45 Years of Metro State
1965
Metro State
Metropolitan State College opens for registration in the Forum Building at West 14th Avenue and Cherokee Street on Oct. 1. By midnight, 1,187 students have enrolled. Dr. Harlan Bryant is acting president and Lester W. Thonssen and Tom Cook are the first faculty members hired.
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Colorado
Arapahoe Community College is founded in Littleton. The South Platte River floods, triggering debate over the creation of the Chatfield Reservoir.
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US & the World
Malcolm X is assassinated. The first U.S. combat troops arrive in Vietnam.
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1966
Metro State
Dr. Kenneth Phillips is the first permanent president and the Kingston Trio is the first musical act to play at Metro State. The White Mule, a bar on Colfax and Elati, becomes the first unofficial student union. The first student newspaper, Metropolitan (sans “The”), appears, due to the work of faculty advisers Henry Baley and Joy Yunker and editor Joseph Fuentes.
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Colorado
Denver Chicano rights activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales founds La Crusada Para la Justicia (the Crusade for Justice).
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US & the World
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded. “Star Trek” airs for the first time on television.
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1967
Metro StateStudents take over the school newspaper, changing the name to simply The Paper. “Columbine,” Metro State’s first and only yearbook, is published. |
Colorado
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is first found in Colorado in a captive herd of mule deer.
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US & the World
Massive anti-war protests are held in Washington, D.C. Ernesto “Che” Guevara is killed. The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles with Green Bay beating Kansas City 35-10.
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1968
Metro State
Gov. John A. Love presents the Metro State library with volumes of books, many from his private collection. The college hires 50 teachers for the upcoming year. The Glenarm Building opens for student use.
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ColoradoCinderella City shopping mall opens in Englewood. Denver Community College opens, too. |
US & the World
Lyndon Johnson withdraws from the presidential race and Richard Nixon is elected. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy are assassinated.
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1969
Metro State
The first Metro State baccalaureate graduates attend their commencement ceremony; the school celebrates its first and only pre-lunar landing graduating class, just 49 days before Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon. The men’s basketball team plays its first season.
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ColoradoDenver voters approve the creation of the Auraria campus. John Denver begins his solo career, singing hits such as “Rocky Mountain High” that were inspired by his time living in Aspen. Labor strikes and a major flood close the Tivoli brewery. Denver’s oldest church, the Emmanuel Gallery, is approved for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. |
US & the World
The Woodstock music festival goes down in history, with 500,000 concert goers and no violence. President Nixon begins troop withdrawal from Vietnam. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren retires and is replaced by Warren Burger. The Internet, then called Advanced Research Projects Agency Net or ARPANET, is born and “Sesame Street” debuts. Yasser Arafat becomes leader of the PLO.
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1970
Metro StateAfter intense debate, Colorado legislators approve $1.9 million for construction of the Auraria Higher Education complex. Student fees are allocated to help support the intercollegiate sports program. Metro State names Terry Schiessler head coach of the baseball team. Metro State closes on May 18 to memorialize those killed at Jackson State College and students gather at the state capital building to protest the Kent State killings and expansion of the Indo-China war. |
ColoradoGovernor John A. Love is re-elected for a third term. District Attorney J.D. McKevitt defeats democrat Craig Barnes to become the first Republican congressman from Denver in over two decades. $15 million Western Electric plant is built northwest of Denver. In another educational move, legislators change the name of Colorado State College in Greeley to the University of Northern Colorado. |
US & the World
Nixon orders invasion of Cambodia. The first Earth Day is celebrated. The Beatles break up.
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1971
Metro State
Dr. James D. Palmer is named president. The Metro State Alumni Association is founded. Denver Police Department narcotics agents stage the campus’s first and only raid on the school newspaper, but find no drugs.
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Colorado
Aquamarine is adopted as the state’s gemstone.
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US & the World
The Pentagon Papers are published. VCRs are introduced to the public.
