News briefs

Colorado loses important advocate for children

One of the nation's most passionate advocates for the safety and welfare of children has died. Ruth Kempe, MD, professor emerita of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, passed away on Friday, July 24. She was 87.

Kempe was a member of the medical school's pediatric and child psychiatry faculty for more than 50 years. Along with her late husband C. Henry Kempe, she pioneered treatment for victims of child abuse while building a private practice and raising five daughters.

The Kempes worked together at the National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, which later became the Kempe Center. C. Henry Kempe, who died in 1984, also founded the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN).

Ruth Kempe (née Svibergson) was born in Norwood, Mass., on Oct. 11, 1921, and graduated from Radcliffe College before earning a medical degree at Yale University. She met her husband while both were in residency at Yale. The couple later moved to Denver when he was named chairman of the pediatrics department at UC Denver.

"She was an extraordinary woman," said Richard Krugman, vice chancellor for health affairs at UC Denver and dean of the School of Medicine.

"She was always there with food, advice and whatever support new mothers and fathers needed after the birth of their babies, whether they were her own relatives or just part of the extended family she helped create within the department of pediatrics," Krugman wrote in his July 27 internal communiqué to faculty and staff, "What's Going on Here?"

The Kempes co-authored several books, including "Healthy Babies, Healthy Parents," and co-edited the book, "The Battered Child."

Their daughter, Annie Kempe, an occupational therapist, wrote a biography about her father, "A Good Knight for Children: C. Henry Kempe's Quest to Protect the Abused Child."

Nat'l forensics pioneer passes away

Richard Sanders, a University of Colorado Denver professor and national forensic pioneer whose work was instrumental in several high-profile criminal investigations, passed away Monday. He was 57.

Family, friends and colleagues will honor Sanders at a memorial service at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, at the King Center Concert Hall on the Auraria Campus in Denver.

Sanders is credited with single-handedly establishing an audio forensics graduate program at UC Denver. Investigators relied on Sanders' audio and video forensics expertise while investigating the JonBenét Ramsey murder, the rape allegation involving Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, the Columbine High School shootings and the Oklahoma City bombing trial.

"On behalf of the entire UC Denver community, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Sanders family and to all those who knew and loved Rich," said Provost Roderick Nairn. "He was a leader in his field of audio forensics and a real asset to our university. He impacted the lives of many students who were inspired by his brand of hands-on education. His contributions to UC Denver as a researcher, educator and campus leader will be deeply missed."

In addition to his rich academic life, Sanders was a touring musician and avid sportsman. He graduated with a bachelor's of electrical engineering from the General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich., in 1974, and received a master's degree in electrical engineering from CU-Boulder a year later.

In 1998, he was tenured and promoted to associate professor of music at UC Denver, and was promoted to full professor in 2004. He became director of the National Center for Media Forensics in 2008.

Last year, Sanders and the UC Denver College of Arts and Media received more than $700,000 in federal earmark grants to establish a new National Center for Audio and Video Forensics. Recently, Sanders received a third $500,000 grant for the newly renamed National Center for Media Forensics, established in 2007. The grant will fund the center through its startup period and foster a new generation of experts in the field of media forensics, or the study of audio and video "fingerprinting."

Sanders's vision for the center was to establish cross-disciplinary, inter-institutional collaborations for research in forensic sciences and homeland security, thereby improving opportunities for research while increasing the diversity of students seeking graduate degrees from the UC Denver College of Arts and Media, campus officials said.

In addition to his wife, Ann, who serves as the assistant to the associate deans for the School of Education and Human Development at UC Denver, Sanders is survived by his daughter, Sarah, son Jeffery, stepson Andrew, and seven grandchildren.

Discounted football season tickets for faculty/staff

University of Colorado faculty and staff across all four campuses are eligible to receive a 20 percent discount on 2009 football season tickets, according to the CU Athletic Department in Boulder.

"We appreciate all that CU employees do for the university and the long hours they put in to make this a special place," said CU-Boulder Athletic Director Mike Bohn. "They are a vital part of the university and have shown an incredible amount of support through the years for our athletic programs. This is our way of recognizing their efforts and contributions."

Bohn said all CU faculty and staff can purchase two season tickets at a discounted price. Pricing depends on seat location in the stadium and Buff Club membership status. To get more information on these discounted tickets, please go to the CU Faculty/Staff ticket information page.

On Sunday, Sept. 6, at 5 p.m., the Colorado Buffaloes will open their 2009 season in Boulder against the rival Colorado State Rams, the first of six games at Folsom Field this fall.

Other games will include the first in 12 years with Front Range foe Wyoming on Sept. 19, followed by a pair of key Big 12 North Division matchups against Kansas on Oct. 17, which is also Family Weekend, and Missouri on Oct. 31, the highlight of CU's annual homecoming weekend. The Buffs will remain home the following week (Nov. 7) to take on Texas A&M, and conclude with the crucial end-of-season showdown against Nebraska on Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.

Bohn said that in addition to great action on the field, Colorado Football offers a game-day experience only a few places in the country can match.

"With the beautiful Flatirons and CU campus as your backdrop and festivities like the Pearl Street Stampede, Buffalo Roundup, and the running of Ralphie—the best mascot in the country—there is no better place to be in the fall," he said.

To take advantage of this special offer, the Athletics Department encourages all CU faculty and staff to buy tickets by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 303-49-BUFFS.

New student information system goes live

The University of Colorado's new Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) went live on Monday, Aug. 3, when admissions offices began processing fall 2010 applications.

The milestone was the first in the project's eight-week, phased rollout of admissions and recruitment applications, said LeeAnn Baronett, the project's communications director.

Baronett said project managers would continue to implement ISIS admissions and recruitment functionality through September, as well as other features that form the technology foundation of the entire student information system.

"Although this first go-live serves a very small user base, it encompasses approximately 95 percent of the system's overall technology footprint," she said.

ISIS, an Oracle-based system, will replace the university's 20-year-old student information system. The old system was so outdated that current vendor technology no longer supports it.

University Information Systems began developing the new, $50 million system in October 2007 under the transitional name of the MetamorphoSIS Project. Project funding came mostly from initiative funding out of the president's office. Administrators said the new system would offer employees and students a more powerful, feature-rich computer records database.

Surprise gift benefits seven journalism students

The University of Colorado at Boulder School of Journalism and Mass Communication has named its first class of Hemingway Scholars.

Seven CU-Boulder journalism students will benefit from a nearly $800,000 gift left to the school by the late William S. Hemingway, a former copy editor at The Denver Post.

Last October, Dean Paul Voakes announced in the alumni newsletter Bylines that Hemingway, who did not graduate from CU, had left exactly $778,778.39 to the school. The school received the check from Hemingway's estate, and the funds were earmarked for scholarships for juniors and seniors.

Each year, the school plans to award Hemingway scholarships to seven deserving students. Voakes expects the scholarship fund to last as long as 18 years, depending on investment trends. Each of this year's Hemingway scholars will receive a $10,000 scholarship for the 2009-10 academic year.

This year's recipients are Kylie Bearse, Mesa, Ariz.; Gerardo Ortiz, Denver; Amber Klein, Estes Park; Cameron Naish, Lakewood; Daelena Tinnin, Colorado Springs; Vignesh Ramachandran, Littleton; and Adam Milner, Lakewood.

Special conference-call meeting set for CU Board of Regents
The University of Colorado Board of Regents will have a special conference-call meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12.

The meeting will originate from the Astronauts Conference Room on the eighth floor of the system administration offices at 1800 Grant St.

The regents are scheduled to discuss sabbatical requests and tenure cases.