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UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R 0 1 . 2 0 1 0

CAMPUS | NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE | RESEARCH ARTS | EVENTS | PEOPLE

Immigration issues
Nonpartisan DU panel calls for national reform
Inside
• L anguage tool
• Art exhibit
DU ’s Strategic Issues Program (SIP), a nonpartisan
panel of leaders in business, government and
education, worked throughout 2009 studying one of
• Athletes’ graduation rate
the country’s most prickly issues—immigration. The • Social graces
result of their work is a 50-page report, Architecture
for Immigration Reform: Fitting the Pieces of Public
Policy. In it, the panel makes 25 recommendations for
immigration reform.
The panel’s chairman, Jim Griesemer (pictured),
said at a news conference Dec. 9 that the panel
recognized the challenge of dealing with a triple-threat
of problems: illegal immigration, a lack of United
States policy focus and an entrenched ineffective
immigration system. But, he noted, the issue also
presents opportunities to build economic strength and
create a competitive global advantage for the country Re–lax. Men’s lacrosse
while strengthening social vitality and cohesion. coach Bill Tierney has
“Global migration and the great shift that been recognized for his
Wayne Armstrong

we’re seeing through global capitalism represents

an opportunity for the United States,” he said. “It’s move to the University
an opportunity to be captured, not a reality to be of Denver. Tierney has
avoided.” been named Lacrosse
The panel’s recommendations fall into five areas: national security, social vitality, economic
enhancement, family unification and refugee concerns. The common thread is a shift in national Magazine’s 2009 Person
priorities to focus first on policies that benefit the United States. of the Year. In June
A full list of the recommendations and the entire report is online at www.du.edu/issues. 2009, Tierney joined
Among the recommendations: The creation of a secure, government-issued worker
identification card required for employment, coupled with an electronic system for employers to DU after 22 seasons
verify legal status. The report also calls for greater flexibility in issuing work visas combined with a with Princeton. While
simplification of the visa process, cutting the convoluted system from nearly 200 visa classifications there, he led the
down to eight categories.
In addition, the panel calls for strong border enforcement and adequate resources for customs Tigers to six NCAA
and border patrol agencies. championships, eight
And without excusing violations that have led to some 12 million people living in the U.S. NCAA championship
illegally, the panel finds that deporting that many individuals is simply not realistic. Meanwhile,
leaving that many people living in a shadow state is also impractical and unproductive. The panel games and 14 Ivy League
calls for creating a process that allows illegal immigrants to come forward and register for a championships. The
provisional status, working toward full legal residency. Pioneers lacrosse season
But that residency would require English language proficiency, Griesemer said.
Read more at www.du.edu/today. kicks off in February.
—Chase Squires
 Rosetta Stone offers online language option DU scores high with
DU students still can take traditional foreign language classes like Spanish, French, Ger-
graduate success rate
man and Italian, but those looking to delve into more exotic languages like Pashto, Farsi and
Tagalog have another resource: Rosetta Stone, an online language-learning program that is 93 percent of University of
available to all DU students, faculty and staff through the Penrose Library Web site, www. Denver freshmen student-athletes
du.edu/penrose.
who entered college in 2002
“I was getting a lot of requests from the Graduate School of International Studies to get
language CDs because they wanted to learn different languages from around the world,” says earned their degrees, according
Arts and Humanities Reference Librarian Peggy Keeran, who purchased Rosetta Stone for DU to the latest NCAA Graduation
two years ago. “But they wouldn’t circulate and it would be too limiting. So I started to look to
Success Rate (GSR) data. DU
see if I could find an online solution.”
That’s when Keeran discovered Rosetta Stone, a “dynamic immersion” system that com- bested the NCAA Division I
bines images and interactivity to teach additional languages in much the same way people overall GSR of 79 percent by
learned their first language. To date, more than 3,700 people have used the program at DU,
including graduate students and researchers who use it before traveling to foreign countries.
14 percent. DU’s student-
“I think it’s a great resource,” says Morgridge College of Education Professor Gloria Miller, athlete four-class average of
who uses Rosetta Stone to study Spanish and Chinese. “I like the flexibility of being able to do it 76 percent was higher than
anytime, anywhere, and they have some very unique cognitive strategies that they use to help
the general DU population’s
you facilitate your learning.”
For the first year, Rosetta Stone charged DU a small fee while it determined demand. 73 percent showing. Women’s
The second year, the fee was significantly higher. Purchased on their own, the Rosetta Stone gymnastics, lacrosse, skiing,
programs cost more than $200 per language.
soccer, swimming and diving,
“We basically said, ‘We can’t afford this,’” Keeran says. “But people were like, ‘You have to
get this.’ We have not heard from so many users about something ever. We looked carefully at tennis and volleyball achieved
the statistics and decided the use justified the expense.” perfect 100 percent scores.
—Greg Glasgow
Men’s soccer, swimming and
diving, and tennis were

Exhibit highlights 150 years of Denver Jewish life perfect as well.