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1972
Metro StateDebates are held to discuss changing Metro State from a quarter to semester system. The college initiates a drug and alcohol counselor training program. Plans to build a Metro State-only student center are put on hold. |
Colorado
Voters pass a state constitutional amendment and Denver charter amendment preventing spending of public funds for the Olympics; as a result Denver loses its bid for the 1976 winter games. City of Littleton creates Chatfield Reservoir.
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US & the World
President Nixon wins re-election. The Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate are broken into. Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act passes, banning sex discrimination in schools in both academics and athletics. Congress passes the Equal Rights Amendment, which still requires ratification by the states. A terrorist attack at the Olympic Games in Munich kills 11 Israeli athletes.
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1973
Metro StateDenver Urban Renewal Authority purchases the Tivoli building. The property is handed to the state, paving the way for Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) to become the custodian. |
Colorado
Eisenhower Tunnel opens through Loveland Pass.
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US & the World
Vietnamese and American leaders meet to sign the Paris Peace Accords. Roe v. Wade legalizes abortion. The Sears Tower is built in Chicago.
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1974
Metro State
Metro State changes mascots from Mustangs to Roadrunners as a tribute to students running across the heavy traffic between Speer Blvd. and Colfax to get to class.
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Colorado
Richard Lamm is elected governor of Colorado and serves 12 years, the longest of any governor in state history. Ground is broken on the construction of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
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US & the World
Nixon resigns amidst Watergate scandal; Gerald Ford assumes the presidency and pardons Nixon.
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1975
Metro StateThe debut of Metro State’s first song, “MSC on the Move with Colorado,” celebrates the school’s 10-year anniversary. |
Colorado
McNichols Sports Arena is completed.
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US & the World
Saigon falls to the North Vietnamese and the U.S suffers a severe economic recession. Arthur Ashe is the first black man to win Wimbledon. Bill Gates founds Microsoft. Civil war breaks out in Lebanon.
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1976
Metro StateThe college discontinues its two-year programs. Preparations begin for the move to the newly completed Auraria campus. |
ColoradoThe Big Thompson river flood claims 145 lives; it’s the largest natural disaster in Colorado history. Colorado celebrates its 100th year of statehood. |
US & the World
Jimmy Carter is elected 39th president of the United States. North and South Vietnam merge, forming the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Tang Shan earthquake kills more than 240,000.
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1977
Metro StateAfter 12 years of leasing classroom space in 13 downtown buildings, Metro State begins its first semester on the 169-acre Auraria campus, which it shares with the University of Colorado at Denver and the Community College of Denver. Auraria’s first Student Union director, Roger Braun (a Metro State graduate), gives the grand- opening speech for the new student center, which is located in the Plaza building. Hundreds of Auraria students participate in the campus’s first organized protest: to have a traffic light installed at 10th and Lawrence Streets. |
ColoradoTremendous growth is seen throughout the Front Range, particularly in Denver’s suburbs. |
US & the World
Elvis Presley, the King of Rock & Roll, dies in his Graceland home at the age of 42. Blockbuster film “Star Wars” premieres in sold-out theaters across the world. The First National Women’s Conference is held in Houston, Texas. Miniseries “Roots” airs.
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1978
Metro StateColorado state legislators discuss a potential merger of Metro State into the University of Colorado at Denver. After eight consecutive losing seasons the men’s basketball team finishes the season with a 0-24 record. Metro administration decides to disband the team for at least six years. |
Colorado
Protestors arrested for blocking the tracks into the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant.
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US & the World
President Carter negotiates Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt. The ruling in Bakke v. University of California limits affirmative action. Bee Gees hit song “Stayin’ Alive” is No. 1 on pop charts. John Paul II is named Pope.
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1979
Metro State
Dr. Donald J. MacIntyre becomes president. The Metropolitan school newspaper debuts. AHEC and various student organizations host the first John Belushi Can Smashing Contest to promote Keep Auraria Beautiful Day.
