CSU – Pueblo offers free conference and graduate seminars for history teachers

Pueblo- Explorers of the American West will be the topic of a day-long Summer History Conference for area history teachers presented by the Southeastern Colorado American History Project (SECAHP) at Colorado State University – Pueblo. In addition, teachers could gain up to 12 hours of graduate credit at no charge by taking summer graduate seminars offered by SECAHP, a partnership among Pueblo District 70, CSU-Pueblo, and SCTEA (Southern Colorado Teacher Education Alliance).

Summer History Conference 2006 will feature Zebulon Pike and Lewis & Clark in the American West from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7 in the Life Sciences Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. This session will feature keynote addresses by two nationally important scholars in the field of Early American Western History. In addition, relevant break-out sessions and a film presentation on the Louisiana Purchase are scheduled.

John Logan Allen, Ph.D., professor and chair of geography at the University of Wyoming,
will speak on Zebulon Pike’s expedition during this, the 200th anniversary of that noteworthy event. Allen is a frequent lecturer on the national history circuit, and the author of numerous scholarly works, including Lewis and Clark and the Image of the American West. He has written widely on historical geography, the American West, and exploration, and is the nation's preeminent scholar of historical geography.

Gary E. Moulton, Ph.D., Thomas C. Sorenson Professor of American History at University of Nebraska at Lincoln, will discuss the 1804-06 Lewis & Clark expedition. Moulton earned the J. Franklin Jameson Award of the American Historical Association for editing the Lewis and Clark journals, and he won the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award from the University of Nebraska. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Lewis and Clark and the American West.

Participating K-12 teachers of American History are also eligible for these benefits:
• $50 worth of history books or Barnes & Noble gift certificates (first 50 registrants)
• Professional Development Certificates (issued through Pueblo District 70)
• One hour of CSU-Pueblo Continuing Education graduate credit
(upon completion of conference-related supplemental assignment)

Free Graduate Seminars
SECAHP’s Summer History Seminars will emphasize the use of local, regional, and national primary resources to understand and learn American History and also will focus on strengthening teachers’ knowledge of the methods used by historians to investigate, explore, and understand American History. Each of the four FREE seminars will be an intensive two-week course. Participants will earn three semester-hours of graduate credit from CSU-Pueblo. Participants will develop lesson plans that can be used immediately in their classrooms. They will also have access to lessons, units, and activities developed by their student-colleagues. Each course is limited to 20 teachers on a first-come, first-served basis. FREE on-campus housing is available.

K-12 American History teachers in the Southern Colorado Teacher Education Alliance (SCTEA) partner districts (Pueblo District 70, Pueblo District 60, Aguilar, Branson, Cotopaxi, Crowley County, East Otero, Fowler, Fremont, Huerfano, Lamar, LaVeta, Manzanola, Primero, Rocky Ford, Trinidad, and Walsh), as well as many other Southeastern Colorado school districts are eligible to earn graduate credit for any or all of the following four seminars:

The Nation's Founding:
Early American History Emphasizing the Revolution through the Constitution
June 12-22, Dr. Matt Harris
The Greatest Generation:
American Military Actions in World War II and Beyond
June 26 – July 7, Dr. Fred Matusiak
History of the American West:
Developing the Modern West from 1900 to the Present Day
July 10-20, Dr. Tracy L. Brady
America, the Economic Engine of the World:
Selected Studies in American Commercial and Industrial History
July 24 – August 3, Dr. Jonathan Rees

Participating teachers will receive the following benefits:
     • FREE tuition, books and teaching materials
     •Three semester-hours of graduate credit for each seminar
     •Local and regional field trips to sites of historical value
     • Films and books available for your K-12 classes during the school year
     • Transcripted credit available for horizontal movement
(upon successful completion of seminars)

For more information on the June 7 conference or the summer graduate seminars, contact Scott Whited at w.s.whited@colostate-pueblo.edu or 719 369-3026. K-12 teachers can enroll online at http://partners.colostate-pueblo.edu/sctea/secahp.


Colorado State University - Pueblo is a regional, comprehensive university emphasizing professional, career-oriented, and applied programs. Displaying excellence in teaching, celebrating diversity, and engaging in service and outreach, CSU-Pueblo is distinguished by access, opportunity, and the overall quality of services provided to its students.