50 YEARS OF
CHANGING LIVES.

50 YEARS OF
CHANGING LIVES.

EXPLORE OUR HISTORY

Pre-1876 – One of the earliest depictions of Auraria showing the Cherry Creek dividing prospectors looking for gold and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians who used the region as a campsite.
Courtesy of Jerome Smiley, History of Denver, Rebecca Hunt Collection.

Read about the history of Early Auraria and its native peoples here.

1876

1876 – Colorado is granted statehood and University of Colorado (CU) is founded

DENVER POPULATION
1880 • 35,629

1894

Colorado State Capitol building opens in Denver.

1894
DENVER POPULATION
1900 • 133,859

1904

Red Rocks Amphitheatre opens to the public.
1904
1912
1912 – CU Denver originated in 1912, when the University of Colorado’s Department of Correspondence and Extension was established to meet the needs of Denver’s growing population. Holding classes in buildings across Speer Boulevard from the Auraria neighborhood–including in the Frontier Hotel’s bar–the institution became known as Denver’s “UCLA” (the University of Colorado between Lawrence and Arapahoe Streets).
DENVER POPULATION
1920 • 256,491

1920

Women gain the right to vote.
1920
1939
1939 – Denver CU Extension moves into C.A. Johnson Building at 509 17th St. with a single full-time faculty member
DENVER POPULATION
1940 • 322,412
1947 – Denver CU Extension moves into the Fraternal Building at 1405 Glenarm Pl.
1947
1956

1954

United States Air Force selects an area north of Colorado Springs as a site for the United States Air Force Academy.
1956 – The Denver Extension Center acquired a new home in 1956 when the university paid $687,500 for the Denver Tramway Company Building at 14th and Arapahoe Streets (Hotel Teatro, National Register landmark)
DENVER POPULATION
1960 • 493,887
1964
The 1964 Civil Rights Act is passed
1964

The South Platte River
floods in Denver

1964
1965

1964 – CU Regents promote “Denver Extension Center” to “University of Colorado – Denver Center.”

1965 – Colorado General Assembly creates the Colorado commission on Higher Education to coordinate and provide long-range planning for all of the state’s higher-education institutions.

1968 – Auraria site in Denver chosen for a three-college campus.

1969 – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development designates Auraria an urban renewal area, allocates $12.6 million for site acquisition and relocation. Denver voters approve $6 million Auraria bond issue. Auraria residents are forced to relocate. Learn more about the displacement of the Aurarians here.

1968
1969

1969

The United States lands a man on the moon

1969 – College of Environmental Design established (with graduate programs in Denver, undergraduate programs in Boulder).

DENVER POPULATION
1970 • 514,678
1970 – General Assembly authorizes funds to purchase land for Auraria Higher Education Complex.

1970 – Regents define role of Denver Center on new Auraria campus as primarily providing graduate and professional education. 

1971 – Regents authorize College of Undergraduate Studies at Denver Center (renamed the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1975).
1970
1972

1972 – Colorado General Assembly approves $40 million for Auraria construction. Presidents of CU, Metro State, and CCD agree to a plan for the shared campus: CU offering graduate and pre-professional programs, Metro State undergraduate degrees, and CCD occupational programs. Voters approve state constitutional amendment providing for CU campuses in Denver and Colorado Springs.

1973 – CU Denver School of Education is formally established (becomes the School of Education and Human Development later in 2004). CU Graduate School of Public Affairs established (becomes the CU Denver School of Public Affairs in 2007)

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1973 – Harold H. Haak formally named the first chancellor ever at CU Denver.

 

1973 – Constitutional amendment establishing additional CU campuses goes into effect. Regents rename the Denver Center the University of Colorado at Denver (CU Denver). 

1973
1974

1974 – Regents establish the CU System, with a president and chancellors at four campuses: Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, and the Health and Sciences Center. 

1974 – Regents vote to dismiss President Thieme, name Rolan Rautenstraus as acting CU President.

1975

Vietnam War ends

1976 – The construction of the Auraria Campus is completed.
1975
1976
1977
1977 – CU Denver expands across Speer Boulevard and students begin attending classes on the newly built Auraria Campus for the first time.
1978 – Merger between CU Denver and Metro State under the CU System proposed.
1978
1979
1979 – CU Denver Alumni Awards established

1979 – State Senator Hugh Fowler proposes merging CU Denver and Metro State into Metropolitan University of Colorado. Ultimately, no merger occurs. 

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1979 – William A Jenkins named CU Denver Chancellor

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1979 – Dwayne C. Nuzum named CU Denver Chancellor
DENVER POPULATION
1980 • 492,365

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1981 – Gene M. Nordby named CU Denver Chancellor
1985 – CU Denver Business School separates from CU Boulder Business School.

