History News and Events

Justin Guy named a Pat Krupa 2022 Award Recipient. Justin Guy found his first volunteer experience with History Colorado as an education intern to be very rewarding.  His fresh enthusiasm and love of learning overflowed into his work as a school tour facilitator.  So, when his internship hours were fulfilled, he decided to continue on as a regular volunteer!  Justin was nominated by Josie Chang-Order, School Programs Manager.

“Written on the Land” is the exhibit Justin most enjoys sharing with his young learners.  This exhibit tells the story of Colorado’s longest, continuous residents, in their own words.  Justin explained, “I am part Native American myself, and I think maybe that has helped me create a unique way of teaching the exhibit. I try to tell my students the truth, covering the good and the bad. The kids can understand it, and it’s important to me that they learn the whole story.”

One of Justin’s top qualities is his wonderfully honest sense of humor (which must make him a big hit with the students).  The following description of one of his early “learnings” about working with the kids is a perfect example.  After a failed attempt to get the class to go down the stairs in an orderly fashion resulted in a scattered, ill-timed process, he reflected, “I didn’t know how to explain to them about rules!  I just thought they would listen and follow my directions. It took me a while to figure out how to get the kids to walk up and down the stairs like I wanted them to, but NOW when you see me with a class on the stairs, there are no problems!”

Justin is excited to be a part of the History Colorado volunteer team.  He explained, “This museum is a special place and volunteers are a big part of that.”

When asked how he felt about being a 2022 recipient of the Pat Krupa Award, Justin’s answer showed his innate generosity of spirit: “It’s an honor I wasn’t expecting.  I wish this award could be given to all our volunteers!”

Thank you, Justin, for all you do, and congratulations on this important recognition.

The Understanding the Holocaust, Genocide, and Mass Violence in the Public Imagination conference held in September 2022 was a huge success. The Opening Reception featured guest speakers: Phil Weiser, Colorado Attorney General; Joe Hutchinson, former Colorado Poet Laureate; and Renée Ruderman, poet and MSU Denver faculty emerita.

Dr. Laugen received the inaugural Gold Star Award for curriculum work from our Associate Vice President of Curriculum.  This award recognizes a faculty member who “went above and beyond” in curriculum work.  As most of us know, Dr. Laugen is tireless in his service to our students and department.  In his former role as Chair of the Curriculum Committee, he helped steward many curriculum proposals to successful implementation, and he led the Herculean effort to get all our general studies courses approved for redesignation last fall.  He has also served for several years on the university general studies task force.

Dr. Koshatka-Seman was named as a 2022 Colorado Book Award finalist in the category of “Biography” for her book, Borderlands Curanderos: The Worlds of Santa Teresa Urrea and Don Pedrito Jaramillo.

Read more about this prestigious nomination.

In March 2022, the University of Houston’s Center for Public History held a successful panel, consisting of historians, literary scholars, and a curandera, exploring the role of Mexican healing in American history and today’s society. The panel titled, “Curanderismo: Mexican Healing Practices in American Society”, explored the role and history of Mexican healing, and the relationship to community, healthcare, biomedicine, and COVID-19.

History faculty, Drs. Cristina Bejan and Andrea Maestrejuan, shared their expert knowledge of the conflict in Ukraine, in the pop-up panel discussion with MSU Denver President Davidson in March 2022. Dr. Kimberly Klimek, also a faculty member in the Department of History, moderated the discussion.

Read President Davidson’s, Crisis in Ukraine Message and then watch the event on Vimeo.

As part of the Global History at MSU Denver Series, Dr. Cristina Bejan, MSU Denver History Affiliate Faculty member, discussed their book, Intellectuals and Fascism in Interwar Romania: The Criterion Association. The conversation was led by MSU Denver alum Cardinal Tomczyk.