Skip to Main Content
Ask Us Support the Libraries

Colorado State University History

Resources to assist you in your research on topics related to CSU's history

Biology, Botany, Zoology

Timeline -- Biology/Botany/Zoology at CSU

David Steingraeber, Biology

1879-80 -- Classes taught during initial year at "The State Agricultural College of Colorado" include "Botany."

1882 -- Ainsworth E. Blount (one of the 2 original Professors) listed as "Professor of Agriculture and Botany" (previously listed as "Professor of Practical Agriculture")

1882 -- James Cassidy hired as Instructor in Horticulture & Botany; begins the collection of botanical specimens that becomes the Herbarium.

1883 -- The "Claim Building," which had been constructed in Nov. 1874 to show that there was strong local interest in locating the Agricultural College in Ft. Collins, was refashioned into the first greenhouse for use by Botany & Horticulture.

1888-89 -- The "Department of Biology" was created by combining Vet. Medicine, Physiology, Zoology & Entomology; the "Department of Botany & Horticulture" was created by combining Bot. & Hort.  (Note: early records are inconsistent in the ordering of Botany & Horticulture in the name; some show "B & H," others, "H & B.")  Departments appear to have been located in Main Building ("Old Main," constructed in 1878-79.)

1890 -- The Botany & Horticulture Laboratory (also listed as Horticulture Hall) was constructed on Laurel St., just east of the railroad tracks, and Dept. of Botany & Horticulture moved in.  C. P. Gillette joined Biology (Ent.) faculty. 

1890-91 -- Biology Department was dissolved; Zoology, Entomology and Physiology were each made separate departments.

1895-96 -- Zoology & Entomology combined into one department, housed in Main Building.

1899-1900 -- Physiology combined with Zoology & Entomology to create the Department of Physiology, Zoology & Entomology.

1905-06 -- Forestry was added to Botany & Horticulture to create the Department of Horticulture, Botany & Forestry.

1907-08 -- "New Zoology Building" listed in Catalog, with museum on 1st floor and labs, offices, and a classroom on the 2nd floor; Catalog lists as separate departments "Botany," "Horticulture" and "Zoology." (Zoology included Entomology, which was no longer in the departmental name.) 

1908-09 -- Catalog lists "Department of Horticulture & Botany" (with Forestry included within the Botany Division) and "Department of Zoology."

1909-10 -- Catalog lists "Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Botany" (with 3 Divisions), and "Department of Zoology."

1910-11 -- Horticulture split off, resulting in the new Department of Botany & Forestry.  First catalog with photographs, including one of the new Civil & Irrigation Engineering Building (now the Statistics Building, home of the CNS!), completed Feb. 1, 1910.

1916-17 -- Botany & Forestry split into separate departments.

1923 -- Department of Botany changed to "Department of Botany & Plant Pathology;" L. W. Durrell joined the faculty as Department Head.

1937 -- Entomology added back to Zoology department name, creating "Department of Entomology & Zoology."

1945-46 -- Entomology split off as separate department (in "Division of Agriculture"); "Department of Zoology & Parasitology" (in "Division of Vet. Medicine") created; Botany & Plant Path. in "Division of Science & Arts."

1946-47 -- Catalog shows "Botany Building" to the north of "Men's Gym" (College Ave. Gym); catalog lists 8 faculty members in Dept. of Botany & Plant Path., and 2 faculty members in Dept. of Zoology & Parasitology, located in Agriculture Hall (now Shepardson).

1949 -- Summer Bulletin (earliest one in library stacks) lists among graduate degrees offered M. S. in Botany & Plant Pathology and M. S. in Zoology.

1949-50 -- Zoology (with 5 faculty) moved from Division of Vet. Med. to Division of Science & Arts.

1955 -- "Department of Zoology" now listed in School of Science & Arts, along with Botany & Plant Pathology.

1957-58 -- Graduate School catalog now lists (for the first time) Ph.D. in Zoology.

1958-59 -- Plant Sciences Building constructed; Botany & Plant Pathology moves there from Botany Building.

1959-60 -- Graduate School catalog now lists (for the first time) Ph.D. in Botanical Science.

1964-66 -- Graduate School (biennial) catalog now lists Ph.D. in Botany & Plant Pathology (rather than Botanical Science.)

1968-69 -- CNS created when School of Science & Arts was split into CNS and College of Humanities & Social Sciences; Dept. of Botany with 18 faculty, Zoology with 11.

1971-72 -- Anatomy-Zoology Building under construction.

1972-72 -- Departments of Zoology and Entomology merged to form "Department of Zoology & Entomology," which moved into new Anatomy-Zoology Building.

1977 -- Howard Evans (Zool. & Ent.) elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences (becoming CSU's second NAS member.) 

1984 -- Botany & Plant Pathology split, with Dept. of Botany remaining in CNS and Plant Path. moving to the College of Agricultural Sciences to form the Department of Plant Pathology & Weed Science.

1987 -- Departments of Botany and Zoology merged into Department of Biology; botanists moved from Plant Sci. Building to Anatomy-Zoology. Degree programs in Biology included (separate) B.S. programs in Biological Science, Botany, and Zoology, M. S. degrees in Botany and in Zoology, and Ph.D. degrees in Botany and in Zoology.

2017 -- Department of Biology moved from Anatomy-Zoology to the new Biology Building.

2018 -- Diana Wall elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences, becoming CSU’s 11th NA member, and CSU’s first female member; separate graduate degrees in Botany and Zoology merged into M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biological Science.

