Game On: 2024 at CMCI

While 2024 was a year of challenges and changes at CMCI, it was also a showcase for how students, faculty and alumni are navigating this brave, and complex, new world.

Here are a few of the stories and photos we’re most proud of as we close out the year and look forward to what’s coming in 2025.

Student showcase

437��new first-year students
20%��with a high school GPA of at least 4.0
64.7%��of new first-years are women
78��new transfer students

Meet all the outstanding graduates from our Class of 2024.

Doctoral fast track

As an undergrad, Bianca Perez studied generative A.I. and labor through the lens of copyright law. Thanks to her fascinating early-career successes, she was accepted to a top doctoral program at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.��
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Black Twitter, meet Green-Book

Shamika Klassen’s doctoral research focused on where tech falls short of its ideals, and the kinds of people it leaves behind. Now, at Google, she’s including marginalized voices in the design and development of technology.
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Cola calling

An internship with Motive gave Enzo Ewari the chance to work on real campaigns for Pepsi, Gatorade, Cheetos and more. He credited his success in part to the real-world experience shared by his CMCI professors.
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Buy green

We know what makes an ad effective. How do we use that playbook to get people to support environmentally important causes? Saima Kazmi showcased her thoughts as a finalist in the Three-Minute Thesis competition.��

Research and creative work

CMCI's cross-disciplinary approach to research, teaching and creating gives faculty a unique perspective on urgent problems. Here's a (very small) sample of their work over the past year.

Phaedra Pezzullo answers a question while holding a copy of her book on a stage.

A Silent Spring for sustainability��

Phaedra C. Pezzullo said it’s no surprise we’re just numbed to all the bad news on climate. She said we need to become better storytellers to inspire people to take action.

Labor of love

When Romance Writers of America filed for bankruptcy this year, it was a plot twist that Chris Larson saw coming. Her new book explains the rift that tore the organization apart while showing how romance writers are a model for success in the gig economy.

Balk before you crawl

News publications have had two approaches to ChatGPT—suing its owner or giving it license to crawl its archives. Faculty said working with OpenAI offers a financial infusion that “doesn’t benefit the actual journalism,” though more deals are likely on the way.

No crowd pleaser

When Meta shut down CrowdTangle—among the most effective tools for understanding how Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms work—it prevented researchers from studying, among other things, how disinformation spreads on these platforms.��
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A student uses a camera from the sidelines during a football game. A scoreboard can be seen in the background.

The hype around Coach Prime and the Buffs football team meant additional exposure for CMCI students working the sidelines and recording the action.

Students lined up to speak with a recruiter during a career fair.

Recruiters in journalism, advertising, technology, design and other fields regularly recruited CMCI students at on-campus and virtual career fairs.

A PhD student presents onstage at the 3-Minute Thesis competition.

Two PhD students from CMCI qualified for the final round of the university's Three-Minute Thesis competition.

A student behind the anchor's desk at CBS4 Denver.

Students in the college's Pathways to Excellence program spent the summer getting visiting alumni and partners in different businesses to get an up-close look at careers in the media and other fields.

Alumni impact

A CMCI degree is a gateway to a rewarding career. Our alumni are game changers in journalism, documentary, politics, technology, advertising and more.

From Front Range to front lines

Jordan Campbell’s camera has done fascinating work in Tibet, Nepal and South Sudan—but nothing like his latest project, documenting the war in Ukraine and hoping his documentary advances democracy and resilience.

Peak performer

When Keely Walker moved on from Denver’s news market, she promised herself she’d keep her mountain views. Now, as nightside executive producer at Seattle’s KING 5, she relishes new mountains to explore and a new market to cover.

Capitol calling

An internship in Washington, D.C., changed the trajectory of Heidi Wagner’s career. Today, she supports the college’s CMCI in D.C. study-away program to inspire future generations of students to follow her path.

Winner’s circle

When it comes to competitions, CMCI is a regular feature on the leaderboard. Here are just a few student (and faculty and staff) successes.

A riverbed unmade

As a Scripps fellow at CMCI, Luke Runyon started a project tracing the geography of the Colorado River as he explored the climate-driven challenges contributing to its decline. His podcast won a prestigious Murrow Award earlier this year.

Out of her comfort zone

Kate Chambers credited her professor with pushing her to try something different on a design project for a live auction. That led to a Best in Show and other awards at the statewide chapter of the American Advertising Awards.

A man with a (van) plan

When Matt Solari was nominated for a student Emmy Award, it was the culmination of a grueling search for van lifers who would talk about their experiences on camera. “It takes time and some amount of doggedness and perseverance in storytelling, and this group embodied that,” a faculty mentor said.

Back row, first priority

Harsha Gangadharbatla loves the students who sit in the front row and eagerly participate in classroom discussions. But he goes out of his way to get to know those who choose the seats in the back. His commitment to craft led to winning the prestigious Charles H. Sandage teaching award in the spring.��

Bianca Perez walks with her advisor, Professor Sandra Ristovska, before graduating this spring.

New first-year students toast s'mores during a block party at CMCI Go!

A group of students poses during move-in.

CMCI students move into their dorms in August. This fall's incoming cohort was the largest in the college's history.

Students and parents watch a virtual reality demonstration in a class.

Admitted students and their families attend a class in the spring.

CMCI in Prime time

Professor Prime guest lectures in class.

Meet Professor Prime

Social media and advances in mobile technology have increasingly put athletes in control of their personal brands—which are increasingly valued in the NIL era. A new CMCI course featured visits by Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and other dignitaries.

��Kordell Stewart was a Buffs mainstay in the early ’90s, but didn’t finish his communication degree until 2016. He told the class that finishing his degree “was the most fun I had in college.”

��And USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer (Jour'96) discussed how to maintain journalistic integrity when you’re covering your alma mater.

Bringing their A-game

A who’s who of alumni in sports visited ��Vlog�ƽ�� to share career insights with students from CMCI, the university and nearby high schools, all of whom shared a dream of working in the industry.��

��The Sports Media Summit returns to campus Feb. 28.��

��CMCI’s minor in sports media has grown to become one of the largest programs of its kind at the university.

Super couple

When the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl, all eyes were on—Taylor Swift, whose romance with Travis Kelce led to grousing from football fans. Jamie Skerski shared ideas on fandom, Swift and “daring to imagine Taylor as playing for the other team.”
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Poll-arized

Faculty in the college were highly sought experts during the 2024 election, as they shared diverse perspectives on elections, democracy, communication, advocacy and more.

On democracy

Heading into one of the most polarizing elections in U.S. history, CMCI asked nine faculty members in media studies, advertising, journalism, communication and more to make sense of how we got so divided.��

Make it STOP

How do you stop getting spam text messages from candidates? And how do you get on their lists in the first place? Bridget Barrett shared tips to take back your phone for next fall.��

Red dawn

Political prognosticators pontificated about why the youngest voters skewed conservative in November’s election. Karen Lee Ashcraft saw it coming two years ago, when she wrote the book on the topic.

End Times for press freedoms?

For Vicky Sama, the decisions by two major newspapers to spike their endorsements of Kamala Harris wasn’t as concerning as the fact that the deep-pocketed owners of those papers were the ones who made the call.��

Engage with CMCI

The strength of the CMCI community owes much to our alumni, whose engagement allows the college to offer impactful scholarships, engage in meaningful research, and send students to attend conferences and study abroad.��

2024-25 Dean's Leadership Society →

$385,150

Donor-sponsored scholarships for CMCI students (2024-25)

101

Undergraduates who received scholarship support (2024-25)

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