| Metropolitan State College of Denver | |
|---|---|
| Motto | We Educate Colorado |
| Established | 1965 |
| Type | Public, Urban-grant[1], Space-grant[2] |
| Endowment | US$8.6 million (2009)[3] |
| President | Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D. |
| Academic staff | 299 (fulltime) |
| Undergraduates | 23,948[4] |
| Postgraduates | 47 |
| Location | Denver, Colorado, USA |
| Campus | Urban,126-acre (0.5 km2)[5] |
| Former names | Colorado School of Opportunity Metropolitan State College |
| Colors | Berry Navy |
| Nickname | Roadrunners |
| Mascot | Rowdy the Roadrunner |
| Affiliations |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference |
| Website | www.mscd.edu |
The Metropolitan State College of Denver (also known as Metro State) is a four-year college and now offers certain Graduate programs located in Denver, Colorado, United States. As of 2009, Metro State had the second-largest enrollment of undergraduates of any college in Colorado. With 54 majors and 90 minors, the college is noted for a wide array of liberal arts and sciences programs as well as its teacher education, business, aviation, and criminal justice programs.[6]
In fall 2010, the college began offering master's programs in teacher education and accounting, with social work to begin in fall 2011. The college is noted for its fine athletic programs: Metro State's women's soccer team won the Division II National Championship in 2004 and 2006; the men's basketball team won the Division II National Championship in 2000 and 2002. Metro State 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. Metro State has an enrollment of over 24,000 students.[7]
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Metro State is located in one of the older areas of Denver. The campus is located at the former townsite of Auraria, which was founded in November 1858. Denver was founded three weeks later on the opposing side (east side) of Cherry Creek. Denver would overtake Auraria, yet to the present day, there is still an Auraria neighborhood in Denver. The boundaries of the neighborhood are Colfax Avenue on the south, the South Platte River on the northwest and Cherry Creek on the northeast. The Auraria Campus now dominates this area.
Auraria had a mix of residential areas and industrial areas through the mid-20th century. When the campus was built, many Aurarians, a majority of them Hispanic, were displaced and the school promised to serve the community. The historic Tivoli Brewery was a beer brewery on this site that was preserved and the "Tivoli" now serves as a Student Union to all three schools on the campus; among other things it is noted for being the site of a stage of the now-defunct Coors Classic world-class bicycle race. Two churches are still on the campus, St. Elizabeth's Church and St. Cajetan's. The Emmanuel Gallery, which is the oldest synagogue structure in Denver, is on the campus as well.
The Metropolitan State College of Denver was founded in 1965 as an opportunity school. The concept was that people from all walks of life could have a chance at a college education. By design, Metro State 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. The college also admits all students over the age of 20 that have a GED or high school diploma regardless of their prior academic record, according to the 2004–2005 Metro State College Catalog.
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was held in Denver. The Auraria Campus is situated between Invesco Field at Mile High and the Pepsi Center. Metro State started that semester a week early, closed it for the convention, and then restarted on schedule. The campus was within the security perimeter designated by the United States Secret Service, leading to the decision to close the campus to all except essential personnel.[8]
The Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees on March 9, 2011 voted 5-2 to pursue legislative authority to change the institution's name to "Denver State University."[9][10]
The University of Denver has objected to using "Denver State University" as Metro State's new name. [11][12][13] This has brought up public outrage in the community, with a private university (University of Denver) deciding the fate of a public one (Metro State).[14][15]
The Auraria Campus it the main campus of Metro State and is located to the southwest of downtown Denver in the Auraria Neighborhood, on Speer Boulevard and Auraria Parkway. Metro State shares the campus with two higher education institutions, the University of Colorado Denver and Community College of Denver.
The campus is located in the heart of the central business district and is in close proximity to the Pepsi Center, Elitch Gardens, The Colorado Convention Center, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Larimer Square, and the 16th Street Mall. The reclaimed Tivoli brewery, which closed in 1969, houses the student union. [16]
Light Rail
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On June 7, 2002, Gov. 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 Metro State’s Board of Trustees.[17]
The student government at Metro State operates under the name "Student Government Assembly" (more commonly referred to as "SGA"), and it is composed of legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch is called the SGA Senate, and it is composed of ten senators popularly elected each Spring semester to serve one-year terms of office that begin on June 1. The executive branch includes the popularly elected SGA President, Vice-President, Student Trustee, and two Representatives to a panel known as the Student Advisory Committee to the Auraria Board ("SACAB"). These five officers form the core of a group called the Executive Committee, which also includes the Speaker of the Senate, the SGA Treasurer, and several additional executive officers known as directors. The President and Vice-President are elected jointly as a ticket, and each serves a one-year term of office that runs concurrently with the senators' terms of office; the Student Trustee and SACAB Representatives' terms of office (also one year in length) begin on July 1. The Treasurer and directors are appointed by the SGA President with the consent of the Senate, and they serve at the pleasure of the President. The Senate oversees, and may issue directives to, the SGA President. The President, in turn, is responsible for implementation and for regularly reporting to the Senate on the affairs of the student government.
Checks and balances also exist in the arrangement: the President may veto legislation coming out of the Senate, and the Senate may override a presidential veto with a 2/3 majority. The judicial branch consists of a student court composed of a chief justice and four associate justices. The Metro State Student Court concerns itself with matters of interpretation, judicial review, and conflict resolution. Justices are appointed by the SGA President with the consent of the SGA Senate to serve perpetual terms (until they fall out of qualification or cease to be students at Metro State). The SGA Election Commission is an autonomous panel responsible for administering student government elections. It is composed of a chairperson and four commissioners appointed by the SGA President with the consent of the SGA Senate. The current SGA Constitution was ratified by the student body in December 2004, and it has been amended a total of nine times (most recently, in April 2009).[18]
Metro State provides 55 majors, 90 minors, 40 certificate programs, and individualized degree programs along with Master's programs.[19]
Metropolitan State College of Denver is also home to a variety of projects, research centers, and institutes.
Metro State is accredited by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU)[21] and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA).[4]
List of Metro State's Fraternity and Sorority Chapters.[22]
| Fraternities | Sororities |
|---|---|
| Alpha Phi Alpha (2006) | Delta Sigma Theta (2007) |
| Sigma Lambda Beta (2005) | Lambda Theta Nu (1993) |
| Phi Sigma Sigma (2006) | |
| Pi Lambda Chi (1994) | |
| Sigma Sigma Sigma (2003) |
Office of Student Media[23]
Metro State 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. Metro State competed as a NAIA member until 1983, when the Roadrunners jumped to the NCAA Division II ranks. Since 1998, Metro State 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. Metro State also boasts five individual national championships. Men's swimmer Darwin Strickland won national championships in the 50 meter freestyle and 100 meter freestyle in 1995 and also won the 100 free in 1996. Anthony Luna won men's track championships in the 800 meters during the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2009.[28] Metro State's main rivals are Colorado School of Mines, Fort Lewis College, and Regis University.
Camps and clinics
† = private ‡ = London Consortium[36]
Individuals of note who have attended Metro State include:
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