Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, United States. It is located on the

Auraria Campus Auraria Campus is an educational facility located near downtown Denver, Colorado in the United States. The campus houses facilities of three separate universities and colleges: the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver), Community College o ...

, along with the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a Public university, public research university located in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. Established in 1912 as an extension of the University of C ...

and the

Community College of Denver Community College of Denver (CCD) is a public community college in Denver, Colorado. The main campus is at Auraria Campus and it has two other locations in the Denver metropolitan area. CCD focuses on underserved, first-generation, and minor ...

, in downtown Denver, adjacent to Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. MSU Denver had an enrollment of 16,345 undergraduate students in the fall of 2023.

History

Metropolitan State University of Denver was founded in 1965 as an opportunity school. By design, MSU Denver is required to be accessible to all, which is why it consistently has some of the lowest tuitions of four-year Colorado colleges and universities. Nearly 54% of the student body are students of color. MSU Denver was the first university to advocate for

DREAMers Dreamers or The Dreamers may refer to: Books * "Dreamers", a 1918 war poem by Siegfried Sassoon * "The Dreamers" (play), a 1982 play by Jack Davis * ''The Dreamers'' (novel series), a 2003–06 fantasy series by David Eddings and Leigh Eddings ...

to have a chance at higher education by providing in-state tuition rates under the ASSET bill, signed by then Gov. John Hickenlooper in the Jordan Student Success Building lobby. It made national headlines.

Campus

MSU Denver shares the Auraria campus with two other higher education institutions, the

and

. The traditional main entrance to campus is Speer & Lawrence between the North and Science buildings. The campus is located in the heart of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. The reclaimed Callie Maher brewery, which closed in 1969, now operates as the

Tivoli Student Union The Tivoli Brewery (now the Tivoli Student Union) is a historic building originally home to the Tivoli Brewing Company. It was designed by prominent Denver architect Frederick C. Eberley. The building is located in the Auraria Neighborhood of D ...

Organization and administration

Janine Anne Davidson became president of MSU Denver on July 24, 2017. Laura Niesen de Abruña was named provost effective January 25, 2024. On June 7, 2002, Governor Bill Owens signed House Bill 1165 – ''Concerning the Establishment of an Independent Governing Board for Metropolitan State College of Denver'' – and named his appointees to MSU Denver's board of trustees. MSU Denver's

student government A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

operates under the name "The Student Advocacy Council" (TSAC).

Schools and centers

MSU Denver contains four colleges and two schools. * College of Aerospace, Computing, Engineering and Design * College of Business * College of Health and Human Sciences * College of Letters, Arts and Sciences * School of Education *School of Hospitality Metropolitan State University of Denver is also home to a variety of projects, research centers, and institutes.

Accreditation

MSU Denver is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

(HLC). Several programs and units are accredited by disciplinary-specific organizations, including: * The Department of Art is accredited by the

National Association of Schools of Art and Design The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees ...

(NASAD). * The College of Business is accredited by the

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to busines ...

(AACSB). * The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems programs are accredited by

ABET ABET (pronounced A-bet), formerly known as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., is a non-governmental accreditation organization for post-secondary programs in engineering, engineering technology, computing, and applied ...

University names

Colloquially referred to as Metro State, MSU Denver formally became a university on April 18, 2012. * 1965–1990: Metropolitan State College * 1990–2012: Metropolitan State College of Denver * 2012–present: Metropolitan State University of Denver

Name change controversy

The then-Metropolitan State College of Denver Board of Trustees on March 9, 2011, approved a legislative proposal to change the institution's name to "Denver State University" following a vote among students and faculty.

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

administration and faculty publicly objected to "Denver State University" as MSU Denver's new name. As a result of this, the board of trustees decided to cancel the planned name change. Some community members objected and viewed this change of plans as allowing a private university (University of Denver) to decide the fate of a public one (MSU Denver).

Student life

Greek life

The institution has various fraternity and sorority chapters.

Student media

The Office of Student Media supports four student media productions: * ''

The Metropolitan (newspaper) The Metropolitan, or The Met as it is commonly called, is the school newspaper of Metropolitan State University of Denver. It has a weekly press run of 700 copies, which are distributed every Wednesday to more than 60 locations across the Aura ...

'' * Met Radio – ''KMET'' * Met TV * ''Metrosphere''

Athletics

MSU Denver has produced 239 All-Americans and was one of the seven charter members of the Colorado Athletic Conference in 1989 before joining the

Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...

in 1996. MSU Denver competed as a NAIA member until 1983, when the Roadrunners jumped to the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

ranks. Since 1998, MSU Denver has captured 32 regular season conference titles, 35 conference tournament championships, as well as the 2000 & 2002 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championships and the 2004 and 2006 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer national crowns. * Basketball/Volleyball – Auraria Events Center * Baseball/Soccer/Softball/Tennis – Regency Athletic Complex * RMLC/MLCA Men's Lacrosse - Dick's Sporting Good Park Camps and clinics * MSU Denver Soccer Camps

Domestic relationships

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Adams State University Adams State University is a public university in Alamosa, Colorado, United States. The university's Adams State Grizzlies athletic teams compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. History Adams State was founded in 1921 as a normal scho ...

