The article “Early dispersal of domestic horses into the Great Plains and northern Rockies,” was selected as a recipient of the 2024 Newcomb Cleveland Prize, given at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). It is the oldest and most prestigious award given by the organization.  Assistant Professor of Anthropology Caroline Gabe, Ph.D., helped research and author the study, first published in Science, vol. 279, issue 6639, March 2023. Dr. Gabe is also the program coordinator of the cultural resources master’s program.

Curtis Garcia, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the School of Education, along with Michele Mann, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Education, recently co-presented at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE) national conference in Denver, Colorado. The presentation, “Promoting Teacher Retention & Advancement Through State-funded Mentor Training” included highlights of their work in training cohorts of SLV mentor teachers through the School of Education’s mentor endorsement program. Drs. Garcia and Mann established and have co-taught in the mentor program since 2021 and have trained a total of 44 local teachers who qualify to hold a mentor teacher endorsement from the Colorado Department of Education after completing the program.

Mark Manzanares, Ph.D., professor of counselor education, Amanda Langdon, access services and distance learning librarian, and Fonz Velasquez, Academic Instructional Technology Center senior instructional designer, received a Colorado Department of Higher Education Open Educational Resources (OER) grant for the 2024/2025 year. This grant will provide 11 Adams State Online (ASO) faculty the opportunity to receive $2,015 for building undergraduate ASO guaranteed transfer (GT) general education master courses using OER to provide a zero-textbook cost for students. Non-GT courses could be considered at the end of the grant cycle if funds are available. The grant will also provide professional development lunch and learns throughout the year. Dr. Manzanares is the principal investigator for the grant. The grant had the highest review score for this grant cycle. The total grant award was $29,990.
Dr. Manzanares was also recently elected to the San Luis Valley Behavioral Health Group board.

Brian Zuleger, Ph.D., professor sport psychology and chair applied sport psychology graduate program, was a clinician at the Wisconsin Track Coaches Association Clinic in Madison, Wisc. February 1 through the 3. There were over 1,000 coaches in attendance and Dr. Zulegar led four clinic sessions on positive coaching, mental training for coaches and athletes, positive coaching for parents and positive coaching and mental health.