After more than five years of fundraising efforts, CU Boulder’s School of Education celebrated moving into its new campus home: the Ofelia Miramontes and Leonard Baca Education Building. The milestone, made possible by collective philanthropy, was marked with a festive building dedication and community open house on Oct. 4 to showcase the school’s collaborative new spaces, highlight its influential research, celebrate educators and honor the passionate community that made this project possible.

Launched in the spring of 2019, the initiative to move the School of Education to its newly renovated home (previously known as the Fleming Building) was a multi-phase renovation project. The school’s dean emerita, Kathy Schultz, spearheaded the move with donor and campus leadership support. 

A united effort

An extraordinary 97 families donated to the renovations — resulting in 23 named spaces in the building, from classrooms to meeting spaces and private study rooms, demonstrating the strength of the school’s community support. 

“It took a whole village … The building was much-needed, to be competitive with other universities and to provide a state-of-the-art location for students, faculty, staff and our community,” said Barb Quinlan (Edu’65, MA’86), donor and member of the school’s Development Advisory Board. Quinlan is also a member of Women Investing in the School of Education (WISE), which supports faculty research, initiatives, and a student scholarship. In addition to contributing to the project, she led a group effort to inspire other passionate WISE members to name one of the school’s classrooms. 

The building’s name honors two former CU Boulder School of Education faculty members, Ofelia Miramontes and Leonard Baca, and their lasting legacies of exceptional mentorship and groundbreaking leadership — particularly in the field of bilingual education, which continues to uplift educators and support historically marginalized students today. 

Miramontes, who passed away in 2005, was represented by her sister and niece at the dedication, and Baca was present with his wife and grandson. The heartwarming ceremony featured stories of gratitude from their former students, and many family members, mentees and former colleagues were in attendance to honor Miramontes’ and Baca’s impact.  

Together at last

Moving to the Miramontes Baca Education Building marks the first time in recent history that the entire School of Education will be together under one roof. Previously, the school’s centers and programs were housed in a variety of buildings. In addition to providing more space, the new location is equipped with the technology and facilities to support modern teaching methods and community-building opportunities.

  A hallmark of our School of Education is a commitment to collaborative and interactive communities, both in our classrooms and in the entirety of our work as scholars and educators. Our space reflects this commitment — I am excited to see where we go in the future.." — Melissa Braaten, associate professor in the School of Education 

  View event photo album 

"This renovation has allowed the School of Education to create spaces that suit the programming and classes that it offers,” said Suzanne Hoover, development board member and longtime supporter of the school. “It has allowed the school to have up-to-date technology that is so important to education in the 21st century." Suzanne and Dave Hoover helped kick off the fundraising effort for the school in 2019. In recognition of their generosity and dedication to education, the school named its new central collaborative space the Hoover Atrium. 

"For us, our educations have been paramount to our ability to dream of a future and to reach those dreams,” said Suzanne Hoover. “Education broadens horizons and opens doors for those who pursue it." 

Additional features of the Miramontes Baca Education Building include modernized classrooms and conference rooms, private study rooms, a food pantry and community kitchens, and learning labs for specialized disciplines such as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education.             

Associate Professor Melissa Braaten, program chair for STEM education in the School of Education, remarked that the new spaces are being used exactly as they’d hoped — with students from all over campus connecting and collaborating in ways they weren’t easily able to before.

Heartwarming support

Braaten noted that teaching in classrooms named after the dedicated and generous families that support the school offers a sense of “legacy and community.” She said future philanthropy for the school can continue to ensure adequate classroom space and enhance learning for tomorrow’s educators. 

“The fundraising effort has taken many years and many contributions, large and small, to generate the resources that we need to renovate our building,” said Braaten. “I have had the opportunity to meet the donors and families responsible for supporting the classrooms where I teach — it’s so special to hear their stories of the compassionate, dedicated teachers in their families and see their commitment to education.”

An innovative component to the school’s new classrooms is their ability to be reconfigured — the seating has been designed to be movable, offering a more interactive approach to teaching and classroom collaboration. The building dedication and open house on Oct. 4 allowed attendees to tour the newly renovated spaces and see these features firsthand. Guests also engaged in a research showcase and family-friendly activities and enjoyed live mariachi music, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks honoring the community’s commitment to education. 

