The University of Denver embarks on its 147th year.

 James Herbert Williams, dean of the Graduate School of Social Work, is named the first recipient of the Milton Morris Endowed Chair, awarded to a faculty member with a record of excellent scholarship and teaching. The chair is named for Milt Morris (BA ’37, JD ’39), a successful attorney who taught business law at the Sturm College of Law for 11 years.

 DU’s Volunteers in Partnership program celebrates 20 years of putting University students to work helping teens from disadvantaged schools further their education.

 Arthur Jones, clinical professor of culture and psychology, is recognized by the National Association of Negro Musicians for his significant contributions to music. Jones is founder of the Spirituals Project, an organization and choir dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the art form.

 As part of the University’s commitment to serving the public good, the Strategic Issues Program launches its fifth major study, aimed at analyzing the role of state governments in the 21st century and developing recommendations for governance. The nonpartisan panel of 20 leaders in government, academia, business and public service will explore every facet of state governance, from expenditures and funding to the relationships among state, municipal and federal governments.

 At the American Sociological Association meeting in Atlanta, DU sociology Professor Peter Adler and his wife, Patti, who serves on the University of Colorado faculty, receive the George Herbert Mead Award for lifetime achievement. This marks the first time this honor, given by the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, has been presented to a collaborating couple.

 Two former secretaries of state—Madeleine Albright and DU alumna Condoleezza Rice (BA ’74, PhD ’81)—share the stage at the annual Korbel Dinner, named after Josef Korbel, Albright’s father, Rice’s mentor and founder of DU’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. In her keynote address, Rice, recipient of the Josef Korbel Outstanding Alumni Award, reminds the audience that crushing problems have always characterized international politics and that the human spirit can triumph over dire predicaments.

 DU welcomes 1,231 traditional first-year students to campus. Selected from a pool of more than 12,400 applicants, this class is the best in DU history in terms of academic credentials, which include GPA, test scores and class rank. The class also is DU’s most diverse. More than 7 percent are international students, and just over 19 percent of domestic students are students of color. More than 16 percent are receiving Pell Grants. Also, more than 60 percent of the class comes from outside of Colorado.

 As 17 first-year Boettcher Scholars arrive on campus to begin their studies, the size of DU’s in-residence Boettcher community settles at 58. The prestigious Colorado-based Boettcher Scholarship Program awards 40 scholarships each year on the basis of academic performance, outstanding character and leadership.

 To celebrate their third-straight national championship, captured in spring 2010, DU’s ski team heads for a date at the White House. There, they join more than 650 Division I student-athletes from 32 schools for NCAA Champions Day. The 2010 championship was the team’s 21st overall—the most in NCAA history.

 Trial by jury is on life support. That’s the alarm sounded by Rebecca Love Kourlis, executive director of DU’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, writing, along with Denver attorney Gilbert Dickinson, in the fall/winter issue of Voir Dire. In addition to highlighting growing concerns about the vanishing civil jury trial, the groundbreaking article examines possible remedies.

 Thomas Barrett, a clinical professor in DU’s International Disaster Psychology Program in the Graduate School of Professional Psychology, is named one of 1,100 Fulbright Scholars. Awarded on the basis of academic or professional achievement, the Fulbright will allow him to teach at the University of Zagreb and conduct research on mental health services in Croatia.

 At a dedication ceremony for the Nagel Art Studios, friends of the School of Art and Art History get their first glimpse of the spacious new facility for drawing and painting students. The studio was funded by DU Trustee Ralph Nagel—himself a respected painter—and his wife, Trish.

 DU graduates assemble for the fourth annual Alumni Symposium, featuring addresses by two notable alumni: Andrew Rosenthal (BA ’78), editorial page editor for The New York Times, and Judith “Jami” Miscik (MA ’82), president and vice chairman of Kissinger Associates Inc.

 DU launches its first iPhone application, offering access to the latest campus news and an events calendar. There’s even a link to the DU fight song.