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Colorado
First running of the Bolder Boulder 10K race.
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US & the World
Hostages are held at the American embassy in Tehran, Iran. Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurs. The Moral Majority is founded. Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman Prime Minister of England. Sony introduces the Walkman.
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1980
Metro State
The Auraria Friday Afternoon Club, the first student event for all of Auraria, has a great turnout but fails to generate much money due to the mysterious disappearance of 80 keg taps.
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Colorado
Construction begins on Colorado Highway 470. Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” is released. Based on Stephen King’s novel, the movie was filmed at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo.
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US & the World
Ronald Reagan is elected 40th president of the United States. John Lennon is murdered. Mount St. Helens erupts. Ted Turner establishes CNN.
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1981
Metro StateMetro State begins its first co-ed weight training class. The first telecourses are offered, combining the classroom setting with television segments. Sixty-two students enroll for the new classes. |
ColoradoThe state’s economy reaches record highs through the oil shale boom, which began the year before. |
US & the World
Sandra Day O’Connor is nominated as the first woman justice on the Supreme Court. MTV debuts. The AIDS epidemic begins and an assassination attempt on President Reagan fails. IBM introduces personal computers (PCs).
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1982
Metro State
Dr. Richard Fontera is named Metro State’s president. Auraria’s St. Francis Conference Center architect Marvin Hatami is presented an Award of Honor by the American Institute of Architects. For the first and only year the Metro women’s sports teams join the men in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Volleyball has an excellent season, finishing as district champs and third place nationally.
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ColoradoExxon announces the closure of its oil shale fields, laying off thousands and sending the state into a depression. |
US & the World
USA Today debuts. Smash film “E.T.” is released. Michael Jackson releases his hit album “Thriller.”
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1983
Metro State
Escalators are installed in the Tivoli. President Fontera hires Bob Ligouri as the head coach of the reconstituted men’s basketball team. Denver Broncos senior director for media/public relations Jim Saccomano is named Metro State Alumnus of the Year.
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Colorado
Federico Peña is elected to the first of two terms as mayor of Denver. Denver Broncos acquire rookie quarterback John Elway.
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US & the World
President Reagan proposes the “Star Wars” defense project. Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. Terrorists attack the U.S. Embassy building in Beirut.
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1984
Metro StateMetro State is dealt a devastating blow in April when President Fontera dies of cancer. Student Patricia Volk-DiBenedetto graduates and later goes on to work for MTV, ESPN, and NBC. In 1996 she signs on to become a part of the management team that launches the news network MSNBC. |
ColoradoGovernor Lamm announces he will not run in the 1986 election. Alan Berg, whose radio show on KOA reached more than 200,000 listeners in 38 states, is shot and killed in his driveway by an unknown assailant. |
US & the World
Geraldine Ferraro becomes the first woman on
a major presidential party ticket after Walter Mondale selects her as his running mate. Reagan is re-elected president in a landslide victory.
Vietnam War Memorial opens in Washington, D.C.
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1985
Metro State
Paul Magelli is named president. The remodel of the Tivoli
is completed and includes a variety
of shopping stores and an AMC movie theater. The Mercantile Building’s
3.2 bar, The Cellar, closes after only
two years.
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ColoradoFirst segments of Colorado Highway 470 opened for public use. |
US & the World
Gramm-Rudman Act is passed to enforce a balanced budget. The first holes in the ozone layer are discovered. Mikhail Gorbachev unveils his political brainchild, Glasnost and Perestroika. Remains of the Titanic are found.
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1986
Metro StateThe Institute for Women’s Studies and Services opens. Angela Davis speaks at St. Cajetan’s to commemorate Black History Month and Women’s History Week. Denver Post reporter and Metro State journalism professor Louis Kilzer wins 1986 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for public service. |
ColoradoRoy Romer is elected governor of Colorado. Ben Nighthorse Campbell is elected to U.S. House of Representatives on the Democratic ticket. |
US & the World
Iran-Contra scandal unfolds. Immigration Reform and Control Act is passed. The space shuttle Challenger explodes. U.S. bombs Libya.