“As one of the most important things we can provide for children, education is top of the list — it’s a gift of a lifetime,” said Marty Coffin Evans (A&S’64), donor and board chair for the school. “I believe strongly in the power of education. It has the ability to change, enrich, inform and mold lives.”  

A bright future

Evans remarked that the school’s new home reinforces its value and formally acknowledges “the powerful education found within its walls.” She hopes gratitude and a passion for education can drive future philanthropy efforts. 

“If you've had a special teacher, counselor or coach in your life, this is a wonderful way to say: ‘Thank you for believing in me, thank you for teaching me,’” said Evans. 

In addition to enhancing innovative education and bringing the whole school together, the renovated facilities will help attract and retain top faculty, as well as support the school’s mission of preparing the teachers and leaders of tomorrow.

“A hallmark of our School of Education is a commitment to collaborative and interactive communities, both in our classrooms and in the entirety of our work as scholars and educators,” said Braaten. “Our space reflects this commitment — I am excited to see where we go in the future.”

  View event photo album 

Photo captions: 
Above: The ribbon-cutting ceremony included Angela Snyder and Marcela Martinez-Jones (Ofelia Miramontes' sister and niece), Dean Emerita Kathy Schultz, Interim Dean Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, Chancellor Justin Schwartz, Chancellor Emeritus Phil DiStefano, Leonard Baca, his wife and grandson, Eleanor Baca and Jaylen Baca
Center: Melissa Braaten teaching elementary education students in the new Learning Sphere Classroom, a space named by Trish Shapiro in the Miramontes Baca Education Building.
Below: Leonard Baca and family, and Ofelia Miramontes' family and close friends.

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On Oct. 26, over 200 faculty, staff, donors, and students and their families gathered to honor scholarship and fellowship recipients and supporters at the 2023 School of Education Scholarship Celebration.

"Our scholarship awards have continued to grow year-over-year as we recognize the growing needs of our students. We are incredibly grateful for our donors, whose generosity brings our students and our school closer to realizing our goals." said Dean Kathy Schultz. 

"Throughout the year, and especially tonight, we celebrate our scholarship award recipients who are on their way to becoming teachers, researchers, policy-makers, and community leaders at a time when the world needs compassionate and well-prepared leaders."

The event also celebrated the School of Education's donor boards, schoarship committe, and new scholarship proposals, such as the Los Seis Memorial Scholarship Fund, which would honor the Chicano and Chicana activists tragically killed in Boulder in 1974.

Warmest congratulations to more than 150 scholarship award recipients and respect and gratitude to the scholarship supporters who make so much possible.

  View the Scholarship Ceremony program

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Christine Ahn, an INVST Community Studies alumna and Nobel Peace Prize Social Activist Awardee, will lead a discussion following the public screening of the "" documentary on Wednesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE) Chancellor's Auditorium. 

The film follows the historic journey of 30 women peacemakers, led by Ahn, Nobel Peace Laureates, and activists like Gloria Steinem and more, who crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea calling for an end to a 70-year war that has divided the Korean Peninsula and its people.

The screening of this new film by Deann Borshay Liem and discussion featuring Ahn is free and open to the public.

Ahn is the Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ, and led the women’s peace walk in 2015. Ahn is a CU Boulder alumna (PolSci’98), who earned a minor in peace and conflict studies and is also an INVST Community Studies graduate. She is also the recipient of the 2022 Social Activist Award from the Nobel Peace Laureates.

Since 1990, the INVST Community Studies program has offered unforgettable learning opportunities for students interested in community-based learning for eco-social transformation. The intensive two-year program, based in the School of Education’s CU Engage: the center for community-based learning and research, develops community leaders who engage in compassionate action as a lifetime commitment.

INVST Director Sabrina Sideris said Ahn’s visit to campus is exciting as the activist exemplifies how CU Boulder’s unique programs prepare “change-makers to make a positive impact with their gifts and skills.” Through INVST, the world's needs and problems meet undergraduates’ passions, and the combination often results in commitments to visionary, bold action, she said.

“We're thrilled to welcome Christine Ahn back to Boulder,” Sideris said. “Christine took her INVST experience, her knowledge and experience in the Political Science major, her identities as a Korean-American and as a woman, her passion for working to bring peace to a war-torn, divided peninsula bruised by a war that ended long ago, and combined all these together to build a lifetime of skillful, bold feminist activism for peace building and positive change. 

