Nisha Shanmugaraj has always been captivated by the power of language. “After receiving my doctorate, I was thrilled to receive a job offer from CU Boulder’s renowned Program for Writing and Rhetoric,” said Shanmugaraj, an assistant professor. She is at work on a book, “Bootstrapping Identity: Indian American Women and the Rhetorics of Internalized Racism,” being made possible with help from a 2026 President’s Fund for the Humanities grant.
Higher education is experiencing many challenges: advances in AI, shifting student expectations and evolving workforce demands. The Colorado Learning and Teaching with Technology (COLTT) community invites you to join the 2026 conference, set for Aug. 5 and 6 at CU Boulder, where educators and learning designers from across the CU system and beyond will come together to explore how to navigate uncertainty with purpose and creativity.
Samuel Burciaga, a first-generation student pursuing his Ph.D. at CU Anschutz, is driven by a passion for advancing cancer research by enhancing the immune system’s ability to fight disease. His work focuses on developing new approaches to improve patient outcomes, including for children with leukemia. Watch a video to see how Burciaga is shaping cancer research and inspiring the next generation.
Through the Data Advocacy for All initiative, CU Boulder and CU Denver are helping students develop skills to use data not just for analysis, but for impact. Now, thanks to a CU Next Award from the CU system, the project is expanding data humanities education and giving students new opportunities to learn how to ethically interpret, communicate and apply data to real-world challenges. Watch the video to learn more.
