Vita for Thomas J. Noel

TEACHING

      At CU-Denver, Tom focused on Colorado and Public History

Where he taught a full load nearly ever semester.

CREDIT COURSES TAUGHT: American West, American West in Fiction, American West Seminar, Colorado, Colorado Historic Places, Colorado Mining & Railroads, Colorado Readings, Colorado Studies Seminar, Denver, Denver Walks, Freshmen Seminar, Discovering Denver, Heritage Tourism, Historic Preservation, Historic Preservation Seminar, History in Museums, National Park History, U.S. Survey, Western Art & Architecture.

Taking education beyond the classroom, Prof. Noel conducted many tours open to the public for CU’s extended campus programs and for many other institutions. For the Smithsonian he conducted, for 24 summers, Railroading the Rockies, a seven-day exploration of Colorado on all the surviving passenger railroads.

Walking Tours:  

Denver saloons, neighborhoods, cemeteries, parks, waterways, haunted houses, bars & brothels, churches, historic districts, Colorado ghost towns, mining towns, railroads, Town tours of Antonito, Arvada, Breckenridge, Central City, Cripple Creek, Denver, Durango, Georgetown, Golden, Leadville, Littleton, Ouray, Silver Plume, Silverton & Trinidad.

                        SERVICE

DEPARTMENT SERVICE:

Department Vice Chair, 2017 – 2020

Department Chair, 1992-96

Chair Coulter Scholarships, Tryba Prize, Ward Prize, and Student Honors  Committees, 2000-2020. These are prizes and scholarships established and operated by Prof. Noel

Faculty Sponsor of CU-Denver Historical Studies Journal, 1983-2021

This annual History Dept. Journal, founded by Prof. Noel in 1983  

Has grown into a glossy, full color professional magazine staffed

by students to this day.

Awards, RTP and Search Committees

DENVER CAMPUS SERVICE:

Annual Slide Talk for CU-Denver CLAS Honors class on the history of Auraria and CU-Denver

Historic Preservation Certificate program history director with College of Architecture & Planning. Prof. Noel created and ran this program.

Served on two College of Architecture & Planning Tenure Review Committees

Auraria Library Board and Development Committee

National History Day Board, 2010 - present

Campus Walking Tour from New Students & Parents, 2016 – present

UNIVERSITY SERVICE:

University Press of Colorado (UPC) Board Member, 1994-2017  

Co-founder/editor of UPC’s Timberline Series of Colorado Classic Books & Reprints

Annual Slide Talk and walking tour of CU-Denver downtown campus for Four Campus Excellence in Leadership program, 2014-present

Featured Denver Faculty member for in CU Connections Video

More than 25 peer reviews for University Presses of Colorado, Utah Oklahoma and Yale  

CU-Denver Scholar lecturer for the three campus audio tape/CD-ROMS for CU President’s office  

Director of Public History & Preservation Program

Medicine & The Humanities Speakers Series speaker, Anschutz Campus & author of book, University of Colorado Hospital: Boulder, Denver, Aurora (Univ. Hospital, 2013)

COMMUNITY SERVICE

American Institute of Architects speaker and tor guide for two

Of their national conventions

COLORADO AUTHORS LEAGUE, member 1981 - present; 2018 Lifetime Literary Achievement Award

COLORADO BOOK REVIEW, 2015 - present Prof. Noel was founding director of the Center for Colorado & the West at the  Auraria Library reorganized in 2015 at  the Center for Colorado Studies at Denver Public Library. This center publishes The Colorado Book  

Review, research guides, various books and booklets and a list of new Colorado non-fiction works. Google Colorado Book Review 

COLORADO GOVERNOR’S OFFICE:

Tour of Governor’s Mansion for Colorado Historical Society tour with First Lady Jeannie Ritter  

Organized the First Ladies symposium featuring all surviving  first ladies  

Gov. Hickenlooper’s Colorado History Committee  

COLORADO HISTORY GROUP PRESIDENT, 1991-2000

COLORADO PRESERVATION INC., member, tour guide, speaker, Dana Crawford Award winner, 1982-present

COLORADO WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME Advisory Board, 2007-present

CU Anschutz Medical Campus, Arts in Medicine Lecturer, 1911-1919

Denver Architectural Foundation Board, speaker, tour guide, 2001-present  

DENVER ART MUSEUM, member, lecturer, tour guide, 1980 - present

DENVER CITY GOVERNMENT: Wrote & provided visuals for Dr. Colorado history section of City of Denver website, www.Denver.org 

Mayor’s Commission on Naming the new Lindsey-Flanigan            Justice Center

DENVER LANDMARK PRESERVATION COMMISSION Commissioner, 1983-1994, chair 1990-93, author of 2 editions of the book DENVER LANDADMARKS & HISTORIC DISTRICTS

DENVER METRO CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU (VISIT DENVER):  

Tour guide, speaker,Writer-researcher  

co-author of their centennial history book,

Mile High Tourism

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE member, tour guide, 1985-present

