You Can’t Win if You Don’t Play: eGaming in 2022 and Beyond

Session 1: The Current State of eGaming: Trends, Insights & Impacts | A Panel Conversation

1:00 - 2:15 pm, Moderated by Provost Mary Clark

The Pew Research Center reports that “nearly half of U.S. adults say they play video games on a computer, TV, game console or portable device like a cellphone – and the eGaming industry is only expanding. And with this growth comes questions on the benefits of eGaming along with concerns about the current state of play and alternative models of understanding gaming. This panel conversation will explore these questions and more as they dig into the question: if eGaming can map onto the University’s public good mission, what must we understand about this industry?

• Learn more about the panelists

  Panelists listed alphabetically:

  

  Rafael Fajardo
  Associate Professor, Emergent Digital Practices
  College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Denver

  Rafael Fajardo (he/him) is an artist, designer, researcher, and educator. Born in Colombia, he migrated with his parents to the United States in 1968 and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. Rafael earned his BA and BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. He is currently an associate professor of Emergent Digital Practices at the University of Denver, where he is also core faculty for the LatinX Center and serves as a founding member on the board of advisors for IRISE, the Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (in)Equality. In 2004, I.D. Magazine named Rafael among the top fifty designers in the United States. Through his work with SWEAT, Rafael has been creating boundary-blurring videogames as an art form since 2000. SWEAT’s earliest games, Crosser and La Migra, were recently featured in ReVisión, a 2022 exhibition at the Denver Art Museum. Rafael has also collaborated with artists Adán De La Garza and Justin Ankenbauer under the moniker of Dizzy Spell to curate a series of pop-up artist game arcades. Learn more about his work at rafaelfajardo.com and sudor.org.

  

  Scott Horowitz
  Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry
  Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, University of Denver

  Scott Horowitz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging. A trained biochemist, he stumbled on the power of gaming for improving both science and education during his postdoctoral fellowship, when he rediscovered the scientific principal behind the citizen science video game Foldit in his classroom. Since then, he has become a co-principal investigator of the Foldit project and has published several papers on improving structural biology research using citizen science gaming and the role of citizen science gaming in education. His Foldit research is currently supported by the National Science Foundation.

  https://www.horowitzlab.com/research-2
  http://fold.it/

  

  Dan Linnell
  Undergraduate Student, Communication Major with minors in Emergent Digital Practices, Entrepreneurship and Marketing
  University of Denver

  Dan is a DU student, majoring in Communication with minors in Emergent Digital Practices, Entrepreneurship and Marketing. He plans on graduating in 2023. Dan is an avid gamer and an aspiring podcast host. His hobbies include audio and video editing, streaming, content creator, music production and editing, and artistic welding.

  

  Dan Migala
  Co-President & Chief Revenue Officer, Legends

  Dan Migala Co-President and CRO, Global Technology Solutions Dan Migala joined Legends in 2022 as Co-President and Chief Revenue Officer for Global Technology Solutions (GTS), overseeing new business and revenue growth opportunities for the growing GTS business globally. A sports industry veteran, Dan has worked for or advised virtually every level of sports franchises, including organizations in MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA, NCAA, MLS, the LPGA, Cricket Australia, New Zealand Rugby and more on issues related to marketing, non-traditional revenue generation, sponsorship, technology, ticket sales and using analytics to drive revenue growth. Prior to joining Legends, Dan was Co-Founder and Partner of 4FRONT, a global data and analytics, innovation, and digital media agency. 4FRONT was acquired by Legends in early 2022 and became part of Global Technology Solutions. Founded in 2007, Dan grew 4FRONT from himself and his business partner to a thriving organization with offices in Chicago, Dallas and Denver working with a diverse portfolio of sports and entertainment clients around the globe. Earlier in his career, Dan also served for nearly a decade as a columnist for SportsBusiness Journal and has authored three books on sports marketing. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Dan has served as the Director of the Masters in Sports Administration Program at Northwestern University, where he designed a "Non-Traditional Revenue Strategies" course. He holds a Masters of Sports Administration from Ohio University.

  www.team4front.com
  www.legends.net

  

  Michelle Sabick
  Dean, Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science
  University of Denver

  Dr. Michelle Sabick assumed the role of Dean of the Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Denver in March of 2021. Previously, she was Dean of Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology at Saint Louis University. She started her academic career at Boise State University, in the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Sabick earned a BSE degree in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and MS and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa. Before moving to academia, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Orthopedics at the Mayo Clinic and worked as an upper extremity biomechanics researcher at the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Vail, CO. Throughout her career, Sabick has been passionate about improving undergraduate engineering education. She is highly involved in efforts to transform STEM teaching practices through mentoring faculty members as they adopt high-impact instructional practices in their courses.