Colorado School of Agriculture

Leaders at the Colorado Agricultural College (CAC) (now the Colorado State University) noted a lack of practical secondary education in agriculture across Colorado. Their response was to establish the Colorado School of Agriculture (CSA) in 1909. Classes commenced on October 5, 1909 with Thomas M. Netherton serving as the first principal. Education was focused on agriculture for boys and domestic science for girls. Classes were held five months each year and enrollment requirements were minimal; girls must be 16 years of age, boys 17, and a diploma from a primary school was not required. The classes were not intended to prepare students for enrollment at CAC, but instead give practical instruction that could be used when students returned to the family farm. 213 students enrolled the first year, rising to 418 for the 1914 school year.

 

Over time, CSA evolved. The minimum age for enrollment was lowered to 15 and an 8th grade diploma was required for entrance; courses in mechanical arts and agriculture for forest rangers were added; the school year was lengthened to six months; and courses were expanded to four years, allowing a CSA graduate to enroll at CAC. In the 1910s, secondary education across Colorado began to improve, leading to declining enrollments at CSA. No longer seeing a need, college president Charles Lory and the Board of Agriculture closed the Colorado School of Agriculture on March 31, 1927.

Construction Management

Construction Management History

Online: http://www.cm.chhs.colostate.edu/about-us/history.aspx

            Began 1946, first class graduates 1949, renamed  in 1959 to (ICM) Industrial-Construction Management, 1962 first full time construction education professor hired, James W. Young

1937: A General and Industrial Arts Engineering program is added to the Division of Engineering “to meet the demands of business for engineering graduates having training not too specialized along technical lines, but with certain manual skills, and augmented by the knowledge of business principles.” (Course catalogue)This course represents the first program of study that specifically sets as its objective the combination of business, engineering, and industrial arts that today’s Construction Management program includes.

1942: General and Industrial Arts program is dropped due to World War II.

1945: A study conducted by Johns-Manville concludes that the “building industry cannot operate efficiently in the public interest without more and better trained manpower,” and that it is necessary for trained professionals to acquire knowledge in 50 subject areas. The company and other industry partners provided funds to Colorado A&M to establish the college’s first interdepartmental degree program: Light Construction and Marketing. In its first year (Academic year1946-1947) the program is administered by the Department of Industrial Arts in the Division of Engineering. Leslie L. Gibbons and James C. Dodge, formerly mechanical engineering professors, join the Industrial Arts faculty.

1945-46: Students rally to make the Rams, rather than the Aggies, the new school symbol. War ends Aug. 15 the campus has a major housing problem. Professor George F. Henry is named Head of the Industrial Arts department.

1949: The first class of ten Light Construction and Marketing students graduates.

1950: The first description of Light Construction and Marketing appears in the Colorado A&M course catalog: “The shortage of housing over the country emphasizes the need for the building of houses and farm buildings. The indications are that light construction in the future will draw heavily on various new plastic and wood products and will employ new techniques in the use of these products. This points out the need for men capable of entering into such a building program, both as builders and as salesmen for building products. To meet this demand the course in Light Construction and Marketing is being offered. . . . This course has been designed to give training in the necessary engineering and mathematical subjects accompanied by training in marketing and business practices. It leads to a Bachelor of Science degree.”

1955-56: Light Construction and Marketing student enrollment: 39.

1957: Colorado A&M College becomes Colorado State University. Light Construction and Marketing program moves from the School of Engineering to the College of Sciences and Arts. For the first time, the course catalog targets the course description to all students, not just men.

1959: Department Head George Henry retires and L.L. Gibbons succeeds him. The department is located in the Arts Building on the northeast side of campus. An internal advisory committee is formed and renames the program Industrial- Construction Management (ICM). The committee includes faculty from Industrial Arts, Vocational Education, Civil Engineering, Business, Forest Management and Utilization, and the Colorado State Board for Vocational Education. The revised curriculum is “designed to give the student an understanding of the basic and applied sciences and business. This broad training prepares the student for management careers in light or heavy construction or in industrial production and distribution. Students are encouraged to obtain employment in the field of their interest during the summer vacations.” ICM enjoys unprecedented growth, attracting high-quality male and female students. Within three years, program enrollment triples, from 50 to 150 students.

1964: The first courses labeled with the Construction Management prefix are added to the curriculum. They are CM10 Construction Mechanics,CM15 Professional Opportunities in Industrial-Construction Management, CM19 Building Materials and Equipment, and CM20 Wood Construction and Management. The program’s main professors are Jim Young and R.A. Johnson. Nationally, total new construction expenditures in the first 8 months of 1964 amount to $42.5 billion compared with $39.5 billion in the same period of the previous year.

Dr. George F. Henry Head of the Light Construction and Marketing program, 1946-1959 and professor and head of the Industrial Arts Department, 1923-1959.

Dr. Andrew G. Clark Instrumental in the decision to introduce Light Construction and Marketing program and the Industrial- Construction department at Colorado A&M College in 1946.

 

Course Catalogs

LD1146. C6 1937/38-1941/42 -Introduction of General Industrial Arts in the engineering department. It would give “a preview of the future activities they will meet in the industrial arts and a chance to acquire skills which are essential of successful teaching and certain fundamental courses in engineering and science.” Freshman year is standard engineering courses. Sophomore Year included English Comp, Citizenship, Foundry, Descriptive Geometry, Freehand Sketching, Military Science, Physical education, physics, Public speaking, General Sociology, and Woodwork. Junior year included Machine shop, Woodwork, Economics, Technical Writing, Architectural Drawing, Machine Shop, Sheet Metal work, Statistics, and Commercial law. Senior year included Arts and Crafts, Radio, Art Metal work, Cabinet Making and Wood Finishing, and Public Finance. Recommended Electives were American history, Chemistry of Colorado Industries, Elements of Metallurgy, Thermodynamics, Power Plant Engineering, Credit and Banking, Literature, Irrigation Engineering Test Materials, Internal Combustion Engines, Advanced Public Speaking Journalistic Writing, Concrete, Industrial Organization. There was and Engineering Option that required the additional classes of Organization of General Shop, Principles of Secondary Education, Instructional Aids, Educational Psychology, Methods in Teaching I. A. Subjects, Educational Tests and Measurements, Practice Teaching, and Social Interaction. There was a General Engineering Option that required the additional classes of Differential Calculus, Integral Calculus, Applied Mechanics, Mechanics of Materials, and Principles of Electrical Engineering.

