by Ashlyn Gerbaz

   Maridee Slater is an associate professor of theater at CMU. Born in Boulder, Slater spent part of her childhood in Fort Collins before moving to Grand Junction and graduating from Grand Junction High School.

   She received a full-ride scholarship to the University of Northern Colorado for set design. However, after a semester she decided to transfer to Mesa State College.

   She double majored in acting/directing and technical design. Following graduation, Slater had different plans that didn’t involve the Grand Valley.

   “I never thought about being a professor here,” Slater said. “I actually got out of Grand Junction and was like, ‘I’m never coming back.’”

   Despite what newly graduated Slater believed, she is now happy to be back at her alma mater.

   After college, Slater moved all over the country. Her next stop after MSC was Winter Park, Fla., where she directed for a season at a small theater. Next, she became a quadruple threat in Seattle, Wash..

   “I was a dancer, performer, director and carpenter/welder at various theaters in Seattle,” Slater said.

   She was also involved with a Belgian theater troupe called, “Ontroend Goed,” where she did shows in Seattle as well as a few in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her time in Seattle ended when her father died and Slater returned to Grand Junction for a few months.

   Later, she inherited a car and drove to New York City with $450 in her pocket. She started working with the Saratoga International Theater Institute a theater company she had been affiliated with while still living in Seattle.

   A year into living in New York, Slater was accepted into Columbia University’s directing program, where she would pursue her masters in Fine Arts. She graduated in 2015.

   After graduating, she started applying for professorships and visiting associate professorships anywhere. She knew she wanted to be a college professor.

   “I love teaching,” Slater said. “I [taught] at Columbia in the summers with a couple of colleagues, and I was a guest lecturer at [the] University of Washington while I was in Seattle.”

   Within a day at CMU, Slater had a five-year plan and had revamped the mission statement for the program. She believes the performing arts program here can be nationally ranked and she has many ideas on how to make that happen. Despite Slater never wanting to return to Grand Junction, she is happy to be back developing the theater program.