“The documentary, ‘Crossings,’ is a beautiful and informative piece of media that students and educators from many disciplines will find fascinating and inspiring.”

The event is co-sponsored by CU Boulder's INVST Community Studies program; the Peace, Conflict and Security program; the Center for Asian Studies; CU Engage: the center for community-based learning and research; the Center for Inclusion and Social Change; and Women and Gender Studies. Refreshments will be donated by Lucky Pie of Louisville.

Seating is available first come, first served. The CASE building is located at Euclid and Broadway next to the University Memorial Center. For more info about the event, contact invst@colorado.edu.

[video:https://youtu.be/vKmkd2XAWRs]

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Ann Miller Scott’s career can be characterized by her limitless support for education and her alma mater, the University of Colorado Boulder. Her devotion to CU Boulder was recognized with an Alumni Recognition Award as part of the 2022 Annual Alumni Awards, one of CU Boulder's longest-standing traditions.

The Alumni Recognition Award honors alumni who have “demonstrated extraordinary leadership, commitment, dedication and service to the advancement of the university and its mission.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and teacher licensure from the School of Education in 1971, Scott began her career as teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools before transitioning to a 35-year career in higher education. She returned to CU Boulder in 1977 and worked her way up from data entry operator to the director of registrations, also known as the registrar, responsible for registering 20,000 students each semester. The role launched progressive leadership positions in university advancement, including Assistant Dean, Senior Director in Engineering and Biofrontiers, Director of Reunion Giving at Leeds Business School, and Systemwide Regional Director for West Coast.

Scott’s career came full circle in 2017, when she took on the Assistant Dean for Advancement position for the School of Education, the home of her teacher certificate many years earlier. 

At the School of Education, she increased planned giving by more than two-fold, and she was instrumental in securing the largest gift in the school’s history for its building initiative. Scott was instrumental in enhancing and expanding both of the school’s development boards, the Development Advisory Board and the WISE Board (Women Investing in the School of Education). These groups grew in membership and engagement under her leadership, and the boards, their bylaws, the members’ responsibilities, and structures are forever strengthened by her strategic planning, her attention to details, and her ability to listen to members’ desires for increased engagement.

As a fundraiser, Scott has raised millions in current and planned giving for the university at large, and her leadership skills shine on in the countless individuals she has mentored along the way. Some of her colleagues and mentees have chosen to carve out a career in advancement for CU after working with her. Her unique blend of humility, authenticity, and tenacity provides fertile ground for junior fundraisers to see themselves as advancement professionals. 

Scott brings her passion for education and CU athletics into her work with donors and mentees, which helps individuals connect the dots between their own passions and support for the university.

As one mentee explained: “Ann Scott is always someone I can count on to tell it to me straight and be part of the solution. It is her passion, humor, and genuine love for CU and the Buffs that has inspired many to give generously to this university and helped me grow as a fundraiser,” said Carolyn Gleason, now Leeds School of Business Assistant Dean for Advancement. “Ann’s impact on CU Boulder is hard to quantify, and it can’t be overestimated.”

Even the dean of the School of Education counts Scott as a mentor when it comes to fundraising. Dean Kathy Schultz had been dean of a prestigious school of education before coming to CU Boulder, but development work was an increasingly important part of her role. Scott walked her through it, and the school had some of its most successful fundraising years under their joint leadership, including the launch of a capital campaign and growth in scholarships and donor engagement. 

“Ann has been in the School of Education since my first few months as dean, guiding me as I met our key donors and learned how to be a fundraiser at CU,” said Dean Schultz. “I am filled with gratitude for all that Ann has given to our school, and of course, to CU. She is wise and funny, and a genuine person who both listens closely and speaks her mind gently and with conviction.”

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"After two years of celebrating our students in virtual settings, I am delighted to share this poignant moment in person to honor our student scholarship awardees and donors," said Dean Kathy Schultz. 

"Throughout the year, and especially tonight, we celebrate our scholarship award recipients, who are on their life-changing journeys to becoming teachers, researchers, policy-makers and community leaders at a time when we need well-prepared and supported leaders in education."

Warmest congratulations to all our scholarship award recipients and to the supporters who make so much possible.

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On Thursday, April 14, the School of Education at CU Boulder will host a special virtual gathering of Ed Talks, an exploration of political courage during this time when so many aspects of public education are under fire. 

