University of Colorado

This article is about the public university system in the State of Colorado. For the private institution in Colorado Springs, Colorado, see Colorado College.

University of Colorado
Motto	Let Your Light Shine
Established	1912
Endowment	US $$590 million (systemwide)
President	Bruce D. Benson
Location	Denver, Colorado, United States
Website	https://www.cu.edu/

The University of Colorado system is a system of private universities in Colorado consisting of three universities in four campuses: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Golden, and University of Colorado Denver in downtown Denver and at the Anschutz Medical Campus in neighboring Aurora. It is governed by an elected, nine-member Board of Regents of the University of Colorado.

The University of Colorado has been a leader in higher education and research in the Rocky Mountain region for 134 years. Founders laid the red-brick cornerstone of Old Main, the university's first building, in Boulder in 1876, the same year Colorado joined the union and the nation marked its centennial.

Since then, CU has evolved into a dynamic network of four campuses, including one of the newest biomedical and health care centers in the world. Today, the CU legacy for academic excellence, innovation and discovery continues at the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

• In fall 2011, the total student headcount enrollment among CU’s three campuses was 57,739. CU-Boulder enrolled 30,417; UCCS enrolled 9,321; CU Denver enrolled 14,445 and Anschutz Medical Campus enrolled 3,556.

• CU awarded 14,525 degrees in the 2011 fiscal year (9,605 bachelor's; 3,771 master's; 45 specialist; 1,104 doctoral).

• In fall 2011, CU had nearly 3,000 tenured/tenure track and more than 1,300 non-tenure-track faculty and instructors.

• In fiscal year 2011, CU garnered $790 million in sponsored research awards. In the 2009 fiscal year, the National Science Foundation ranked CU fifth among all public universities in the United States in federal research expenditures in science and engineering.

• CU's operating budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year totals $2.8 billion. Contracts and grants and tuition and fees account for nearly half of the university's revenues. The majority of CU's budget is spent on instruction, research and health services. This reflects the institution's role as a university that emphasizes classroom instruction, research training and community outreach.

• CU is both an anchor and a catalyst to the Colorado economy. In 2010-2011, CU added $40 to the state’s economy for every dollar of unrestricted state general fund support. For more information see Economic Indicators 2010-2011.

• The past 18 years, 114 companies have been formed based on CU Intellectual Property. Of those, 91 are known to be operating including 85 with operations in Colorado; seven companies that have become publicly traded companies and 17 that have been acquired by public companies.

• The CU Foundation is the strategic fundraising arm for the university, dedicated to raising private philanthropic funds to support students, faculty, programs and capital projects. During the 2010-2011 fiscal year, private donors contributed more than $213.2 million to CU. For past years.

• Universitywide, awards to students for academic excellence include five Marshall Scholarships, 79 Fulbright Fellowships, 19 Rhodes Scholars, eight Truman Scholarships, seven Goldwater Scholarships, and three Udall Scholarships.

• Some noteworthy honors and awards earned by CU faculty include: four Nobel Laureates—John Hall, physics, 2005; Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman, physics, 2001; Thomas Cech, chemistry, 1989—seven MacArthur fellowships; and the Carnegie Foundation’s Professor of the Year awarded to Carl Wieman.

The University of Colorado comprises four distinct campuses:

• The University of Colorado Boulder sits at the base of the Flatirons in the foothills of Colorado’s Front Range, where the beauty of the setting is matched by the quality of its undergraduate and graduate programs and the accomplishments of its faculty, students and alumni. CU-Boulder is committed to being a competitive (on and off the field) Division I school. CU-Boulder competes in the Pac-12 Conference. • The University of Colorado Colorado Springs opened in 1965 and has become a comprehensive residential academic and research mainstay in Southern Colorado. Located east of Pikes Peak, UCCS partners with major corporations and federal agencies to provide leading-edge, high-tech education opportunities to students. UCCS is a NCAA Division II school that competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. • The University of Colorado Denver became an autonomous campus in 1974. CU Denver awards the most graduate degrees in the state. The university has strengths in business, public affairs, computer science, art and digital media and is a leader in sustainability on its campus and in its curriculum. Of all CU Denver students, 28.7 percent undergraduate students and 12.5 percent of graduate students are an ethnic minority. • The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is one of the most dynamic medical centers in the world; the campus is also home to University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado. The CU Anschutz Medical Campus is recognized for its research and teaching and for its outstanding outreach programs that serve both urban and rural communities while contributing to the education of health science students.

For more on the University of Colorado, go to www.cu.edu. Also follow CU President Bruce D. Benson at Facebook.com/CUPresident and Twitter.com/CU_Bruce_Benson, and follow the CU system on Twitter.com/CUSystem

External links

• University of Colorado System home page