Superstar students 

Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Flight Team racked up several awards at the 2022 International Aerobatic Club Collegiate Championships. 

As a team, MSU Denver scored 6,925.60 out of a total of 7,890 points, defeating the University of North Dakota and the U.S. Air Force Academy for its second win in a row and fourth since 2017.

Individually, Ryan Tierney scored 10,558.97 out of 12,330 points after finishing second in the Individual National Standings . Dylan Beal earned third place, scoring 10,348.09 out of 12,330 points.  

Amazing athletes 

Rylee Hladky named Volleyball Player of the Year 

MSU Denver’s Rylee Hladky has been named the Volleyball Player of the Year by the Sportswomen of Colorado. 

Hladky also is a two-time All-American on the court, a two-time Academic All-American and the Academic All-America Player of the Year in NCAA Division II. 

Hladky will be presented with her award at the Sportswomen of Colorado’s 49th Annual Awards Celebration on March 12 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center. 

Roadrunners will be well-represented at the ceremony as Women’s Basketball coach Tanya Haave has been selected as the keynote speaker for the event. 

MSU Denver Athletics named national finalist for Division II Award of Excellence 

For the second time in three years, MSU Denver Athletics was named by the NCAA as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference winner and a finalist for the Division II Award of Excellence. 

A total of 22 Division II institutions across the country were recognized for their creativity in advancing relationships within their communities. Entries were submitted that exemplify the Division II philosophy, identity, community engagement and student-athlete leadership initiatives. 

MSU Denver was recognized for its work with the Miracle League and received $500 for its finalist selection, which is encouraged to be used by the Student-Athletic Advisory Committee for initiatives or other events to further support engagement on campus or in the community.  

The winner was announced Jan. 14 during the Division II business session at the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio. 

Fantastic faculty 

Alex Komodore featured on Colorado Public Radio 

Alex Komodore, professor of Music, has been featured frequently on Colorado Public Radio as a solo performer, chamber performer, concert promoter and noted pedagogue. Several of his outstanding students from MSU Denver have also been featured on “Colorado Spotlight.” This latest installment featured Komodore performing as a solo guitarist, featuring noted Cuban composer Leo Brouwer’s “Berceuse, Drume Negrita.” 

Kalpana Hulluru, Ph.D., represents MSU Denver as Fulbright Scholar in Residence  

Kalpana Hulluru, Ph.D., began her journey at MSU Denver as a faculty member teaching British Literature and a coordinator for the Study India Program at Pondicherry University in India, where students could enroll for a semesterlong program at the University. She was recently selected as MSU Denver’s newest Fulbright Scholar in Residence to continue her work. As a part of the outreach program, Hulluru has the opportunity to lecture at various other universities in the U.S. and looks forward to teaching International Film and Gender Theory this semester. 

Universitywide excellence 

MSU Denver accepted into First Scholars Network 

MSU Denver this month was accepted into the First Scholars Network, the signature initiative of the Center for First-Generation Student Success. MSU Denver joins an elite group of colleges and universities across the country that have made a commitment to scale and sustain work to support first-generation students.  

With this selection, MSU Denver will have access to resources that assist in: 

  • Improving recruitment, persistence and degree completion of first-generation students that supports the institutional business model. 
  • Bridging gaps and eliminating redundancies in serving first-generation students. 
  • Using data-driven, evidence-based approaches for implementing changes with intentionality.  
  • Advancing classroom experiences for first-generation students that promote persistence. 
  • Identifying opportunities for fundraising to serve this population.  
  • Positioning the University as a national leader for first-generation success.   

2022 Excellence and Innovation Award Winners 

The Office of Education Solutions in MSU Denver’s School of Education works to ensure that trauma-informed practices become so fundamental to educator preparation and school systems that future educators will not remember a time without them. 

To achieve this goal, the Office of Education Solutions partnered with a local nonprofit, Resilient Futures, to build the capacity of current and future teachers to recognize and respond to trauma in school environments with children, build healing and equitable classrooms and address secondary trauma in themselves and their co-workers. The initiative integrates TIP with a lens of equity into the total School of Education curriculum for preservice teachers. It also supports preservice and in-service teachers and schools in implementing TIP through in-person and virtual professional development. 

MSU Denver partners with NBCU Academy 

MSU Denver was recently chosen as one of 15 additions to the National Broadcasting Company Universal Academy, which will give the University funding, resources, training and development, in addition to access to the News Group’s world-class journalists. 

The NBCU Academy will offer a course on the fundamentals of journalism, which is publicly available at the redesigned NBCUAcademy.com for journalism students and media professionals. The free course will build a foundation for newsgathering and storytelling through firsthand lectures and curriculum produced by journalists and leadership across NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and Noticias Telemundo. Through a series of online modules, the course will provide interactive scenarios and best practices on the essentials of reporting, journalism ethics, interviewing skills and more. 

Outstanding alumni  

“Woman of Light” selected as One Book Westminster’s monthly book 

One Book Westminster brings together Westminster’s diverse community through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book. “Woman of Light” by alumna Kali Fajardo-Anstine, a dazzling epic of betrayal, love and fate that spans five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West. The book primarily focuses on a young woman named Luz, who is navigating the social divisions of 1930s Denver. Book discussions take place through Feb. 11.