The Beginning

The charter for a new college is filed with the Territory of Colorado on February 9, 1874. General Palmer dreams of having a college in the city and provides the land and money. Thomas Haskell, the College's founder, organizes the new institution and sets it in operation, with great financial support from the Congregational Church. It is an institution supported by the church and its people, but decidedly "free from ecclesiastical control." From the beginning, it is “a coeducational institution open to all sexes and races.”

 These early years are tenuous and uncertain with frequent change in leadership and great financial stress.

1874

Colorado College is Founded

February 4

At their first meeting in Denver, the College trustees frame a charter.

February 9

The charter for a new college is filed with the Territory of Colorado.

May 6

The College’s first classes convene in the Wanless Building on the corner of Pikes Peak Avenue and Tejon Street. Twenty-five students are in attendance – 13 men and 12 women. Later this year, a three-room wooden building is erected across from Acacia Park on Tejon Street. It costs $1500 to build and $200 to furnish. The first academic session is ten weeks long and tuition is $10 - $20, depending on the student’s track of study.

First Woman Faculty Member

The first known woman faculty member at CC is Minna Knapp from Germany. She assists with the teaching of German and Music.

1875

James G. Dougherty Appointed First President of CC

Dougherty is a congregational minister from New England. When he accepts the appointment to be president of CC, he is working in Wyandotte, Kansas. CC guarantees him a yearly salary of $2,000, half of which is to be paid by the Congregational Church, for his services as pastor. As president, Dougherty is responsible for raising funds, most of which he obtains from the American College and Education Society. Not enough money is raised to pay his salary or to operate the college, and Dougherty reluctantly submits his resignation on March 9, 1876. Several weeks later the college closes.

1876

Edward P. Tenney Becomes President

The college reopens with the arrival of Edward Payson Tenney. Tenney is serving as a pastor of the First Congregational Church in Ashland, Massachusetts when he is asked to become the second president of CC. He is educated at Pembroke Academy, Dartmouth College, and Bangor and Andover Theological Seminaries. His ideas encompass the "new educational concept” emphasizing the practical aspects of a college education. To publicize the college, Tenney publishes a pamphlet entitled “The New West” which is widely read in the eastern U.S. The college incurs heavy financial losses during the Tenney era and in 1884 Tenney vacates the presidency.

1877

Building Starts on Cutler Hall

On July 4, ground is broken for the first permanent college building, eventually known as Cutler Hall. Colorado Springs founder General Palmer sets aside land for the college ten blocks north of downtown. Funding for the building is provided by The Colorado Centennial College Association, a group formed by the women of the city for the specific purpose of building the college.

1878

CC's First Literary Society

Men students organize the college’s first literary society called Phi Delta Pi. The purpose of the club is to improve the speech and debate skills of CC students. Public literary exhibitions, including declamations, orations, and debates are presented every Friday night.

1880s

CC begins to grow from its small beginnings into a nationally regarded institution. The College moves up the street from its original schoolhouse to its lasting location.

While leadership remains in flux, the academic plans for the College continue with a growing faculty and student body.

1880

First Campus Building

The central part of Cutler Hall, the College’s first permanent building, is completed. This portion includes a library, classrooms, and an auditorium. In 1882, two wings are added. At first the building is unnamed or known simply as “The College.” The building is then named Palmer Hall for Gen. William J. Palmer in 1889. Later, when a new building on campus is named Palmer Hall, the original building is renamed Cutler Hall to honor Henry Cutler, a generous benefactor of the college.

The Occident

CC begins publishing its first student newspaper. The Occident starts in February and is the main source of campus news for a short time before being replaced with The Pike's Peak Echo.

1885

A Football First

The first intercollegiate football game west of the Mississippi is played at CC. The Tigers beat the University of Denver (DU), 12-0.

1886

CC's First Woman Graduate

Agnes Caldwell is the fifth person and first woman to graduate from the College, during a time when the idea of a college education for women is still a radical concept. The only known recording of her presence at and graduation from CC is in The Pike's Peak Echo.

1888

William F. Slocum Becomes President

Slocum is a pastor of the First Congregational Church in Baltimore, Maryland when he is appointed CC’s newest president. Slocum is a graduate of Amherst College and Andover Theological Seminary. His arrival on campus saves the college from another closure. During his presidency, the college grows from 50 students to 500 and from a single building to sixteen. After an investigation into what becomes known as the "Slocum Affair," the Board of Trustees requests his resignation. Slocum officially resigns in 1917.