Session 2: Differentiation at DU: eGaming Now & in the Future | A Moderated Roundtable & Q&A

2:30 - 3:45 pm, Moderated by Provost Mary Clark

Building on our first panel conversation, roundtable participants in this conversation will dig into what eGaming looks like at DU and ways it can continue to evolve as a part of our mission. Panelists will discuss curricular and co-curricular options and how DU plans to take action and move forward as we embrace eGaming. The conversation will highlight opportunities for careers, business development, marketing, engineering, computer science, courses, and more. Additionally, alternative models of eGaming, including gaming focused on ever-changing demographics, justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI), and the public good.

*This roundtable will include an audience Q&A session

• Learn more about the roundtable participants

  Panelists listed alphabetically:

  

  Vivek Choudhury
  Dean, Daniels College of Business
  University of Denver

  Vivek Choudhury is Dean of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. He came to Daniels from the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB) in Washington, DC, where he had been serving most recently as Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Information Systems and Technology Management. At GWSB, he had previously also served as the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and as Interim Dean. Prior to GWSB, Vivek spent more than a decade at the University of Cincinnati’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business in varying faculty and leadership roles. His earlier faculty positions were held at Florida State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Choudhury earned his MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY and his PhD in Management (Information Systems) from the University of California, Los Angeles.

  

  Chris GauthierDickey
  Associate Professor; Chair, Computer Science
  Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science
  University of Denver

  Professor Chris GauthierDickey is an Associate Professor, the Director of Game Development Programs, and the Chair of Computer Science at DU where he researches programming languages and improving JEDI in computer science.

  

  Rhonda M. Gonzales
  Dean, College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
  University of Denver

  Rhonda M. Gonzales is dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of African History at the University of Denver. Her research combines the use of comparative linguistics, ethnography, oral tradition and more to recover early history. Sample publications include, Societies, Religion, and History: Central East Tanzanians and the World They Created, c. 200 BCE to 1800 CE published by Columbia University Press, Bantu Africa, 3500 BCE to Present, published by Oxford University Press, “Gender, Authority, and Identity in African History: Heterarchy, Cosmic Families, and Lifestages,” in The Palgrave Handbook of African Women’s Studies and a book forthcoming with Cambridge University Press, Family before Gender: history in Central and Eastern Africa, ca. 500-1900.

  

  Kate Hollenbach
  Assistant Professor, Emergent Digital Practices
  College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Denver

  Kate Hollenbach is an artist, programmer, and educator based in Denver, Colorado, US. She creates video and interactive works examining critical issues in user interface and user experience design with a focus on user habits, data collection, and surveillance. Her art practice is informed by years of professional experience and as an interface designer and product developer. She has presented and exhibited work in venues across the United States, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, SIGGRAPH, and INST-INT. Kate holds an MFA from UCLA Design Media Arts and a B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Emergent Digital Practices at University of Denver and serves on the Board of Directors for the Processing Foundation.

  

  Danielle Rourke
  Senior Higher Education Strategist, Dell Technologies

  Danielle is a Senior Higher Education Strategist for Dell Technologies. Prior to joining Dell, Danielle served as an Associate Director of Information Technology for the University of Colorado Boulder, where she championed new and innovative methods of utilizing technology to make education more accessible to under-served student populations. A technologist and analyst at heart, Danielle's true passion is helping broker technological solutions to help students, staff, and faculty across the globe engage more fully in the power of education. She’s been a gamer ever since she was a little girl and a main goal of her career is to help educators understand how to incorporate the global competencies and educational outcomes that gaming and esports can facilitate for students.

  https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellerourke/
  https://www.dell.com/en-us/dt/industry/education/esports.htm

Curious about eGaming? Find out More!