Colorado State University History

The books below tell the history specific campus events or academic departments.

• History of Flooding at Colorado State University (1902, 1938, 1951, 1992 and 1997), by Wayne A. Charlie
• A Century of Service to the Livestock Industry, 1903-2003, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University
• Watershed Science at Colorado State University, by Robert E. Dils and James R. Meiman
• Historic Documents of Colorado State University, Volume III:  the Presidency of E.E. Edwards
• Agricultural Frontier to Electronic Frontier:  a History of Colorado State University Libraries, 1870-1995, by Douglas Ernest
• A History of Graduate Education at Colorado State University, by Becky Haglund
• Beyond the Ivory Tower:  A History of Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, by James E. Hansen
• Chiron's Time:  a History of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University,  by J. Dennis McGuire and James E. Hansen
• One Hundred Years of Engineering at Colorado State University:  Fulfilling the Land-Grant Mission:  1889-1989, by Ann Hilfinger and James E. Hansen
• Aggies to Rams:  the History of Football at Colorado State University, by John Hirn
• 100 Years of Home Economics Memories at Colorado State University, Department of Home Economics Education
• Geology at Colorado State University, by Robert Britten Johnson
• History of the Library of Colorado State College, 1879-1943, by Laura I. Makepeace
• A Century of Progress, 1903-2003, by John Matsushima  [A history of the Department of Animal Sciences]
• Pioneer College President:  combining a Biography of E.E. Edwards with a History of the Earliest Years of Colorado State University, by James R. Miller
• A Century of Botany at CSU:  Highlights, by V. Claire Norton
• A Century of Innovation: the History of Colorado State University's Department of Electrical Engineering 1900-2010), by Chris M. Tenn
• The Mile High College:  the History of Colorado A & M, by Ruth J. Wattles. Part 1  Part 2
• A History of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Colorado State University, 1870-2004, by C. Byron Winn
• A History of the Department of Agronomy/Soil & Crop Sciences at Colorado State University

Students published the Silver Spruce yearbook from 1895 until 2002. They provide information about Colorado State University student activities and opinions over the years. They document traditions, ceremonies, clubs, sports, and more. Please note that these materials must be viewed in the context of the relevant time period. Researchers may encounter racist, sexist, and violent photographs, art, and language. Colorado State University does not endorse the views expressed in such materials.

• Physical copies of all Silver Spruce yearbooks are available in the Archives reading room.
• Digitized copies of the Silver Spruce for 1895 and 1956 through 2002 are available in Mountain Scholar.

The Rocky Mountain Collegian is CSU's longest-running student newspaper (1891-present). Its issues provide information about Colorado State University student activities and opinions over the years. They document traditions, ceremonies, clubs, sports, and more. Please note that these materials must be viewed in the context of the relevant time. Researchers may encounter racist, sexist, and violent photographs, art, and language. Colorado State University does not endorse the views expressed in such materials.

• Physical copies of all Rocky Mountain Collegians are available in the Archives reading room.
• Digitized copies of the Rocky Mountain Collegian from 1891 through October 1979 and 2006 through the present are available in Mountain Scholar.
• Digitized copies from 1891 through April 1989 are also available through the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection.

The Collegian has undergone several name changes over the years.

Besides the Collegian, Colorado State University staff and students have published newspapers over the years.

The Transition was a weekly Colorado State University student newspaper and an alternative to the Rocky Mountain Collegian. Only published in 1969, it provided commentary on local and national issues and, per its editor Steve Watts, was intended to hold "…the key to 'open' doors of dissent and opinions of All members of C.S.U. regardless of race, color, or political beliefs and affiliation."

• Physical copies of all Transitions are available in the Archives reading room.
• Digitized copies of the Transition are available in Mountain Scholar.
• Digitized copies are also available through the Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection.

CSU Comments was an employee newsletter from 1971 through 2011. 

• Physical copies of all Comments are available in the Archives reading room.
• A small number of digital copies of Comments (2007-2011) are available through the Colorado State Library.

The following collections are especially useful when researching CSU history.

• Records of the Faculty Council (UFCP) 1909-2022 - Finding Aid
  • This collection includes all meeting minutes for the Faculty Council and all Academic Faculty and Administrative Professional manuals. It provides information on the history of university governance.
  • Most of the collection is digitized and available on Mountain Scholar.
• Papers of James R. Miller (UJRM) 1846-1993 - Finding Aid
  • This collection includes some of the oldest documents of Colorado State University.
  • Most of the collection is digitized and available on Mountain Scholar.
• Miscellany of Colorado State University Collection (UCSU) 1885-2015 - Finding Aid
  • This collection contains publications, recordings, oral histories, photographs, and other ephemera created by and for the university, and its students, faculty, and staff.
  • Some of the collection is digitized and available on Mountain Scholar.
• Records of Student Activities (USTU) 1886-1970 - Finding Aid
  • This collection documents various groups and activities pertaining to student life at CSU.
• University Historic Photograph Collection (UHPC) 1879-2001 - Finding Aid
  • This collection is the visual history of Colorado State University.
  • Early items and some more recent images are digitized and available on Mountain Scholar.
• Papers of Ruth J. Wattles (URJW) 1859-1965 - Finding Aid
  • Ruth J. Wattles was the first official historian of Colorado State University.  The collection documents the first seventy-five years of Colorado State University.
  • Most of the collection is digitized and available on Mountain Scholar.

Other archival collections can be viewed on the University Archive finding aid webpage.