University of Denver

University of Denver
University of Denver logotype.
Motto "Pro Scientia et Religione" ('For Science and Religion' or 'Knowledge and Spirit')
Established 1864
Type Private
Religious affiliation United Methodist Church[1][2]
Endowment $269.9 million[3]
Chancellor Robert Coombe
Students 10,953 (2009)
Undergraduates 4,913 (2009)
Postgraduates 6,040 (2009)
Location Denver, Colorado, USA
Campus Urban
125 acres (0.51 km2)[4]
Colors Crimson & Gold
Nickname Pioneers
Mascot Denver Boone
Website www.du.edu

The University of Denver (DU), founded in 1864, is the oldest private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States.[5] The University of Denver is a coeducational, four-year university in Denver, Colorado. DU currently enrolls approximately 11,400 students, divided between graduate and undergraduate programs. The 125-acre (0.51 km2) main campus is a designated arboretum and is located primarily in the University Neighborhood,[6] about seven miles (11 km) south of downtown Denver.

Contents

Background

The university was founded in 1864 as the Colorado Seminary by John Evans, the former Governor of Colorado Territory, who had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln. John Evans, who also founded Northwestern University prior to founding DU, is the namesake of the town in Illinois named Evanston (the site of the Northwestern campus) as well as Mount Evans, a 14,264 foot mountain visible from the DU campus.

Mary Reed Hall

Evans founded the school to help civilize the newly-created (1858) City of Denver, which was little more than a mining camp at that time.

As a co-educational institution, according to College Board, under a competitive standard, the average admitted applicant is at his or her top 25% of their graduating class.[7]

The reverse initials "DU" are used as the university's shorthand moniker (rather than the more intuitive "UD") as part of a Rocky Mountain and midwestern tradition of initial reversal, similar to the University of Colorado's "CU", the University of Tulsa's "TU", the University of Oklahoma's "OU", the University of Nebraska's "NU", and the University of Kansas' "KU."

The 'Colorado Seminary' was founded as a Methodist institution and struggled in the early years of its existence. By 1880, the Colorado Seminary had been renamed the University of Denver. Although doing business as the University of Denver, DU is still legally named Colorado Seminary. The first buildings of the university were located in downtown Denver in the 1860s and 1870s, but concerns that Denver's rough-and-tumble frontier town atmosphere was not conducive to education prompted a new campus (today's campus) to be built on the donated land of potato farmer Rufus Clark, some seven miles (11 km) south of the downtown core. The university grew and prospered alongside the city's growth, appealing primarily to a regional student body prior to World War II. After the war, the large surge in GI bill students pushed DU's enrollment to over 13,000 students, the largest the university has ever been, and helped to spread the university's reputation to a national audience.

Academics

Demographics

The University of Denver has 11,644 students in 2009. Of the 11,644 students, 5,343 are undergraduates. The ratio of undergraduate women to men is 56:44. Of the class of 2008, 70.0% are White, 1.8% are Black, 6.8% are Hispanic, 5.2% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 1.7% are American Indian, 5.3% are international, and 9.1% are race/ethnicity unknown. Around 50 percent of the student body is from outside the state of Colorado. For 2009 the average accepted high school student obtained a 3.7 GPA, SAT combined of 1220 and, an ACT of 27.

Rankings

University rankings (overall)
ARWU World[8] Not ranked
ARWU National[9] Not ranked
Times Higher Education[10] Not ranked
USNWR National University[11] 84th

The University of Denver is currently ranked 84th among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in a 2010 ranking. The school is currently ranked the 48th best private university by the same publication, and is sometimes referred to as "The Harvard of the West."

The undergraduate business program, The Daniels College of Business, was ranked 67th best in 2008 by BusinessWeek, and it was ranked the 71st best program by U.S. News in a 2008 ranking.[12] It was ranked 74th in 2010 by Bloomberg Businessweek. [13]

The Sturm College of Law is currently ranked the 77th best Graduate Law School by U.S News in a 2010 ranking.[14]

In a 2006/2007 survey performed by the College of William and Mary and published by Foreign Policy magazine, the Josef Korbel School of International Studies ranked 9th in the nation for graduate programs, ahead of such schools as Syracuse, University of Chicago, Yale, Stanford, University of California-Berkeley, and MIT.[15]

In 2006, Men's Fitness magazine ranked DU in the top-25 fittest colleges in America because the University actively promotes a healthy lifestyle for its students. The Coors Fitness Center has top-of-the-line equipment, personal trainers, nutritionists and fitness classes. Students also can play in 30 club and 22 intramural sports, and DU is located near some of the city's best recreational opportunities and the great outdoors.