DENVER POSSE OF WESTERNERRS: Member, 1976 – present; Sheriff, 1995

Chair of Rosenstock Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Western History chair, 1985 – present and Rosenstock Lifetime Achievement Award, 1985-present

DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Denver Cemeteries Exhibit, Fall, 2019

DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY:

  Denver Public Library Acquisitions Committee, 1990-present

  Denver Public Library Rare Book Co-Auctioneer, 1983-2008

  Denver Public Library Gehres Award Committee, 1998-present

THE DENVER POST. Prof. Noel published regular Sunday stories or columns for the  Rocky Mountain News or The Denver Post  1979 TO 2016

DENVER RESCUE ISSION: Thanksgiving Dinner Server, 1919-2012

DOORS OPEN DENVER TOUR GUIDE, 2016-present

ECLECTICS WOMEN’S CLUB TALKS & WALKING TOURS, 2014-2020

FAIRMOUNT HERITAGE BOARD Fairmount Cemetery Board, 2003-present

FORT LEWIS COLLEGE PUBLIC HISTORY LECTURE, 2014

FRISCO HISTORIC PARK & MUSEUM, annual lecturer, 2009-19

GREATER PARK HILL COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, slide talk & walking tour, 2012

HIGHLANDS RANCH LECTURE SERIES, Inaugural lecture, 2015

HIGHLANDS RANCH SOUTHRIDGE REC CENTER, SLIDE TALK, 2013

HISTORY COLORADO:

Board Member, 2002-2015

Board Collections, Programs and Preservation Committees,  2002-15

Consultant, interviewee, photo provider for History Colorado collection, exhibits and publications  

Publications: Helped establish in 2008 a partnership between CU-Denver history dept. and the Colorado Historical Society to run the Colorado Book Review directed by Prof. Noel with the goal of listing all new books on Colorado and to get the most important titles reviewed for the Colorado Book Review. 

     I started working at the Colorado Historical Society as a volunteer tour guide in the education department in 1971. In 1973, I became a half time employee in the Collections Department. I have been doing tours and articles for the Society ever since. I served on the Board of Directors 1999-2015 and also on the Historic Preservation, Marketing and Publications Departments  advisory boards.

INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL ART & ARCHITECTURE, COLORADO CHAPTER, several walking tours & talks

LITTLETON MUSEUM, frequent slide talks

LITTLETON PUBLIC LIBRARY, frequent slide talks

LOWER DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT PLAQUES 1995 project of

Prof. Noel’s Western Art & Architecture Class

FAIRMOUNT, MOUNT OLIVET & RIVERSIDE CEMETERIES, frequent walking tours foe History Colorado and other organizations

MUSEUM OF THE WEST, Grand Junction, CO., Advisory Board, 2005-

Speaker, Tour Guide

Nat’l Council for the Blind Convention, 1990, walking tour of LoD

NATIONAL REGISTER REVIEW BOARD FOR COLORADO, 2000-08  

TESORO FOUNDATION, Morrison, Advisory Board & annul speaker, 2007 - present

WESTERN HISTORY ASSOCIATION

Local Arrangements Co-Chair Western History Association Annual Conventions in Denver 2009 & 2012. Speaker, Commentator & Western Historical Quarterly Advisor Board, Honorary Life member  

TELEVISION AND RADIO

Frequent appearances on local, regional, and national stations

(see full resume)

RECOGNITIONS, HONORS

ETC.

2023 Induction into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame

2021 University of Colorado Board of Regents Medal for 50

Years of teaching, over 60 books, hundreds of public lectures,

tours and programs  

2019 Keystone Award from Historic Denver, Inc. for Lifetime Achievement in Historic Preservation

2018  Designated State Historian of Colorado

2018  Colorado Authors’ League Lifetime Achievement Award

2015 Selected as Grand Marshall for St. Patrick’s Day Parade because of writings and teachings on Irish Coloradans.

2012: Western History Awards for 1) Outstanding Contributions to Western History & Lifetime Achievement/Lifetime Membership

2009: U.S. American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Outstanding Contribution to Architecture by a non-architect.

2009: Colorado American Institute of Architects Award for Contribution to the Built Environment

2004: Who’s Who in American Teachers (nomination by students accepted for inclusion)

2000: Marquis Who's Who in America

1998:  Dana Crawford  Award for outstanding contributions to  

      Historic Preservation from Colorado Preservation

1997: Colorado Tour Guide for first ladies Blair, Chirac,        Chretein, Clinton, Hashimoto, Kohl & Yeslin, for Summit of        the Eight World Conference.  

1997:  Univ. of Colorado Award for Research Excellence

1992 National Award for Outstanding Contributions to State      

      History from the American Association of State and Local  

      History.

1986 President's Fund for the Humanities Grant to Launch a  

     Public History Program at CU Denver.

1985 Noel Park dedicated in Larimer Square.

1980 Finalist, Teacher Recognition Awards, CU-Denver.

1977 National Science Foundation Grant for Research at Harvard

     University Business School on Denver business people.

1971 Outstanding Student Teacher Award, East High School, Denver.