1889

Formation of CC's Women's Educational Society

The Women's Educational Society of Colorado College is formed in April under the leadership of Mary Montgomery Slocum (the wife of President William F. Slocum). The organization is intended to act as a bridge between women community members in Colorado Springs interested in supporting the "physical, intellectual, and spiritual aid to young women who are students in any department of Colorado College."

1890s

Colorado Springs and the College come alive in the early 1890s with the discovery of gold in Cripple Creek. Enrollment and donations increase steadily. Oratorical contests are popular events on campus and a small gym is built, encouraging athletic student life.

During this decade, the College builds its first library, observatory, and athletic field. This time-period is filled with CC community members whose names will continue to be part of CC life far into the future: Palmer, Haskell, Loomis.

1891

Montgomery Hall Opens

Montgomery Hall opens as the first permanent residence for women on campus.

Founding of the Minerva Literary Society

On October 14, Eloise Wickard of the CC English Department invites five girls to her home for the first meeting of the Minerva Literary Society. The society receives enthusiastic approval and support from the College.

1892

Coburn Library

CC’s first library, Coburn Library, is built. Located on the northeast corner of Cascade and Cache La Poudre, it serves the students, staff, and faculty of CC until it is replaced by a new library in 1962.

CC's First Black Alum

William S. Braddan, a twenty-year-old African American clergyman attends Cutler Academy, a preparatory school that is attached to CC, from 1891-1892. Braddan goes on to serve as chaplain of the 370th Infantry, an African American army unit, during World War I. He later writes of his experiences in his 1928 memoir, Under Fire, the only first-person account of an African American soldier serving in France.

1893

Katharine Lee Bates Writes "America the Beautiful"

A Professor of English at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Katharine Lee Bates comes to Colorado Springs to teach at the Colorado Summer School of Science, Philosophy, and Languages, hosted at CC. During her time on campus, Bates takes a wagon ride to the summit of Pikes Peak. The views she sees from the mountaintop inspire her to write the poem, later set to music, entitled "America the Beautiful."

CC's First International Student Graduates

Taizo Nakashima, from Japan, graduates from CC. His decision to come to CC is surely rooted in the Congregational connection, especially since Nakashima becomes a member of the First Congregational Church in Colorado Springs, along with J. Hirase, another student from Japan who enters CC in the same year. Nakashima is described in The Colorado Collegian as “one of the best students of philosophy and psychology that ever entered the college.”

CC's First Gym

A small gym is erected on the edge of campus for men students, encouraging physical activity and excellence outside of the classroom.

1894

Wolcott Observatory

Wolcott Observatory is built. It contains a lecture room, study, transit room, and dome room. It is used for classes, labs, and a gathering space for the Associated Women’s Students. The building in razed in 1969.

1896

CC Hires its First Dean of Women

Ruth Loomis is appointed CC’s first Dean of Women. Through her work, she aims to bestow a legacy of elevated moral standards and social etiquette for women on campus. It is stated that Loomis, in effect, "maintained a college for women in a coeducational institution."

Ticknor Hall

The residential capacity for women students increases three-fold with the building of Ticknor Hall.

1898

Washburn Field

CC’s first playing field, subsequently named Washburn Field, is inaugurated in a baseball game between CC and Colorado School of Mines. President Slocum throws out the first pitch of the game.

1899

Two New Women's Societies Founded

Contemporary and Hypatia join the Minerva Literary Society at CC. These new societies organize socials, dances, picnics, musicals, and banquets alongside their literary and debate activities.

1900s

This decade sees continued growth on campus and the construction of buildings that will become campus landmarks. The building of Palmer Hall is the highlight of this growth and it is described as one of the finest college buildings among liberal arts colleges in the United States.

Academics begin to thrive. Students now have majors and faculty advisors, and enrollment continues to grow. Off campus, men students begin organizing into fraternities.

1900

Booker T. Washington Speaks at CC

On January 28, Booker T. Washington, African American educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute, speaks to a standing-room-only crowd at CC.

1903

McGregor Hall Opens

McGregor Hall, the third hall for women on campus, opens with funds raised by the Women's Educational Society.

