University of Colorado

Public university system in the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The University of Colorado (CU)^[4] is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Colorado Anschutz. It is governed by an elected nine-member board of regents and led by a system president, currently Todd Saliman.

TypePublic university system

Established1876; 150 years ago

Endowment$2.25 billion (FY2024)^[1]^[2]

PresidentTodd Saliman

Quick facts Type, Established ...

University of Colorado

Type	Public university system
Established	1876; 150 years ago (1876)
Endowment	$2.25 billion (FY2024)^[1]^[2]
President	Todd Saliman
Location	Boulder , Colorado , United States
Colors	(Gold, Black, and Grey)^[3]
Website	cu.edu

Locations of University of Colorado campuses

Campuses

University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder)

CU Boulder is the flagship university of the University of Colorado System in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, the university has more than 39,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest university in Colorado by enrollment.^[5] It offers more than 2,500 courses in more than 150 areas of study through its nine colleges and schools.^{[citation needed]} Their athletic program is part of the Big XII Conference of NCAA Division I.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS)

UCCS is the fastest growing of the three campuses with an undergraduate and graduate student population of about 12,000 students. It was established in 1965 and now offers 45 bachelor's, 22 master's, and five doctoral degree programs through its six colleges.^[6] The 520-acre campus is located in central Colorado Springs. Their athletic program is part of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference of NCAA Division II.

University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver)

CU Denver is the largest research university in Colorado, attracting more than $420 million in research annually, and granting more master's degrees than any other institution in Colorado. The campus provides an urban learning center with liberal arts, sciences, and professional programs in eight schools and colleges, serving over 18,000 students. CU Denver is located in downtown Denver on the Auraria Campus, which is also home to Metropolitan State University of Denver and Community College of Denver.^[7]

University of Colorado Anschutz (CU Anschutz)

CU Anschutz in Aurora is home to six professional schools in the health sciences and extensive research and clinical care facilities, including the University of Colorado Hospital, Children's Hospital Colorado and the Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. CU Anschutz has more than 4,200 students, and is the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States.^[7]^[8] It was established in 2006.

Defunct campuses

University of Colorado South Denver (CU South Denver)

CU South Denver, located in Lone Tree, opened in 2015 as a satellite campus of CU Denver, but permanently closed in August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns surrounding the campus' financial viability. At the time of its closing, the campus offered four academic programs and served nearly 300 students.^[9]^[10]

Related institutions

The University of Colorado Hospital Authority (UC Health) was created in 1991 to allow the Regents to reorganize the University of Colorado Hospital.^[11]

International collaboration

The university is an active member of the University of the Arctic.^[12] UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.^[13]

Presidents

The following persons have served as president of the University of Colorado system:^[14]

More information No., Image ...

No.	President	Term start	Term end	Ref.
1	Joseph A. Sewall	1877	1887	^[15]
2	Horace M. Hale	1887	1892	^[16]
3	James H. Baker	1892	1914	^[17]
4	Livingston Farrand	1914	1919	^[18]
5	George Norlin	1919	1939	^[19]
6	Robert L. Stearns	1939	1953	^[20]
7	Ward Darley	1953	1956	^[21]
8	J. Quigg Newton	1956	1963	^[22]
9	Joseph R. Smiley	1963	1969	^[23]
interim 10	Eugene H. Wilson	1969	1969	^[24]
11	Frederick P. Thieme	1969	1974	^[25]
12	Roland C. Rautenstraus	1974	1980	^[26]
13	Arnold R. Weber	1980	1985	^[27]
interim 14	William H. Baughn	1985	1985	^[28]
15	E. Gordon Gee	1985	1990	^[29]
interim 16	William H. Baughn	1990	1991	^[30]
17	Judith E. N. Albino ^[a]	1991	November 15, 1995	^[31]^[32]
interim	John C. Buechner	November 16, 1995	May 1996	^[31]
18	John C. Buechner	May 1996	May 31, 2000 ^[b]	^[33]^[34]^[35]
interim 19	Alexander E. Bracken	June 1, 2000	August 31, 2000	^[36]^[37]
20	Elizabeth Hoffman	September 1, 2000	June 30, 2005 ^[c]	^[38]^[39]^[40]
interim	Hank Brown	August 1, 2005	May 11, 2006	^[41]^[42]
21	Hank Brown	May 11, 2006	March 7, 2008	^[43]^[44]^[45]^[46]
22	Bruce D. Benson	March 10, 2008	June 30, 2019	^[47]^[48]^[49]^[50]
23	Mark Kennedy	July 1, 2019	June 30, 2021	^[51]^[52]
interim	Todd Saliman	July 1, 2021	April 27, 2022	^[53]
24	Todd Saliman	April 27, 2022	present	^[54]

Table notes:

[a]
First woman president.
[b]
Forced to resign due to conflicts with regents.
[c]
Resigned as a result over football scandal.

