Impact Report 2024-2025

Each year, the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) Impact Report highlights the contributions of students and faculty, with the support of alumni and donors, toward our mission of fostering curiosity and creativity in a complex and changing world. This year’s report covers the most notable achievements at the College in the 2024-2025 academic year. 

Table of Contents

Sahara smiling

A Note from Dean Byrne

Thanks to the collective efforts of our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and donors, 2024-2025 was a year of commitment, creativity, and ingenuity for the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS). Our distinguished scholarship, artistic endeavors, and motivational research, powered by generous philanthropy, have enabled CAHSS to become an academic and artistic center devoted to exploring, navigating, and guiding our understanding of the human experience and and advancing the public good.

Our annual impact report serves as a narrative of our progress, showcasing faculty achievements, student excellence, and philanthropic impacts. Without the financial generosity of our CAHSS donors and alumni, many of these efforts would be stifled or impossible.  If you’re inspired through this report by our commitment to fostering creativity, curiosity and critical engagement among students, faculty and staff, I invite you to become a part of the CAHSS community.  In the meantime, as the new Dean of the college, I look forward to seeing you at one of our inspiring musical performances, thrilling theatre shows, research labs, faculty lectures, or other events that make CAHSS and DU so special to all of us. 
 

Thank you, 

Sahara Byrne

Dean, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences 

Strategic Initiatives

Our college's strategic initiatives aim to provide students with transformative experiences, including internships, mentorships and professional development opportunities. This year has also been particularly rewarding for student scholarships and awards, as well as the expansion of research centers on DU's campus. 

Susan

First-Generation College Student Program

The CAHSS First-Generation College Student Program seeks to address educational inequity by offering comprehensive mentoring for CAHSS students who are the first in their immediate family to attend college. Generous gifts and an endowment support a network of program resources, including paid student internships and faculty and alumni mentors who promote affiliation and partnership among first-generation students, first-generation faculty and our campus community.

Susan Walter, Associate Professor in DU's Department of Spanish Language, Literary and Cultural Studies, took over as Program Director in 2024. She brings to the role a deep commitment to mentoring students and helping them navigate the many decisions and transitions that come with college life. 

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DU in winter

Scholarships and Research

Through dedicated efforts towards establishing new scholarships and research this year, we have propelled our students and faculty towards deeper knowledge and further experiential learning across the liberal arts. 

The William Sanderson Endowed Art Scholarship provides support for graduate students studying art history or art history with a concentration in museum studies. Students will have the opportunity to learn from curators and conservators, while gaining hands-on experience handling art, installing exhibitions, and curating shows both on and off campus.

This year’s designation of six entities as research centers marks the first year of official Research Centers at the University of Denver, with the Edward W. and Charlotte I. Estlow International Research Center for Journalism & New Media being selected as a formal research entity in CAHSS. 

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students talking

Student Experience

In CAHSS, we embrace a well-rounded liberal arts education. That includes opportunities for students to deepen their knowledge through hands-on experience and apply what they're learning in class to the professional world. 
 
From providing scholarships to helping students secure crucial internships to faculty making professional liaisons and incorporating experiential learning into the classroom, CAHSS helps students expand their studies and prepare for their future careers. 
 
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Student Highlights

From innovative research to hands-on experience, our students excel in and beyond the classroom, taking advantage of learning opportunities and sharing their passion with the community. 

Faculty Highlights

Our distinguished faculty are regularly recognized for the quality and creativity of their research, their collaboration and mentoring with students and their service to our communities. 

Alumni Spotlights

Our alumni are an essential part of the CAHSS community, excelling professionally in wide variety of fields by utilizing their liberal arts education to inspire others and make an impact in the world at large. 

spirituals project

Philanthropic Impact

The College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) has raised $9.466 million in philanthropic support this year from alumni, parents and friends of CAHSS and DU.  

This year’s philanthropic support for CAHSS is part of DU’s new capital campaign, The Denver Difference, which was launched in April 2024 with a goal of $1 billion to support student scholarships, faculty research, new programs and initiatives across campus.  

Highlights from the 2024–25 academic year include:

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    Scholarship support of more than $2.5 million to help talented students to afford a DU education and a CAHSS major or graduate degree. 

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    Student internships, research, and travel experiences benefitted from nearly $200,000 in new funding, including funding for paid student internships over the summer.   

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    More than $3 million in gifts of art to support the growing University Art Collection, and $100,000 for a new Lecture in Curiosity. 

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    Department-specific gifts, including... 

    • $450,000 for a Visiting Professor in Holocaust & Antisemitism Studies

    • $30,000 for the Center for Art Collection Ethics summer museum training program 

    • $1M to endow paid internships for Media, Film, & Journalism Studies majors with The Lance Clem fund. 

    • $125,000 towards renovation of the student darkroom and photography lab in the School of Art & Art History 

    • $100,000 to support the Robert C. Aronoff Mock Trial Fund for student support  

Lamont at 100: A Century of Sound

Lamont

Gift Advances Holocaust Awareness at DU

Holocaust Monument

Media Highlights

News media in Colorado, across the country and around the world featured CAHSS faculty, initiatives and research throughout the year. See the highlights below from news media coverage of our people and their efforts to educate, inspire and connect our communities.

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Oct 2024

Outside cash pours into Colorado’s 8th Congressional District Race
Denver7

This story quoted Seth Masket, professor of political science. Masket provided insight into how this affected local politics.  

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Oct 2024

Incendiary rhetoric, immigration surge drive votes among Colorado in election – but not always to Trump
The Denver Post

Lisa Martinez, professor of sociology and criminology, was quoted in this story.  

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Nov 2024

Courting the Asian American Vote
BBC Radio

Dheepa Sundaram, associate professor of Hindu Studies, Critical Theory and Digital Religion, was featured in a radio interview on Asian American voters in the 2024 presidential election.  

Learn More
The CO Sun

Dec 2024

Where did students’ grit go? How Colorado teachers are helping kids rebuild a core life skill
The Colorado Sun

This story quoted Angela Narayan, associate professor of psychology, regarding how students’ learning has shifted since COVID. 

Read More
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Jan 2025

Universities are mapping where local news outlets are still thriving – and where gaps persist
The Conversation

Kareem El-Damanhoury, associate professor in the Department of Media, Film & Journalism Studies, was mentioned in this story. 

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Feb 2025

If Fernanda Torres Wins an Oscar It Could Save Actual Lives in Brazil
The Hollywood Reporter

This story quoted Rafael Ioris, professor of history, on what an Oscar win would mean for Brazilians. 

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Mar 2025

New report says fewer Coloradans identify as “Christian,” mirroring a national trend
CPR News

Carl A. Raschke, professor of philosophy, was featured in a story about national trends in religion. 

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Apr 2025

AI isn’t what we should be worried about – it's the humans controlling it
The Conversation

Billy J. Stratton, professor in the Department of English & Literary Studies, wrote this story on the impact of AI. 

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May 2025

How a 19th-century British Jew became a Zulu chieftain and slaveholding warlord
The Times of Israel

Adam Rovner, director of the Center for Judaic Studies, was featured in this story.  

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Jun 2025

Smithsonian’s Reaction to Trump’s Firing of Its Museum Director: Silence
The New York Times

Professor in the Department of Art & Art History, Dean Sobel, was featured in this story. 

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Executive Director of Development

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