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1988 – John C Buechner named CU Denver Chancellor.
1981
1985
1986

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1985 – Dwayne C. Nuzum named CU Denver Chancellor

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1986 – Glendon F. Drake named CU Denver Chancellor
1988 – CU Denver moves into the North Classroom Building, the first custom CU Denver building constructed on the Auraria campus.
1988
1989
1988 – CU Denver unveils the Displaced Aurarian Scholarship tuition and fees for undergraduate and graduate students who were residents and descendants of the Auraria neighborhood between 1955 and 1973, before the Auraria Higher Education Campus was built.
1989 – CU Denver School of Arts created under administration of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (becomes the self-directed College of Arts and Media in 1998).
1988 – Separate CU Denver College of Engineering and Applied Science established.

1989

The Berlin Wall falls

DENVER POPULATION
1990 • 1,528,000
1990 – CU Denver acquires CU Denver building (known previously as the Dravo Building) at 14th and Larimer Street.
1990
1992

1990

Colorado Convention Center opens in Denver

1992 – CU Boulder’s and CU Denver’s design, planning, and architecture programs reunite as a single College of Architecture and Planning under CU Denver’s administration.
1993 – The University of Colorado Denver is recognized as a Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) by the U.S. Department of Education. As a recipient of this distinguished designation—one that CU Denver has maintained since 1993—the university was awarded more than $1.25 million for the 2022–2026 term.
1994 – CU Denver introduces New Urban University initiative. This initiative focused CU Denver on equitable and sustainable economic, health, and educational outcomes for historically disenfranchised student populations on campus and within Denver’s urban community.
1993
1994
1995
1994 – Tivoli Student Union opens in the former Tivoli Brewery at Auraria.

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

1995 – Georgia Lesh-Laurie named CU Denver Chancellor

1995

Denver International Airport opened to the public. 

1998 – College of Arts and Media is founded for the 1998-1999 academic year.

1998

1998 – CU Denver purchased the Lawrence Street Center building for Graduate School of Public Affairs and departments from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Business and Administration

1998

Google is launched

DENVER POPULATION
2000 • 556,094

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

2003 – Mark Heckler named CU Denver Chancellor

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

2003 – James Shore named CU Denver Chancellor
2003
2004
2004 – CU Denver and Health Sciences Center (later Anschutz Medical Campus) campuses consolidate by order of the Regents.
2006 – Fitzsimons campus is renamed Anschutz Medical Campus

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

2006 – M. Roy Wilson named the CU Denver Chancellor
2006
2009

2009 – The Science Building opens on the Auraria Campus.

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

2010 – Jerry Wartgow named CU Denver Chancellor
2011 – Regents approve name change to University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus
2010
2011
2012

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

2012 – Donald M. Elliman, Jr. named Chancellor of CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus

2013 – Milo the Lynx is introduced as the CU Denver campus mascot
2013
2014
2014 – The CU Denver Student Commons Building opens on the Auraria Campus

2015

U.S. Supreme Court strikes down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalizing it in all 50 states. 

CHANCELLOR UDPATE

2016 – Dorothy Horrell named CU Denver Chancellor
2016
2018
2018 – Lola and Rob Salazar Student Wellness Center is opened
DENVER POPULATION
2020 • 717,630
2018 – Don Johnson pledges $12 million to CU Denver in the largest endowment in the university’s history.

CHANCELLOR UPDATE

2020 – Michelle Marks named CU Denver Chancellor

2020

COVID-19 outbreak begins.

2020

2020 – Jake Jabs Event Center celebrates grand opening

2021 – CU Denver opens its first on-campus housing dedicated to first year students with the grand opening of the City Heights Residence Hall and Learning Commons

2021

2021 – Chancellor Michelle Marks presents new Strategic Plan for 2030 aimed at creating a more equitable, accessible and innovative future for Denver and Colorado

2021– New Engineering, Design and Computing Building is announced. Construction to begin 2023.

2021 – CU Denver named No.1 in social mobility in Colorado
2021 – CU Denver expands Displaced Aurarian Scholarship Program to direct descendants in perpetuity

2022 – CU Internationally renowned artist and CU Denver alum, Thomas Evans aka Detour, paints first-ever public murals on Auraria campus

2022 – CU Denver announces plan for new restoration of historic Auraria homes as part of the Ninth Street Historic District project

2022

2022 – CU Denver receives the Military Friendly Schools Gold Award Designation for dedicating resources to ensuring veterans’ academic and future success.

2022– CU Denver joins the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities to increase opportunity for those historically underserved by higher education.