LD1146. C6 1941/42-1945-46 - Course in Industrial Arts: A four-year curriculum leading to the bachelor of science degree in Industrial Arts. Technical and professional courses are offered to provide a general educational growth and to prepare the student for teaching industrial arts in the junior and senior high schools

Freshman Year included Inorganic Chemistry, Inorganic Qualitative Analysis, English Composition, Woodworking, Algebra, Trig, Mechanical Drawing, Descriptive Geometry, Military Science and Physical Education. Sophomore year included Public Speaking, Organization of the General Shop, Economics, Local Government, General Sociology, Current World Problems, Machine Woodworking, Cabinet Making, General Shop, Personal Hygiene, General Physics, Military Science and Physical Education. Junior Year included Technical Writing, Psychology, Instructional Aids, Educational Tests and Measurements, American Economic History, American Diplomatic History, American Constitutional History, Machine Shop, Architectural Drawing, Industrial Arts Design, and Sheet Metal Work. Senior Year included Student Teaching, Methods in Teaching Industrial Arts, Principles of Secondary Education, Problems of the Industrial Arts Teacher, History of Industrial Arts Education, Art Metal Work, Machine and Tool Maintenance, General Metals, Arts and Crafts

LD1146. C6 1955/56-1963/64 - Change over to Industrial Construction Management. Faculty Committee: H.L. Benson, M.E. Bender, F.C. Carter, L.L. Gibbons, H.E. Troxell, R.A. Johnson, and Wm. G. Flannery. “The curriculum in Industrial-Construction Management is design to give the student an understanding of the basic and applied science and business. This broad training prepares the student for management careers in light or heavy construction or in industrial production.” Freshmen took Introduction to Business, English Composition, Economics, Technical Drawing, College Algebra, College Trigonometry, Public Speaking, Physical Education and Basic ROTC. Sophomores took General Accounting Business Law, Engineering Mechanics (Statics), Introduction to the Humanities, Economics, Carpentry, Building Materials and Equipment, Analytic Geometry and Calculus, General Physics and Basic ROTC. Juniors took Business Organization and Administration, Marketing, Cost Accounting, Elementary Surveying for Non-Engineers, Mechanics of Materials, Elementary Structural Theory and Design, General Power Mechanics, and Architectural Drawing. Seniors took Personnel Management and Industrial Production, Real Estate Principles, Concrete Laboratory, Building Construction and Cost Estimating, Commercial Woods, Seasoning and Preservation, Design in Wood Structure, Electrification and Sanitation, and Basic Technical Writing.

LD1146. C6 1957/58-1965/66 - Courses in Construction management were created: Construction Mechanics, Building Materials and Equipment, Wood Construction and Management, and Professional Opportunities under the abbreviation CM. These courses were taught by James W. Young and R.A. Johnson.

LD1146. C6 1942/43-1947/48 - Light Construction and Marketing created: “This is a new course in the Science and Arts Division offering training for building of houses, farm buildings and other kinds of light construction and training in marketing of construction materials.” Freshman Year included Inorganic Chemistry, English Composition, America as a World Power, Farm Blacksmithing, Freehand Drawing, Woodworking, Algebra, Trigonometry and Analytics, Mechanical Drawing, General Physics, Military Science, and Physical Education. Sophomores took Elementary surveying, Materials of Construction, Theoretical Mechanics (Statics) Mechanics of Materials, Economics, General Shop Engineering Mathematics, Mechanical Drawing, Descriptive Geometry, General Physics Military Science and Physical Education. Juniors took Theory of Structures, Contracts and Specification, Technical Writing, Public Speaking, Psychology, Money and Banking, Accounting, Marketing, Wood Technology, Forest Products, Recreation Facilities, Farm Carpentry, Machine Woodworking, and Architectural Drawing. Seniors took Typewriting, Reinforced Concrete Design, Business Law, Business Administration Economics of Retailing, Credit Institutions, Labor Economics, American Economic History, Wood Preservation, and Rural Electrification and Sanitation.

School of Education

In 1915, the State Board of Agriculture of Colorado Agricultural College (CAC) established a Department of Rural and Industrial Education to address the fact that many graduates became public school teachers, specializing in vocational fields such as agriculture and home economics. Courses related to teacher training had been offered by the College prior to this time but were piecemeal efforts and did not constitute a cohesive program. The new department was designed to eliminate this undesirable distinction by enabling its students to obtain certification.

In 1917, federal funding was introduced following the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act, which brought funding from the federal government to meet the expenses of vocational instruction in public schools and training of teachers of vocational subjects. With the increase in funding, the functions of the department expanded and the department became the Department of Rural and Vocational Education in 1920. In 1932, teaching became a full-fledged major under that department.

In 1941, after an unsuccessful attempt by State Director of Vocational Education, Harry Tiemann, to elevate the Department of Rural and Vocational Education to the status of an academic division, the renamed Department of Vocational Education was placed in an administrative category occupied by the Library and the Departments of Music and Military Science and Tactics.

In 1947, a new department, Psychology and Education, was established. Education became separate from Psychology in 1964, and by 1971 was a department in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. In 1975, Education became one of the departments under the newly established College of Professional Studies.

In 1986, two colleges, Human Resource Sciences and Professional Studies, were merged into a new College of Applied Human Sciences. At this time the Department of Education and the Department of Vocational Education were combined into the School of Occupational and Educational Studies (SOES) within the college. In 1996, the School of Occupational and Educational Studies became the School of Education.

