Emma Atkinson

communicator, writer, editor, content marketer

my latest work

University of Denver Magazine •

Art as Diplomacy

“All good art is political,” said acclaimed author Toni Morrison.
Historical events are often accompanied by works of art—like Beyoncé’s defiant song “Formation,” which is considered an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement. The same goes for times of international social and political upheaval, like Ukrainian artists’ murals on bomb-blasted buildings or the graffiti on the Berlin Wall.
At the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplo...
University of Denver Magazine •

All Access Pass: Newman Center

It’s 1:30 in the afternoon, and by the time I arrive backstage at Gates Concert Hall, the guys have already been there for at least an hour.
By “guys,” I mean a troupe of lighting and sound experts, all dressed in black, who are busying themselves with their respective pre-show tasks—taping down wires, setting up microphones and instruments and chairs. The expansive stage floor, also black, is bathed in lavender and gold light. Seven black microphone stands and a dozen equipm...
University of Denver •

The Right to Personhood: One Professor’s Fight for Animals | University of Denver

What if dogs were more than just “man’s best friend?”That’s an over-simplified version of the question being asked by animal rights lawyers like Justin Marceau, the Brooks Institute Faculty Research Scholar of Animal Law and Policy at the Sturm College of Law.Essentially, some activists and legal scholars are arguing that some animals—like dogs and elephants—should be granted “legal personhood.” A legal person is defined as “a human or a nonhuman legal entity that is treated as a person for lega...
University of Denver Newsroom •

‘The Dragon Roars Back’: How China’s Foreign Policy Is Reshaping Global Power | University of Denver

With the makings of a tariff war and heightened tensions between the United States and China, it’s uncertain what will happen in the coming months when it comes to the two world powers.Amid these geopolitical tensions, we look to experts in foreign policy to help us make sense of what’s going on—and what could be next.One of those experts is the University of Denver’s Suisheng Zhao, a professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and the executive director of Korbel’s Center for...
University of Denver Newsroom •

DU Journalism Professor Reflects on Emmy Win | University of Denver

Kareem El Damanhoury wears multiple hats—all of them, though, perch on one goal: living and teaching trustworthy news reporting. As a journalist and producer with CNN, El Damanhoury recently earned a News Emmy award for Outstanding Breaking News Coverage of the Israel-Gaza War. In addition to his work in the fast-paced world of journalism, El Damanhoury also serves as a multimedia journalism and digital storytelling professor at DU. He’s been at DU since 2019 and is the founder and director of D...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Your Guide to Entertainment on Campus | University of Denver

Imagine this: You’re hanging out in your dorm, perhaps on a snowy day, with your homework finished. Maybe your roommate is out of town. You don’t have any club events or classes scheduled, and you’re sitting on your bed staring at your phone. You are bored with a capital B.You might not know it, but there are dozens of ways to entertain yourself right on campus. From galleries to performances and athletics events, there’s no shortage of exhibits and events to make you laugh, make you think or ma...
University of Denver Newsroom •

A Fulbright Recipient Finds Her Voice—And Her Way | University of Denver

It all began with a little voice.In the beginning, it wasn’t encouraging. It told her that her dream—earning one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world—might be too big, too out of reach.But, after Sophie Bergan got a taste of international travel as an undergrad, the little voice changed its tune.“That little voice in the back of my head that always thought about Fulbright was like, ‘Well, you could just try and throw together an application,’” she says.Bergan did much more than “thr...
University of Denver Newsroom •

Lamont at 100: A Century of Sound | University of Denver

The University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music is known as one of the top music schools in the world, producing award-winning musicians, composers and researchers.  Lamont was founded in 1924 as a private academy by Florence Lamont Hinman, a renowned voice teacher from Michigan. Under her direction, the school flourished, earning state accreditation in 1925 to grant bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in music. Originally located at 1170 Sherman St., it merged with the University of De...
RadioEd •

Black Wall Street: The Economic Roots of Racial Violence | University of Denver

Since the beginning, I think the first Black newspaper in the United States was 1827, “The Freedmen's Journal.” And not a departure from some of the other newspapers during that time, Black newspapers really made an attempt to be critical and to be investigative with what happened, right, to actually discover the truth of the events as well, particularly because a lot of the events that they're reporting on are really personal and dangerous, in some ways, to Black people. So even from the start,...
University of Denver Newsroom •

DU Expands Research Impact With New Centers and Institutes | University of Denver

The University of Denver has announced the designation of six existing DU research entities as official DU research centers, along with two existing entities that are now official DU research institutes.“It’s exciting to see these institutes and centers becoming living, breathing things,” says Corinne Lengsfeld, senior vice provost for research and graduate education. “A lot of these centers want to grow, and they will serve as the birthplace for our future institutes. These new centers and inst...
RadioEd •

Protecting Your Future: How Cognitive Decline Affects Financial Decision-Making | University of Denver

Hosted by Jordyn Reiland and Emma Atkinson, RadioEd is a triweekly podcast created by the DU Newsroom that taps into the University of Denver’s deep pool of bright brains to explore the most exciting new research out of DU. See below for a transcript of this episode.Many of these changes are good—we can celebrate the process of aging as one that invites wisdom and joy. But there are natural consequences of getting older, and one of those consequences is cognitive decline. Eric Chess is a former...
RadioEd •

Why University Research Matters | University of Denver

Hosted by Jordyn Reiland and Emma Atkinson, RadioEd is a triweekly podcast created by the DU Newsroom that taps into the University of Denver’s deep pool of bright brains to explore the most exciting new research out of DU. See below for a transcript of this episode.Since 2021, when DU was designated as an R1 research institute, the University has been full speed ahead on groundbreaking research locally and globally in psychology, engineering, education, natural science, mathematics and more. An...
RadioEd •