Inspired by TED Talks, CU Boulder’s Ed Talks are short, engaging talks that address some of today’s most pressing issues in education and beyond. The spring 2022 theme will focus on acting from a place of political courage and change in these times when public education and even one’s own identity, humanity, and dignity are threatened. 

The talks will explore book censorship, gender and sexual diversity in schools, institutional violence, and the personal and powerful battles for inclusive higher education and STEM opportunities that have persisted over time.  

This illuminating series features five experienced educators and CU Boulder scholars in education: Wendy Glenn, A. Susan Jurow, Johanna Maes, Liz Meyer, and Valerie Otero.

The event invites change-makers, educators and anyone who is interested in learning more about taking a principled stand for your beliefs and evoking the political courage needed to work toward more just and ethical futures.

CU Boulder’s Ed Talks will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, and the virtual talks will be followed by an interactive Q&A with the speakers. Registration is required. 

Read more about each talk and the speakers at Colorado.edu/education/edtalks or . 

Learn more about Ed Talks

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2021 was another challenging year, but we have a lot to be grateful for as move ahead to 2022 and spring semester. Here are five of our top highlights from the CU Boulder School of Education’s past year, as we look forward to positivity and new possibilities in the coming year.

• Continuing to build community in our new campus home in the Fleming Building 

We hosted an all faculty and staff retreat in August where we were able to come together in person (finally!), learn from youth leaders from Project Voyce, shared stories from the old Education Building, explored land acknowledgements, paint stones to lay a foundation for our year in the Fleming Building, and more. In November, all alumni and supporters were invited to our first open house during Homecoming Week. Learn more about the multiple phases of the Fleming renovations and fundraising initiative.

• Honoring and centering our students, a banner year for education graduates

Our students are at the center of our work. This was a banner year for our School of Education graduates, including the inaugural cohorts of bachelor’s graduates in Leadership & Community Engagement and Elementary Education, 14 impressive outstanding graduate awardees, and the first graduate of the new online Master’s in Teacher Leadership program.

• Welcoming and celebrating faculty, staff, and students

We welcomed Noreen Naseem Rodriguez as a new faculty member. Several faculty recieved national honors, for example Elizabeth Meyer received 2021 AERA award for excellence in gender equity in education research. Valerie Otero named a 2021 American Physical Society fellow, and Michele Moses appointed as the president-elect for the Philosophy of Education Society. Several faculty members retired, and we sent well wishes to Julie Andrew, Bridget Dalton, Kathy Escamilla, Bill McGinely, and Jeffrey Writer, who are still engaged with our community and intertwined with our students’ legacies. Many faculty published new books, with several new titles newly released or set to publish soon.

• Supporting and convening educators

Despite its many challenges, this year brought many occasions to convene and support educators in both in-person and hybird online ways. The 17^th Annual Teachers of Color and Allies Summit (TOCA) moved to a virtual format in February to feature BIPOC Teacher Panel and Affinity Group Discussions fostering community building and knowledge sharing. In July, A Queer Endeavor hosted the Educator Institute for Equity and Justice, engaging more than 500 educators in-person and online. In August and September, a graduate and emeritus faculty member hosted a new Climate Change Learning Series examining justice, emotion, and action through a series of webinars and a two-day conference. In October, our Teacher Leadership students, who are helping co-design and improve the compassion and dignity certificate program, also had an opportunity to learn from and, for some, interview His Holiness the Dalai Lama about dignity and compassion in our schools. Our virtual Children’s Book Festival engaged more than 450 children’s literature enthusiasts and distributed more than 500 books to K-12 classes and teachers over several days in November.

• Reimagining a more beautiful and just future for our world and educational system through Ed Talks

Our ever-popular Ed Talks series painted a beautifully reimagined picture of what our world and future could be with talks like, “The Queer Imaginings of a Hopeful Romantic,” “Keeping Language Arts On The Low: A Low-Key Rap Verse,” “Transforming Learning in an Era of ‘Fake News,’” “Indigenous Pathways for Equity and Justice,” and so much more. Ed Talks help us envision a more beautiful and just world, and 2021's nine amazing talks are available for inspiration any time online.

It's been a roller coaster year and a challenging time for so many, and yet we look back with gratitude for all we were able to accomplish together. We look forward to a new year of new possibilities.

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