College of Engineering

The Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University) began offering classes in 1879, providing a single course of study for all students. Ainsworth Blount was appointed as professor of practical agriculture and the mechanical arts. In 1882, the department of mechanics and drawing was created at the request of incoming college president Charles Ingersoll. F.H. Williams was hired to staff the department which he focused on the care of farm machinery. Williams was replaced by James W. Lawrence in 1883. A Hall of Mechanical Arts was opened in 1883 that housed a mechanics shop with facilities for wood and iron working.

In 1883, Elwood Mead joined the faculty and proposed a two-term course in irrigation engineering, the first in the country, which would later expand to a four course elective series. In 1886, the State Board of Agriculture (now the State Board of Governors) established a chair of physics and irrigation engineering, appointing Elwood Mead to the position. In 1889, Arthur L. Davis earned the first undergraduate engineering degree from the college.

Elwood Mead left CAC in 1888, and Louis G. Carpenter was appointed as head of physics and irrigation engineering. The first hydraulics lab on campus was built in the basement of Spruce Hall in 1893. In 1895, the irrigation engineering course was renamed civil and irrigation engineering and the department of mechanics and drawing became the department of mechanical engineering. Electrical engineering wass added to the curriculum in 1903, but was dropped in 1905. After a student petition, electrical engineering was reinstated in 1907 with Charles Lory serving as professor. Ralph Parshall joined the staff of civil and irrigation engineering in 1907. The Department of Electrical Engineering awarded its first degrees in 1910.

In 1911, Edward B. House replaced Louis Carpenter as professor and head of civil and irrigation engineering. Ralph Parshall and Victor Cone designed the hydraulics laboratory for the USDA Office of Irrigation Investigations on the main campus in 1912. CAC underwent a college wide reorganization to group programs into divisions during the 1933-1934 academic year. The Division of Engineering was established with Edward B. House as dean. In 1938, Nephi A. Christensen became dean of engineering and begins building a graduate research program in hydraulics and irrigation engineering. The State Board of Agriculture approved a doctorate degree in civil engineering in 1951, and three years later allowed other qualified departments to offer the advanced degree. A.R. Chamberlain, future president of the college, earned the college's first doctorate in 1955 in civil engineering.

In 1957, the college was renamed Colorado State University and the Division of Engineering became the College of Engineering. The Eepartment of Agricultural Engineering is established in 1958 and the Department of Atmospheric Science in 1962. New centers and programs were created including the Engineering Research Center (1963), the Colorado Water Resources Research Institute (1964), the Solar Energy Applications Laboratory (1972), the Colorado Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (1980), the Center for Computer Assisted Engineering (1982), the Center for Geosciences (1986), and the Manufacturing Excellence Center (1988).

Currently, the College of Engineering is comprised of five departments: Atmospheric Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering; and the School of Biomedical Engineering. The College's mission is to serve society by developing solutions to global issues that affect us all. Finding solutions in energy, human health, the environment, and world water needs; developing new technologies and systems; and generating new knowledge, the College provides purpose and an excellent education for students who want to change the world.

Please also see "Putting the M in Colorado A & M", by Emily Wilmsen, Source, October 24, 2019.

Office of Equal Opportunity

In response to various actions of student unrest in the late 1960s, Colorado State University established an institutional Affirmative Action Plan in 1971 with the focus of handling issues of discrimination on campus. In 1974, the name was changed to Equal Opportunity, and a full-time director was hired to administer the plan. The Office of Equal Opportunity (previously known as the Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity) was charged with promoting diversity though implementation of affirmative action goals.

Although the office had been established, diversity among both the student body and staff at CSU was lacking. In November 1988, the Faculty Council adopted new goals to increase diversity among students, staff, and faculty. These goals were later added to the university's vision statement to better align CSU to the multicultural population of Colorado. By 1990, a planning process was launched to recruit and retain underrepresented groups at CSU -- women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities.

In January 2010, University President Tony Frank created the position of Vice President for Diversity. This position was separate from the Office of Equal Opportunity, moving the focus of diversity away from the office, and redirecting its mission to compliance with university personnel policies.

Historical information taken from Democracy's University: A History of Colorado State University, 1970-2003, by James E. Hansen II, 2007.

Facilities Management Department

The Board of Agriculture of the Colorado Agricultural College (CAC) and General Assembly of the Colorado legislature instituted the Facilities Management department through the establishment of a building committee in 1878. As the campus expanded, the responsibilities of the department did as well. President William E. Morgan began emphasizing facilities expansion after assuming office in 1949, and a Plant Development Committee was formed as part of the department in 1954.

Today, along with custodial, utility, trash/recycle disposal, and landscaping, the duties of the Facilities Management Department include projects addressing physical space requirements needed to accommodate particular functions, controlled maintenance projects, and grounds upkeep before and after university events. The department is also involved in planning, design, and construction of facilities at CSU, providing administrative management and professional services for every renovation or new construction project.

College of Forestry and Natural Resources

Instruction in forestry was first taught at the Colorado Agricultural College (CAC) in 1881 with lectures focused on conservation and use of forest products. In 1907, a short course in forestry for National Forest Service rangers was added and in 1909 a major in forestry was created. In 1914, the college was able to purchase 1,600 acres of forested land to support instruction. Pingree Park, now the Colorado State University Mountain Campus, was established as a summer camp for forestry students and is located about 50 miles west of Fort Collins. In 1915, the Department of Forestry, within the Division of Agriculture, was established and the Colorado General Assembly made the professor of forestry at CAC also the state forester. Burton O. Longyear was the first to hold this dual appointment.