Throwback Thursday: The Power of Nostalgia Marketing | University of Denver

Well, I'll rely here on particularly the research that has looked at this as more of a psychological phenomenon. Predictors might include feeling socially excluded, or feelings of sadness, feelings of loneliness, powerlessness, inauthenticity, all of those negative emotions and states have been demonstrated in maybe six decades of marketing and consumer research on nostalgia to exacerbate feelings of nostalgia. And then in response to that, people like to turn to the past, and they like to, for...
University of Denver •

Age-Gap Relationships Are Having a Moment: DU Professor Weighs In | University of Denver

This summer, Leonardo DiCaprio made celebrity news when his current girlfriend, an Italian model, turned 26 years old—marking the first time the 49-year-old actor, who is known for dating younger women, has been in a relationship with someone older than 25.Leo’s dating history is nothing new in Hollywood: For decades, movies have featured young actresses and older actors playing people who are or become romantically involved. These age gaps can range from several years to several decades. It’s a...
University of Denver Newsroom •

From Denver to Taipei: The Boren Scholarship in Action | University of Denver

In her nearly four years at the University of Denver, Sofia Pineda Velez has spent almost as much time on the other side of the world as she has on campus. An international studies and Mandarin student, Pineda Velez is currently on her third stint in Taiwan on a Boren Scholarship. The Boren program sends U.S. students to study languages and immerse themselves in cultures all over the world with the goal of strengthening the United States’ representation in international public service.Prior to t...
University of Denver •

Celebrating 120 Years of Clinical Programs at DU | University of Denver

When you think of attorneys, you might envision the courtroom sharks that we see depicted in popular culture—aggressive lawyers who stop at nothing to win, hounding witnesses during cross-examinations and making passionate closing arguments to juries. But there’s more than one way to be an attorney, and at Sturm College of Law, students get the opportunity to figure out not only what kind of attorney they want to be but also what area of law they want to work in, thanks to the Student Law Office...
University of Denver •

2 DU Faculty Head Overseas on Fulbright Fellowships | University of Denver

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program—the United States’ flagship international educational exchange program—has sent more than 400,000 scholars across the world to study, teach and do research. Eighty-nine of those faculty scholars have come from the University of Denver, the first of whom traveled to China. Leasa Weimer, director for global partnerships and the University of Denver’s Fulbright Scholar campus liaison, says she’s been working to build an even bigger Fulbright commun...
University of Denver •

DU Releases Impressive Study Abroad Numbers—And Looks to Increase Them | University of Denver

In 2024-2025, 885 DU students will go abroad—and 825 of them have already embarked on their journeys this fall.Students are traveling to 35 different countries, the most popular among them being Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic.  “We have students studying in nontraditional locations such as Georgia, Ghana and Tanzania,” says Emelee Volden, director of international education. “We’re also excited to have somewhat back-to-normal enrollment in Australia, New Zealand, China a...
University of Denver •

Welcome Back to RadioEd Season 5 With Chancellor Haefner | University of Denver

Emma Atkinson (VO):In the six years that Chancellor Jeremy Haefner has helmed the University of Denver, much has changed—and research at DU has truly blossomed.DU was awarded R1 research status in 2021, making it the fourth university in Colorado and the only private institution in the Rocky Mountain Region to have achieved the classification. Since then, the research being done by faculty and students across DU has only gotten more exciting.As we head into the 2024 school year, with more to com...
University of Denver •

U.S. News & World Report Reveals 2025 College Rankings | University of Denver

The University of Denver again ranked among the top colleges in the country in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 rankings. Today, the publication released its latest list of the nation’s Best Colleges, with DU earning a tie for 121st place on the National Universities list—three spots higher than the previous year.Every year, U.S. News & World Report analysts and editors compile more than 80 lists of Best Colleges rankings, highlighting colleges and universities that excel in areas like value,...
University of Denver •

DU Works to Get Out the Vote Ahead of 2024 Election | University of Denver

College students—and young people in general—are a group that has historically had a low rate of participation in elections. In 2016, only around 40% of 18- to 24-year-olds voted in the presidential election.But times are changing, and youth voting rates have increased in every presidential election year since 2016, according to the U.S. Census. The University of Denver, like colleges and universities across the nation, is investing time and money into increasing the civic engagement of its stud...
University of Denver Magazine •

Through the eyes of a student photographer

Born and raised in Hawai‘i, physiology and art student Lauren Tapper says that when she came to the mainland, she noticed a discrepancy between what outsiders believe about the Hawaiian Islands and what she knows to be true. So she chose her home state as the subject of her undergraduate research project, which she presented at the annual Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Showcase last spring.
The black and white photos of “Hawai‘i, Uncovered,” Tapper says, are meant to...
University of Denver Magazine •

Research at 14,000 Feet

On a sunny but chilly 54-degree August day, Velotta and his team set out at 7 a.m. for the summit of Mount Blue Sky. It’s the first day of their week-long stay at the base of the mountain near the Echo Lake Campground, where they sleep in dark wooden cabins reminiscent of summer camp.  
Their research began the day before at dusk, when the group hopped into a white pickup displaying a DU logo and slowly wound their way along the highest paved roadway in North America. As the...
University of Denver Magazine •

Up close and personal with Washington's diplomats

Boettcher Scholar Colton Arciniaga (BA ’24) says his summer internship in Washington D.C. was an experience that every Korbel student dreams of.
“It’s the one that everyone's always talking about and wants to get,” he says. 
Before his senior year, Arciniaga landed an internship with the U.S. Department of State in the Office of Mexican Affairs and spent several months in the district rubbing shoulders with foreign service officers, a group of U.S. diploma...
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