1904

Palmer Hall Opens

On February 23, CC opens Palmer Hall, campus's new science building and home to a natural history museum of taxidermized animals and a large whale skeleton. It is the crowning achievement of President Slocum's construction-filled tenure and provides the campus with one of its best-loved landmarks. Boston architectural firm Andrews, Jacques, and Rantoul design the Romanesque Revival-style building, utilizing sandstone from a quarry on the Frying Pan River in Pitkin County, CO. The building's name honors General Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs and longtime friend of the college. Palmer is the likely donor of a $100,000 anonymous donation made with the stipulation that the building be placed here, effectively blocking a planned streetcar line that would have bisected the campus.

Phi Beta Kappa

CC is one of four institutions in the Western U.S. to be selected for a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

1905

Breaking a Colorado Color Line

The color line is first broken in Colorado intercollegiate athletics when two African Americans, Fred Roberts and Charles Jackson, play on CC’s undefeated 1905 football team.

CC's First Known Jewish Student Graduates

Walter S. Goldfrank, the first known Jewish student at CC, graduates. He later marries renowned anthropologist Esther Schiff Goldfrank.

1906

Founding of the Student Government Association for Women Students

The organization is founded to provide "the utmost freedom of individual action possible in community life with the highest mental and moral development." By having their own student government, women play an active role in writing and enforcing the rules under which they conduct their social lives. The organization is later renamed the Quadrangle Association, which gave way to the Associated Women Students that united all women on campus in a common organization.

1908

Founding of the First All-College Student Governance

Student Commission (later known as the Associated Students of Colorado College) forms as the first all-college student governing organization.

Bemis Hall

The completion of Bemis Hall, the fourth and largest of the women's dormitories at CC, creates the southern border of campus's Women's Quadrangle.

1910s

Campus is alive with activity. Enrollment now exceeds 700 students and faculty begin to demand a larger role in the academic governance of the College. This time period also marks the end of Christian moralism as a cornerstone of the College's academic structure.

The College institutes a compulsory military training program for all men students due to the start of World War I. The Broadmoor is built at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain and quickly becomes the site for CC's formal dances. And in the fall of 1918, the Spanish Flu hits campus.

1910

CC's First African American Woman Student

Edna Deason arrives on campus to begin studying as the first African American woman student at CC.

1913

Cossitt Hall and Amphitheater

The construction of Frederick H. Cossitt Memorial Hall fills a long-felt need for a building that provides athletic and social facilities for the men students of the College. Completion of Cossitt ends the period of major development during the Slocum presidency. It is the last building erected on campus until Shove Chapel in 1931.

CC's First Woman Jewish Student Graduates

Mollie Hanowitz, the first known woman Jewish student at CC, graduates with high honors. She will go on to work as the District Secretary of Newark Bureau Associated Charities in New Jersey.

CC's First Organized Protest

Men students protest against campus administration’s prohibition of card playing and smoking.

1917

Clyde A. Duniway Becomes President

Duniway is the college’s first president who is not a Congregational minister and the first with academic experience. He has a BA from Cornell and a master’s & PhD from Harvard, taught at Harvard, Radcliffe, and Stanford, and has been president of Wyoming University and Montana University. He serves as President of CC until 1923.

War Causes Enrollment Decline

Enrollment declines by over 100 as many men students leave to serve in World War I. The College institutes a compulsory military training program for all men students.

1918

The Broadmoor is Built

The Broadmoor is built at the foot of Cheyenne Mountain and quickly becomes the site for CC’s formal dances.

The Spanish Flu Arrives at CC

With the arrival of Spanish Flu, the campus goes into quarantine.

1920s

These are considered the quiet years in CC history. College leadership is stable and enrollment numbers level. Only about 10% of students come from Colorado. CC is known nationally for providing a good liberal arts education to a select group of talented and motivated men and women. 

But, while things are relatively quiet with the administration and academics, there is some cultural discord on campus. Reflecting the changing values of the roaring 20s, students take issue with the strict social rules of the CC administration. Prohibition makes the hipflask a big part of college life, and CC's women began to lean into jazz to express their need for freedom and self-expression. Fraternity serenades on the Women's Quad are a common occurrence. Students and faculty alike are demanding more freedom and more power.

1922

Mabel Barbee Lee Becomes Dean of Women

Lee is faced with the challenge of adapting social policies for women at CC to keep pace with shifting national attitudes, as students begin to vocalize their discontent with administrative policies that dictate their social lives.

Marcus Garvey Speaks at CC

Garvey, the Jamaican political leader, journalist, and orator, speaks at Perkins Hall on campus. His speech is compared by the Colorado Springs Gazette to the oratory work of Booker T. Washington.