In 1938 the Division of Forestry was created, with J. Lee Deen as the first Dean of the Division. The Division was renamed Forestry and Range Conservation in 1941 and was organized into three departments; forest management and utilization, forest recreation and wildlife, and range and pasture management. Instruction in fisheries and watershed management was added in the 1950s and 1960s. The Division was renamed the School of Forestry and Range Management in 1951, College of Forestry and Range Management in 1957, College of Forestry and Natural Resources in 1966, and the College of Natural Resources in 1991 until 2005. Currently, the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University offers majors in five departments: ecosystem science and sustainability; fish, wildlife, and conservation biology; forest and rangeland stewardship; geosciences; and human dimensions of natural resources.

Graduate School

Graduate education at Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University) began in the 1890s. CAC conferred the first advanced degree in the school's history to Burt C. Buffman in 1893 and formally established the Committee on Advanced Degrees in 1897 to oversee graduate work. Graduate education grew slowly for several decades with an increasing number of master's degrees conferred in the 1940 and 1950s.

In 1941, Colorado A and M discontinued the Committee on Advanced Degrees, which had also been referred to as the Committee on Graduate Work, and formed the Graduate School with Dr. I. E. Newsom serving as the school's first dean. That same year, the Colorado Agricultural Research Foundation (now the Colorado State University Foundation) was incorporated to assist with the college's research efforts. Adrian Ray Chamberlain earned Colorado A and M's first Ph.D. in Irrigation Engineering in 1955. Colorado A and M became Colorado State University in 1957, and the university relied heavily on contracts and federal grants to develop and fund its graduate programs, which grew rapidly through the 1960s. The Graduate School was also heavily invested in CSU's involvement in international development. In 1966, a Graduate Student Council was established. In 1974, CSU achieved accredidation as a "mature" institution by the North Central Assocation of Colleges and Secondary Schools. At the same time, the university confronted a dearth of funding, which slowed growth of graduate programs. Today, more than 4,000 students at CSU are enrolled in the Graduate School's over one hundred disciplinary and interdisciplinary doctoral, master's, and professional degree programs.

Housing and Dining Services

Housing and Dining Services at Colorado State University provides and organizes services for students who live in on-campus housing or purchase meal plans. The first dormitory on campus opened in 1881, with female students and the dining hall on the main floor, and the male students on the upper floor. In 1885, the dormitory was designated for female students only; male students lived off campus in approved housing. The following year, the situation switched with male students occupying the dorm and female students living off campus. In 1893, the on-campus dormitory was re-purposed and all students were living in approved off-campus housing.

In 1937, the State Board of Agriculture approved funding for a women's dormitory, Rockwell Hall, to be constructed, the first on-campus student housing since the closure of the dormitory building in 1893. Braiden Hall, a dormitory for men, was completed in 1948. In 1945, a significant increase in student enrollment of returning veterans and other new students highlighted the lack of available student housing both on campus and in the Fort Collins community. Temporary housing of quonset huts was added for student veterans (known as Veterans' Village), a men's dormitory, later known as South Hall, was quickly constructed, the Field House was turned into a men's dormitory, and a trailer court was allowed next to the Veterans' Village. In 1950 the government enacted Public Law 475 or the College Housing Program that allowed colleges and universities to obtain long-term federal loans at low interest rates for building dormitories, dining halls, and student unions. With federal funding available, President William Morgan established a campus plan that saw the building of dormitories as well as athletic facilities on the west end of campus. Construction began on new residence halls and temporary housing such as the Veterans' Village and the trailer court were phased out. Current on-campus housing includes eleven residence halls and the academic village, along with seven dining halls.

College of Liberal Arts

The College of Liberal Arts originates from the establishment of the Division of Science & Arts in 1934 when the university was Colorado Agricultural College (CAC). The university name was officially changed to Colorado State College (CSC) from December 1934 to February 1935. March 1935, the university name then changed to Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, 1945 the university name was Colorado A & M, and by 1950 the university name was Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College.

In 1951, the Division of Science & Arts became the School of Science & Arts. May 1957 the university name was changed to Colorado State University (CSU). 1959, the School of Science & Arts was renamed the College of Science & Arts. In 1968, the School of Humanities & Social Science split from the School of Science & Arts. 1977, the School of Humanities & Social Science became the College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences. 1992, the College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences was established as the College of Liberal Arts.

As of 2018, the College of Liberal Arts holds the following departments: Anthropology; Art and Art History; Communication Studies; Economics; English; Ethnic Studies; History; Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts; International Studies; Journalism and Media Communication; Languages, Literatures and Cultures; LEAP (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Arts Advocacy and the Public) Institute for the Arts; Philosophy; Political Science; School of Music, Theatre and Dance; and Sociology.

Other resources published regarding the College of Liberal Arts are:

Lory Student Center

After breaking ground in 1960, Colorado State University's (CSU) Lory Student Center (LSC) opened to students in January 1962. The LSC is home to student organization offices, a food court, pub, bookstore, computer store, and other student amenities and services. Ballrooms and meeting rooms are available for conferences and events for students, faculty, and the public. In 2012, the LSC marked its 50-year anniversary with a variety of events.

Plans for renovation of the LSC began in 2010, and the project started in 2013. One hundred sixty thousand square feet was renovated and an additional 40,000 square feet was added. The mechanical systems were updated, the ballroom and food court were expanded, the first and second floors were revamped, and the south entry was redesigned. The renovation was completed in the fall of 2014.

College of Natural Sciences

The College of Natural Sciences at Colorado State University was created in July 1968 when the College of Science and the Arts was split into two new colleges, the other being the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The College of Natural Sciences focuses on instruction in the biological, physical, and mathematical sciences. The eight original departments making up the college were biochemistry, botany and plant pathology, chemistry, geology, mathematics and statistics, physics, psychology, and zoology. In addition to offering undergraduate and graduate degrees, the college also offers a core curriculum in biological sciences for students planning to teach in these fields, or for students preparing for a pre-professional degree in the health sciences.

Currently, the College of Natural Sciences consists of the departments of biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, physics, psychology, and statistics, and offers undergraduate majors in applied computing technology, biochemistry, biological science, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, natural sciences, neuroscience, physics, psychology, statistics, and zoology.

