About the Heller Center
Who We Are
The Heller Center for the Arts and Humanities promotes new developments in scholarship and creative works at UCCS and across Southern Colorado. We offer a range of annual programs and opportunities including fellowships, salons, residencies, exhibits, performances, and classes. With a dedication to supporting the work of UCCS faculty and the growth of our students, the Heller Center works with its fourteen affiliate programs and departments in seeking answers to those questions that we all face as human beings living in a complex world.
The Heller Center sits on 34-acres of pristine Colorado landscape. The land and the three Pueblo-Revival style buildings on it were the gift of Dorothy (Dot) and Larry Heller, who lived on the property until Dorothy’s passing in 1999. Larry was a well-known painter and sculptor who depicted, with a telltale cinematic aesthetic, life in the West. He also contributed significantly to the US propaganda during WWII. The Heller Center maintains and manages a significant collection of Larry’s works, often displaying them on the property. Dot was one of the first women to work for the Colorado Spring police department as what was then called a “Social Investigator,” specializing in domestic abuse and child endangerment. It was Dot who conceived of the space as a humanities center and who determined the diverse disciplines that now make up the contributing departments.
The three structures on the property include the main house that hosts classes and conferences; the guest house and solarium where visiting fellows live during their stay; and a gallery dedicated to exhibiting art of students and professionals alike. Nearly every event at the Heller Center is open to the public, an essential aspect of our mission to disseminate new forms of knowledge to the public and involve our community in the exciting work being undertaken by UCCS’s faculty.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Heller Center
The Heller Center is an institution engaged in the evolving discourse regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. Because of this, the following statement is, by design, ever open to development:
The Heller Center for the Arts and Humanities is dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the academy, on the UCCS campus, and beyond. Through its programming, the Heller Center aims to support and promote the work of scholars and artists from underrepresented communities, and those with marginalized identities, abilities, and viewpoints. Programming additionally supports work that addresses issues of equity and justice in our society. The Heller Center pledges itself to provide a welcoming space for connection, sharing, open dialogue, and safety within our diverse local and national community. Through these efforts, the Heller Center is committed to fostering a sense of belonging among those traditionally excluded from the arts and humanities. These principles are integral to the pursuit of new ideas in the arts and humanities as well as the progress and flourishing of our community at large.