April 2011
In this issue:
$110 million in construction projects with no taxpayer dollars
On the verge of a new name
Serving veterans
Meeting the demographic imperative
Great urban teachers converge at Denver summit
Metro State program hones tools of the preschool mind
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President Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D.
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Dear friends,
Spring, the harbinger of new growth, is a fitting season for the many exciting initiatives Metro State is undertaking, from the groundbreaking of our innovative hotel and hospitality learning center and our potential name change to Denver State University to our new array of services for our student veterans and our successful efforts to recruit and retain more Latino students. In addition, innovative programs in
K-12 and early childhood education are providing teachers with the resources they need to help their students succeed.
I hope you’ll enjoy reading more about our latest initiatives below and, as always, I welcome your ideas and suggestions for this newsletter (please send them to me at stevejordan@mscd.edu). I also hope you will be an advocate for Metro State by passing along this information to people who may have an interest.
Sincerely,
Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D.
President
$110 million in construction projects with no taxpayer dollars
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| Artist’s rendering of the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center at Metro State, which broke ground on March 31
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Metro State’s $45 million Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC) is a unique public/private partnership. The HLC broke ground on March 31, the second building in the Metro State neighborhood to do so. The Student Success Building, paid for with student fees, broke ground late last year. As both Denver Mayor Bill Vidal and Colorado Tourism Director Al White noted at the groundbreaking, these two projects bring a total of $110 million in construction projects to Denver without using any taxpayer dollars.
When completed in fall 2012, the HLC will be one of only 12 teaching hotels on a college campus in the country. Located west of the corner of Speer Boulevard and Auraria Parkway, the hotel will be a SpringHill Suites® by Marriott run by our partner and longtime supporter Sage Hospitality, which made an initial pledge of $250,000. The HLC will include 150 hotel rooms, as well as conference facilities, and will provide hands-on training opportunities for the ever-growing enrollment —now at 600—in Metro State’s Hospitality, Tourism and Events Department.
One hundred percent of the hotel’s profits will go back to the College for scholarships and academic programming.
On the verge of a new name
While beginning to carve out a physical identity on campus with our new buildings, Metro State also recently addressed our symbolic identity in the community and in the state, conducting an assessment of whether the name Metropolitan State College of Denver reflects the evolution of our institution. On March 9, our Board of Trustees voted to pursue legislative approval to change our name to Denver State University, a name we believe better reflects our status and will only strengthen our mission of accessible, affordable, high-quality education. The board’s decision came after 9,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members voted in an online survey, with 80 percent of them supporting a change in name. Denver Democrats Sen. Michael Johnston and Rep. Crisanta Duran are sponsoring a bill that will be introduced in the state legislature in the next several weeks. If approval is given, the College will make the transition in fall of 2012. We will continue to keep you apprised of the status of the name change as this initiative progresses.
Serving veterans
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| Metro State offers a wide variety of services to its nearly 1,000 student veterans. |
Nearly 1,000 veterans are seeking degrees at Metro State, a number that has been on the increase since the passage of the Post 9-11 GI Bill with its enhanced education benefits. In addition to the array of services we have offered to vets for decades, we’ve added programs such as symposia on post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and workforce transition.
The Military Times Best of Vets: College 2010 issue ranked Metro State 39th out of 4,000 colleges and universities nationwide for its programs and resources for veterans, and last December, Military Advanced Education recognized Metro State in its list of Top Military-Friendly Colleges and Universities
Once again, we will co-sponsor the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall on campus Nov. 4 and 5, 2011.
Meeting the demographic imperative
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| Latino student enrollment is on the increase at Metro State. |
Long considered the college of choice for students of color in Colorado, this spring we enrolled nearly 7,000 students of color, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. One in three African Americans and one in four Latinos seeking bachelor’s degrees in Colorado are doing so at Metro State, where students of color now make up 29.4 percent of our student body.
The College is also making great progress toward its goal of attaining Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) status, which requires 25 percent Latino-origin student enrollment. Latinos now make up 16.5 percent of our student population, up from 13 percent four years ago.
Great urban teachers converge at Denver summit
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| The Center for Urban Education, which prepares teachers for high-need urban schools, is just one of Metro State’s innovative teacher education programs providing vital resources for Colorado. |
The face of preschool-grade 12 education in Colorado is changing; CSAP is being overhauled, schools are being redesigned and reformed, and standards are being rewritten.
Metro State’s teacher education graduates are a vital resource for the state and its children amid these changes.
One program that exemplifies our vital work in education is the College’s Center for Urban Education (CUE). The CUE prepares our students to teach in urban schools and provides teachers in high-need schools with the tools they need to help their students learn. The CUE’s 4th Annual Great Teachers for Our City Schools National Summit, April 27-29, 2011, at the Embassy Suites in downtown Denver, is an educational and networking opportunity for stakeholders in the success of our urban schools from around the country. The closing luncheon plenary session on April 29, Building Dreams: Educating Immigrant Students in Urban Schools, features Colorado First Lady Helen Thorpe and Congressman Jared Polis.
Metro State program hones tools of the preschool mind
Tools of the Mind, developed at Metro State in 1993, is a highly regarded research-based early childhood education program that creates strong foundations for academic success in preschoolers and kindergarteners. The program has reached more than 30,000 children nationally since it was established in 1993 and is slated to debut internationally in Chile soon, with National Institutes of Health support.
Emeritus Psychology Professor Deborah Leong, co-founder of the program, will attend an invitation-only workshop on early childhood education at Harvard University on May 3-5, 2011. "As a leader in the field," Leong’s invitation read, "you are being invited because of your distinctive voice, experience, and creative thinking."
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