F W Olin Hall

Academic Programs

In addition to traditional undergraduate programs, the University of Denver is home to the following graduate entities:

Divisions:

Colleges:

Buchtel Tower and the Sturm Law School Tower

Schools:

Institutes and Centers:

Programs:

Interdisciplinary Programs:

Students in the graduate programs represent over half of the total enrollment of the school.

Daniels College of Business; the eighth oldest business school in the country

Aside from the Sturm College of Law, the university operates on a quarter system, sometimes known as trimester academic calendar, in which an academic year is divided into three academic quarters lasting 10 weeks per each quarter. This academic system allows students to take more classes each year than students in a more traditional 15-week semester system.

Offering students a learning experience abroad, the Cherrington Global Scholars program offers every undergraduate the chance to study abroad at no cost above the normal university tuition, room and board[16]. The University of Denver has almost 70 percent of its undergraduate student body study abroad before graduation, placing it first in the nation among all doctoral and research institutions in percentage of undergraduate students participating in study abroad programs .

The art and music scene of DU is currently on the rise due to the recent construction of the Robert and Judi Newman Center for Performing Arts. This building houses the Lamont School of Music, the DU Theatre Department, and the University's Newman Center Presents performing arts series. The Lamont School of Music is a structured conservatory setting which allows students to focus on their talents in a competitive manner. The theatre department, reestablished in 1985, is currently being transformed into a nationally competitive theatre school. Recently, their show "Henry the VI part iii" was selected as one of the best in the region was considered for national recognition. For the second straight year, a DU show has been held for regional honors.

With the recent addition of more faculty members and renovation beginning on Margery Reed Hall, the Theatre Department has become a magnet for theatre students in the region. Much of the faculty have many professional connections with local theatre companies (Curious, DCPA), as well as contacts in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and many other regions, providing students with many available options for internships and quick job placement.

The university was the first in the country to establish what has continued to be an innovative and internationally recognized Digital Media Studies program, organized as a joint venture between the departments of Mass Communications and Journalism Studies, Art, and Computer Science. DMS faculty and students are currently working on an NSF-funded video game design and development initiative aimed at increasing interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in select Denver high schools.

Sturm College of Law: The First LEED Certified Green Law School in the Country

Recently, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law has also undergone an internal renaissance. In 2003, the University of Denver ATLA trial team won the national championship in New Orleans, taking Harvard's title from the previous year.[17]

The Institute for Public Policy Studies (IPPS) boasts two former Colorado Governors as teaching faculty. Richard Lamm was joined in January 2007 by Bill Owens.

Denver is one of the few schools in the US that personally interviews every undergraduate applicant (with interviews in more than 25 cities per year), demonstrating that the university is very interested in the person, not just the applicant's credentials. The Hyde interview is named after an influential DU professor, Ammi Hyde, and most students describe the process as insightful rather than painful, so the interview should not be considered a deterrent for prospective students who are nervous that they will not perform well.

The university has recently established an Undergraduate Research Center. This Center provides funding for the Partners in Scholarship program, offering students the opportunity to work directly with a faculty member over the course of a quarter or over the summer. The student may design the research project with the faculty member's approval or may work with a faculty member on an existing research project, thus affording students an opportunity for close mentorship and relationship-building that strengthens the student's overall learning experience. Annual conferences on campus highlight student research efforts

The Ricks Center For Gifted Children is a private school on the campus of DU that teaches preschool through eighth grade. Since April 1997, the school has been accredited by The North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCACASI). It was founded and is currently directed by Norma Hafenstien.

Campus

The heart of the campus has a number of historic buildings. The longest-standing building is University Hall, which has served DU since 1890. Just a few blocks off campus also hosts the historic Chamberlin Observatory, built in 1894. It is still a fully operational observatory and is open to the public twice a week as well as one Saturday a month.

University Hall and Daniels College of Business

Evans Chapel, an 1870s-vintage small church which was once located in downtown Denver, was relocated to the DU campus in the 1960s, and Buchtel Tower (1913), which is all that remains of the former Buchtel Chapel, which burned in 1983. The administrative offices are located in the Mary Reed Building, a former library built in 1932 in the collegiate gothic style.

Under the leadership of former Chancellor Daniel Ritchie (now Chairman of the Denver Center for Performing Arts), about $500 million in capital improvements have taken place in the last decade and the learning inside these new buildings has improved in the same period, as admissions selectivity and rankings have improved dramatically.

In autumn 2003, DU opened a new $63.5 million facility for its College of Law, what was later named the "Sturm College of Law." The building includes a three-story library with personal computers accessible to students. Donald and Susan Sturm, owners of Denver-based American National Bank, had given $20 million to the University of Denver College of Law. The gift is the largest single donation in the 112-year history of the law school and among the largest gifts ever to the university.

