University of Denver Spring 2024

50 Reasons to Love DU

39.

BESTSELLERS, WESTERN STYLE From American West literature expert and professor Levette J. Davidson in the

# 40

DRONES, DEVICES AND SIMULATORS, OH MY! Over their entire fourth year, small teams of engineering students are mentored by faculty and industry sponsors to create innovative products and services to help solve the real world problems facing a variety of industries. Projects have included an automated cat toy, a ski treadmill, a hydraulic-powered bicycle, multi purpose drones and a system to train individuals on adaptive technology— just to name a few.

1920s to bestselling “Go as a River” author Shelly Read in 2023, faculty and alumni have a long, proud connection to fiction and nonfiction set in the West.

C.J. Box

C.J. Box (BA ’81) has written more than 30 novels which have sold more than 10 million copies, including the popular Joe Pickett crime series about a Wyoming game warden. Sandra Dallas (BA ’60) has written 18 novels, five YA novels and 10 nonfiction books, including the New York Times bestsellers “Prayers for Sale” and “True Sisters.” The work of former English professor John Edward Williams is finding new audiences 30 years after his death with the 2023 release of a Nicolas Cage movie based on his book “Butcher’s Crossing.” John R. Erickson, who attended DU in the late ’60s, is a cowboy-writer whose “Hank the Cowdog” series is one of the most popular children’s series of all time, having sold more than 7.5 million copies and found in most school libraries across the U.S.

41 NO.

WORKERS WALLS On many of our campus’ stunning buildings, the University celebrates the craftspeople who built them by listing the names of every person who contributed their time, talent and expertise in alphabetical order, without regard to whether they were a structural engineer, the mason who set bricks or the signalperson who made sure those entering the construction site wore the correct safety gear.