Alumni series continues in February 2012

University of Denver alumn Lance Clem (BA '72) will visit DU as part of the Distinguished Alumni Series Feb. 14 and 15, 2012. The series features distinguished professional alums from the Media, Film & Journalism Studies department and brings them to campus to provide current students with industry-based knowledge and perspective. Students get a first-hand look at how a degree from DU can work for them in future employment and also see how past alums have shaped their careers.

Clem will speak to several classes, including Strategic Communication Planning, Strategic Messaging and Introduction to Media and Culture. 

In addition, he will host a video presentation and discussion of Denver's first computer animation facility which he worked at as a student. The facility was the first company devoted entirely to computer animation and DU-affiliated engineers worked at the company. This presentation is an interesting facet for students enrolled in Digital Media Studies, Electronic Media Arts Design, Gaming and Computer Animation. The video and presentation will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 14 in Room 119 in the Mass Communications Building (2490 South Gaylord Street). The session is open to all students, faculty, staff and alumni.

A long-term Denver resident, Clem graduated from the University of Denver with a B.A. in Mass Communications in 1972. During his college years, he worked for Denver-based but now defunct Computer Image Corporation and on the city desk of the Denver Post.

He began working for the State of Colorado in 1972 in an office that developed drunk driving programs. In 1974 he conceived a new approach to drunk driving education programs, which had been based on negative PSAs and print materials developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Clem's innovation was called initially, "Be a Friend: Drive the Heavy Drinker Home Yourself." The federal government and its Ad Council partner Grey Advertising liked the approach and refined the slogan somewhat. The new campaign became, "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk."

During his career, Clem has worked on the staffs of three Colorado governors and in three state agencies. He has served in various policy roles, specializing in the fields of HIV/AIDS, transportation, crime prevention, homeland security, law enforcement and public safety. He developed a statewide strategy for crime reduction following a period of high crime rates in the early 1990s.

He currently is Public Information Officer for the Colorado Department of Public Safety. CDPS includes CBI, the Colorado State Patrol, Division of Fire Safety, Division of Criminal Justice and the Division of Homeland Security. In addition, he has served as a consultant to the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice and to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He has served in his current role for approximately ten years.