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1987
Metro StatePresident Magelli resigns. Metro State becomes the first college in Colorado, and only third in the country behind Brigham Young and Georgia State, to register students by phone. Award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch writes “The Fire of MSC” as a gift to the school. The tune becomes Metro State’s school song. Professor of history and chairman of the Metro State Athletic Council Dolph Grundman proposes a Division II intercollegiate sports program and increased funding for Metro State athletics. |
ColoradoDenver Museum of Nature and Science begins a 187,000-square-foot addition to its complex. |
US & the World
Stock market collapses in Reagan’s final year in office. First use of DNA to convict criminals occurs. Klaus Barbie, the Nazi Butcher of Lyons, is sentenced to life in prison.
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1988
Metro State
Dr. Thomas B. Brewer is named president. The Plain and Fancy Ball debuts as a college fundraiser. The occasion draws 800 alumni and friends and raises $40,000 for student scholarships.
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ColoradoMajor growth in technology industries occurs in Colorado, reviving the slumping economy. |
US & the World
George H. W. Bush elected 41st president of the United States. Pan Am flight 103 is bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland.
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1989
Metro State
The historic Golda Meir Building is relocated to Auraria campus. Greg Pearson, the former chair of the journalism department, dies. He is posthumously named Journalism Educator of 1988 by the Society of Professional Journalists. Metro State begins airing its own monthly television show, “Metropolitan Magazine,” becoming the first college in Colorado to produce a broadcast-quality television program.
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Colorado
Over three-fifths of Denver residents vote to build a new airport. 75 federal agents raid Rocky Flats in the first criminal investigation of a U.S. nuclear weapons plant. Vail hosts the 1989 World Alpine Ski Championships and sells a record number of lift tickets.
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US & the World
The Berlin Wall is torn down, reuniting Germany. Exxon Valdez spills millions of gallons of oil on coastline. Students are massacred in Tiananmen Square, China.
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1990
Metro StateThe college celebrates its 25th anniversary. The Metro State Center for the Visual Arts opens. Metro’s Aerospace Science Department receives a $200,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “Metropolis Magazine” is first published. |
ColoradoThe Colorado Convention Center opens in downtown Denver. Voters approve limited gambling in Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek. Governor Romer is elected to his second term. |
US & the World
The Persian Gulf War begins. The Hubble Telescope is launched into space. Nelson Mandela is freed from Robben Island.
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1991
Metro State
Auraria students vote to buy the lease on the Tivoli and convert the area into the student union. Executive order No. 3690 bans smoking in campus buildings. Tramway building on 13th and Arapahoe opens for Metro State classes. The first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Awards Breakfast is held. The student organization Movimiento Estudiatil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) hosts the National MEChA Conference.
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Colorado
The stegosaurus is named state fossil.
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US & the World
The Soviet Union disbands and South Africa repeals its apartheid laws.
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1992
Metro StatePresident Brewer announces his plans to step down so he can teach history. The Student Development Mentoring Program is created to make the transition from high school to college easier. Al Ashton is named head coach of the men’s soccer team. Metro State raises admission standards, rejecting 353 applicants. |
Colorado
Wellington Webb is elected first African-American mayor of Denver. Ben Nighthorse Campbell is elected to the United States Senate.
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US & the World
The Cold War ends. Bill Clinton is elected 41st president of the United States and appoints Janet Reno the first female attorney general. Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King verdict.
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1993
Metro State
Sheila Kaplan is named president. Maya Angelou gives her first presentation at Auraria campus. Comedienne Ellen DeGeneres entertains Auraria students. State Senator Stephen Ruddick named Metro’s 1993 Distinguished Alumnus.