Colorado Mesa University Colorado Mesa University (CMU or Mesa) is a public university in Grand Junction, Colorado, United States. Originally established in 1925 as Grand Junction Junior College, the school was renamed to Mesa College in 1940. The college began offerin ...

Community College of Aurora The Community College of Aurora (CCA) is a public community college in Aurora, Colorado. It is part of the Colorado Community College System. CCA serves over 10,000 students annually at its CentreTech Campus in Aurora; Lowry Campus at the form ...

Front Range Community College Front Range Community College (FRCC) is a public community college with three campuses in Colorado, located in Westminster, Longmont, and Fort Collins. It is the largest community college in Colorado and the most popular transfer institution for ...

Western Colorado University Western Colorado University (WCU or Western) is a public university in Gunnison, Colorado. It enrolls approximately 3,000 undergraduate and 450 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state. Western offers more than 100 undergradu ...

Fort Hays State University Fort Hays State University (FHSU) is a public university in Hays, Kansas, United States. It is the largest university in western Kansas, and the fourth largest of the six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents, with a total ...

Mount Saint Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University is a Private university, private Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, United States. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Libera ...

†‡ *

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

‡ *

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

‡ † = private ‡ = London Consortium

International relationships

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

– Open University of China *

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

–

Aksum University Aksum University (AKU) is a teaching university in Aksum in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It offers teaching programs and research projects which lead toward undergraduate and master's degrees. It was established in February 2007 with the objective of ...

(AkU) *

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

–

University of Guadalajara The University of Guadalajara () is a public university, public research university located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was originally established in 1586 and officially founded on 12 February 1791 as the Royal and Pontifical University of Gu ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

–

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

Notable students

Individuals of note who have attended the institution include: *

Kat Cammack Kathryn Christine Cammack ( ; born February 16, 1988) is an American politician and political advisor serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, ...

U.S. Congressperson *

Brittany Pettersen Brittany Louise Pettersen (born December 6, 1981) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Colorado's 7th congressional district since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 22nd distric ...

U.S. Congressperson * David W. Ball writer * David Barlow basketball player *

Michelle Beisner-Buck Michelle Beisner-Buck (born October 15, 1976) is an American reporter for ESPN and a former National Football League (NFL) cheerleader, dancer, and actress. Beisner-Buck was a cheerleader for the NFL's Denver Broncos, then became an NFL Network ...

reporter *

Richard T. Castro Richard Thomas Castro (1946 – April 13, 1991), an educational and civil rights activist, was director of Denver's Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations at the time of his death from an aneurysm. In the 1970s, Castro had been the chai ...

activist *

Steven Emory Steven Emory (born August 31, 1989, in Fort Collins, Colorado) is an American soccer player. Career Youth, college and amateur Emory began his career at Fort Collins High School in 2005 where he was named Second Team All-State pick in 2005, Fi ...

soccer player *

Mark Worthington Mark Worthington (born 8 June 1983) is an Australian basketball player for the Willetton Tigers of the NBL1 West. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). Early life and career Born in Bunbury, Western Australia, Worthingt ...

basketball player *

Pam Grier Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and martial artist. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitati ...

actress *

Candi Kubeck Candalyn "Candi" Kubeck (née Chamberlin, May 10, 1961 – May 11, 1996) was an American commercial airline pilot and the captain of ValuJet Flight 592. This flight crashed into the Everglades in 1996, after oxygen generators illegally placed ins ...

pilot * Tony Laubach Meteorologist and storm chaser featured on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

Joe Rice Joe Rice (born May 7, 1967) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado, an Iraq War veteran, and a former mayor of Glendale, Colorado. Rice presently works for Lockheed Martin Space Systems and also is a member of the United States Ar ...

legislator and mayor of Glendale * Laura J. RichardsonUS General * Hayden Smith – rugby and football player * Todd Schmitz swimming coach * Gary Striewski journalist * Gloria Tanner – Colorado state senator *

Benjamin Ortner Benjamin Ortner (born March 16, 1983) is a former Austrian professional basketball player who last played for Pallacanestro Reggiana of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Early years and college career Ortner was born and raised in Innsbruc ...

basketball player

References

External links

*
Official Athletics website
{{Authority control . Universities and colleges in Denver Public universities and colleges in Colorado Educational institutions established in 1965 1965 establishments in Colorado Aviation schools in the United States