Answer:
The Center of the American West:
Its Purpose and Vision
The Center of the American West at the University of Colorado
strives to bring together, for meaningful conversation and interaction, people
as diverse as the American West itself. With the participation of ecologists
and engineers, poets, professors and policymakers, students and scientists,
musicians and lawyers, foresters, filmmakers, and physicians, the Center’s
events have become a model of interdisciplinary debate. Issues long held to
be black and white reveal their nuanced shades of gray when examined from
these multiple perspectives. Minds change, information is exchanged, and
conversations begin. To understand the region, we believe that the exploration of the minds of its residents is as important as the inquiry into the
workings of its cultures and ecosystems.
The Center of the American West is the region’s most creative and
innovative organization in identifying and addressing such crucial issues as
multiculturalism, community building, fire policy, and land, water, and
energy use. We do this through programs of research, public outreach, and
engagement meant to help Westerners think about their region and their
role in its sustainable future.
Enterprising and inclusive in its embrace of a wide range of disciplines
and strategies of communication, the Center strives to illuminate the
challenges and opportunities facing this complicated geographic and
cultural area. Ultimately, we want to help citizens of the West become
agents of sustainability—citizens who recognize that their actions
determine the region’s future and who find satisfaction and purpose in that
recognition.
Center of the American West
University of Colorado at Boulder