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Colorado
Byron Raymond White, Colorado’s only Supreme Court justice, retires at 76. Pope John Paul II visits Denver for World Youth Day.
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US & the World
The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act is passed and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is ratified. Reno orders raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas. The World Trade Center is bombed.
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1994
Metro State
Jazz pianist Billy Taylor is Metro State’s first Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Visiting Professor. Auraria’s first Light Rail station opens on Colfax.
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ColoradoFirst segment of the Light Rail system opens from 30th and Downing to I-25 and Broadway. Governor Romer is elected to a third consecutive term. |
US & the World
Republicans gain control of Congress. O.J. Simpson is arrested for double murder. Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa.
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1995
Metro State
Metro State goes online with its first homepage at www.mscd.edu. Rosie Durbin is the first Roadrunner to win the Colorado NCAA Woman of the Year award.
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Colorado
Denver International Airport opens. The Colorado Rockies play their first game at Coors Field and make their one and only playoff appearance to date. The Colorado Avalanche plays its inaugural season in 1995-96 and wins the Stanley Cup.
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US & the WorldPresident Clinton sends U.S. troops to enforce peace in Bosnia. Congress passes parts of its Contract with America. The Murrah Building in Oklahoma City is bombed, killing 168 in the worse domestic terrorist attack ever. A sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subways kills 12 and injures thousands.Back to Top |
1996
Metro StateMetro State’s first online course “Communications 261- Introduction to Technical Writing” fares well, with 21 students. Bill Daniels, one of cable TV’s founders, sets a new world record for average ground speed for a light business class jet circumnavigating the globe at 475 miles per hour. The command center selected for the feat is Metro State’s World Indoor Airport (WIA). Aerospace students participate in the event by monitoring the trip and communicating with traffic control at re-fueling stops. |
ColoradoThe state loses its bid to have the Supreme Court uphold an amendment that would have prevented any city, town or county in Colorado from taking actions to protect the rights of homosexuals. |
US & the World
President Clinton is reelected and appoints Madeline Albright as first woman to head the Department of State. Mad Cow Disease hits England. Unabomber Ted Kaczynski is arrested.
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1997
Metro StateOne of the ten worst storms in Denver’s history causes massive damage to the Auraria campus and the Tivoli, leaving close to five feet of water in the student union’s stairwell. Harvard professor Alvin Poussaint gives a lecture at the Tivoli Turnhalle on affirmative action and racism. Mike Dunlap is named head coach of the men’s basketball team. |
Colorado
Denver Broncos win the first of their back-to-back Super Bowl championships. Coloradoans elect A. Wayne Allard to the United States Senate.
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US & the World
Tiger Woods wins his first Masters. Scientists clone sheep. Hong Kong is returned to China. Princess Diana of Wales dies in an automobile accident at age 36.
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1998
Metro StatePresident Kaplan extends Thanksgiving break by one day. Auraria Board of Directors unanimously approves the purchase of the Lawrence Street Center to provide administrative office space. Coors Brewing Company donates $315,000 to Metro State for a program to recruit and train minority students to be teachers. US West Foundation donates $1 million for the US West Center for Business Success at Metro State. |
Colorado
Bill Owens is elected governor. Flood in Ft. Collins in July kills five, causes CSU millions in damage. John Denver dies in a plane crash. Gary Lee Davis becomes the first Colorado inmate to be executed in 30 years for the murder of housewife Ginny May. Three years after being kidnapped by her father, Emilie Pearson is returned to her mother in Grand Junction.
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US & the World
Bill Clinton is impeached; one year later he’s acquitted. Mark McGuire breaks the single-season homerun record with 70 dingers. India and Pakistan test nuclear weapons. “Titanic” becomes the top-grossing box-office film ever.