“Blazing the Trail: Denver’s

Jewish Pioneers,” an exhibit that
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UN I V E R S I T Y O F D E N V E R

documents Denver’s first Jew-

ish residents, will be on display w w w. d u . e d u / t o d a y
at DU’s Penrose library through Volume 33, Number 5

mid-February. Vice Chancellor for University

The story is told through 12 Communications
Carol Farnsworth
panels illustrated with photos and
Editorial Director
includes other documents and
Wayne Armstrong

Chelsey Baker-Hauck (BA ’96)

household items. Jeanne Abrams,
Managing Editor
professor of Judaic studies at DU Kathryn Mayer (BA ’07)
and director of the Ira M. Beck Art Director
Archives and Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society, is curator of the exhibit. Craig Korn, VeggieGraphics
“It is highly significant that the 150th anniversary of Denver’s founding coincides with the Community News is published monthly by the
150th anniversary of Denver’s Jewish community,” Abrams says. “It reflects that Jewish citizens University of Denver, University Communications,
2199 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO 80208-4816.
were ‘present at creation’ so to speak. This unusual phenomenon helps to explain the pivotal The University of Denver is an EEO/AA institution.
role that Denver Jews played in the political, social, cultural, economic and religious develop-
ment of our city.”
The exhibit is part of the Center for Judaic Studies’ celebration of 150 years of Jewish life Contact Community News at 303-871-4312
in Colorado. The nine months of events and programming surround the theme “Pioneering or tips@du.edu
To receive an e-mail notice upon the
Jews: Cowboys, Rebels and Trailblazers.” publication of Community News, contact us
—Kristal Griffith with your name and e-mail address.

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 One in a cotillion
Alumnus teaches social graces

K anye West grabbing the mic from

Taylor Swift. Rep. Joe Wilson
shouting “You lie!” during a speech by
President Obama. Tennis player Serena
Williams cussing out a line judge. Has an
age of incivility come to America?
Not if Jon Williams (BA ’76) has
anything to say about it.
Sixty years ago, Williams’ parents
— a pair of professional dancers who
had worked with Arthur Murray and
Fred Astaire — founded Jon D. Williams
Cotillions, which provided dance
instruction and social-etiquette training
to children in the Colorado Springs area.
Williams took over the company in the
early 1980s and expanded it from six
to 50 programs nationwide, including a
spring cotillion at DU’s Cable Center. The
Denver-based company now teaches more
than 10,000 people a year.
Courtesy of Jon Williams

In addition to the cotillion dances

for kids in elementary and middle school,
JDW Social Education Programs also
offers social training for high school
students, colleges and businesses. Participants learn everything from table manners and interview techniques to communication skills
and customer relations.
“The demand is huge,” Williams says. “More businesses are recognizing the role that social skills play in regard to their employees
and how to deal with their clients. More colleges are adding it to their core curriculums. It’s added value for young people going out in
business. Parents are recognizing it. When you see all the problems we’re dealing with today, whether it’s from the politicians or it’s from
our celebrities or just general bad behavior, we’re losing our sense of civility.”
Replacing Facebook with face-to-face interaction, the cotillions recall social dances with boys in jackets and ties and girls in dresses
and gloves — more because of clammy hands than any sense of fashion, Williams explains — getting a dose of etiquette while they learn
to dance.
“We’ll have them do the jitterbug, and in between the jitterbug we’re talking to them about a character scenario — what would you
do in this situation?” Williams says. “And then we’re going to do some salsa. So they’re still thinking that over and they’re having fun,
but they’re not in a lecture situation. They’re learning things subliminally in the process of having fun.”
Cotillion programs meet five times over a 10-week period, each 90-minute session devoted to a mix of dance lessons and etiquette
instruction. On the final evening parents are invited and mothers dance with sons and fathers with daughters.
One parent who knows cotillion well is Sheila Oldenburg (BA ’78). She has two children who have gone through cotillion — her
daughter, April, now 22, was in middle school when she started the program.
“She will tell you that she was a little chunky and a little clunky and feeling like she wasn’t as polished as she wished she had been,”
Oldenburg says. “It really gave her confidence.”
Williams says he hears from former students about how the cotillion prepared them for the big events to follow: dating, college and
job interviews, business meetings.
“Social skills are not about how you hold a cup of tea with your pinky stuck out or how to use a fingerbowl; it’s about substance and
character,” he says. “You’re seeing what’s happening on the corporate levels today — quite often character and ethics are missing. Social
skills are kind of the tools that bring out the best in us if we’re good at them.”
>>www.cotillion.com
— Greg Glasgow

