The ('''CU-Boulder''', '''UCB''' officially; '''Colorado''', '''CU''' colloquially) is the
Flagship University of the
University Of Colorado system. CU has produced a number of
Astronaut s,
Nobel Prize laureates (three in the last five years), and other individuals notable in their fields. It is known as one of the
Public Ivies . The January 2004 edition of ''
The Economist '' ranked CU as the 11th-best public university in the world and 31st best university globally for 2003. It is also home to the 2004 U.S. Professor of the Year,
Nobel Laureate in Physics
Carl Wieman , as well as the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physics,
John L. Hall .
In March 14, 1876, the Colorado state legislature passed an amendment to state constitution which provided for the establishment of the University of Colorado in Boulder, the
School Of Mines in
Golden and an Agricultural College in
Fort Collins , which would later become
CSU .
The cornerstone of the building that would become Old Main was laid September 20, 1875. The doors of the university opened on September 5, 1877. At the time there were few
High School s in the state that could adequately prepare students for university work, so in addition to the University, a preparatory school was formed on campus. In the fall of 1877, the student body consisted of 15 students in the college proper and 50 students in the preparatory school. There were 38 men and 27 women, and their ages ranged from 12-23 years.
Colorado Buffs
Sports teams at the school are called ''Buffaloes''. CU participates in the
NCAA ’s
Division I (I-A for
Football ) as a member of the Northern Division of the
Big 12 Conference . The school mascot is
Ralphie the
Buffalo and the school colors are Silver and Gold, but are usually represented by Black and Gold. There are three official fight songs: “Glory Colorado”, “Go Colorado”, and “Fight CU."
In 1934, the University teams were officially nicknamed the "Buffaloes". Previous nicknames used by the press included the “Silver Helmets” and “Frontiersmen.” The final game of 1934, against
DU , saw the first running of a buffalo in a Colorado football game. A buffalo calf was rented from a local ranch and ran along the sidelines.
CU has won national championships in both men’s and women’s cross country, skiing, and half a
National Championship In Football . Conference championships have also been won in several sports.
In
Football , CU enjoys major rivalries with the
Nebraska Cornhuskers and the
Colorado State Rams. The Buffs begin each football season with the “
Rocky Mountain Showdown ” against Colorado State. Usually the game has been played at
Invesco Field At Mile High , but the game has been moved to
Folsom Field when CU is the home team in the series. However, in 2006, the game will again be played at Invesco Field at Mile High. Since the 1990s, Colorado and Nebraska have finished their respective seasons in a nationally televised confrontation on the Friday following
Thanksgiving .
In late 2005, Head Coach Gary Barnett was asked to resign his position after CU lost 70-3 against then #2-ranked University of Texas.
CU also maintains one of the largest Club Sports departments in the U.S. It supports over 30 club teams with leading clubs such as cycling and field hockey.
In 2004, the University of Colorado was sued in federal district court for its alleged role in fostering the environment in which the plaintiff was gang-raped by CU football players and recruits. The substance of the allegation was that the CU Athletic Department had knowingly facilitated alcohol use and sex with female CU students to sell its program to recruits while overlooking a pattern of bad behavior, including at least two rapes, by players and recruits. The event soon became a political and media event with sensational headlines. The governor and district attorneys all made public statements about the case.
Several investigations were initiated by various authorities, but no criminal charges were filed. The civil suit was dismissed in the spring of 2005, by which time the Athletic Director and the President of the University resigned, and former Chancellor
Richard Byyny resigned to take a position at the
Health Sciences Center in
Denver , in part due to the publicity surrounding the recruiting scandal and due to alcohol issues on campus. CU Head Football Coach Gary Barnett, however, was not asked to resign until some time later, when the football team experienced a series of losses on the field. The federal court judge who dismissed the charges indicated that the sexual assault of a high school girl by CU football recruits in 1997 did not indicate that college students were at risk. He also indicated that other alleged assaults perpetrated by football players and program employees were irrelevant to the lawsuit and that the university was not “deliberately indifferent” to the victimization of women.
