This month special recognition goes out to the PACES Higher Education and Democracy Fellows for their phenomenal work leading up to and following the election.
Current fellows Janet Donavan, Leah Sprain and Christina Stanton, and former fellows Doug Spencer and Matt Burgess, dedicated many hours each to help inform students, faculty, staff and members of the public about election-related issues and to encourage voting. Here are some of their accomplishments within CU Boulder’s election engagement efforts.
Donavan and Sprain organized watch parties for the presidential and vice-presidential debates, including a pre-vice-presidential-debate panel, which was coordinated with the Chancellor’s Office, student government, the College of Media, Communication and Information (CMCI), the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Conference on World Affairs. The panel and the debate were livestreamed and available to the public. Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction and Fort Lewis College in Durango organized watch parties on their campuses for the panels and vice-presidential debate.
Under Stanton’s leadership, Colorado Law’s American Indian Law Clinic traveled to South Dakota to conduct voter protection activities. Donovan, Stanton, and Sprain also served on CU Boulder’s All-in Challenge Committee and organized public events, in multiple Colorado locations, about voting rights and Constitutional Law.
Back on campus, Stanton recruited student volunteers who conducted voter education classroom visits, with an emphasis on first-year students and others who have historically registered and voted at lower rates than our campus average. These visits, alongside the efforts of non-profit partner New Era Colorado, ultimately reached more than 12,000 students.
Past fellow Doug Spencer joined county clerks from Boulder and Weld Counties for a special filming of the PBS program Colorado Inside Out at Mackey Auditorium.
Past fellow Matt Burgess, who has since moved to the University of Wyoming, continues to coordinate a monthly polarization dialogue series, which includes CU Boulder representatives along with others from colleges, universities and communities around the Rocky Mountain West.
During an election year filled with particularly strong emotions, a sense that civil discourse is more challenging than ever and a lack of confidence in media and information, the fellows’ leadership was indispensable.