Ann Gill Hall
“Ann was the definition of a true CSU Ram. She dedicated her life and career to propelling countless students toward success. Her love for teaching and mentoring was always front and center, and everything she did could be traced back to helping students learn and grow. We are a better university because Ann was part of us.”
- President Amy Parsons (B.A. ‘95)
“Ann helped me navigate through...she kept me in school and allowed me to fulfill my dreams of being the first in my family to get a college degree. It is the reason that created the Bohling-Gill scholarship with her, so that we might be able to help others in the way she helped me. “
- Joe Bohling (B.A. ‘90)
Student Success Begins Here
College and university facilities can have a transformative impact on student success.
- With an innovative student success center containing the Academic Advancement Center, the Writing Center, and the College of Liberal Arts Advising Center.
- With new, bright, welcoming spaces, for student and faculty conversations.
- With the kind of education where students have the extraordinary opportunity to learn from the top minds in their fields.
The new B wing will be home to innovative classrooms, creating 1,000 additional seats for students to engage in transformative learning experiences, alongside small study spaces, research labs, and collaboration spaces that reflect the boldness of our College’s contributions to scholarly excellence and student engagement.
Supporting Access, Retention, and Graduation
The College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center, with 16 academic advisors, serves more than 4,000 undergraduate students every year, providing them with wholistic advising resources and referrals.
The Academic Advancement Center serves more than 700 first-generation, low-income, and/or underserved students across colleges and disciplines annually. Hosting the center in Clark, where nearly every student has a class, brings more visibility to their services and ultimately helps more students succeed at CSU.
The Writing Center, currently housed in the basement of Eddy Hall, serves thousands of students across all disciplines via writing center consultants, digital resources, and interactions with other students.
Democracy, Public Service, and Civic Engagement
The future leaders of Colorado and our nation will come from CSU and from the College of Liberal Arts, and the future of civic life in Colorado communities will be fostered here through academic study, community engagement, and co-curricular activities.
Center For Public Deliberation
Since 2006 the Center for Public Deliberation
(CPD) has partnered with local governments and organizations to enhance local democracy through improved public communication and community problemsolving. The CPD’s Student Associate Program trains students on small group facilitation and applied deliberative techniques. These students go on to apply their knowledge by guiding complex and sometimes difficult discussions on campus and throughout the local community.
- 60 student associates each year
- 200 student associates and student
guides at events - 10-20 community engagements per year
- ~1,000 individual community members
attend events, talks, and programs - 5-10 client-based projects per year
“In the face of growing polarization and distrust, what communities need the most are leaders, organizations, and processes that help bring them together across perspectives to address their shared problems. The CPD is dedicated to helping communities build their capacity for the kind of communication and engagement needed to meet these challenges.”
- Director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation and Communication Studies Professor Martín Carcasson
Straayer Center for Public Service Leadership
Established in 2017 in the name of professor emeritus John Straayer, the Straayer Center assists students in a wide variety of civic engagement opportunities, from internships to events, capstones to advising.
The Center hosts two premiere internship programs:
- The Colorado Legislative Intern Program that has been running for more than 50 years.
- The CSU in D.C. internship, an undergraduate semester in which students complete a professional internship, seminar and colloquium all in Washington, D.C.
The Straayer Center hosts 12-15 events per year and works with roughly 300 students every year in the capacity of:
- Colorado Legislative Interns
- MPPA or graduate student support
- CSU in D.C. Interns
- Student Leaders across campus (ASCSU, Presidential Ambassadors, ALVS/ROTC)
- Civic Leadership Capstone Course
- Additional Interns and Event Volunteers
“We need really smart and compassionate people as our local elected officials, and we want some of those people to be CSU Rams.”
- Sam Houghteling, Program Manager, Straayer Center
Joe Blake Center for Engaged Humanities
“The liberal arts are uniquely positioned to prepare us for the future. History teaches us the choices of the past so we can evaluate the impact of the choices we’re making now. Literature and art use the imagination to ask, what worlds in which we don’t currently live can we work to create?”
- Director of the Joe Blake Center for the Engaged Humanities and Communication Studies Professor Greg Dickinson
Named after former CSU Chancellor and donor Joe Blake, the Blake Center hosts an annual faculty fellows program and will soon introduce funding of research collaboratives and working groups, sponsoring public research presentations, hosting an engaged symposium and annual democracy summit, assisting with curriculum development, and training the next generation of humanities leaders.
Department of Anthropology & Geography
On impressive display across the second floor of Ann Gill Hall will be vivid exhibits featuring stories of human origins in Colorado and beyond. For the first time, the Department of Anthropology and Geography’s spectacular repository representing more than 13,000 years of Colorado history—will be taken out and brought into the light for all to see. Through the exhibits’ glass walls, the community will see a laboratory in action, where students and faculty study the floral and faunal record as well as ancient archaeological specimens in state-of-the-art facilities. Up to 500 students learn and conduct research in these teaching labs every year.
Philanthropic investment in world-class anthropology and geography facilities, from laboratories and exhibits to powerful scientific tools, will support the ability to engage in interdisciplinary research, pursue more grant funding, and create unique student experiences that set CSU apart.
The department offers between 30 and 35 general education courses each year, enrolling more than 2,000 students in a variety of classes. Currently, the ANTH 121 lab has 360 students. In the Ann Gill Hall, an additional 300 students, many of them students from majors across campus, will be able to experience hands-on learning.
“I am excited for the future of Clark where teaching, research and public engagement will come together in new ways. Our teaching and research labs will be glass walled living exhibits, for all of our communities to casually observe the materials and research that tell the story of humans and our ancestors.”
- Michael Pante, Department Chair and
Professor of Anthropology and Geography
The New Clark
Our mission is this: to build the home for liberal arts scholarly excellence and CSU student success.
When Clark was constructed 60 years ago to help realize President William E. Morgan’s vision to transform the university, the building was a gateway to transformational learning experiences.
Then, and now, the Clark building has created opportunities for students to imagine futures for themselves and to imagine themselves as citizens of their communities.
The new Clark will stand as a symbol of the importance and impact of the liberal arts now and a symbol of the excellence to come.
Clark B will take shape as a four-story, 120,000-square-foot building with a radiant glass, stone and steel façade connecting the A and C wings.
The halls will be filled with light and filled with brilliance—and the experience of being a student in liberal arts will look like what it has always felt like: energizing, transformative, meaningful, joyful.
