Former names | Metropolitan State College (1965–1990) Metropolitan State College of Denver (1990–2012) |
---|---|
Motto | Excellence in Teaching and Learning |
Type | Public university |
Established | 1965 |
Academic affiliations | |
Endowment | US$19.5 million (FY2022) [2] |
President | Janine A. Davidson [3] |
Provost | Laura Niesen de Abruña |
Total staff | 2,848 (faculty, student, and non-academic staff as of Jan. 2022) |
Students | 17,505 (fall 2023) [4] |
Undergraduates | 16,345 (fall 2023) [4] |
Postgraduates | 1,160 (fall 2023) [4] |
Location | , U.S. 39°44′38″N105°00′41″W / 39.7440°N 105.0115°W |
Campus | Urban,126 acres (51 ha) [5] |
Newspaper | The Metropolitan |
Colors | Blue & red |
Nickname | Roadrunners |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division II – Rocky Mountain |
Mascot | Rowdy the Roadrunner |
Website | www |
Metropolitan State University of Denver (also known as MSU Denver) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. It is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, in downtown Denver, adjacent to Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. MSU Denver had an enrollment of 16,345 undergraduate students in the fall of 2023. [4]
Metropolitan State University of Denver was founded in 1965 as an opportunity school. By design, MSU Denver is required to be accessible to all, which is why it consistently has some of the lowest tuitions of four-year Colorado colleges and universities. Nearly 54% of the student body are students of color. [6]
MSU Denver was the first university to advocate for DREAMers to have a chance at higher education by providing in-state tuition rates under the ASSET bill, signed by then Gov. John Hickenlooper in the Jordan Student Success Building lobby. [7] [8] It made national headlines. [9] [10] [11] [12]
MSU Denver shares the Auraria campus with two other higher education institutions, the University of Colorado Denver and Community College of Denver. The traditional main entrance to campus is Speer & Lawrence between the North and Science buildings.
The campus is located in the heart of the central business district and is in close proximity to Ball Arena, Elitch Gardens, the Colorado Convention Center, the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Larimer Square, and the 16th Street Mall. The reclaimed Callie Maher brewery, which closed in 1969, now operates as the Tivoli Student Union, housing the Tivoli Brewing Company Taphouse and serving all 3 schools on campus. [13]
Janine Anne Davidson became president of MSU Denver on July 24, 2017.
Laura Niesen de Abruña was named provost effective January 25, 2024. [14]
On June 7, 2002, Governor Bill Owens signed House Bill 1165 – Concerning the Establishment of an Independent Governing Board for Metropolitan State College of Denver – and named his appointees to MSU Denver's board of trustees. [15] [16]
MSU Denver's student government operates under the name "The Student Advocacy Council" (TSAC). [17]
MSU Denver contains four colleges and two schools. [18]
Metropolitan State University of Denver is also home to a variety of projects, research centers, and institutes.
MSU Denver is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Several programs and units are accredited by disciplinary-specific organizations, including:
Colloquially referred to as Metro State, MSU Denver formally became a university on April 18, 2012. [23]
The then-Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees on March 9, 2011, approved a legislative proposal to change the institution's name to "Denver State University" following a vote among students and faculty. [24] [25]
University of Denver administration and faculty publicly objected to "Denver State University" as MSU Denver's new name. [26] [27] [28] As a result of this, the board of trustees decided to cancel the planned name change. Some community members objected and viewed this change of plans as allowing a private university (University of Denver) to decide the fate of a public one (MSU Denver). [29] [30]
The institution has various fraternity and sorority chapters. [31]
The Office of Student Media supports four student media productions: [32]
MSU Denver has produced 239 All-Americans and was one of the seven charter members of the Colorado Athletic Conference in 1989 before joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 1996. MSU Denver competed as a NAIA member until 1983, when the Roadrunners jumped to the NCAA Division II ranks. Since 1998, MSU Denver has captured 32 regular season conference titles, 35 conference tournament championships, as well as the 2000 & 2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championships and the 2004 and 2006 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer national crowns.
Camps and clinics
† = private ‡ = London Consortium [47]
Individuals of note who have attended the institution include:
Fort Lewis College (FLC) is a public liberal arts college in Durango, Colorado. Because of its unique origins as a military fort turned Indian boarding school turned state public school, FLC follows a 1911 mandate to give qualified Native Americans a tuition-free education. Approximately 16% of the baccalaureate degrees earned are by Native American students in the nation. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education designated FLC one of six Native American-serving, non-tribal colleges.
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. It is governed by the elected, nine-member board of regents.
Regis University is a private Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1877 by the Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees through three colleges in a variety of subjects, including education, liberal arts, business, nursing, and technology. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Auraria was a small mining settlement in the Kansas Territory in the United States. Today it survives in its original location as a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, south of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.
Mountain State University (MSU) was a private university in Beckley, West Virginia. It closed in 2013. It was formerly named Beckley College and then The College of West Virginia.