 During Convocation remarks to more than 650 faculty and staff members, Chancellor Robert Coombe announces a multiyear fundraising campaign to position DU for the 21st century. Ascend: The Campaign for the University of Denver will conclude in 2014 when the University celebrates its sesquicentennial. “We will focus on additional financial aid for undergraduate and graduate students; support for faculty chairs and professorships as well as research and scholarship; the visual and performing arts; and important improvements and additions to our facilities,” Coombe says, noting that the campaign raised more than $250 million during its quiet phase.

 Kateri McRae and Iris Mauss, both assistant professors of psychology, receive a $180,000 grant from the John Templeton Foundation and the Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The grant will fund a study of people who have recently experienced stressful situations, such as job loss or divorce, in hopes of helping them recover.

 Thanks to a gift from Betty Knoebel, widow of Denver food services pioneer Ferdinand “Fritz” Knoebel, DU’s School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management is renamed the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management. Knoebel’s gift is worth $17.5 million—with $10 million allocated for a new center for the study of aging and the remainder for scholarships, faculty support, industry partnerships and experiential learning programs at the hospitality management school. In May 2011, the building housing the school is renamed the Joy Burns Center, after the renowned businesswoman and philanthropist who chaired DU’s Board of Trustees from 1990–2005 and from 2007–09.

 At dedication ceremonies next to Buchtel Chapel, the DU community enjoys a sneak preview of the Holocaust Memorial Social Action Site, an outdoor space designed to transform the memory of Holocaust victims into acts of social justice. Linked to an endowed chair of Holocaust studies, the site will host performances, readings and vigils that advance humanitarian causes, foster intercultural dialogue and incubate empathy and public good works.

 The Morgridge College of Education joins the Colorado School of Public Health’s Rocky Mountain Prevention Research Center in accepting a $1.8 million grant from the Colorado Health Foundation to support “Healthy Eaters, Lifelong Movers,” a project aimed at improving children’s health in the San Luis Valley. Expected to reach more than 11,200 elementary, middle and high school students by October 2013, the project will increase access to healthy meals and physical education.

 The Graduate School of Social Work kicks off its 80th anniversary celebration with the inaugural lecture in a series that will span the academic year. James Garbarino of Loyola University discusses “Pathways From Childhood Trauma to Adolescent Violence.”

 A team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools visits campus as part of its re-accreditation process. The University has held HLC accreditation since 1914.

 Susan Schulten, associate professor of history, examines the Civil War from a geographic and cartographic perspective in a special New York Times series tracking the nation’s secession crisis and the ensuing conflict. In her Times piece, Shulten, who is writing a book about the rise of thematic mapping in American history, focuses on Lincoln’s 1860 election victory. A second installment, published in December, examines a map, favored by Lincoln, that depicts concentrations of slavery. Schulten’s articles will run periodically through April 2015.

 In a bid to understand how and when better health leads to improved development and human security, Randall Kuhn, director of the Global Health Affairs Program at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, embarks on a research project involving 24,000 study participants in Bangladesh. The work is made possible by a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Kuhn’s project extends research that dates back to 1963 by collecting data from participants in a long-term study. By questioning them about marriage, earnings, social networks and more, Kuhn will assess the impact of various interventions on Bangladeshi lives.

 According to the 2010 Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education, DU ranks fourth in the nation among doctoral and research institutions in the percentage of undergraduate students studying abroad. Reflecting data from 2008–09, the report shows DU sent 61.4 percent of its undergraduates abroad. In 2010–11, 595 juniors and seniors journey to other countries through Cherrington Global Scholars, DU’s signature study abroad program.

 The Pioneers men’s soccer team travels to California for the first round of the NCAA tournament. This marks the second NCAA tournament appearance for the team under coach Bobby Muuss.

