Western Colorado University Launches New School of the Arts
Starting in the Fall of 2025, Western will bring its Art, Graphic Design, Music, Theatre, and Film programs together under a newly created School of the Arts.
The launch comes after a year of design and development by a team of faculty and administrators who wanted to create a space to collaborate, innovate, and find opportunities to better prepare students for careers in the arts.
“Our intent was to strengthen Western’s community of artists and performers and identify and grow interdisciplinary opportunities, both within existing programs and through the development of new programs, that support students’ interests and prepare them for careers in the fine arts,” said Associate Provost Ashley Carlson, who is serving as interim dean and worked with a team of faculty to lead the effort. “I’m confident that the School of the Arts will achieve that.”
Western’s Rubinstein Wins National Emmy for Documentary The Holly
Julian Rubinstein, Filmmaker and Journalist-in-Residence at Western Colorado University, has won a national Emmy Award for The Holly, making it the first Denver-based film to receive the award. The film, which investigates gang violence, gentrification, and activism in northeast Denver, was honored with the Emmy for Outstanding Regional Documentary at the 49th annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards, held June 26 in New York City.
Rubinstein, who joined the faculty at Western in 2022, wrote and directed The Holly after spending nearly a decade reporting on a real-life shooting at a peace rally for his book The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood. The Holly follows former gang member Terrance Roberts as he tries to lead an anti-gang movement in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood in northeast Denver.
Delta Upsilon Brings Fraternity Life Back to Western
For the first time in nearly two decades, Western Colorado University is once again home to a social fraternity. Delta Upsilon, one of the oldest fraternities in the country, is reintroducing Greek life to campus with a mission to “Build Better Men.”
The idea for the new chapter came from James Christmas (’25) and a group of his friends looking for a deeper connection to one another and a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves.
However, the last fraternity at Western closed its doors due to a lack of interest, and the idea of bringing Greek life back to Western didn’t sit well with everyone. “There was pushback initially,” Christmas said. “It was like climbing a mountain. However, after speaking with the faculty and student government, people started to come around to the idea.”
Research Shows Aspen Forests Slow Wildfire Spread
As a hot, dry fire season settles in across much of the western United States, land managers are looking for anything that might slow or stop inevitable wildfires. And one solution might be standing in plain sight.
For years, conventional wisdom held that stands of aspen trees could resist wildfires, often slowing a fire’s advance or changing its course. Now, new research from Western Colorado University’s Clark School of Environment & Sustainability is adding data to the anecdotes.
The research, titled Aspen impedes wildfire spread in southwestern United States landscapes and published in the journal Ecological Applications, analyzed 20 years of fire behavior across more than 300 wildfires in the Four Corners region. The team found that even modest increases in aspen cover dramatically reduced the rate at which fires spread.