Auraria Campus is an educational facility located near downtown Denver, Colorado in the United States. The campus houses facilities of three separate universities and colleges: the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver (CCD), and Metropolitan State University of Denver. In 2017, there were approximately 54,812 students between the three schools, with rapid growth projected over the following few years. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and declining enrollment, the collective student population in 2022 was approximately 38,000, with an additional 5,000 faculty and staff.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is an American non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives a philosophically rich, high-quality college education at an affordable price."
Community College of Denver (CCD) is a public community college in Denver, Colorado. The main campus is at Auraria Campus and it has two other locations in the Denver metropolitan area. CCD focuses on underserved, first-generation, and minority students.
Regency Student Housing is one of three student-housing communities for the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, Colorado. Formerly the Regency Hotel, the building is privately owned by local investor and proprietor V. Robert (Rob) Salazar, who bought the building in 2004, and serves three schools: Community College of Denver (CCD), Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the University of Colorado Denver.
The Metropolitan, or The Met as it is commonly called, is the school newspaper of Metropolitan State University of Denver. It has a weekly press run of 700 copies, which are distributed every Wednesday to more than 60 locations across the Auraria Campus and select locations in downtown Denver. The paper is a tabloid style publication with sections for news, sports, opinions, features and music. It focuses on issues of interest and concern to students at Metro and the other colleges located on the Auraria Campus.
The Colorado Convention Center (CCC) is a multi-purpose convention center located in Downtown Denver, Colorado. At 2,200,000 square feet it is currently the 12th largest convention center in the United States. Opening in 1990, the convention center expanded in 2004 to include several meeting rooms, two ballrooms and an indoor amphitheater. Since opening, the center hosts an average of around 400 events per year. Centrally located in the city, it has become one of Denver's many landmarks due to its architecture and is adjacent to the Denver Performing Arts Complex and is just blocks away from the Colorado State Capitol, Auraria Campus and the 16th Street Mall. The CCC is directly served via light rail by RTD's Theatre District–Convention Center station.
Auraria Library is an academic library in downtown Denver, Colorado. It provides academic resources and research experiences to students, staff, and faculty at the University of Colorado Denver, the Metropolitan State University of Denver, and the Community College of Denver (CCD) on the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) campus, also called the Auraria Campus. The Library is administratively operated by CU Denver and occupies a building owned by the State of Colorado.
Río Hondo College is a public community college in Whittier, California. The college is named after the Rio Hondo. Founded in 1960, it mainly serves the cities of Whittier, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, El Monte, and South El Monte. Río Hondo College offers 30 associate degrees for transfer that guarantee transfer to California State Universities, 60 associate degrees and 127 certificates. Rio Hondo offers on-campus, online, and off-campus courses to all of its students. It is the first community college in California offering a bachelor's degree in Automotive Technology. Rio Hondo also offers a Pathway to Law School program to one of six top California law schools.
The Tivoli Brewery is a historic building originally home to the Tivoli Brewing Company. It was designed by prominent Denver architect Frederick C. Eberley. The building is located in the Auraria Neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Today the building is home to the Tivoli Student Union of the Auraria Campus, serving as a student center for the Metropolitan State University of Denver, Community College of Denver, and the University of Colorado Denver. In August 2015 the revived Tivoli Brewing Company began brewing in a new facility inside the building, in the original brewing area.
The University of Colorado Denver is a public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of Colorado Boulder, CU Denver attained university status and became an independent institution in 1973. CU Denver is the largest research university in Colorado, and is classified among R1: Doctoral Universities - Very High Research Activity. The university's graduate programs award more master's degrees than any other institution in the state, serving roughly 5,000 students annually. CU Denver makes up one-third of the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, along with the Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Community College of Denver.
The MSU Denver Roadrunners are the athletic teams that represent Metropolitan State University of Denver. The Roadrunners participate in 15 intercollegiate sports and compete in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Robert Bowen is an American former politician who was a Democratic state representative in Colorado between January 1983 and January 1989.
Janine Anne Davidson is an American public servant who has served as the President of the Metropolitan State University of Denver since 2017. Davidson is known for expertise on topics such as military operations, U.S. foreign policy and national security policy as well as higher education leadership.
DIME Denver was a for-profit college located in Denver, Colorado. It was a branch of the Detroit Institute of Music Education (DIME). The college offered certificate and bachelor's degree programs. In March 2016, DIME announced a partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver after previously partnering with Falmouth University for accreditation. The financial agreement between DIME and Metropolitan State University was never publicly disclosed. The partnership with Metropolitan State University allowed DIME students to receive BA degrees through Metropolitan State University while paying the higher DIME tuition. DIME students paid significantly higher tuition than the regular Metropolitan State University rate. The cost of attendance to attend DIME Denver was $15,356 for the 2019–20 academic year.