Margery Reed Hall

The Daniels College of Business was completed in September 1999 at the cost of $25 million dollars[18]. The business school has been nationally recognized by organizations such as Forbes magazine, Business Week, and the Wall Street Journal where it is ranked seventhth in the nation for producing students with high ethical standards.[19]

Additionally, the university also recently opened the $75 million Robert and Judi Newman Center for Performing Arts, which houses the acclaimed Lamont School of Music. The Center includes June Swaner Gates Concert Hall, a 1,000 seat, four-level opera house, the Frederic C. Hamilton Family Recital Hall, a 250-seat recital hall with the largest (3,000 pipes) "tracker" organ in the region, and the Elizabeth Ericksen Byron Theatre, a 300-seat flexible theatre space. The Newman Center serves as home to many professional performing arts groups from the Denver region as well as the University's Newman Center Presents multi-disciplinary performing arts series.

In the last two years, DU has also built and opened a new building for the School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management. Inside the building there are numerous classrooms, a large wine cellar, meeting rooms, and an all-purpose dining room that hosts numerous city and university events, weddings, and formal parties. The school helps DU rank near the top of all hotel schools in the United States. The program had its first graduating class in 1946.

School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management

The university has the second highest telescope in the world located at 14,148 feet near the summit of Mount Evans called the Meyer-Womble Observatory. This telescope is most commonly used by the university's Natural Science and Mathematics Department, and more specifically the Department of Physics and Astronomy at DU.

Nagel Residence Hall was completed in the Fall of 2008 to house upperclassman and is one of the most unique buildings on campus, offering a wide collection of art throughout the building donated by the Nagel family. The building is certified Gold in LEED standards to be environmentally friendly and more sustainable. As well as Nagel, Nelson Hall is another LEED residence hall that was built in the last eight years.

In reference to campus improvements to help DU athletics, as well as the Ritchie Center that was completed in 2000, DU completed the first ever lacrosse stadium that is specifically designed for the sport. As of now, construction is underway for a new soccer stadium on the DU campus that will also connect the School of Art.

Construction is currently taking place to build the new environmentally friendly $25 million dollar Morgridge College of Education.

Athletics

Denver Pioneers logo

DU's athletic teams are known as the Denver Pioneers and the school has been fielding intercollegiate teams since 1867. Denver is a full NCAA Division I member, best known as a major power in winter sports. Ice hockey is DU's flagship spectator sport, with seven NCAA titles including back to back crowns in 2004 and 2005, and regularly selling out the new 6,000 seat Magness Arena on campus, the showpiece of the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness. The Pioneers' 28 NCAA titles are in the top 10 of all NCAA schools in terms of total titles.

Ritchie Center Tower

Skiing is another strong sport at Denver, with 21 NCAA titles (more than any other school) with the Pioneers dominating the current decade. The Pioneers "three-peated" with NCAA titles in 2010, 2009 and 2008, won it in 2005 and as well as three consecutive titles from 2001 to 2003.

Fight Song

The fight song for the University of Denver is Fairest of Colleges, written in 1916. The lyrics are:

D-rah! E-rah! N-rah! VER Boom.
Denver, our Denver,
We sing to thee,
Fairest of colleges,
Give her three times three,
Rah, rah, rah!
Long may we cherish her
Faithful and true.
University of Denver
For me and you.

Mascot

Recent Mascot Changes

Although the DU community indulged the Department of Athletics and Recreation's 1998 efforts to rebrand itself by creating a more marketable image, replacing "Denver Boone" with "Ruckus" was met with a lukewarm response and never gained much traction. By 2006, a movement to bring back the Walt Disney creation had begun to gain momentum. In 2008, a survey of the DU community showed an overwhelming 87% supported reclaiming Boone.[21] Nonetheless, on October 20, 2008, Chancellor Robert Coombe opposed the will of the overwhelming majority via an email to students, citing that Boone "does not reflect the broad diversity of the DU community"[22]. Princeton Review indicates that minorities compose just 7% of the student body[23]. The issue has been covered by the Denver Post[24], NBC affiliate KUSA [25], and ABC affiliate KMGH[26]. Editorials by Valerie Richardson in the Washington Times[27] and Mike Rosen in the Rocky Mountain News[21] have been highly critical of the administration.

By this point, DU had essentially shelved Ruckus, and in November 2008, the university announced its intention to identify a new mascot[28], Boone's departure was far from final. Chancellor Coombe had acknowledged Boone's place in DU's history and stated that "it seems reasonable that students and alumni be allowed to use the image as a celebration of that past, to the extent that they may choose."

Thus, an independent group of alumni resurrected "Denver Boone" on their own as the unofficial mascot of the DU students and alumni community. A costume was privately procured and the initiative was funded entirely by independent alumni contributions[29].