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1999
Metro State
Students and professors from the Human Performance, Sport and Leisure Studies Department appear on “Good Morning America” with Diane Sawyer and Charles Gibson. Administration Building opens on west side of the campus. Auraria participates in Denver AIDS Walk, raising over $11,000. Rapper Chuck D. speaks at the Tivoli Turnhalle.
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Colorado
Columbine High School killings are mourned by Denver and the nation. Pepsi Center opens with a sold-out concert by Celine Dion.
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US & the World
United States and NATO forces intervene in Kosovo. John F. Kennedy Jr. dies in an airplane accident. The Euro, the new European currency, debuts.
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2000
Metro State
Kaplan/Newsweek recognizes Metro State as one of the 33 Best Values in Higher Education; others on the list include Texas A&M, UC-Berkley and Rice University. Men’s basketball wins the Division II National Championship, the first national college basketball championship for any school in Colorado history. Men’s soccer reaches
the NCAA tournament for the first time. Tramway Building on Arapahoe and 13th Street houses its
final Metro State classes. Sigi’s pool hall in the
Tivoli closes for seven and a half months due to budget shortages.
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ColoradoLight Rail’s southwest extension to Mineral Avenue in Littleton opens. McNichols Arena is demolished. |
US & the WorldGeorge W. Bush is elected 43rd president of the United States in a contested election.Back to Top |
2001
Metro StateNew C-Line track of Light Rail includes a stop at Auraria West. Controversial hip-hop artist Ice-T speaks at Tivoli Turnhalle. Student fees increased to renovate the Tivoli, PE/Event Center and the Childcare Center. |
Colorado
Colorado Avalanche
win their second Stanley Cup Championship. Mile High Stadium
is demolished after standing in
Denver for 53 years.
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US & the World
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden orchestrates September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon buildings, killing more than 3,000 people. In response U.S. forces invade Afghanistan.
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2002
Metro State
Auraria campus adds new classrooms as attendance reaches record high. Actor and political activist Danny Glover speaks at Tivoli Turnhalle on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Men’s basketball wins second Division II national championship.
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Colorado
Gov. Owens is re-elected. Invesco Field at Mile High opens.
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US & the World
Legendary Boston Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams dies at the age of 83. International Criminal Court (ICC) is established. Salt Lake City hosts the Winter Olympics.
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2003
Metro StateAuraria students hold anti-war demonstrations that are backed by 17 campus organizations. Metro State has first Homecoming celebration in ten years. Renowned linguistic and political expert Noam Chomsky speaks at Auraria campus. New renovations to the Tivoli begin. |
ColoradoJohn Hickenlooper is elected mayor of Denver L.A. Lakers star Kobe Bryant is accused of raping a woman from Eagle, Colo. |
US & the World
U.S. troops initiate Operation Iraqi Freedom. Space shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from a human cell, dies prematurely.
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2004
Metro State
Metro State women’s soccer team wins Division II championship. Metro is awarded the largest federal grant in school history, receiving a $9.5 million Teacher Quality Enhancement grant from the U.S. Department of EducationThe spring semester’s 0.9 percent enrollment increase over the spring of 2003 marks the 9th consecutive semester that Metro’s attendance has grown. Student headcount now stands at 19,369.
