Colorado College
Intellectual Adventure in the Rocky Mountain West
Right where the short grass prairie meets the foothills of the Rockies, there is a place where, with a certain amount of guts and an open mind, students can study the liberal arts and sciences in the mountain air.
A private, four-year college, Colorado College is located on a 90-acre campus in downtown Colorado Springs near the base of the 14,110-foot Pikes Peak. CC is the only college of its kind in the Rocky Mountain region and one of only a handful of its type located in a metropolitan area.
Getting lost in a good book...Learning here is kind of like that. At Colorado College, under our unique and intensive "Block Plan," students take one course at a time for three and a half weeks; this means smaller classes, with more writing, discussion, and in-depth investigation of one subject at a time. During a block, students immerse themselves in environmental science or chemistry, Chinese or Spanish, poetry or medieval history, or any of our stimulating courses on campus or around the world. Our students come from many ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds. They typically are independent-minded adventurers who love a challenge. At CC, they find the encouragement, opportunities, and inspiration they need to reach their greatest potential.
The Academic Environment
Teaching and learning are at the heart of what we do. Students never sit in a lecture hall with 99, or 199, other students. With fewer than 2,000 students and a nine-to-one student-faculty ratio, our students get to know accomplished faculty members who TEACH first and foremost - all in seminar-style classes. They may choose to work on a student/faculty collaborative research project, or create their own independent study. Our students learn to venture their own opinions and begin the process of shaping their own direction and destiny.
Colorado College offers more than 80 majors, minors and specialized programs, including the following: African studies • American cultural studies • anthropology • art (history, studio) • Asian studies • biochemistry • biology • Black studies • chemistry • cinema studies • classics • classics (English) • classics (history, politics) • comparative literature • dance • drama • economics (business) • education • English (creative writing, film studies) • environmental science • feminist and gender studies • French • geology • German • history • history (philosophy) • history (political science) • international political economy • international studies • Italian • Latin American studies • liberal arts and sciences (independent) • mathematics • mathematical economics • music (ethnomusicology) • neuroscience • philosophy • physics • political science • psychology • religion • Russian • Russian-Eurasian studies • sociology • Southwest studies • Spanish • sports science • urban science.
Students also can complete significant coursework in Chinese, education, Japanese, journalism, teacher certification, and wellness, with pre-professional advising available in allied health fields, business, and law. Other cooperative programs include 3-2 engineering and Army ROTC.
Campus Life
The Colorado College campus includes more than 50 buildings, state-of-the-art computer technology, and a library of nearly 900,000 total holdings. Services to students include a health and counseling center, facilities for relaxation and recreation, and a myriad of opportunities for off-campus study and community service.
The Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center is our newest building, completed in 2008. This certified environmentally sustainable building is a first-of-its-kind arts center designed to foster creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration. A health and fitness center, as well as a new learning commons and library, are next on the list of priorities for the future.
Meanwhile, a full range of the performing arts, special interest clubs and organizations, student publications, and intramural and intercollegiate athletics rounds out the rigorous academic program at CC. The college encourages freedom of expression through an independent student press, as well as student and faculty forums on current issues and programs representing widely ranging viewpoints, often presented by distinguished visitors to the campus.
Athletics Facilities
Colorado College's numerous intercollegiate, intramural, and recreational athletics programs are centered at a sports complex consisting of El Pomar Sports Center, Washburn and Stewart Fields, and Honnen Ice Rink.
El Pomar Sports Center houses the athletics department offices as well as J. Juan Reid Gymnasium, home court for the CC basketball and volleyball teams, and Schlessman Pool. The building also is equipped with an auxiliary gym, climbing wall, racquetball and squash courts, a training room, modern exercise-physiology and biomechanics labs, and the Gerald C. Carle Weight Room and Fitness Center. A 10,000-square-foot all-purpose Astroturf room accommodates indoor track as well as facilities for limited team practice in other sports.
Washburn Field serves as the home stadium for CC's football, men's lacrosse, and track and field teams. A six-lane, quarter-mile, latex track borders the perimeter of the gridiron, lights accommodate night activities and bleacher seating allows for 2,500 spectators. Adjacent to Washburn lies Stewart Field, home to the men's and women's intercollegiate soccer teams as well as the women's lacrosse squad.
Student Body
The student body is composed of men and women from all 50 states and 28 foreign countries. Seventy-one percent of students come from states other than Colorado. More than 23 percent are American ethnic minority; almost four percent are international students. Eighty-five percent live on campus, 80 percent participate in community service, 78 percent play intramural sports, and 55 percent study abroad at some point during their collegiate career.
Some notable alumni of Colorado College include William J. Hybl '64, former president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, member of the International Olympic Committee, and recently nominated delegate to the United Nations General Assembly; U.S. Senator Ken Salazar '77; Lynne Cheney '63, news commentator and wife of Vice President Dick Cheney; Tara Nott Cunningham '94, the United States' first Olympic gold medalist in women's weightlifting (2000 Games); Olympic gold medalist Peggy Fleming '70; Olympic cyclist and World Mountain Bike Champion Alison Dunlap '91; William "Bro" Adams '69, Colby College's 19th president and former president of Bucknell University; Neal Baer '78, former executive producer and writer for "ER" and current executive producer for "Law & Order SVU"; Jay Engeln '74, 2000 National High School Principal of the Year; U.S. Congresswoman Diana DeGette '79; Glenna Goodacre '61, a sculptor who designed the image of Sacagawea on the golden U.S. dollar coin; Lori Garver '83, executive at an aerospace-consulting firm in Washington, who spent several years as a deputy to the head of NASA and became a candidate to travel to the International Space Station; Peter Neupert '78, former Microsoft executive and founder of Drugstore.com; and Marcia McNutt '74, president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Continually Moving Forward
At Colorado College, we have an ambitious - some would say audacious - mission for our future: to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country. In order to achieve this mission and strengthen and sustain our unique intellectual adventure, we have embarked upon The Campaign for Colorado College's Vision 2010.
Eyeing a goal of $300 million, Vision 2010 aims to: 1) enhance intellectual rigor in the form of new faculty positions, endowed professorships and faculty development funds; 2) continue attracting a diverse and respectful student body with endowed financial aid/scholarship packages, global experience funds and learning opportunities outside the classroom; and 3) continue building a next-generation campus that includes not only the new interdisciplinary arts center, but the aforementioned health and fitness center and learning commons and library as well.