1923

First African American Woman Graduates from CC

Lillian B. Hardee is the first known African American woman to graduate from CC.

Charles C. Mierow Named President

Mierow is a professor of Classical Languages and Literature with a BA, master’s, and PhD from Princeton. He has taught at Phillips Andover Academy and Princeton before he comes to CC in 1916. He is acting president from 1923-1924 and president from 1925-1934. During the Mierow era, the first building since 1914 is built on campus, but the depression following the stock market crash causes severe losses in revenue to the college. Mierow takes a leave of absence in 1933 and does not return to the position of president. The Board of Trustees appoint Mierow as a research professor for two years after his leave.

1926

Broadmoor Art Academy

The Broadmoor Art Academy begins providing studio art courses for CC students as part of an agreement with the college. Students attend for-credit classes taught by nationally prominent artists at 30 W. Dale St., the home of Spencer and Julie Penrose. This will become the site of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center a decade later.

1930s

CC continues to persevere in nationally and internationally trying times. The New Colorado College Plan divides the academic program into three divisions and degree requirements become more generalized, encouraging students to take a wide variety of courses in their first two years. "Orals" become a mainstay of final exams. CC now offers full athletic scholarships and has become a pinnacle of athletic accomplishment.

The campus itself continues to grow. The College begins buying many of the homes adjacent to campus to provide more student accommodation. New construction reignites campus's growth. And, at the end of the decade, The Broadmoor turns its indoor horse rink into an ice rink, and CC organizes its first hockey team.

The Great Depression causes enrollment to drop, three dorms close, and faculty salaries are cut by 20%. But by the end of the 30s, enrollment soars back over 800 and private gifts begin to grow.

1930

New Colorado College Plan

The faculty and Board of Trustees approve the "New Colorado College Plan" for the 1930-1931 school year. This new plan, developed by President Mierow and a group of faculty, divides the academic program into three divisions: The School of Letters and Fine Arts, The School of Social Sciences, and The School of Natural Sciences.

The plan also includes the transformation of literary societies on campus into nationally established sororities under one condition: women will not live in their sorority houses the way men live in fraternity houses. The four women's literary societies on campus are now reorganized as chapters of national sororities. Minerva is now Delta Gamma, Contemporary becomes Kappa Alpha Theta, Hypatia is now Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Zatalathian becomes Gamma Phi Beta. Women students not interested in Greek life start other groups such as the Barbetts, the Campus Club, and Independent Women.

1931

Shove Memorial Chapel

In the depths of the Great Depression, CC builds a long-awaited chapel that is considered one of the finest examples of Norman Romanesque architecture in the state. Shove Memorial Chapel is donated and built to meet the religious and spiritual needs of the students. The chapel is designed after Winchester Cathedral and even has a stone from the cathedral as a cornerstone.

The Stroud Siblings

Effie Evelyn Stroud and Kelley Dolphus Stroud both graduate from CC in 1931. Kelley is the first African American Phi Beta Kappa graduate at the college. Effie goes on to earn a master's degree in library science at Columbia University and becomes head of the New York Public School library system.

1933

Charles Brown Hershey Becomes Acting President

Hershey is appointed CC’s Acting President when President Mierow is abroad from 1933-34. In 1943, he is again appointed Acting President when President Davies offers his services to the United States Marine Corps. Hershey arrives at CC as Dean of Men and Professor of Education and serves as Dean of the College from 1928 until his retirement in 1947. Hershey continues as a professor of Education for the entirety of his time on campus. In 1952 he publishes Colorado College 1874-1949, a history of the college during those years. He is Dean Emeritus from 1948 until his death in 1955.

1934

Thurston J. Davies Becomes President

Davies is appointed President of CC in 1934. After graduating from Princeton in 1916, he serves in the Marines during WWI and receives two Purple Hearts. He teaches in Maryland and New York before arriving in Colorado. In 1943, Davies is assigned as a major in the Marine Corps to Washington, D.C. He directs the Navy V-12 college training program for Marine Corps Reserve Officers. Davies resigns shortly after his return to CC in 1948.

1935

First African American Staff Member

Theodore Roosevelt Collins is the first African American staff member in a non-custodial position at CC. He is a beloved athletic trainer for 35 years.

1936

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is built on the edge of campus and CC begins using its theatre for dramatic productions.

1938

Ice at The Broadmoor

The Broadmoor turns its indoor horse rink into an ice rink and, soon after, CC uses it as the home of its first hockey team.