Physics

History of the Physics Department

Vicky Lopez-Terrill

1886 – Elwood Mead returns to teach when the State Agricultural College created the Department of Physics and Engineering.  The prime focus involved irrigation engineering.  Mead left the college permanently in 1888. (Hansen, Democracy’s College, p.70)

1905 – Charles Lory took charge of the Department of Physics and Applied Electricity (electrical engineering as a major had just been dropped.  In 1907 it was resurrected.) (Hansen, p.172-173)

1938 – Louis R. Weber became head of the physics department and over a period of 25+ years developed physics into one of the college’s strongest academic departments.  (Hansen, p.314)

1944-1945 – All departments (including physics) have majors. (Hansen Organizational Chart)

1947 – The first name I have found with a physics (specifically named) degree (George Marsaglia, Bachelors of Science)

1950 – Masters degree in Physics offered (course catalog)

1959 – Ph.D in Physics offered (in fall) (course catalog)

 

Hansen, James.  Democracy’s College in the Centennial State.

Police Department

 

In 1955, the Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (Colorado A & M) was trying to establish a parking program for the campus. Marvin Wayne Teegarden, a patrolman at the University of Colorado in Boulder heard about the job and applied. Teegarden had police work in his blood as his father was the Boulder chief of police and his brother was a deputy with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department.

The College hired Teegarden in April and he set out to put together a parking program. Judging by articles and letters in the Rocky Mountain Collegian, the student newspaper, people were not too happy about the $3.00 annual parking fee that they would now have to pay to park on campus.

The college found itself in a void in terms of law enforcement. The city would not annex the campus until 1956 and the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department consisted of the sheriff, three deputies, a matron, and a jailer to take care of the entire county. Since Teegarden was in uniform and the board had approved the name “Campus Police”, people came to him when they had a problem or a crime was committed on campus. Eventually, Teegarden was able to hire Robert Webb as a night patrolman.

In 1957, Colorado A & M became Colorado State University. The department was also renamed “Campus Security”. Slowly but surely, funds were found to expand the department. By July 1957, The Department consisted of Teegarden, two patrolmen, two traffic clerks to handle records and even had a radio-equipped car to patrol campus. In spite of this change of focus, the staff spent 70 percent of their time dealing with parking issues.

The Era of Protest

Growth came rapidly in the 1960’s for both the campus and the department. By 1967, the student population climbed from 4,000 to 13,000. The department had grown from one person, Teagarden, to 35 employees. The department was preparing to implement a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week operation. Prior to this, there was no one on duty on Sundays, and during the week there was no one patrolling after 10:00 p.m. Regardless, the Campus Security office remained open until midnight.

In 1967, the State Board of Agriculture changed the department’s name back to “Campus Police”. The Board felt that the term “security” was limited in defining the department’s actual responsibilities. They also felt this would clear up misunderstandings about the police department’s authority.

The quiet times enjoyed by the university in the 1960s ended towards the end of 1968. On Friday October 18, 1968, students organized a sit-in at the Lory Student Center to protest a denial by the State Board of Agriculture to turn policy control of the center over to students. One of the big issues was the serving of beer at the center. Students wanted while the Board did not. An estimated 3,000 students jammed the ballroom to protest the Board’s ruling, many of whom brought their own beer. Shortly after the takeover, 16 helmeted CSU police officers, 2 plainclothes officers, and Chief Teegarden entered the ballroom. Teegarden announced to the room that those individuals who did not want to face arrest should leave. Many yielded the Chief’s advice. Two lines formed in the ballroom, one for those who wanted to be arrested and one for those who wanted to go through university discipline. Thirty students received summonses and 179 students received referrals to university discipline.

A little over a week after the beer-in, a gas bomb put an end to the annual homecoming dance. A Fort Collins firefighter became trapped in the elevator and had to be rescued by fellow firefighters and CSU police officers. Several officers were overcome by noxious fumes and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation along with the FBI, worked with CSUPD to investigate the incident. There was wide speculation about who was responsible but no one was ever prosecuted.

In the early morning hours of November 14, 1968, 15 people broke into the Agricultural Building (now called Shepardson Hall). They barricaded themselves on the upper floor by pushing desks and debris into stairwells and nailing doors shut. They were protesting the on-campus recruitment by Dow Chemical, a manufacturer of chemicals used in the Vietnam War. By 8:20 a.m., officers of the CSUPD and Fort Collins PD moved in and forcibly removed the protestors. Five of the individuals were non-students. One of the protestors, David Cameron Bishop, would later make the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted for blowing up utility lines near Golden, Colorado.

Things seemed to quiet down until the early part of 1970. On February 5, a half-time protest erupted at the CSU-BYU basketball game. A performance by the BYU cheerleaders was broken up as a crowd of mostly African-American students marched onto the gym floor with their fists clenched and held high in the air. They were protesting alleged racist practices by the Mormon Church. Dean Crookston asked the protestors to leave the floor. When the CSU basketball team came out, they moved to the southwest corner of the gym where several fights broke out. Twenty CSU police officers and 20 Fort Collins police officers moved in to quell the disturbance. In the ensuing melee, a piece of angle iron was thrown from the crowd. It bounced off the back of a CSU police officer and struck Howard Brock, a Rocky Mountain News photographer, who was knocked unconscious. A few minutes later, someone threw a Molotov cocktail onto the floor. It burst into flames, but did not explode. Police identified and eventually arrested seven people. Charges included assaulting an officer, disturbing the peace, interfering with an officer, and malicious mischief.

Beginning on Tuesday May 5, 1970, the campus experienced several rallies, marches, and demonstrations in response to Nixon’s ordered invasion of Cambodia and the tragic killing of four students by National Guardsmen at Kent State University. The demonstrations were peaceful for the most part. A photograph of CSU police officers at the rally for the Kent State incident shows them with empty holsters.