The new mascot was unveiled by students and alumni at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, as part of the 2009 Frozen Four festivities.

Chancellors

Chancellors of the University of Denver [5]:

Notable alumni

Scientists

Politics, Government and Military

Business and Industry

Media

Sports

Arts and Letters

See also

References

  1. ↑ Separated brethren: a review of Protestant, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox & other religions in the United States. Our Sunday Visitor. http://books.google.com/books?id=sw9ILcqw2hsC&pg=PA162&lpg=PA162&dq=salvation+of+separated+brethren&source=bl&ots=ydrVxGCZ6w&sig=L_-DZRvpoMtZSDkrT6HNQcmd4aU&hl=en&ei=xfSvS52yE4faNZX_zJkF&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA0Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=methodist&f=false. Retrieved 2010-03-27. "Among Protestant denominations, Methodists take first place in hospitals and colleges. Some of their one hundred colleges and universities have all but severed ties with the denominations, but others remain definitely Methodist: Syracuse, Boston, Emory, Duke, Drew, Denver, and Southern Methodist. The church operates three hundred sixty schools and institutions overseas. Methodists established Goodwill Industries in 1907 to help handicapped persons help themselves by repairing and selling old furniture and clothes. The United Methodist Church runs seventy-two hospitals in the United States." 
  2. ↑ "Schools by Jurisdiction". United Methodist Church. http://www.gbhem.org/site/c.lsKSL3POLvF/b.5392245/k.9EB1/Schools_by_Region.htm. Retrieved 2009–11–26. 
  3. ↑ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2009_NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values.pdf. Retrieved March 10, 2010. 
  4. ↑ University of Denver (August 1, 2008). "University of Denver - The Look of Campus". http://www.du.edu/experience/life/look-of-campus/. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  5. ↑ University of Denver. Fast Facts about the University of Denver. Retrieved on 2009-02-04.
  6. ↑ Denver Neighborhoods (Statistical) Map. City and County of Denver. Retrieved on August 25, 2006
  7. ↑ CollegeBoard, University of Denver. 2009
  8. ↑ "Academic Ranking of World Universities". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2010. http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2010.jsp. Retrieved May 31, 2010. 
  9. ↑ "United States Universities in Top 500". Institute of Higher Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. 2010. http://www.arwu.org/Country2010Main.jsp?param=United%20States. Retrieved May 31, 2010. 
  10. ↑ "Top 200 - The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010-2011". The Times Higher Education. 2010. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/top-200.html. Retrieved September 16, 2010. 
  11. ↑ "National Universities Rankings". America's Best Colleges 2011. U.S. News & World Report. 2010. http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/college/national-search. Retrieved August 29, 2010. 
  12. ↑ Business Week Undergrad Business Rankings 2008
  13. ↑ [1]
  14. ↑ U.S. News 2009 Law School Rankings
  15. ↑ [2]
  16. ↑ "Study Abroad". http://www.du.edu/intl/abroad/index.html. 
  17. ↑ "The University of Denver Law Students Win National Mock Trial Competition in New Orleans". http://www.justice.org/members/lawstud/STAC/03winners.aspx. 
  18. ↑ University of Denver Daniels School of Business (March 17, 2010). Grad Profiles - University of Denver Daniels School of Business. Web Site.
  19. ↑ Daniels College of Business (September 17, 2007). Wall Street Journal Rankings : Daniels College of Business : University of Denver. Press release.
  20. ↑ DU Today: Chancellor issues decision on student effort to "bring back Boone"
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2009/jan/09/rosen-bring-back-boone/
  22. ↑ http://letsgodu2.blogspot.com/2008/10/chancellor-coombes-email-to-students.html
  23. ↑ http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/business/BizStudents.aspx?iid=1011116
  24. ↑ http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10780962
  25. ↑ http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=102323
  26. ↑ www.thedenverchannel.com/video/17928409/
  27. ↑ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/27/denver-axes-mascot-boone-in-diversity-drive/
  28. ↑ Effort to identify new 'Pioneer' symbol kicks off
  29. ↑ http://media.www.duclarion.com/media/storage/paper481/news/2009/04/07/News/Boone.Battle.Moves.Forward-3700194.shtml
  30. ↑ Hoffman, Jascha. "Arnold Kramish, Expert on Nuclear Intelligence, Dies at 87", The New York Times, July 15, 2010. Accessed July 15, 2010.

The following references are sorted in alphabetical order.

External links

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University of Denver
Academics
University College • Women's College • Daniels College of Business • Morgridge College of Education • School of Engineering and Computer Science • Lamont School of Music
 IMG 2883.JPG
Graduate /
professional schools
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