 According to the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement, 86 percent of surveyed first-year DU students report a favorable image of the institution, and 79 percent of surveyed seniors would choose the school again if they could start their college career over. The report details results from a survey of 362,000 students attending 564 U.S. colleges and universities. For the sixth year, DU students rank their education higher than students at peer institutions in four of five benchmark categories.

 The University of Denver announces that it will move into the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) beginning in the 2012–13 season. Membership in the WAC and close proximity to most of the member schools will reduce travel expenses for DU and mean less classroom time missed by student-athletes. The WAC, headquartered in Colorado, also affords DU higher visibility nationally, thanks to a television contract with ESPN.

 Trygve Myhren, chairman of DU’s Board of Trustees, is inducted into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame, which honors individuals who have excelled and contributed to Colorado’s status as a world-class place to ski. Myhren is recognized for his work with disabled skiers and the U.S. Paralympic program.

 When the Massachusetts-based Sustainable Endowments Institute issues its annual College Sustainability Report Card, DU’s efforts are rewarded with an A-. To issue its grades, the institute surveyed 322 institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Canada with endowments of more than $160 million. DU is among the top 52 schools in the country to receive an A.

 Former White House counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke examines the motivations and modus operandi of an ever-resilient al-Qaida as the first speaker of DU’s 2010–11 Bridges to the Future series, titled 9/11: Ten Years After. Subsequent events explored the faultlines between Christianity and Islam and the consequences of the War on Terror. Free and open to the public, Bridges to the Future was created in 2002 to stimulate civic dialogue among Colorado communities.

 Two writers with DU ties are among 42 poets from across the nation awarded literature fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Sandra Meek (PhD ’95) and current PhD student Jennifer Denrow each receive $25,000. Meek, a professor at Berry College in Rome, Ga., will use the money to return to South Africa—where she served in the Peace Corps 20 years ago—to work on her fifth book, An Ecology of Elsewhere. Denrow’s first full-length book of poetry, California, comes out in April 2011.

 Legendary DU hockey coach Murray Armstrong, 94, dies of complications following a series of strokes. Armstrong coached the Pioneers from 1956–77, amassing one of the most impressive records in college hockey history. His teams won five NCAA championships and finished as runners-up four times. When Armstrong arrived at DU, he promised to deliver a national championship in three years or quit. He delivered on that promise in just two years.

 A $3 million gift from the Roche Family Foundation and Robert W. Roche (JD ’88) establishes the Roche Family International Business Transactions Program at the Sturm College of Law. The gift is among the largest of its kind in the law school’s history.

 In a bid to decrease the energy required to keep food cold, the University installs “eCubes” in freezers and coolers around campus. Installation of the wax cubes, which affix to a refrigerator’s thermostat, costs about $10,300 and is financed by Undergraduate Student Government and the Undergraduate Sustainability Committee. The project is expected to pay for itself within 23 months.

 The seven justices of the Colorado Supreme Court come to the Sturm College of Law to hear two cases—including one dubbed the “Colorado water law case of the century.” More than 160 students and attorneys pack the mock courtroom and a nearby overflow room where the hearings are broadcast on closed-circuit television.

 “Steel on Wheels,” a special series of MSNBC’s The Dylan Ratigan Show, broadcasts a live online town hall meeting from the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. The series travels across the country looking for solutions to some of the nation’s key problems. The theme for the DU leg of the show is “Innovation in America,” and the panel features Associate Professor Corinne Lengsfeld of the mechanical and materials engineering department. Lengsfeld heads DU’s biofluids laboratory and conducts research on fluid dynamics, gene therapy delivery and drug delivery systems for the pharmaceutical industry.

 From a field of more than 10,000 applicants, DU’s Felipe Vieyra, a junior political science and international studies major from Morelia, Mexico, is honored with one of the first Pearson Prizes for Higher Education. Vieyra is one of 10 students chosen for the $10,000 fellowship, which recognizes undergraduate students for their community service. Vieyra is selected based on his efforts to reform the American immigration system. A member of DU Students for Comprehensive Immigration Reform and a volunteer for El Centro Humanitario, Vieyra organized a community event called Noche Cultura to build relationships between day laborers and the Denver community.

