• On October 28th, Tim Amidon, Elizabeth Williams (Communication Studies), Kim Henry (Psychology), and Tiffany Lipsey (Health and Exercise Science) partnered with the Poudre Fire Authority to host a symposium on the intersections of work, knowledge, and safety in the fireservice. Over 70 fireservice leaders from as far away as Oakland, CA and Ontario, Canada participated in interactive, stakeholder conversations designed to help researchers and participants identify the types of human factors that impact firefighter occupational safety and health outcomes. Breakout sessions included discussions on wearable technologies and next generation PPE, post-traumatic stress, the impact of chronic stress, sleep deprivation, and diet on decision making and cognition, how blue-collar traditions and working class identity impact how firefighters value the types of labor they perform, and how the challenges of certifying skills and building learning organizations through training and education programs. The event was sponsored by PFA and Pre-Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships seed funding awarded to the research team by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Tim would also personally thank our student intern Tiffany Lingo and administrative gurus Sheila Dargon and Lilian Nugent for their support!
• Dan Beachy-Quick has an interview up on the Kenyon Review’s website with: http://www.kenyonreview.org/conversation/dan-beachy-quick/ and a group of linked essays at EuropeNow: http://www.europenowjournal.org/2016/11/30/sunlight-and-arrows-five-invocations-for-the-silent-muse/
• John Calderazzo will be presenting a talk on “Climate Change and Quechua Ritual” at the Sacred Landscapes and Mountains conference at the China India Institute in New York City.  The talk is based on a trip he took to a glacier-fed basin in the Peruvian Andes. John will also be the judge for the 2017 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest.
• Sue Doe and Lisa Langstraat’s essay “Faculty Development Workshops with Student Vet Participants: Seizing the Induction Possibilities” will shortly appear in Reflections: Public Rhetoric, Civic Writing, and Service Learning (Volume 16, Issue 2).
• On November 18, just prior to the start of Fall Break, CO130 faculty welcomed around 75 international students to a Harvest Meal in the Whitaker Room.  It was crazy fun in there, particularly as faculty watered down the soup to make it stretch to meet the larger-than-expected crowd and as Cassie Eddington’s kimchi was pronounced “Superb!” by a Korean student. This event was the brainchild of Karen Montgomery Moore and was assisted by Cassie Eddington, Virginia Chaffee, Kristie Yelinek, Hannah Caballero, Leslie Davis, Sheila Dargon, and Sue Doe.  Thanks go to our Chair, Louann Reid, for her support for this very special and timely event. Thanks also to the front office staff who participated and strongly communicated the department’s support for the diverse students of CO130! Thanks as well to our amazing Eddy custodial staff who not only helped bring food from our cars to the third floor but stuck around late to help clean up the mess!
• On Saturday, October 15th, the Colorado Language Arts Society (CLAS) hosted its 47th Annual Regional Conference at Metro State University in Denver.  This year’s theme was “For the Love of Teaching: Reclaiming the Classroom.”  CLAS presented CSU’s English Professor Emeritus William McBride with the Legacy Award.  English Education graduate student Jenna (Franklin) Martin shared her presentation, titled “Intercultural Sensitivity in the Middle School Language Arts Classroom.”  Dr. Pam Coke gave a presentation with Cheryl Kula, a fourth grade teacher at St. John the Evangelist Catholic School in Loveland, titled “Hard to Learn, Hard to Teach: Using Problem-Based Strategies in the Classroom.”  A good conference was had by all.
• On Saturday, November 12th, CSU welcomed high school seniors from around the country to campus to take part in Senior Scholarship Day. English department colleagues led students through a writing workshop, followed by a timed writing competition.  CSU Admissions offered scholarships to the top writers. Our English department team included Tony Becker, Doug Cloud, Pam Coke, Ashley Davies, Katie Hoffman, Tobi Jacobi, Sarah Pieplow, Jeremy Proctor, Catherine Ratliff, and fearless leader Ed Lessor. Thank you, team, for your hard work!
• On Saturday, November 19th, Dr. Pam Coke presented her research at the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention in Atlanta.  Her session, titled “Performing Adolescence on the Page and in the Classroom: Using Adolescents’ Literature to Advocate for Students’ Mental Health,” She helped participants examine critical questions for educators, including: Is it ethical to teach a text that I know can trigger forms of PTSD for students?  Is it irresponsible to avoid such issues in the classroom?  If and when I do teach these texts (and I believe it is irresponsible to omit controversial texts from our classrooms), what can I do to best advocate for the mental health and well-being of the students? The presentation sparked valuable conversation among attendees.
• Debby Thompson’s essay “Canine Cardiology,” published earlier this year in The Bellevue Literary Review, has been nominated for a Pushcart prize.

SpeakOut!

We have three SpeakOut Journal Launch events during finals week. We will be celebrating the publication of our Fall 2016 issue of the SpeakOut Journal with a reading by our participants and refreshments. Please contact Tobi Jacobi (tjacobi@colostate.edu) if you would like to attend the readings at the jail or community corrections. We’d love to see you there!

SpeakOut! Youth Groups: Monday, December 12 from 6:45 to 8:15pm at Wolverine Letterpress and Publick House

SpeakOut! @ Community Corrections and Work Release: Wednesday, December 14 from 7:30 to 8:30pm at LCJ Administration Building

SpeakOut! Men & Women’s Groups @ Larimer County Jail: Thursday, December 15 from 6:30 to 8:00pm at the Larimer County Jail.

Greyrock Review: Get your work published!

Fiction: 5,000 word limit, format should be double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or Galibri fonts. Two pieces of your best work may be submitted.

Nonfiction: 5,000 word limit, format should be double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or Calibri fonts. Two pieces of your best work may be submitted.

Poetry: Up to 5 poems may be submitted, each poem should be placed on a separate page in a single document. If poems have a visual formatting component, please use Adobe PDF files. Otherwise, Word (.doc files) are preferred.

Visual Arts: Any visual art form is accepted, excluding video. Please photography your work and submit digitally. 300 dpi and CMYK colored .TIFF file is preferred.

For more information please visit http://greyrockreview.colostate.edu or email Baleigh Greene at bmgreene@rams.colostate.edu

Submissions accepted from October 3, 2016 – December 16, 2016