References

[1]
As of June 30, 2024. "U.S. and Canadian 2024 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2024 Endowment Market Value, Change in Market Value from FY23 to FY24, and FY24 Endowment Market Values Per Full-time Equivalent Student" (XLS). National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). February 10, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025.
[2]
"Consolidated Financial Report with Supplemental Information" (PDF). University of Colorado Foundation. October 18, 2024. p. 24.
[3]
Our Visual Identity
[4]
"Campus, College & School Names". University of Colorado Boulder. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
[5]
"CU Boulder Fall 2017 Overall Enrollment Profile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 16, 2017.
[6]
"Facts & Figures". University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Archived from the original on June 19, 2017. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
[7]
"Quick Facts – Accredited Degrees, Research and Health Care". University of Colorado Denver. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
[8]
"About Us | University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus".
[9]
"About Us". southdenver.cu.edu. CU South Denver. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
[10]
"CU South Denver facility to be sold". 17 September 2020.
[11]
SB 91–225, chapter 99 of the 1991 Session Laws of Colorado, page 555–589, approved 1 June 1991, effective 1 June 1991. §1(h): "That the intent of the general assembly in enacting this act is to again authorize the board of regents to reorganize university of Colorado university hospital through the establishment of a quasi-governmental and corporate entity vested with the powers and duties specified in this act and providing for the transfer of the hospital’s assets and operating obligations to said entity …"
[12]
"Members". UArctic. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
[13]
"About Us". UArctic - University of the Arctic. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
[14]
"CU Past Presidents". University of Colorado system.
[15]
"Joseph A. Sewall". University of Colorado system.
[16]
"Horace M. Hale". University of Colorado system.
[17]
"James H. Baker". University of Colorado system.
[18]
"Livingston Farrand". University of Colorado system.
[19]
"George Norlin". University of Colorado system.
[20]
"Robert L. Stearns". University of Colorado system.
[21]
"Ward Darley". University of Colorado system.
[22]
"Quigg Newton". University of Colorado system.
[23]
"Joseph R. Smiley". University of Colorado system.
[24]
"Eugene H. Wilson". University of Colorado system.
[25]
"Frederick P. Thieme". University of Colorado system.
[26]
"Roland C. Rautenstraus". University of Colorado system.
[27]
"Arnold R. Weber". University of Colorado system.
[28]
"William H. Baughn". University of Colorado system.
[29]
"E. Gordon Gee". University of Colorado system.
[30]
"William H. Baughn". University of Colorado system.
[31]
"Judith E. N. Albino". University of Colorado system.
[32]
"Albino interim successor named". The Steamboat Today. Vol. 7, no. 204. October 20, 1995. p. 21 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers. University of Colorado-Denver Chancellor John Buechner, was named Thursday by the board of regents to be CU's interim president until Judith Albino's successor can be found. The selection was made late Thursday morning at a closed meeting attended by Albino, who announced Tuesday she was leaving as president Nov. 15 to return to teaching. Buechner's appointment is effective Nov. 16.
[33]
"John C. Buechner". University of Colorado system.
[34]
Beauprez, Jennifer (May 8, 1996). "New CU president to remain in Lafayette home for now". The Louisville Times. Vol. 82, no. 91. p. 15 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers. A former political science professor at CU, Buechner served as Chancellor of the university's Denver campus since 1988 before being formally appointed to president last week.
[35]
"CU searching for president's replacement". Aspen Daily News. Vol. 22, no. 110. October 18, 1999. p. 12 – via Colorado Historic Newspapers. As their shock over University of Colorado President John Buechner's decision to resign changes to acceptance, CU officials are focusing on how to go about finding a replacement. Buechner announced his resignation, effective June 1, last week. He said he made the decision because he felt he did not have the support of each of the university's nine regents.
[36]
"Alexander E. Bracken". University of Colorado system.
[37]
