Alumni Laura Beth Waltz (English, '12) and Parker Earnest (Anthropology, '13) have joined the Teach For America 2016 Corps and will be teaching in the state of Colorado.

The Smith Sports Complex, named after Professor Emeritus Duane Smith, is now open for local youth and FLC sports teams. The 15-acre facility is located on the northeast corner of campus.

Beth Dorman, associate professor of Teacher Education, received the 2016 Francis P. Hunkins Distinguished Article Award in Teaching from the American Association for Teaching and Curriculum.

Lindsay Sandoval, a senior Biology major and former Miss Hozhoni, was crowned as the 2016 Miss Gallup Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial Queen, representing the Jicarilla Apache.

Once again, Durango nabbed a mention on Outside Magazine's list of The 16 Best Places to Live in the U.S.

Two paintings by Art and Design Professor Chad Colby were recently selected from a highly competitive field of 568 artists for display in Colorado Mesa University's Escalante Hall. Colby's paintings titled "Testwork" and "Retriever Room," will also become part of the State of Colorado's Public Art Collection.

Joel Kirkpatrick, administrative assistant for Music, Political Science, Philosophy, and Modern Languages, is a six-time published novelist.

A painting by Jonathan Lamb (Art, '02) was featured in the "The Ten Most Amazing New Street Art Murals of Summer 2016" by Westword.

FLC's TRiO Talent Search program will receive $1.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education over the next five years to support first-generation college students.

Rose Graham (Humanities, '88) was named Board President of the American Indian Graduate Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving cultural and economic wellbeing for individuals and tribes through graduate education.

Associate Professor Anne McCarthy and Professor Pam Smith of the Mathematics department, gave back to the math community and alumni teachers by directing August's Southwest Colorado Math Teachers' Circle, a professional learning community for area K-12 math teachers.

After graduating, Britt Colon (Art, '02) returned to her family's Canon City farm and introduced an agritourism element.

The Durango Transit campus bus stop will move to a new location at the end of Skyhawk Avenue on August 15. The new location will improve ADA accessibility and reduce confusion between the north- and south-bound routes.

The Mark Witkes scholarship, which has supported 19 cross-country athletes over the last ten years, received its largest boost yet with a $5,275 donation from June's Steamworks-Animas Valley Half Marathon.

Shere Byrd, professor of Biology, contributed an op-ed to the Durango Herald on the importance of citizen-scientists in the face of events like the Gold King Mine spill.

Eleven students with Theatre Department traveled to Dublin, Ireland in July to participate in the 4th International Freedom and Focus Fitzmaurice Voicework® Conference (co-chaired by Professor Dennis Elkins) where they also performed their devised piece, "The Other."

The men's basketball team earned the 2015-16 National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award. As a team, the Skyhawks posted a 3.02 grade point average in 2015-16.

As part of their senior design project in Professor Laurie Williams' class, seven FLC Engineering students designed and built a composting facility for the Environmental Center. It's the first student-designed building on campus, and had the largest budget for a senior seminar project ($40,000).

Skyhawk soccer player Luc Cisna (Biology, '99) was inducted into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame on July 8, the first-ever soccer student-athlete to receive this honor.

Students in Associate Professor Ryan Smith's Engineering classes are helping keep the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad running by recreating broken parts with 3-D printed models.