 Morgridge College of Education Dean Greg Anderson is appointed to a community workforce planning team, assembled by the Colorado governor and the superintendent of Aurora Public Schools, to focus on the strategic plan for one of the state’s largest school districts. The effort is designed to address the “Colorado paradox,” so-called because the state ranks second highest in the country for the percentage of adults with college degrees but ranks 47th in high school graduates continuing to college.

 By the time the January application deadline passes, the Office of Admission has logged a record 14,877 applications from prospective undergraduate students. This represents an increase of 15 percent over the previous year. Just over 10,675 of the applications were deemed complete.

 Warhol in Colorado—an exhibition featuring screenprints, photographs, films, record album covers, posters and other works by and about Andy Warhol—opens at DU’s Myhren Gallery. The exhibition is built around 158 Warhol Polaroid photos and silver prints given to the gallery by the Warhol Foundation in 2008.

 Concerned about the growing problem of concussions among school-age athletes, Colorado lawmakers begin debating Senate Bill 11-040, which reflects the research of DU scholar Kim Gorgens. The bill requires that students suspected of having concussion be pulled from play and returned only after being cleared by a professional with expertise in concussion. Gorgens, a clinical associate professor with the Graduate School of Professional Psychology, worked with colleagues in the medical and education communities to draft a position paper that informed the legislation. The bill passes the Colorado Legislature and is signed into law by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

 The Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures releases Improving Global Health: Forecasting the Next 50 Years (Paradigm and Oxford India, 2011), the third book in a five-volume series on human progress. The book sheds light on a phenomenon of interest to policy makers and health care professionals: Thanks to advances in medicine, the numbers of deaths from communicable diseases has fallen significantly compared to deaths from chronic diseases and conditions influenced by diet and environmental factors.

 In findings delivered to the Colorado General Assembly, the University’s Center for Colorado’s Economic Future reports that recent state budget shortfalls are not just a short-term problem caused by economic downturn. Rather, a structural imbalance in the budget will ensure that shortfalls persist for years, even as the wider economy improves. The report, posted on the center’s website, was prepared in response to Senate Joint Resolution 10-002, which called on DU and the center to conduct a nonpartisan review of the state financial system.

 Women’s College alumna Carter Prescott (BA ’71) presents her alma mater with her winnings from the syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The college will use the $25,000 donation for scholarships.

 DU Trustee Jane Hamilton and her husband, Frederic, donate $250,000 to DU to strengthen ties between the School of Art and Art History and the Denver Art Museum. The gift will fund a program designed to advance students’ understanding of how artists and museums work together to present important installations. Funds also will support a five-year visiting artists program at DU.

 The University steps up its environmental commitments by creating the Center for Sustainability to serve as the hub of sustainability efforts on campus. The center’s director will coordinate and encourage the full array of related work across campus.

 “The wilderness is the West’s soul,” environmentalist and author Rick Bass reminds 500 attendees gathered at the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute’s 20th annual conference. Titled “The Next West: Landscapes, Livelihoods and the Future of the Rocky Mountain Region,” the event challenges attendees to envision how myriad pressures—climate, demographics and economics—will reshape the region’s rural and urban areas.

 DU’s sizable Peace Corps community celebrates the 50th anniversary of the organization with a photo exhibit, film screening and panel discussions examining the organization’s history and future.

 Junior Ida Dillingoen claims the individual title in women’s giant slalom, while senior Seppi Stiegler wins the title in men’s giant slalom at the NCAA skiing championships. Meanwhile, freshman Sterling Grant caps an undefeated season in women’s slalom with the title. 