Curtin, Dave (April 27, 2000). "Ball exec to be CU's interim president". The Denver Post. University of Colorado regents will announce Friday that Alexander "Sandy" Bracken will be the interim president of the four-campus, 44,000-student university while the school continues to search for a permanent president. Bracken, 53, a descendant of the famed Ball pioneering business family and chairman of the state's higher-education commission, will take over June 1... Regents Chairman Pete Steinhauer said Bracken isn't a candidate for the permanent job. His presidential term could continue into next year, Steinhauer said.
[38]
"Elizabeth Hoffman". University of Colorado system.
[39]
"Regents Name Elizabeth Hoffman President Of The University Of Colorado". University of Colorado Boulder. August 2, 2000. The University of Colorado Board of Regents announced today that Elizabeth "Betsy" Hoffman, 53, has been named the 20th president of the University of Colorado. Hoffman, currently Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), will take over CU's top post on Sept. 1
[40]
Johnson, Kirk (March 8, 2005). "University President Resigns at Colorado Amid Turmoil". The New York Times. The president of the University of Colorado, Elizabeth Hoffman, resigned Monday after struggling with a football recruiting scandal and a firestorm over a professor who likened some Sept. 11 victims to Nazis. But her departure, effective June 30, seems unlikely to quell months of political turmoil in the state over the professor, Ward L. Churchill, who wrote that some people who worked at the World Trade Center were "little Eichmanns," toiling on behalf of American foreign policy just as Adolf Eichmann did on behalf of the Holocaust.
[41]
"Hank Brown _69 Becomes 21st President of the University of Colorado". University of Colorado Boulder. April 15, 2005. Hank Brown [will take] over CU's top post on August 1, and will serve until a permanent president is appointed by the Board of Regents at the conclusion of the search process, which is in progress.
[42]
Brown, Jennifer (August 1, 2005). "CU chief fires first-day salvo". The Denver Post. Hank Brown cut 10 jobs Monday on his first day as the University of Colorado's interim president, showing he isn't just an idle stand-in until a permanent president is hired.
[43]
"Hank Brown". University of Colorado system.
[44]
Brown, Jennifer (April 5, 2006). "Hank Brown is the one, two CU boards decide". The Denver Post. Regents expect to officially name the president in about a month, after Brown visits each of CU's four campuses for interviews by administrators, faculty, staff and students.
[45]
McPhee, Mike (January 18, 2007). "Hank Brown to leave CU presidency next February". The Denver Post. University of Colorado President Hank Brown will leave his post on Feb. 1, 2008, he announced this morning at the conclusion of the Board of Regents' meeting.
[46]
Gandy, Sara (March 7, 2008). "Brown steps down as CU System president; Benson starts Monday". KUSA (TV). His last day was Friday. Bruce Benson takes over on Monday. Brown was president for 32 months, leading the 52,000-student system through dramatic changes designed to overcome a series of embarrassing scandals.
[47]
"Bruce D. Benson". University of Colorado system.
[48]
"University of Colorado Names Bruce Benson Its 22nd President". University of Colorado system. February 20, 2008.
[49]
"Benson takes office". CU Independent. March 11, 2008. Bruce Benson had a "busy day from start to finish" when he took office on Monday as the CU system's 22nd President said Ken McConnellogue, associate vice president for university relations.
[50]
"Bruce D. Benson Statement: CU President announces he will retire in July 2019". University of Colorado system. July 18, 2018. Today I informed the University of Colorado Board of Regents that I intend to retire from my position, effective July 2019.
[51]
"Mark Kennedy". University of Colorado system.
[52]
"CU regents name Mark Kennedy president". University of Colorado Boulder. May 2, 2019. The University of Colorado Board of Regents today named Mark Kennedy as the institution's 23rd president... He will replace Bruce D. Benson, who is retiring from CU in June after more than 11 years as president... Kennedy will assume the presidency in July.
[53]
"CU regents name Todd Saliman interim president". University of Colorado Boulder. June 2, 2021. On a unanimous vote, the University of Colorado Board of Regents on June 1 named Todd Saliman as the University of Colorado interim president. The appointment will be effective July 1.
[54]
"Todd Saliman Elected University of Colorado's 24th President". University of Colorado system. April 27, 2022. The Board of Regents today voted unanimously to elect Todd Saliman as the University of Colorado's 24th president. Saliman has been serving as the university's president on an interim basis since his appointment by the board in July 2021.