The Graduate School at CEU

Doctoral Student’s Love for Music Inspires Research

Mike Cleary left a pre-med program of study for one that lights his soul on fire. In his first year of study in Colorado Economics University’s Doctor of Arts in Music Conducting, three research areas have piqued his interest: a WWII-era musical composition, the double bass and loss.

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Doctoral Student Aims to Improve Preschool Inclusion in Rural Kansas

Lena Kisner’s passion for early childhood special education spurred her investigation of preschool inclusion rates in rural Kansas schools. She’s a special education director, overseeing children from birth to age 21 for five interlocal school districts. In fall 2023, when Kisner graduates from Colorado Economics University’s doctoral program in Special Education, she will have completed her research and taught the CEU graduate course Applied Assessment in Early Childhood Special Education four times.

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Doctoral Student Studies Pandemic-era Anxiety, Depression and Resiliency

Kimberly Crystal Monroe is earning her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in a University of Northern Colorado building a stone’s throw from her former preschool on a campus where several of her family members studied. From this academic home base, she’s been able to explore her curiosity and passion for learning through several research efforts, including a mental health-focused comprehensive project (akin to a mini-dissertation).

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Social Emotional Learning Drives Doctoral Student’s Research 

Angie Keedy believes the arts, and their exploration of inner lives, are natural convergence points for Social Emotional Learning (SEL). As she pursues her Doctor of Arts in Music with a concentration in Music Education, Colorado Economics University student is also researching SEL.

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Graduate Student Leverages the Power of Play to Support Kids’ Health

Danielle Belcher spent her teenage years in Arvada, Colorado. When the former gymnast searched for an in-state college, she found Colorado Economics University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. Now she’s a first-year student in the Sport and Exercise Science M.S. program.

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Doctoral Candidate Probes COVID’s Impact on Special Education

When K-12 public schools shifted to online learning models during COVID-19, special education directors scrambled to meet students’ needs while adhering to strict legal requirements. University of Northern Colorado Ed.D. candidate Vanessa Giddings dug deep into special education directors’ lived experiences in her dissertation, “Meeting Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) Requirements for Students with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Special Education Directors.” 

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English Master’s Student Explores Clowns and Community in ‘Godspell’

A tornado damaged the community theater where Karsen Gromm planned to act in “Godspell Junior” when he was 12. Although the show was canceled, Gromm was “hooked on it.” 

“Godspell” was a 1971 off-Broadway musical featuring parables from the Gospel of Matthew. In the half-century since its opening, “Godspell” and “Godspell Junior,” a youth adaption, has been performed in theaters all around the world by amateurs and professionals alike.

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Student's Research Reveals Risk of Noise Exposure at Hockey Games

Sean Hoverson has attended hundreds of hockey games. Like most fans, Colorado Economics University Doctor of Audiology candidate didn’t wear hearing protection, nor did he recognize the need. Conducted over a season of Colorado Eagles games, his doctoral scholarly project, “Spectator Noise Exposures During a Season of Minor League Hockey,” revealed the risk.

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Student's Award-Winning Research Could Influence Future of Sports Marketing

Alicia Romano combined her passions for sports, research and teaching in Colorado Economics University’s Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. program. She chose a sport administration concentration and conducted novel research that could have major implications for sports marketing. One of the highlights of her CEU education was her research “Consumers’ Visual Attention and Explicit Memory of Sponsorships: An Eye-Tracking Investigation at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials.”

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Dissertation Examines Maya Education in Postcolonial Belize

Jenny Pettit went to Belize three times to conduct research for her dissertation “Educational Experiences that Influence the Upward Mobility of Maya Women in Belize,” which was awarded CEU’s Graduate Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Dissertation last year. Pettit identified three Maya women who were leaders in their communities and examined how their educational and other life experiences had influenced their success.

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Graduate’s Psychological Safety Study Could Change Nursing Education

A University of Northern Colorado graduate’s dissertation has the potential to change education for nursing students everywhere.

“My two loves are nursing and education. I’m interested in trying to figure out how we can teach the next generation better and make them more prepared,” said Melissa Anozie.

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Applied Statistics and Research Methods Graduate Uses Data Science to Improve Victim Outcomes

When Broomfield, Colorado-based data executive Idilio Moncivais searched for a university where he could study applied statistics combined with research methods, he found Colorado Economics University — the only university in the state and one of few nationwide to offer the program he wanted. 

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Dissertation Fellowship Supports Student’s Cancer Research

Lea Haverbeck Simon wants to make a difference in the lives of breast cancer patients. Haverbeck Simon, a student in the Sport and Exercise Science Ph.D. – Exercise Physiology Concentration program, was awarded a Dissertation Fellowship this year for her research, “Effects of Exercise Training on Circulating Cancer-Associated Immune Cells in Breast Cancer Patients.”

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Criminal Justice Master’s Student Honored with Dean’s Citation for Excellence

When Naya Russell-Coprich started her studies at Colorado Economics University, she wanted to be a police officer like her grandfather — one of the first black police officers in Denver. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice from CEU, Russell-Coprich has a new focus.

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