Dr. Rick Miranda Selected to Serve as Interim ProvostDr. Rick Miranda, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, has been selected to serve as Interim Provost and Executive Vice President at Colorado State University effective Jan.1, 2009.
Dr. Miranda received his bachelor's degree from the College of the Holy Cross and his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the faculty at Colorado State University as an Assistant Professor in 1982. He became Chair of the Department of Mathematics in 1997 and Dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 2002.
As Interim Provost and Executive Vice President, Dr. Miranda will oversee academic programming and faculty affairs on campus. The responsibility of the Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President is to provide academic vision and leadership to fulfill the land-grant mission of Colorado State University. The Office will articulate, communicate, and facilitate the development of fundamental values basic to the University's mission and administer academic programs and policies with utmost respect for and attention to our constituents' needs.
Dr. Maurice L. Albertson, a Civil Engineering Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University who played a critical role in the creation of the Peace Corps, died Jan.11, 2009, at the age of 90.
Dr. Albertson, a Centennial Emeritus Professor, served Colorado State as the first Director of the Colorado State University Research Foundation, or CSURF, Director of International Programs and Professor of Civil Engineering. One of Dr. Albertson's most recognized contributions was his critical role in the formation of the Peace Corps.
"Professor Albertson will be remembered as one of the truly great figures in the history of Colorado State University," said Colorado State's Interim President Tony Frank. "It was primarily because of his work as a professor that CSU attracted and graduated its first doctoral student and assumed its full role and responsibility as a research university. He was an innovative teacher and scholar who dedicated his life to improving the living conditions of people around the world and who helped create, through the Peace Corps, a vehicle through which generations of young people have channeled their compassion and commitment into useful and important work for developing communities.
"CSU is grateful and honored to have been Professor Albertson's academic home."
Dr. Albertson arrived at Colorado A&M - now CSU - in August 1947 to help bolster the Department of Civil Engineering's civil engineering and hydraulics programs. By 1958, Dr. Albertson had moved from being a professor in the college to overseeing all research projects on campus. In 1960-1961, Albertson was the director of the U.S. Congressional study on the Point 4 Youth Corps, which led to creation of the Peace Corps. Dr. Albertson and two colleagues, Pauline Birkey-Kreutzer and Andrew Rice, were co-authors of the book, "New Frontiers for American Youth - Perspective on the Peace Corps," which set up the basic design for the Peace Corps.
"Maury's work to establish the Peace Corps was his most apparent humanitarian contribution, but the work he did to establish Colorado State as a research institution was also very important," said Dr. Sandra Woods, Dean of the College of Engineering. "Maury helped to establish the Department of Civil Engineering as a world leader in water research, and he played a significant role in creating the Department of Atmospheric Science. He was an amazing individual who, even in his 90s, continued to work for the benefit of humankind."
Colorado State University announced that Dana Fortugno will serve as the first full-time coach, recruiter, and horse and facility manager for the University's three-time national champion Polo Club.
Fortugno, a native of Florida, learned to play polo as a child with his father and brothers and later attended University of Virginia, where he competed on the UVA collegiate team. He went on to earn a law degree from Widener University School of Law.
In the years immediately after graduation, Fortugno played polo professionally, earning an impressive five-goal handicap and serving as the coach for his alma mater for almost five years. During that time, he helped secure three national championship titles for the school. Since then, Fortugno has set up and successfully practiced law in both Florida and Tennessee. Fortugno began his work at CSU on Dec. 1, 2008.
A tradition at Colorado State since the 1950s, polo became a student club sport in 1977, winning national championships in 1990, 1991 and 1999. In 2006, the women's team placed second in national competition.