 Under the leadership of coach Eric Hoos, the Pioneers men’s golf team claims its second Sun Belt Conference crown in program history and its first since 2008. The conference championship ensures DU an invitation to the NCAA regional championships.

 Penrose Library begins packing nearly 20,000 linear feet of material in preparation for a $33 million renovation that will transform the 40-year-old building into a state-of-the-art Academic Commons.

 At the NCAA North Central Regional Championships at DU’s Magness Arena, gymnasts Jorie Hall and Brianna Springer qualify for postseason action. Springer will make her second appearance as an individual at nationals.

 The University celebrates “radical collaboration” at the second TEDxDU event at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. The festivities, which are broadcast to an overflow crowd at the Driscoll Student Center, include presentations by Associate Professor Richard Voyles, a robot designer whose creations can wriggle or roll into rubble to collect information and perform life-saving functions, and visual thinker Temple Grandin, whose work to improve the lives of animals and people with autism inspired an HBO movie.

 The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes DU for being the largest green power purchaser in the Sun Belt Conference. Over the course of the EPA’s 2010–11 College and University Green Power Challenge, DU purchased some 15 million kilowatt hours of power generated from renewable sources, or about 34 percent of the school’s power usage. The agency estimates that purchase is equivalent to eliminating the carbon dioxide release of 2,000 cars in a year.

 David Ciepley, assistant professor of political science, is named a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for the 2011–12 academic year. Established by Congress in 1968, the center is a nonpartisan institution that annually awards as many as 23 residential academic-year fellowships through an international competition. Ciepley’s research examines the role corporations play in the marketplace.

 At Commencement ceremonies for nearly 300 Sturm College of Law graduates, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette reminds the audience that tough economic times afford opportunities. “Think outside the box. Get in your car and go to Ouray or Grand Junction or Nebraska. Find a small town that needs a lawyer … It’s the opportunity for you to make the difference of a generation,” she says.

 The Pioneers men’s lacrosse team, coached by the sport’s legendary Bill Tierney, completes the greatest season in program history with a first-ever trip to the NCAA Final Four. Although the team loses to eventual NCAA champion Virginia in the national semifinals, fans savor the team’s stunning season, which includes a victory at the inaugural Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament championship.

 In the Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s annual ranking of undergraduate business programs by specialty, the Daniels College of Business places among the nation’s best. Daniels ranks second best in the U.S. in ethics; No. 15 in accounting; No. 23 in international business; No. 43 in sustainability; and No. 47 in financial management.

 Beginning this month, DU dramatically boosts the number of online and on-campus courses available for undergraduate students during summer term. The move grows out of a survey showing that students want expanded summer offerings. The higher number of courses also makes it easier for students to accelerate their degree program. Just as important, students studying abroad will have access to classes they might miss during the academic quarter they’re away.

 The Division of Athletics and Recreation ends the year with a number of triumphs, including eight conference championships, coach-of-the-year honors for four head coaches and nine teams dispatched to NCAA postseason tournaments. In addition, for the fourth straight year, the athletics program captures the prestigious Learfield Sports 1-AAA Directors’ Cup, making DU No. 1 among NCAA Division I non-football schools. The Pioneers athletics program also claims its 10th consecutive Sun Belt Conference Graduation Rate Award.

 At Commencement ceremonies in Magness Arena for nearly 1,000 master’s and doctoral students, keynote speaker Judith “Jami” Miscik (MA ’82), president and vice chairman of Kissinger Associates Inc., shares experiences from her time at the CIA, where she was responsible for the president’s daily intelligence briefing. “I encourage you to take your knowledge to contribute to the greater good,” she tells the crowd. “It’s your turn now.” The next day, at undergraduate Commencement ceremonies, 962 new graduates collect their diplomas and a dose of wisdom from speaker John Morgridge, chairman emeritus of Cisco Systems and recipient of an honorary doctorate in education. “Life offers opportunity at every stage,” Morgridge reminds students, urging them to “get involved and stay involved.”