The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder; CU) is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. Considered a Public Ivy, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876. The university’s colors are officially silver and gold; however, traditional CU items utilize the black and gold color scheme.
In 2007, the university consisted of nine colleges and schools and offered over 150 academic programs, enrolled 28,988 students, and granted 6,781 degrees.Six Nobel Laureates, seven MacArthur Fellows, and 17 astronauts have been affiliated with CU Boulder as students, researchers, or faculty members in its history. The university received nearly $340 million in sponsored research in 2009 to fund programs like the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, JILA, and National Institute of Standards and Technology’s NIST-F1 atomic clock.
Colorado Buffaloes competed in nine intercollegiate sports in the NCAA Division I Big 12 Conference. On June 10, 2010, it was announced that they would be joining the Pacific-10 Conference. The Buffaloes have won 23 NCAA championships: 17 in skiing, five total in men’s and women’s cross country, and one in football. Approximately 1,500 students participate in 34 intercollegiate club sports annually as well.
On March 14, 1876, the Colorado state legislature passed an amendment to the state constitution that provided money for the establishment of the University of Colorado in Boulder, the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, and Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins, now known as Colorado State University.
Two cities competed for the site University of Colorado: Boulder and Ca?on City. The consolation prize for the losing city was to be home of the new Colorado State Prison. Ca?on City was at a disadvantage as it was already the home of the Colorado Territorial Prison. (There are now six prisons in the Ca?on City area).
The cornerstone of the building that became Old Main was laid on September 20, 1875. The doors of the university opened on September 5, 1877. At the time, there were few high schools in the state that could adequately prepare students for university work, so in addition to the University, a preparatory school was formed on campus. In the fall of 1877, the student body consisted of 15 students in the college proper and 50 students in the preparatory school. There were 38 men and 27 women, and their ages ranged from 12–23 years. (more…)