The University of Colorado has announced two recipients of the 2025 Thomas Jefferson Award, one of the university’s highest honors. The award recognizes members of the CU community who exemplify the ideals of Thomas Jefferson, including a commitment to educational excellence, broad interests, civic responsibility and the welfare of individuals.
This year’s honorees are Hannah Wilks, assistant dean of students at CU Boulder, and Wesley Marshall, professor of civil engineering and urban and regional planning at CU Denver.
Last year, CU’s marketing campaign, Dear Colorado, asked Coloradans across the state what they love about Colorado, because chances are what folks love about Colorado, someone at CU is helping to make happen. This year, the campaign will connect what Coloradans love about Colorado with CU students and faculty who share their stories and passions.
Faculty Council wrapped up its meeting schedule for the academic year by celebrating the winners of its annual awards. The governance group honored council members Cindy O’Bryant and Vicky Grove with awards for Distinguished Service, while Anne Fleming received the award for Administrator of the Year. The three received their awards from Faculty Council Chair Alastair Norcross during the May 15 meeting at 1800 Grant St.
Five University of Colorado researchers have been named to the 2025 class of Boettcher Investigators, each receiving a $250,000 grant from the Boettcher Foundation’s Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards Program. This year’s class, announced May 22 by the Boettcher Foundation and the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA), represents the next generation of scientific excellence and marks another milestone in the Boettcher Foundation’s 16-year commitment to strengthening Colorado’s biomedical research ecosystem.
The research of June Gruber, Ph.D., examines happiness and positive emotion, words that might bring to mind a smiling face. It’s no surprise, then, when she describes her CU Boulder lab – the Positive Emotion and Psychopathology (or PEP) Laboratory – as a fun, collaborative and creative space. Positive emotion also plays a role in mental illness, which Gruber and her team also study. The work is not eternal sunshine. "There really can be too much of a good thing when it comes to positive emotion," she said. "And that’s one of the central ideas in our work: that positive emotions, while often helpful and adaptive, can also have a darker side when experienced in excess or in the wrong context."