Paul Harvey is a Distinguished Professor of History at CU Colorado Springs. He teaches five to six classes each year, reviews professors at other universities and encourages students, all while conducting research and publishing books and articles centered on American History.

After spending 24 years at CU, he's noticed CU Colorado Springs students and faculty members stand out compared to other universities. "My colleagues have a personal connection to CU, particularly to CU Colorado Springs, where we have such a wide variety of students in terms of life experiences, ages, military careers and more," Harvey said. "Although we are a large research university, we retain the aspect of interacting with students as you see at private liberal arts colleges."

What has been your favorite project you've completed while at CU?

My favorite project was co-authoring a book called The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Sage of Race in America with a professor at another university. It has been very successful nationally and has been influential in our field. It truly was a collaborative process of co-writing that book. 

What is the best part of your workday?

The best part of the workday is when I see students really sit up and pay attention to something. You feel an energy in the classroom that lets you know some deep concept or idea has taken hold in a student’s mind.

What is your favorite campus or neighborhood location?

My favorite campus location is whatever classroom I happen to be in at any given time.

What is your favorite restaurant in Colorado Springs?

There are so many great and relatively new restaurants here right now. My present favorite is Lucky Dumpling in downtown Colorado Springs, which serves great and very creatively presented Chinese dumpling dishes.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I play a lot of basketball, enjoy the parks and trails of Colorado Springs, and spend an hour or two a day learning Spanish through some online programs with teachers in Argentina.

What is your favorite benefit at CU?

Seeing the mountains and Garden of the Gods every day.

What advice do you have for someone interested in working at CU?

If you secure the position, invest yourself in CU because it will pay you back many fold.