In the spring of 2004, CU fired Professor
R. Igor Gamow of the Chemical Engineering Department for moral turpitude. Several women, including students, had come forward over many years with allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and threats of retaliation by Gamow. In 2002, a former assistant of Gamow’s filed a lawsuit against the University alleging sexual harassment and sexual assault. After the lawsuit was filed, CU began to take steps to fire the professor. In 2004 the CU Board of Regents unanimously upheld the recommendation to fire Gamow. The lawsuit by the former assistant is expected to be held in federal court in 2006. Professor Gamow has also filed a lawsuit against CU in an attempt to be reinstated.
In 2005, CU
Ethnic Studies professor
Ward Churchill was the center of a controversy involving an essay he penned on
September 11 ,
2001 . The essay, “On the Justice of Roosting Chickens,” drew comparisons between some of the workers in the
World Trade Center and
Adolf Eichmann , the man largely responsible for the logistical operations of German
Concentration Camps . The essay was largely a condemnation of American foreign policy in the decades before September 11th, particularly with regard to
Iraq .
See Also: List of University of Colorado at Boulder people
The University of Colorado at Boulder ranks fourth among U.S. universities in number of astronauts produced, not including military academies.
The CU-Boulder Campus is located about 1/4 mile from Pearl Street. On the outskirts of Campus, there is "The Hill" which has shops, restaurants, etc. Further up "The Hill" are fraternities and sororites.
On Campus, there are three theaters, one of which is the
Mary Rippon Theater , an outdoor theater.
Macky Auditorium is a large building on the University of Colorado campus, which plays host to various talks, plays, and musical performances. Andrew J. Macky was a prominent businessman involved with the town of Boulder in the late 1800’s. He created the First National Bank of Boulder, and many other notable landmarks in the town where he was also a carpenter and involved in politics.
The
Auditorium opened its doors in 1923, thirteen years after construction started. Macky's adopted daughter, May, sued for a third of Macky's estate, a case which took thirteen years to settle. The university eventually won the case, and the majority of critical construction on the building resumed. May, was angered that her father left her no money in his will, while leaving $300,000 to CU for the hall’s construction.
The building has a variety of architectural elements from various buildings around the globe that President Baker, CU’s president at the turn of the century, admired. The result is a unique building, with two large towers and sprawling ivy, that sets itself apart from the rest of the CU campus. Macky was refurbished in 1986, with improved seating, custom carpeting, modern plumbing and an elevator.
Macky is the home of a two departments on campus, the Film Studies Department and the Choral Department, and it houses an
art gallery which is open Wednesdays, and to patrons during performances. A wide range of entertainers perform at Macky each year, from Phillip Glass to Wilco. The hall houses almost all performances by the
Boulder Philharmonic , the
Artist Series , and the
CU Opera . Macky is also the home of many lectures including the famous
Conference on World Affairs held at CU each spring.
Macky is also the location of a campus murder. In July of 1966, Elaura Jaquette, a twenty year old student, was lured into the west tower of the building by
Joseph Morse , a janitor at Macky. She was raped and brutally murdered in the organ practice room. The murder room is now an office. Campus legend claims her ghost still haunts the building.
CU-Boulder has an
Honor Code that all students must adhere to in their academic pursuits. A copy of the code, engraved on a metal plate, is posted in every classroom on campus. The Honor Code is a result of a student initative, the honor code took effect in 2000 after the student body voted in favor of the code.
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The code states: ''On my honor as a University of Colorado at Boulder student I have neither given nor received unauthorized assistance.''
Students at the University of Colorado at Boulder are expected to uphold the ideals of ethics and honor in all of their academic pursuits. If students do not they are held accountable through the student-run honor code system.
- 29,000 Students
- 24,000 Undergraduates
- 4,400 Graduate Students
- 47% Women
- 53% Men
- 66% In State (Colorado Resident)
- 34% Non Resident
- 14% Minorities
- 4% International Students