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ColoradoKen Salazar is elected to the United States Senate, defeating Pete Coors. |
US & the World
President Bush is re-elected. Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is captured by U.S. troops. A tsunami hits southeast Asia in one of the worst natural disasters in history. Barack Obama of Illinois becomes U.S. senator. Facebook Launched April 2004
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2005
Metro State
Metro State appoints Stephen Jordan president and celebrates its 40-year anniversary. Marketing Professor Nancy Frontczak named Marketing Educator of the Year for 2005 by the National Marketing Educators’ Association. For the second year in a row, The Met Report receives the national Mark of Excellence award from the Society of Professional Journalists as “Best All-Around Online Student Broadcast Station” in the country. |
Colorado
Denver political activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales dies. The Ellie Caulkins Opera House opens and Denver hosts the NBA All-Star Game. |
US & the World
Al Qaeda in Europe claims responsibility for terrorist attacks in London that kill more than 50; 92-year-old civil rights activist Rosa Park passes away. Hurricane Katrina lands on southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29, and is the costliest and one of the five deadliest natural disasters in U.S. history.Back to Top |
2006
Metro State President Stephen Jordan announces Metro State's cross-disciplinary Center for Innovation. The Auraria Campus is the No. 1 purchaser of green power energy among Colorado’s universities and ranks 13th nationally. Metro State gets a new logo that supports the College’s brand. |
Colorado
William “Bill” Ritter becomes Colorado’s 41st governor. Denver Art Museum’s Hamilton Wing Expansion opens. The National Western Stock Show celebrates its 100th year. |
US & the World
The International Astronomical Union demotes Pluto to a "dwarf planet." The 300 millionth U.S. citizen is born. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president, becoming Africa's first female elected head of state.Back to Top |
2007
Metro State Candidates for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president Sen. John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign on campus. The FAA awards Metro State the highly coveted Air Traffic Controller Collegiate Training Initiative designation for its Aviation and Aerospace Science Department. The ‘08 DNC host committee president Elbra Wedgeworth addresses the fall graduating class. |
Colorado
Colorado Rockies advance to their first World Series. Light Rail service on 1-25 and southwest metro corridor opens. Denver Arts Week debuts to showcase arts organizations of all sizes and mediums. |
US & the World
Nancy Pelosi becomes first female Speaker of the House. Bob Barker airs his last episode as host of the game show, The Price is Right. Gordon Brown replaces Tony Blair as the prime minister of Great Britain.Back to Top |
2008
Metro State
Metro State President Stephen Jordan is the keynote speaker at Denver's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. march and parade at the Civic Center. The College presents the “Skyline Park Lecture Series: Countdown to the 2008 Democratic National Convention” in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1908 DNC held in Denver. Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology Allison Cotton is a convention delegate and blogs for Metro State. |
Colorado
Denver hosts the ’08 DNC in August and celebrates its 150-year anniversary. Colorado ranks 8th among the states in coal production in the U.S. |
US & the World
Barack Obama defeats John McCain to become the first African American elected president of the United States. World Youth Day, the largest youth event in the world, is held in Sydney, Australia.Back to Top |
2009
Metro State
Three Pulitzer Prize photojournalists are teaching in the journalism school. College’s “right-sizing with technology” initiative praised by the Chronicle of Higher Education in its Oct. 25 issue. On May 5, Gov. Bill Ritter holds a signing ceremony at the Capitol for HB-1295: A Bill for an Act Concerning Authorizing Metropolitan State College of Denver to Offer Master’s Degree Programs. |
Colorado
The State’s oldest newspaper, The Rocky Mountain News, closes. The new Colorado History Center (Museum) holds groundbreaking. |
US & the World
The World Health Organization declares a global pandemic for H1N1 influenza. Celebrities Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both die on June 25.Back to Top |
2010
Metro State New design unveiled for Rowdy, the College mascot. Metro State Board of Trustees votes to establish HLC@Metro, Inc., which will own the proposed Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center. More than 1,600 students graduate at the College’s first outdoor Commencement ceremony held at the Auraria Athletic Fields and the Auraria Science Building opens. The College's inaugural master's programs, in accounting and teacher education, debut with 50 students. |
Colorado
Denver hosts the Biennial of the Americas, a month-long international event celebrating the culture, ideas and people of the Western Hemisphere. Gov. Bill Ritter signs Senate Bill 3, a bipartisan measure that grants public colleges and universities greater flexibility in setting tuition through Fiscal Year 2016. |
US & the World April 20, Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes; the oil spill is one of the largest in history. Spain takes first place at the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa. Facebook surpasses half a billion active users around the world; movie, “The Social Network, about its beginnings premieres Oct. 1.Back to Top |