However, three days later, one of the most tragic events in the history of the University occurred. At 10:55 p.m. on Friday May 8, a blaze began that would eventually destroy Old Main, the main college building built almost 100 years prior. About five minutes after the discovery of the Old Main fire, a fire was reported at the ROTC rifle range. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which caused about $500 damage. Portions of a Molotov cocktail were found at the range. A task force formed to investigate the Old Main fire included representatives from CSUPD, the Fort Collins Fire Department, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. They conducted hundreds of interviews and followed hundreds of leads but the person responsible for the fire was never prosecuted.

Although things calmed down a bit after the Old Main fire, there was still a large anti-war protest in May 1972. Police arrested fifteen protestors, who occupied the ROTC building. By 1974, things had pretty much returned to normal. In a 1974 interview, Chief Teegarden told a Triangle Review reporter that he believed many of the activists had turned to politics and were now working within the system. He said, “It may be cumbersome and slow, but it beats banging their heads on the asphalt with no results.”

On the Cutting Edge

In the early 1970’s, CSUPD became one of the first law enforcement agencies in Northern Colorado to employ female police officers. In 1971 Dianne Reese, Sandra Collins, and Sonja Lenon were hired to work in the department’s Special Services Unit, which was a unit composed of students who were used to augment the full-time staff. About a year later, the Department hired Reese and Collins along with Betty Jarzyna as full-time officers. The male members of the department were not too sure what to think of the new officers. Some adopted a wait-and-see attitude while others viewed it as a passing fad. The female officers said males responded in one of two ways; they treated them as one of the guys or they opened doors for them. Things have come a long way since the battles fought by these early pioneers. Female police officers are no longer just a passing fad. They are valuable and essential members of the department.

Rock and Roll

In 1975, CSU Police were busy preparing for two major rock concerts at Hughes Stadium. The first concert on July 6 would feature Chicago and the Beach Boys. Two weeks later, the Rolling Stones would play. Alvin Miller, the owner of a 70-acre orchard east of the stadium, was not confident that police could protect his property from those attending the concert. He told a Collegian reporter, “If they (concert-goers) cut down an apple tree, I may have to shoot someone.” He threatened to seek a court-?ordered injunction to stop the Rolling Stones concert if there were any problems with the Chicago/Beach Boys event.

The Chicago/Beach Boys concert went well. About 37,000 people came to enjoy the show. One purse snatch and one ejection for an unspecified incident were the only problems reported. The biggest problem was traffic. The Colorado State Patrol reported vehicles backed up on Interstate 25 from Harmony Road to the Windsor exit. Many people parked along the adjoining streets to avoid the one-dollar parking charge at the stadium.

The Rolling Stones concert, however, did not go as well. An article in the July 24, 1975 Collegian described it as, “a weekend that killed one, enraged many, and enriched a few.” The death came when a 19-year-old soldier who came to Fort Collins for the concert dove off a cliff by Dixon Dam and drowned. People began arriving in town Friday night and camped on just about any open area they could find. Many concert-goers stayed up all of Saturday night and stormed the stadium at 5:30 a.m. in an attempt to get choice seats, even though the concert was not scheduled to start for another eleven hours! Alvin Miller reported people camped on his property Saturday and Sunday and destroyed sections of an electric fence. He planned to bill the University for the damages. Since that time, there have been no return engagements at Hughes Stadium.

End of an Era and New Beginnings

In August 1984, an era ended when Chief Wayne Teegarden retired. Teegarden told a Collegian reporter that he planned to tour the back roads of America, “the unknown areas where our country’s history seems to hang out.” During the eight-month search for a replacement, Bill Liley, director of personnel services, headed the department.

On May 20, 1985, after a national search, Donn Hopkins was named the new police chief. Hopkins was a lieutenant with the Fort Collins Police Department where he had served since 1974. Prior to that, he was with the Laramie Police Department in Wyoming. During Chief Hopkins tenure, he worked to establish a better rapport between the department and the CSU community, developed a mission and goals statement, and attained accreditation for the department through the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police.

College Days

College Days was an annual celebration that dates back to the early days of the institution and occurred each year before finals week. College Days was originally a celebration whereby faculty and students traveled to the Poudre Canyon and fellowshipped together. However, by the 1950s, the event was beginning to show signs of trouble… An article in the May 1, 1958 Collegian said that the previous College Days had given people an excuse to make the campus a shooting gallery as someone shot out several street lights. In 1980, The Denver Post reported that College Days’ was “a nationally famous event loathed by area residents and loved by CSU students for more than seven decades.” By this time, the event had evolved to include concerts, crazy events such as bed races and mud volleyball games, and the consumption of lots of beer. College Days’ reputation continued to deteriorate in the mid1980s.

In 1986, an uncontrolled party in the Baystone Condominium complex, west of campus, got out of hand. Estimates put the crowd at 3,000… Partiers started a 12-foot-high bonfire in the middle of Baystone Drive. The president of the homeowners association called Fort Collins and CSU Police to the area at 10:22 p.m. Police walked through the crowd several times in an attempt break up the party. After being pelted with beer bottles and other objects, the police set up roadblocks at either end of the street and let the party run its course. The celebration also took its toll on campus. CSUPD Dispatcher Connie Brandon told the Collegian, “The campus looked like a city dump”. There were beer bottles and broken glass everywhere. There were several fights and intoxicated individuals on campus as well. Brandon said, “This is one of the rowdiest College Days’ I’ve seen in a long time.”

