Metro State offers its first master's degree programs
College's off-campus gallery celebrates anniversary in a new home
Metro State partnerships magnify our urban impact
Investing in Metro State despite economic recession

President Stephen M. Jordan, Ph.D.

Dear friends,

Metro State recently opened the 2010-11 academic year celebrating its 45th anniversary as an institution of higher learning in Colorado. Now in my fifth year as its president (Coloradobiz article), I am launching this newsletter to share with you some of the interesting and important things happening at the College.

Metro State currently stands at a crossroads, in much the same way it did in 1977 when it moved onto the then-newly constructed Auraria Campus. From scattered classrooms in leased office space downtown—hence the name “Roadrunners” for our students—Metro State has evolved into the institution that educates more undergraduate Coloradans than any other, with more than 24,000 students seeking bachelor’s degrees. This year’s launch of our first two master’s degree programs, in areas chosen specifically to serve our student population and meet Colorado’s workforce needs, adds another option for our students. A number of current initiatives, from the development of new degrees and programs to the student success building and Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC), support this growth. You can read about our commitment to the HLC, its economic impact and our partnership with Sage Hospitality Resources in the Denver Post.

One of my primary goals as president is to propel the College to preeminence, addressing our challenges and taking full advantage of our opportunities, in spite of the dire economic situation that all of Colorado’s public higher education institutions are facing. I hope you’ll enjoy reading about our initiatives as we journey toward preeminence.

I welcome your ideas and suggestions for this newsletter. You can send them to me at smjordan@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

Metro State offers its first master’s degree programs

“The importance of holding a master’s degree in teaching for a career in education has never been greater,” says Denver’s Godsman Elementary School Principal Patricia Hurrieta (’93). “I’m pleased that Metro State is providing such a critical and affordable degree.”

The College received official notification on July 1, 2010, that the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accredited the College’s three new master’s programs—master of art in teaching, master of social work and master of professional accountancy. These degrees will offer an affordable alternative to Colorado’s citizens, while generating much-needed revenue for Metro State and meeting vital workforce and community needs. The teaching and accounting programs began this semester, and the social work program launches in fall 2011. See the Denver Post story here.

College’s off-campus gallery
celebrates anniversary in a new home

The Center for Visual Art, at its new home in the Santa Fe Art District.

Metro State’s Center for Visual Art (CVA) celebrated two milestones on June 3: its 20th Anniversary and its new, permanent home at 965 Santa Fe Drive in the Art District on Santa Fe.

The new facility is a culmination of efforts by the College and supporters, including the Denver City Council, the Metro State Foundation, the Art District on Santa Fe and the Boettcher Foundation, which provided a lead grant of $425,000 to inspire other gifts and donations to the award-winning gallery.

The CVA’s new space offers greater opportunities for Metro State to connect with the Latino community—important to the College’s goal of attaining the federal designation of Hispanic Serving Institution.

A division of Metro State’s Art Department, the Center for Visual Art contributes to the College’s status as the only public higher education art program in Colorado to maintain accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.

Metro State partnerships magnify our urban impact

Volunteers plant trees on campus during Comcast Cares Day last April.

Metro State fulfills an “urban land-grant” role by connecting academic knowledge with the community in mutually beneficial ways. Because we believe that education and community improvement are inherently connected, we weave our urban land grant role into everything we do.

Our new Urban Impact Web page describes some of the partnerships Metro State has with businesses, government, nonprofits, K-12 schools and many other organizations in solving the difficult problems our society and its citizens face every day.

Investing in Metro State despite economic recession

Rather than being victim to state funding cuts, Metro State is charting its own future.

Metro State, like all institutions of higher education in Colorado, is experiencing deep budget cuts. With federal stimulus funding temporarily covering the shortfall from the state, the College decided that, rather than use the money to backfill business as usual, we would use it to retool and reposition ourselves for the future. After much college-wide discussion, we made difficult decisions on how to absorb the cuts, including the elimination of 100 positions. (Read about those decisions in this Denver Post article.) Then, we put the stimulus money into several new ventures designed to leave the institution better off. These include a retirement-incentive program where longtime faculty members create a project that the institution can use once the faculty member retires, the hiring of new grant writers to help faculty members obtain more outside support from foundations and the federal government, and a Rightsizing with Technology initiative to increase efficiency with new automated systems for things like providing professional development opportunities online. The ideas for the initiative’s 37 individual projects came from faculty, staff and students, and were selected from 100 proposals based on ease of implementation and projected benefits.

This approach to the budget cuts has garnered Metro State significant attention in the news media, including a May 2010 feature story in National Crosstalk, a profile in the October 2009 Chronicle of Higher Education, and a singling out in another Chronicle story on how colleges are dealing with the recession.