From Interim Dean Rachel A. Walsh, May 2025
As our Colorado days grow longer and we move into May with spring quarter in full swing and graduation quickly approaching, we have exciting news to share including information about our incoming CAHSS Dean and reminders about upcoming CAHSS events.
We are looking forward to welcoming Sahara Byrne, PhD, as our new CAHSS Dean, slated to assume the role July 1. Byrne comes to us from Cornell University where she currently serves as Senior Associate Dean at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and previously served as Inaugural Director of the university-wide Cornell Center for Social Sciences and led the establishment of a new faculty governance structure. I join Provost Clark in thanking CAHSS students, faculty and staff members for generously participating in the interview process. Full preparations are underway for a smooth transition.
We also are happy to report that thanks to the exceptional efforts of our development team in partnership with faculty and to the generosity of our donors, CAHSS has exceeded its fundraising goal for the year. Highlights include $1 million to fund an Endowed Chair in Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies (GWSS), $25,000 for a Black Studies minor, $450,000 for a 3-year term for the Emil and Eva Hecht Visiting Professor in Holocaust and Antisemitism Studies and a generous $100,000 gift to support the Mock Trial Program.
In other good news, CAHSS “US News and World Report” Graduate School Rankings are in, and our psychology department jumped from 97 to 62 while our English department’s ranking rose from 99 to 97.
Upcoming CAHSS events include the Cultural Diplomacy: Lanius Lecture with Artist Maryam Taghavi and DU Alumni Weekend May 15-17. CAHSS highlights for the weekend include the CAHSS Alumni Awards Luncheon on May 16 and CAHSS Professor of Art & Art History Scott Montgomery’s talk “Psychedelic Art of Denver's 1960's Music Scene” on Saturday, May 17, exploring the musical, artistic and cultural legacy of the Family Dog Denver rock-and-roll club through posters created for it in 1967-1968.
Plans are underway for the CAHSS undergraduate commencement ceremony on June 13 and for the first time, our CAHSS graduate student celebration will include a traditional hooding ceremony on June 12. The practice of wearing academic regalia to identify a graduate’s degree/field of study has deep roots in Medieval Europe and has evolved to symbolize a graduate’s transition from student to scholar.
Finally, in this busy and often stressful time, please remember that DU’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available for behavioral health and wellness resources. Additionally, CAHSS offers resources and support to help you or anyone in our community cope with academic, social, mental or physical health and identity-based concerns. Similarly, the CAHSS faculty and many staff members, including me, continue to keep regular office hours each week to answer any questions students may have. I also remain available in the Second-Floor Student Lounge every Wednesday from 12-1 p.m. MT.
As always, thank you for all you do to support our college, our mission and each other as we move toward celebrating our spring 2025 CAHSS graduates and all we have accomplished this year together.
Warmly,
Rachel A. Walsh
Interim Dean, Associate Professor
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
