The Rady Program Partnership Western / CU Boulder

The Rady Program Partnership Western / CU Boulder

I got the opportunity last week to meet with Jenifer (Jeni) Blacklock to talk about the Rady Program Partnership Western / CU Boulder. Jeni is the Director of the Rady Program at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado. Wow! What a super cool program!

The Paul M. Rady School of Computer Science and Engineering “is a world-class program for a growing engineering and computer science industry”. Just completed is a brand new 75,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art building that has auditoriums, class rooms, lab space, and common areas – and the lab areas are getting outfitted with high-tech equipment to support the computer science and mechanical engineering programs.

The Paul M. Rady School of Computer Science and Engineering is a partnership between Western and the University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science. Incoming students who are admitted to the program are Western students for two years – and they transition to CU Boulder students while continuing to live and study at the Western campus in Gunnison.

The new school is made possible by an $80 million gift from Paul M. Rady, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Colorado-based Antero Resources and Antero Midstream. Mr. Rady is a 1978 graduate of Western Colorado University with a Bachelor’s degree in Geology.

“Now students will be able to go to Western and obtain degrees in Computer Science, with emphasis in Software Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering as graduates of the University of Colorado Boulder”

Jeni Blacklock

Jeni is overseeing the whole program as well as the partnership with CU Boulder. She loves working with students and does not want to give up being a professor teaching classes. She is very busy, and was gracious enough to give me a tour of the new building, and sit down for lunch and talk about the Rady Program.

Jeni and her husband Greg VanderBeek live in the Crested Butte area, and are so excited to be a part of the future of Gunnison Valley community. They fit right in as competitive athletes and their enjoyment of the outdoors – their favorite outdoor activities are mountain biking in the summer and fall, and skiing in the winter.

Jeni grew up in Michigan, and got an Engineering degree from the Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She has a long list of degrees, publications, and academic accomplishments – she has a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, studied abroad in Poland, and got her Ph.D. from the Max Planck Institute in Germany. After spending years in Detroit designing and installing automated assembly lines for the car industry, she decided to make a change and moved to Boulder, Colorado. This is where she began her love of the mountains, mountain biking, and met her husband Greg (who was also from Michigan, and an Engineer – and is a Mechanical Engineering professor in the Rady Program).

The Circle of Life – Local Crested Butte Kids

What struck me as being a great part of this new program is the potential future circle of life for kids growing up in the Gunnison/Crested Butte area.

As an elementary student from Gunnison or Crested Butte Community School, kids will take a field trip to tour the Rady Program and be exposed to the possibilities of computer science and engineering. The kids at the Crested Butte Community School are exposed to a thriving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program where kids are prototyping products with 3D modeling printers, and have designed and built single family homes in the CB area. They now have the option to go to Western and enroll in the Rady Program.

Western Colorado University an Option for CB Second Homeowner Kids / Grandkids

Jeni is excited about the potential for many families to expose their kids and grandkids to the Rady Program as well. Western has always been a great option for students who love the mountains and adventure – and now students will be able to go to Western and obtain degrees in Computer Science, with emphasis in Software Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering as graduates of the University of Colorado Boulder.

The Rady program will attract high-tech companies to consider satellite offices and facilities in the Gunnison / Crested Butte area. Future graduates will have the opportunity to work and live here, or work remotely from here. There will be start-up design firms, and there will be high-tech job opportunities right here in the Gunnison Valley.

…and that is a great opportunity to grow the community in the Gunnison Valley.

For More Info on The Rady Program Partnership Western / CU Boulder.