1940s

There are big changes on campus. Winning the war replaces educational excellence as the main goal for CC and the College is designated as a training center for the Navy-Marine V-12 Program. A victory Garden is planted in the middle of campus and a large percentage of men students leave to serve in the armed forces.

After the war, thanks to the GI Bill, enrollment grows to 1,250. Then, in 1948, CC is considered a possible communist threat by some locals and even brought under question by the Committee on Unamerican Activities of the U.S. House of Reps. Thanks to a vocal president and faculty, academic freedom withstands these outside pressures.

1941

World War II

With a majority of men students absent from CC during World War II, women take greater charge of student activities on campus. Women students now have primary responsibility for serving on student government and publishing the student newspaper and the yearbook. This is also the age of the campus Victory Garden on the quad. Quonset huts and frame barracks are erected east and west of Palmer Hall as dormitories for V-12 enlistees. When the war ends, it has cost 52 alumni and students their lives.

Dance on Campus

Dancer and choreographer Hanya Holm institutes the first dance class at CC.

1943

International Student Program

In cooperation with the Institute of International Education (IIE), the college initiates an international student program with each of the five fraternities present to provide room and board for international men students. The federal government pays their tuition through IIE. A newly formed Foreign Student Committee administers the program under the guidance of a professor. In following years, the program is expanded to include women students after the four sororities and the Women's Educational Society make arrangements for their support.

1949

General William H. Gill Becomes President

Gill, a 1907 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, becomes president of CC. He is a civil engineer before entering the army and his military career includes numerous assignments during WWI & II. As president of CC, he guides the school successfully through the post WWII years until the end of his term in 1955. He dies of heart failure in 1976 at the age of 89 and is buried with full military honors at Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs.

1950s

The population boom in Colorado leads to an increase in enrollment and Slocum Hall is built to house the growing number of men students. This starts another building boom on campus with expanded dorms, a new student union, and Olin Hall and its fishbowl. For the first time in school history, CC permits men and women students to dine together on a regular basis in a coed dining hall. 

 In 1950, the College implements its first honor code across campus. 1955 brings raised admission standards, increased tuition, and the elimination of the compulsory chapel requirement.

1950

National Champions

CC Hockey wins the NCAA National Championship, beating Boston University, 13-4. They finish as runner-up in 1952 and 1955. They earn the title of national champions again in 1957, defeating the University of Michigan, 13-6.

1951

KRCC

In 1944, KRCC begins as a two-room public address system in the basement of Bemis Hall. In 1946, KRCC moves to South Hall - one of campus's surplus war buildings - where two students, Charles "Bud" Edmonds '51, and Margaret Merle-Smith '51, are instrumental in securing a war surplus FM transmitter. KRCC begins over the air broadcasting in April 1951 as the first non-commercial educational FM radio station in the state of Colorado.

In 1972, a 1000-watt transmitter is installed, effectively opening the doors of CC radio to the surrounding community. KRCC's student staff ended the "students only" policy in 1977-78, opening the microphones to community members of all ages, interests, and walks of life.

Freedom and Authority

Professors Glenn Gray, Lloyd Worner, and George McCue first team-teach the popular interdisciplinary course Freedom and Authority in 1951. On Worner's appointment to dean four years later, William Hochman succeeds him in teaching the class.

1954

Slocum Hall

Slocum Hall is built to house the growing number of men students. It is the first building on campus not made of stone.

Foreign Student Program

A Foreign Student Program is established to "help promote a better understanding between the United States and other countries of the world."

1955

Louis T. Benezet Becomes President

Benezet arrives as CC’s next president in 1955 from Allegheny College, in Meadeville, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and receives his M.A. from Reed College and PhD from Columbia University. In 1963, he leaves the college to serve as president of Claremont Graduate School and University Center.

1956

Taylor Dining Goes Coed

Taylor Dining Room becomes the first co-educational dining hall on campus.

1957

Alpha Lambda Delta

A chapter of Alpha Lambda Delta, a freshman women's honorary society, is established at CC during the spring to give added emphasis to academic achievement.

Hungarian Refugees

Two refugees from the Hungarian Revolution, Paul Szilagy and Lazlo Torma, enroll at CC under the sponsorship of the Foreign Student Program.