When 1987’s celebration rolled around it almost seemed like daja vu. On Friday night, a crowd estimated at 4,000 gathered at the site of the previous year’s out of control party. Unfortunately, the crowd was more violent this time… By 12:30 a.m. Friday night, at least 50 people were treated at Poudre Valley Hospital, mainly for injuries caused by flying glass. Police arrested about 50 people, many of whom were not CSU students. On Saturday night, police barricaded Baystone Drive attempting to prevent a repeat of the previous night’s events. About 1,500 people proceeded to Plum and Columbine Streets. At about 11:30 p.m., after several warnings, police deployed teargas to disperse the crowd. About 2,000 people descended on the western edge of campus trying to escape the noxious fumes. As the crowd streamed onto campus, bottles were thrown, property was destroyed, and people were injured. A thin line of CSU police officers finally dispersed the crowd around 1:00 a.m.

The final tally for the 1987 College Days event was 124 arrests and 100 injuries. After nearly seven decades, the annual spring rite was laid to rest. CSU President Phillip Austin told the Coloradoan, “I can’t visualize any circumstances under which this will be allowed again.”

Lots and Lots of Water

On the evening of July 28, 1997, a flood ripped through Fort Collins and the Colorado State University campus without warning. One of the casualties was the CSU Police Headquarters. For the past 30 years, the department called the basement of the Hartshorn Student Health Building home. By 9:30 p.m., the rapidly falling rain had turned the parking lot in front of the building into a small pond. Dispatchers Kirsten Shier and Mindy Henry were busy answering emergency calls from the rest of the campus, including reports from the Lory Student Center and the Morgan Library that these buildings were flooding. Suddenly, Shier and Henry heard rushing water coming down the stairs from the southwest. Shier quickly switched the 911 line to the Poudre Emergency Communications Center and called Chief Hopkins to inform him of the situation… Sergeant John Higney arrived about that time and led the two dispatchers out a seldom-used exit on the south side so they could avoid the cascade of rushing water, which blocked the main exit. Shortly after evacuation, the basement was filled to the ceiling. .

It would be almost two years before the entire department reunited in their new facility, located in Green Hall. Officers and administrative staff worked out of temporary quarters in the Palmer Center for the first few weeks after the flood and then moved to Aylesworth Hall. Dispatch continued to work out of the Poudre Emergency Communications Center until the completion of the renovation work in Green Hall.

A New Century

In February 2003, Donn Hopkins stepped down as chief and he accepted a job offer as a security manager with Agilent Technologies. Chief Hopkins expertly guided the department through almost 18 years of turmoil and change. As a result of his leadership, the department was well positioned to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Over 400 people attended his going away party. Captain Bob Chaffee became interim chief while the University conducted a nation-wide search for Hopkins’s replacement.

The University chose Dexter Yarbrough, the chief at the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Yarbrough spent 15 years with the Chicago Police Department prior to his appointment as chief at UW Parkside. Yarbrough assumed command in September 2003.

In 2005, the Department celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. All three chiefs were present for the festivities. In addition, over 100 current and former employees attended. People came from as far away as Pennsylvania and New Jersey to attend this once in a lifetime celebration. There was much reminiscing and all three chiefs received recognition for their contributions to making CSUPD a top-notch organization.

During his tenure, Chief Yarbrough worked to increasing staffing levels of the department which, because of budget issues, had remained stagnant for the last 25 years. Yarbrough also brought the Police Department, Parking Services, and Environmental Health together to form the Department of Public Safety. The University eventually appointed Yarbrough as the Associate Vice President for Public Safety. He also retained his status as CSU’s Chief of Police. Under Chief Yarbrough’s leadership, the department grew from 21 full-time officers to nearly 40.

For almost 50 years, part-time student officers augmented the department. The officers patrolled the residence halls on a nightly basis and assisted the full-time staff with special events. Over the years the unit, was called the Special Services Unit, Police Services Division, and Support and Events Unit. At one time student officers wore the same uniform as full-time police officers and carried firearms. By the time Chief Yarbrough arrived, state law had changed prohibiting the use of student officers in this capacity without attendance at a state approved police academy. Chief Yarbrough demonstrated that the function of the student program could be performed more efficiently by full-time staff and in 2005, was given approval to transition the duties to full-time officers. By 2007, the only remaining student officers were the unarmed Campus Service Officers, whose main responsibility was, and remains, staffing the SafeWalk program.

In December 2008, the University placed Chief Yarbrough on administrative leave while they conducted a personnel investigation. Chief Yarbrough resigned in March at the conclusion of the investigation. Assistant Chief Frank Johnson became interim chief while the University conducted a nationwide search for Chief Yarbrough’s replacement.

Over 80 people applied for the position; however, the University did not have to look far for a successful replacement. In July 2009, the University named Wendy Rich-Goldschmidt to the position. Rich-Goldschmidt was chief of police at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, a position she held since October 2003.She began her career with UNCPD in 1987 and served as a patrol officer and a training and crime prevention officer before her promotion to chief. Chief Wendy, as she prefers to be called, has brought a new sense of energy and purpose to the Department. She faced some tough budget issues in her first months on the job, but she has dealt with them efficiently and the Department seems well positioned to serve the University for the near future.

 

 

Registrar's Office

The Registrar's Office at Colorado State University was officially established in 1933 when a Code of Operations was approved by the Board Executive Committee and president Charles Lory. The duties of the Registrar's Office have been exercised since the inception of the University in 1879 and include maintaining all students' official records, processing transcripts, verifying enrollment, course scheduling and registration, processing class lists, assigning classrooms, reviewing graduation applications, and issuing diplomas.

College of Health and Human Sciences

A history of the College of Health and Human Sciences.

Your Librarian

Profile Photo
Vicky Lopez-Terrill
she/her/hers
Contact:
Vicky Lopez-Terrill
Colorado State University Libraries
Archives and Special Collections
Room 202
970-491-1466
Social: Twitter Page

24/7 Library Help

24/7 Library Help

Connect with library staff via chat, email, phone or text.

URL: https://libguides.colostate.edu/universityhistory | Print Page