall 2018 semester. These students took at least 15 credits of gradable hours and achieved a 3.60 or higher grade point average.

Assistant Professor of Engineering Christie Chatterley was quoted in an article in Scientific American about the role of behavioral science in clean water programs.

CXmagazine took an in-depth look at the "lucky" bicycle ridden by Sarah Sturm (Art, '12) when the former Skyhawks cyclist won the 2018 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championship women’s singlespeed title in Louisville, Kentucky, in December.

A study by Environmental Studies students found that in downtown Durango last fall only 40% of residences and 30% of businesses with bear-resistant trash cans had the bins properly locked, which is leading to calls for the city to increase enforcement.

The (Cortez) Journal profiled two alumni from different generations who are teaming up to keep rural agriculture alive on a working ranch in southwestern Colorado.

Scottie Hazelton (Exercise Science, 1996) is the new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for the Kansas State University Wildcats football team. Hazelton played linebacker at FLC from 1992-94, and later became the Skyhawks’ defensive backs coach from 1996-1998 and defensive coordinator in 1999.

Rocky Schneider (Exercise Science, '99), a Skyhawks Football Hall of Fame and All-Century Team member, was recently hired as principal of Gering (Nebraska) High School.

Don Roberts (Business Administration, '89) has published Wellness Toolbox, a guide to health and fitness based on his experiences as a personal trainer, nutritional coach, weight management consultant, bodybuilder, and gym owner.

The annual Music in the Mountains classical music festival is moving its performances to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College after 32 years at Purgatory Resort.

Denver's Westword magazine profiled Durango-based jam band Elder Grown -- formed by four FLC alumni when they were students -- as a rising star in the Colorado music scene.

Mark Jastorff, FLC's vice president for Institutional Advancement, earned the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from CASE (Council for Adavncement and Support of Education) District VI during its annual conference for his exemplary professional service and outstanding achievement in higher education.

Myron Lizer (Business Administration, '06) was sworn in as vice president of the Navajo Nation alongside new president Jonathan Nez on January 15 at a ceremony in Window Rock, Arizona.

Filmmaker Alexandria Bombach (Business Administration, '08) won the National Board of Review's 2018 "Freedom of Expression" award for her documentary On Her Shoulders, about Nadia Murad, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October.

A grant from the University of Alaska's BLaST (Biomedical Learning & Student Training) program means 25 students training for biomedical research careers and their faculty mentors will be doing hands-on undergraduate research for the spring semester.

Matthew Welbourn (Business Administration, '17) is a contestant on NBC's new athletic competition TV series "The Titan Games," hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

A paper by Professor of Geosciences David Gonzales and Geology major Otto Lang, "A Comparison of Nd, Sr, and Hf Isotopic Signatures for Late Cretaceous and Pliocene Plutonic Rocks in the Rico Mountains, Colorado: Insight into Magmatic Sources at 68 and 4 Ma," was published in The Professional Geologist, the journal of the American Institute of Professional Geologists.

The Association for Fire Ecology certified Professor of Biology Julie Korb as an AFE Senior Wildland Fire Ecologist for her education, training, and experience.

Irene Barry (English, '05) has published Surviving a Rural High School Shooting, based on her expreiences as an on-duty teacher at Aztec High School, in New Mexico, during a school shooting in December 2017.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Michael Dichio's book The US Supreme Court and the Centralization of Federal Authority was released by the SUNY Press.