Summer Crossroads

The Foreign Student Committee joins with a group of townspeople, headed by Elizabeth Wright Ingraham (local architect and granddaughter of Frank Lloyd Wright), to sponsor the Summer Crossroads – a program in which international students from other colleges and universities convene at CC for a week before returning to their homelands. This program lasts for over 30 years until 1991.

1960s

 The sixties ushers in an era of protests on campus. In 1965 over 500 CC students & faculty march down Tejon to protest civil rights abuses in Alabama. There are also protests against restrictions to where students can live and how late women students can stay out. Weekly anti-Vietnam War vigils are held at Earle Flagpole. Students participate in anti-war marches from campus to downtown and protests at the entrance to Fort Carson. There are campus teach-ins and a campus protest that shuts down Cascade.

In 1968, talks begin about revising the academic calendar. A group of faculty work to create a first-of-its-kind, radical academic structure in which students would take just one class at a time. On Oct 27, 1969 The Block Plan is adopted by a faculty vote of 72–53.

1962

Tutt Library is Built

Coburn is now too small for the growing student population, so Tutt Library is built in the center of campus.

1963

Lloyd E. Worner Becomes President

Worner is inaugurated the next President of CC in 1963. He attends Washington and Lee University for several years and then enrolled in CC, where he receives his BA in 1942. Worner then earns both his MA and PhD from the University of Missouri. In 1946 he accepts an appointment in the CC History Department. By 1955 he is a full professor and he becomes the Dean of the College. He is the first CC alum to be appointed president.

Language Houses

The first language house, the French House, is established on campus in the Haskell House.

Civil Rights Protest

Growing concern of the student and faculty community about the violation of civil rights of Black Americans becomes evident in the fall when a number of students and faculty participate in a demonstration at Colorado Springs City Hall to protest the death of four Black girls in the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama.

1964

Free Speech Movement

As the Free Speech Movement spreads on campus, the Associated Women Students and the Associated Students of Colorado College come under pressure to reevaluate and liberalize the strict residence hall policies at CC. The result is a non-violent campus revolution in which a new form of student government is created. This does away with the old system of having one student government for women students (to make and enforce social rules) and a second student government for both men and women (to deal with more general campus matters of interest to students). The new student government that emerges is called the Colorado College Campus Association (CCCA). The CCCA consists of a majority of elected student members along with minority representation of the faculty and the Dean's Office.

Asian Studies

CC establishes the Asian Studies Program in the fall of 1964. However, the program is not offered as a major.

1965

March for Selma

Students organize a march of over 500 students and faculty on March 13, leading from campus to the Colorado Springs City Hall, to "protest the treatment of Negroes in Selma, Alabama."

First Black Student Serves in Student Government

Terry Fonville ’65 becomes the first Black student to serve on the Associated Students of Colorado College council.

Anti-Discrimination Statement

The official position of CC on racial discrimination is emphasized when the faculty meet to adopt a statement that no organization on campus is permitted to operate under regulations that, in letter or spirit, discriminate against a racial or religious group.

1966

James Farmer Speaks at CC

Civil rights leader James Farmer speaks on the "Civil Rights Revolution in America," sponsored by the Inter-Fraternity Council and Panhellenic in conjunction with the Forum Committee.

1968

Louis Lomax Speaks at CC

African American social critic, writer, author, and lecturer Louis Lomax, speaks at CC on April 18.

1969

Mathias Goes Coed

Mathias Hall, previously a men's dormitory, is converted into a coed dorm.

ACM

CC joins the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.

NAACP at CC

The NAACP begins its first year on campus in November with a voter registration drive in which students canvass Colorado Springs to help register voters.

BSU

CC’s Black Student Union is founded.

Dick Gregory Speaks at CC

Influential civil rights advocate Dick Gregory speaks during a press conference held at CC.

1970s

This decade marks the entrance of the Block Plan, the innovative structure that will forever split the student experience at CC into pre- and post-Block Plan generations.

The percentage of women in the student body rapidly increases, and women’s rights and gay rights become a focus of campus initiatives. All dorms on campus now have the option of going coed. Cutler Publications is created, allowing student publications to be free of the restrictions of campus administration. And, in response to student demand, the Hub snack bar in Rastall Center begins serving 3.2 beer to students over 18.

El Pomar Sports Center is built to accommodate CC’s growing Athletics program and the construction of Packard Hall brings a new architectural style to campus. With the installation of a teletype machine to a single telephone line in Olin Hall, CC ushers in the computer age on campus. 

In 1974, CC celebrates its centennial anniversary.