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[Events]
January
Around campus
1 New Year’s Day holiday. Campus
closed.
4 Winter quarter begins.
7 Book launch for John Thompson:
Colorado Modernist and 8 Painters &
Sculptors at the University of Denver,
1930-1965. 5 p.m. Myhren Gallery.
12 Labyrinth: Meditative Walk. 9 a.m.
Iliff School of Theology. Free.
14 Jackson/Ho China Forum: “Asian
New Democracies and Their
Discontents.” By Professor T.J. Cheng.
Time and location TBA. Free. See
www.du.edu/korbel/china/ for more
information.
Great Day in Havana. A film followed
by a presentation and discussion of
current developments and future
prospects for Cuba. 5 p.m. Sie Center,
Room 150. Free.
15 Voices of Experience. Lecture by
Colleen Abdoulah, CEO of WOW!
Internet-Cable-Phone. 3 p.m. Marcus
Commons, Daniels College of Business.
Free.
18 Martin Luther King Day holiday.
Campus closed.
19 Book discussion with Chaplain
Gary Brower. Talking about Greg
Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea. Driscoll
Center South. Noon. Free.
25 American Carnage tour: Slayer and
Megadeth with Testament. 7 p.m.
Magness Arena. $39.50-$49.50.
Exhibits
4 John Edward Thompson: Colorado
Modernist. Through Jan. 17. Myhren
Gallery. Free.
7 “Citizen.” HD video installation by
Cliff Evans. Through Feb. 21. Opening
reception Jan. 7 at 5 p.m. Myhren
Gallery. Free. Gallery open noon–
4 p.m. daily.
Arts
7 Violinist Leila Josefowicz. 4 p.m.
Hamilton Recital Hall. Free.
15 Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. 7:30 p.m.
Gates Concert Hall. $28–$48. Free
behind the curtain lecture at 6:30 p.m.
Flo’s Underground, jazz combos.
Williams Recital Salon. Free. Also Jan. 22
and Jan. 29.
17 Lamont Symphony Orchestra.
3 p.m. Gates Concert Hall. Free.
20 Faculty Harp Chamber Music
Concert. Suzanne Moulton Gertig.
7:30 p.m. Hamilton Recital Hall.
22 Lamont Vocal Arts Ensemble. 7 p.m.
Hamilton Recital Hall. Free.
26 Pilobolus. 7:30 p.m. Gates Concert
Hall. $28–$48. Free behind the curtain
lecture at 6:30 p.m.
31 Stories on Stage: Autism
Chronicles. 2 p.m. Gates Concert Hall.
Unless otherwise noted, adults: $18, seniors: $16;
students from any school and DU Pioneer card
holders: free, and DU alumni with ID: free.
Sports
1 Hockey vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
7:35 p.m. Magness Arena.
2 Hockey vs. Boston College. 7:05 p.m.
Magness Arena.
6 Women’s basketball vs. New
Orleans. 7 p.m. Magness Arena.
7 Men’s basketball vs. New Orleans.
7 p.m. Magness Arena.
8 Hockey vs. Alaska Anchorage.
7:35 p.m. Magness Arena.
9 Swimming vs. Air Force. Noon.
El Pomar Natatorium.
Hockey vs. Alaska Anchorage.
7:05 p.m. Magness Arena.
10 Men’s basketball vs. Western
Kentucky. 1 p.m. Magness Arena.
Women’s basketball vs. Western
Kentucky. 3:30 p.m. Magness Arena.
23 Women’s basketball vs. South
Alabama. 1:30 p.m. Magness Arena.
Men’s basketball vs. Southern
Alabama. 4 p.m. Magness Arena.
Hockey: $18–$27; men’s basketball: $9–$15;
women’s basketball: $8–$11; swimming: free.
For ticketing and other information, including a full
listing of campus events, visit www.du.edu/calendar.
Sturm College of Law bar
passage rate rebounds
Leaders at the University of Denver
Sturm College of Law were beyond pleased
when the initial results of the July 2009
Bar Exam passage rates were released in
October. And then, results moved higher
after appeals of the exam results were
complete.
In the final tally, released Nov. 17, DU’s
passage rate hit 91 percent—the highest
DU passage rate in years.
The program saw its passage rate
dip below 60 percent a few years ago in
a February exam, so the rate completes a
turnaround interim law Dean Martin Katz
believes is just the beginning.
The law school also is relishing another
dose of good news. The national magazine
Super Lawyers’ newest law school rankings,
issued this month, ranked Sturm 53rd in the
country and the No. 1-ranked Colorado
law school.
Achieving the new high in bar passage
didn’t come by accident, he says. Katz and
the faculty have worked for two years
on building the passage rate by admitting
students that have the best chance of
succeeding in law school and passing the
bar, and by creating a program dedicated to
passage.
Students are encouraged to devote the
two months between graduation and the
July bar exam to study and test preparation.
Off campus, they are encouraged
to avoid full-time work and dedicate
themselves to study. On campus, faculty
conduct classes and lectures multiple times
each week, followed by mock exams,
writing assignments and personal coaching.
—Chase Squires