The Collegiate Peaks Forum Series
FREE lectures in Philosophy, Spirituality & Science in the Upper Arkansas Valley, Colorado.
In the spring of 2024, the Collegiate Peaks Forum Series board made the decision to transition leadership of this beloved community program after 21 successful years. We are thrilled to announce that the Colorado Mountain College Salida campus will now carry forward the legacy of the Collegiate Peaks Forum Series beginning in 2025 and beyond.
Our team is working closely with the Collegiate Peaks Forum leadership to ensure a smooth transition and will share updates as they become available. While the series may evolve in some ways, we remain committed to delivering outstanding speakers who are experts in their fields, presenting relevant and engaging topics for our community.
Stay tuned for more details as we embark on this exciting new chapter for the Collegiate Peaks Forum Series with CMC Salida at the helm!
Thank you for your continued support - we look forward to seeing you at one of our events in 2025.
Upcoming Events
- Born on the 4th of July: Sunday, June 22 from 7-9pm
- Walking Like Mountains: Thursday, September 25 from 7-9pm
Questions?
Please contact Chelsea DePetro at cdepetro@coloradomtn.edu with any questions.
Born on the 4th of July: One 10th Mountain Division Soldier’s Quintessential American Story as an Immigrant, Orphan, Dropout, Hero, and Father
Sunday, June 22 from 7-9pm | Salida Rotary Scout Hut
In this very personal conversation, CMC President Matt Gianneschi, who also moonlights as an instructor of American history, government, and economics, will share the story of his grandfather, Staff Sgt. Harry R. Gianneschi, veteran of the original 10th Mountain Division, 85th Infantry/2nd HQ, a man who participated in the assaults on Riva Ridge and Mt. Belvedere in Italy and was awarded 2 bronze stars and 3 battle stars for his valor in combat.
While the story of the 10th is well known to the residents of Colorado’s mountains, Dr. Gianneschi will share his grandfather’s first-hand accounts of his childhood in an immigrant household in Chicago, his time as an orphan and 5th grade dropout during the Great Depression, his training at Camp Hale, his deployment to Italy (where his native understanding of the Italian language proved valuable to the 10th), and his long post-war life as an individual who believed in the virtue and decency of the American republic.
Through a personal account of one man’s experience with the 10th Mountain Division, Dr. Gianneschi hopes to use his grandfather’s story to humanize the experience of Colorado’s most famous military unit but also remind participants of the power of a nation that welcomed immigrants and provided opportunities to the poor and powerless who were willing to work and sacrifice. In short, Dr. Gianneschi hopes to present one unmistakable example of the American Dream in practice through the experiences of a WWII ski trooper who was born on the 4th of July.
Dr. Matt Gianneschi
Dr. Matt Gianneschi is the tenth president of Colorado Mountain College, a local district, Dual Mission, Hispanic-Serving Institution with 11 campuses serving Colorado’s mountain resort region. He was appointed by the CMC Board of Trustees in 2024.
Gianneschi served for a decade as CMC’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff, playing an integral role in building the college into the financially stable, diverse, and innovative institution it is today. The child of college educators, Gianneschi can still be found in CMC classrooms teaching courses in economics and history from time to time.
Raised in Colorado, Gianneschi is an alumnus of Manual High School in Denver and received Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Denver and a Doctor of Philosophy from the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona. In 2011 Gianneschi was awarded a Marshall Memorial Fellowship from the German Marshall Fund of the United States and in 2016 was awarded the Aspen Presidential Fellowship for Community College Excellence, a program jointly directed by the Aspen Institute and Stanford University.
Gianneschi is the grandson of a 10th Mountain Division soldier, ski troopers that trained at Camp Hale in the CMC district and facilitated the development of many of the mountain communities the college now serves.
Walking Like Mountains: The Science and Spirit of Sustaining Mountain Communities
Thursday, September 25 from 7-9pm
The relationship between science and spirituality is one of the most pressing issues of our time. While science can tell us what is, spirituality can tell us what ought to be. The process of creating sustainable mountain communities helps us tap into our sense of wonder and bridge the age-old rift between science and spirit. Drawing from conservationist Aldo Leopold's famous essay "Thinking Like a Mountain," Dr. Langmaid's talk will explore how we can deepen our scientific literacy and spiritual intelligence by "Walking Like Mountains."
Dr. Kim Langmaid
Dr. Kim Langmaid is Program Chair and Professor of Integrated Sustainability at Colorado Mountain College. She is the founder of Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, CO and a former Mayor of the Town of Vail. She serves on the Destination Stewardship Council for the Colorado Tourism Office and helped Vail become the first certified sustainable destination in the United States. Kim has also worked for the National Forest Foundation, Teton Science Schools, and Prescott College.