1970

Start of the Block Plan

CC implements the Block Plan at the beginning of the 1970-71 academic school year.

All Residence Halls Go Coed

Every residence hall on campus is granted the option of housing both men and women students, if approved by majority vote of the residents of the hall.

1971

Foundation of Ayuda

The student organization Ayuda is established on campus for women's health needs. One of its major goals is to press for equal numbers of men and women in the student body, as there are almost twice as many men as women at this time. This goal is supported by Admission policy changes the following year. It takes approximately 20 years, but by the early 1990s, Ayuda's goal of a balanced student body is achieved.

Chicano Voices Raised

CC students found the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano Aztlan (MEChA). The group seeks to educate and establish pride and identity in Chicano heritage. MEChA's mission of empowerment and cultural reclamation is taken under the umbrella of SOMOS in 1999.

CC Featured in a Hewlett Packard Ad

CC is featured in an HP magazine ad, showcasing the College's use of the new HP 2000C Time-Share System in the classroom and administrative offices.

1973

Women's Athletic Facilities Protest

One of the first effects on campus of 1972 Title IX signing is an increased awareness that CC lacks the facilities to accommodate the expansion of women's sports programs. To highlight this shortcoming, 20 women students stage a "shower in" in one of the men's locker rooms in the college's El Pomar Sports Center.

1974

Women's Commission

The Women's Commission is formed to create a permanent organization designed to represent women's rights and interests at CC. The primary goal of the commission is to present more instruction on women and women's accomplishments in academic courses.

Venture Grants

CC launches its Venture Grant program.

Block Plan in the News

In December, CC and the Block Plan are featured in Newsweek.

CC Celebrates 100 Years

CC celebrates its centennial anniversary.

1975

Women's Athletics

In response to Title IX, President Worner hires Laura Golden to organize a formal intercollegiate sports program for women students. Golden engages the student body to determine athletic interest. Eight intercollegiate varsity women's sports are established: field hockey, soccer, volleyball, basketball, snow skiing, softball, tennis, and track & field.

Palmer Hall Renovation

Due to growing academic needs of the campus, Palmer Hall is renovated. This also leads to the 1977 removal of the building’s third-floor natural history museum.

1977

CC Hires its Last Dean of Women

Laurel McLeod is the last employee to bear the title of Dean of Women. As dormitory rules for women students are progressively relaxed and reduced, the major role of this position has ceased to be necessary. It evolves from Dean of Women, to Dean of Students, and finally to Vice President for Student Life during her tenure.

1978

Native American Student Association

The Native American Student Association, later renamed the Native American Student Union (NASU), becomes a chartered student organization.

1979

Tutt Library Grows

The addition to Tutt involves the creation of an open air tunnel that passes under the building.

1980s

During this decade, CC works to grow its national profile. There is a new emphasis on involving CC Athletics in the academic stature of the college. Women's Soccer becomes a DI sport and, in 1986, they finish the season as second in the nation. 

CC develops a core curriculum that every student is required to take. Continued construction adds new and improved facilities to campus.

Changes in technology - such as video, push-button telephones, and personal computers - begin to alter life on campus. Student musicals such as West Side Story, Hair, and Cabaret are a popular part of campus life. The CC Debate Team is one of the most successful groups on campus. Student demonstrations protest Reagan and his economic policies. Traditional, formal dating becomes a thing of the past with students shifting more to a group date style, encouraged by the ever-changing social groups of the Block Plan.

1981

Gresham Riley Becomes President

Riley receives his BA from Baylor University, his MA and PhD from Yale University, and holds the position of Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the University of Richmond in Virginia before coming to CC. He is president from 1981 to 1992, taking a sabbatical 1991. After leaving, he is appointed President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

Victor Nelson-Cisneros Arrives at CC

Nelson-Cisneros serves CC from 1981 to 2013, first as the Assistant Dean of the College and later as the Associate Dean of the College. He is integral in expanding and establishing diversity and inclusion programs, such as the Riley Scholars Program, ACM Minority Concerns Committee, and the ACM Minority Scholars Program. The eponymous Victor Nelson-Cisneros Diversity and Inclusion Award recognizes members of the CC community who exemplify Nelson-Cisneros’ dedication to developing diversity and inclusion at CC.

1982

Worner Center Built

The Rastall Center is demolished and Worner Center is built in its place. Worner is now the center of student life.

