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This Month's Featured Stories

AHSS RECEIVES $1.3M ESTATE GIFT
Alumnus Leaves a Legacy at DU

The late Robert Clemens (BA '81, economics) generously bestowed $1.3 million of his estate to liberal arts academics at DU. A world traveler and a lover of fine art and languages, Clemens dedicated his career to teaching English as a second language (ESL) internationally. In fact, he founded and managed an ESL school in Santiago, Mexico.

"Bob devoted his life to teaching. He always wanted to give back, and our family is not surprised that he found a way to give back even after his passing," said Dennis Clemens (BSBA '85, marketing), the younger brother of Robert Clemens. "Bob loved his time at DU. In fact, I visited him while he was a student and saw firsthand why he loved DU. It was because of my visit to see my older brother that I chose to attend DU, too."

Per his and his family's wishes, Clemens' estate gift has been divided evenly among three AHSS departments: the history department, the English department and the School of Art and Art History.

Clemens' gift makes possible for the history department internship support for students and an endowed faculty research fund. As a DU student, Clemens studied under history Professor Allen D. Breck. "Professor Breck was not just an advisor, but also a mentor for Bob. He credited Professor Breck for giving him a lot of guidance, so our family is pleased to see his gift support the history department," said Dennis Clemens.

The English department has created the Robert L. Clemens Endowed Fellowship to be awarded to a fourth-year PhD candidate, preferably a student from Mexico or a student who has experience working with racial minorities.

The Robert L. Clemens Endowed Studio Art Fund will fund instructional costs in studio art for the School of Art and Art History. And DU has created the Robert L. Clemens Endowed Creative Production Award to be given to two faculty members per year. The faculty recipients will be called "Clemens Artists."

Clemens began his travel adventures by moving from Iowa to the Rockies to attend college. Upon graduating from DU, he moved to Mexico for six months to become fluent in Spanish. He then lived in California, New York, Hawaii, Mexico and Guatemala, while regularly traveling internationally to other parts of the world. While living in California he received his master's degree in comparative religion from the Franciscan School of Theology.

Clemens dedicated his life to teaching ESL. In fact, shortly before his passing in June 2012, Clemens received an advanced certificate from the Kent School in England to teach ESL to teachers. He also founded and managed a 25-student ESL school in Santiago, Mexico. "I had the opportunity to visit my brother's school in Mexico. It was a labor of love for Bob, but he had a passion for teaching and loved the culture in Mexico," said Dennis Clemens.

"Mr. Clemens lived the liberal arts lifestyle – he was a big reader, he loved to travel, he embraced education, he was bilingual, he bridged cultures and so much more. It is only fitting that his generosity makes possible the enhancement of liberal arts studies at his alma mater. He has surely left a significant legacy here," said Dean Anne McCall.

Read more about estate gifts to the University of Denver.

AHSS ALUMNI RETURN TO CAMPUS TO SHARE CAREER STORIES WITH STUDENTS

The Liberal Arts Advantage program within AHSS aims to assist students in articulating the importance of their liberal arts degree, making connections to possible career paths and building professional networks. The Alumni and Employers Tell All event through the Courses to Careers series provides students with an opportunity to accomplish all three of these goals.

The Tell All consists of panelists whom are AHSS alumni and/or employers interested in hiring students with degrees within the liberal arts. The first Tell All was held in October and included three AHSS alumni: Andrea Smith (BA '85, political science/anthropology); Nora Heitmann (BA '00, political science/communication); and Tom Douglis (BA '86, history). The panelists were asked to describe the influence of a liberal arts degree on their career paths, describe the skills they obtained through their studies and provide advice to current undergraduates about how to present themselves to potential employers.

"I think the event is especially relevant to non-business students as they can see that a liberal arts degree can be used in so many ways. They can see that by not focusing on finding a job in a specified field or occupation but rather in using their overall skill sets and experiences, they will have success in landing a rewarding position or in creating their own opportunity," said Smith.

Though the event is focused on assisting students, it also has its benefits for the participating alumni. "I may have gotten more out of it than the students. It was an opportunity for me to reflect on my own career and see the value of decisions I've made or the opportunities I seized to attain the position I have today," said Smith.