Born and raised on the Navajo Nation in Round Rock, Arizona, Faith Roessel lived the disparities of the education system as a Native student and has since focused her life’s work on changing the Native American education experience.

For David Cole, geology isn’t just a vocation; it runs in his veins, propelling him toward a dream career that’s taken him from the Rockies to Central Asia’s Tien Shan Mountains and back again. That dream found footing in the Fort Lewis College Geology program, which boasts unparalleled access to the Colorado Plateau.

Each week, FLC students measure snow depth in the San Juan Mountains, traveling by cross-country skis or snowshoes to collect data at the Swamp Angel Study Plot as part of NASA’s SnowEx program.

Old cars embedded in the banks of many Western waterways are known as “Detroit Riprap,” and according to Gigi Richard, director of the Four Corners Water Center and instructor of Geosciences, just one amateur method of preventing riverbank erosion.

Artist Michaela Goade (Art, '14) was selected to create a Google Doodle celebrating Alaska Native civil rights champion Elizabeth Peratrovich, who played an instrumental role in the 1945 passage of the first anti-discrimination law in the United States.

Emerita professor of Psychology Janet Jones' new book Horse Brain, Human Brain was recently listed as one of Book Authority’s “Ten Best Human Brain Books to Read in 2021." 

Paul DeBell, assistant professor of Political Science, was on Colorado Public Radio's Colorado Matters to discuss what election denial and violence at the Capitol mean for the future of democracy in the U.S.

Center of Southwest Studies Curatorial Assistant Amy Cao was recently invited to be on the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Task Force for the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists. Cao and the task force will work to create and nurture a culture of inclusion for the ARCS community.

Mikki Naranjo (Accounting, '05) has transitioned into the Contracts and Grants Manager position for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe after finishing the Tribe’s apprenticeship program.

Known in the Whiteriver, Arizona community for setting and achieving one goal after another, Roger Leslie (Business Administration, '93) is taking on his next challenge—managing a ski resort during a pandemic.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has sworn in Linda K. Baker (History, '94) as a new Tribal Council Member. Baker previously worked for the Southern Ute Museum and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in the Anthropology Department.

Under the Paris Agreement, 2020 was supposed to be a milestone year for global emission reductions. What happens next? “The future is up to us and will always be up to us," says Heidi Steltzer, professor of Environment & Sustainability and Biology. 

In a guest column for The Durango Herald, Professor of Philosophy Justin McBrayer looks at new Twitter and Facebook policies to flag misleading information and explains why these notices may not actually be improving the accuracy of our beliefs.

FLC men's basketball all-star Rasmus Bach (Exercise Science, '18) has been signed to the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League.

The Hawk Tank Business Plan Competition is launching on January 26 and has expanded to include students from San Juan College.