Affirmative Action on Campus

The student body is inspired to create a petition addressing a perceived "lack of adequate affirmative action guidelines for administrative hiring."

Core Curriculum Introduced

CC develops a core curriculum that every student is now required to take.

1983

Barnes Science Center

Barnes Science Center is the campus's newest science building, expanding classroom and lab space. The Gerald Hughes Phipps Observatory is built as part of the construction of Barnes.

Baca is Acquired

Baca becomes the newest, and first, off-campus CC facility.

1986

Nine Blocks to Eight Blocks

October 28, with a faculty vote of 82-30, CC moves from a 9-block to an 8-block academic year.

The Internet Arrives at CC

The College begins installing wiring to connect all personal computers to a single network. The internet and email have now arrived on campus.

1987

Apartheid Rally for Divestment

CC Community Against Apartheid builds a shantytown on the quad in front of Armstrong to protests CC’s investments in corporations that do business in South Africa.

Non-Discrimination Addition

“Sexual orientation” is added to the campus non-discrimination policy.

1989

Private Phones for Students

At the start of the 89-90 academic year, there is now a private phone jack in every dorm room.

Consortium for Faculty Diversity

CC joins the Consortium for Faculty Diversity (CFD). The early goals of the Consortium include encouraging U.S. citizens who were members of underrepresented minority groups to complete their graduate programs and to consider faculty employment in liberal arts colleges. The Riley Scholars-in-Residence Program grows out of participation with the CFD. The program reflects the conviction that a strong minority presence on the faculty benefits the entire college community.

Collegiate Cycling Championships

CC hosts the Collegiate Cycling National Championships.

1990s

CC continues its push for preeminence among liberal arts schools and defends freedom of speech in academia, while also bracing against a mild recession and the Baby Bust effects on enrollment. After years of change and turmoil both at CC and in the world, there is a new sense of calm on campus.

Community service is a focus of student life with the Center for Community Service becoming one of the most active offices on campus. In 1990, students and faculty gather to protest the U.S. Government's preparations for war in the Middle East. Rollerblading and skateboarding are the popular ways to get around campus. There is a push to change CC's mascot from the tiger to the greenback cutthroat trout. The opposition to this starts a "Squish The Fish" campaign. The tiger stays with a narrow 53 % of the student vote. 

In 1990, for the first time in CC history, the Men's Cross Country team qualifies for the DIII National Championship. In 1996 both the men's and women's teams qualify. The Colorado Springs World Arena opens and is the new home for CC Hockey, with the team advancing to the national championship in 1996.

The Big 3 residence halls are all renovated and Slocum Commons becomes a popular event space. The space in the basement of Worner becomes the Tiger Pit and then the LEW, a late-night hang out spot for students.

With the start of the 94-95 academic year, students are allowed to double major and, in 1995, students register for classes via computer for the first time in school history.

1990

The Office of Minority Student Life is Founded

Headed by Rochelle Mason '83, this office is tasked with championing and guiding the college toward a mission of greater cultural, racial, and socioeconomic diversity. The office transitions to the Office of Minority and International Students in 2007. In July 2014, the office becomes the newly inaugurated Butler Center.

Founding of BGALA

CC’s Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Alliance (BGALA) is founded.

1991

Thomas E. Cronin Serves as Acting President

The McHugh Professor of American Institution and Leadership at CC serves as acting president while President Riley is on sabbatical from June 1 to December 31. Cronin is a member of the Political Science faculty from 1979 to 1993. In 1993, he leaves the college after he is elected president of Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

Asian American Student Union

Students establish the Asian American Student Union, which becomes a chartered student organization in 1994.

Native American Heritage Week

The Native American Student Association sponsors CC’s first annual Native American Heritage Week and Powwow.

Mike Edmonds Joins CC

Edmonds arrives on campus in August of 1991 as the Dean of Students. With his prior experience in student life and as a faculty member at the University of Mississippi, Edmonds quickly establishes himself as one of CC's leaders. In 2005, he transitions to VP for Student Life/Dean of Students and serves as Acting Co-President of the college with Robert Moore from July 2020 to July 2021. Edmonds retires in May of 2023.

1992

Michael D. Grace Serves as Acting President

Grace receives his BA and MA from CC and his PhD from Yale University. He becomes instructor in the Music Department at CC in 1967, Assistant Professor of Music in 1971, Associate Professor of Music in 1979, and Professor of Music in 1986. Grace has founded and directs the Colorado College Collegium Musicum and the Summer Conservatory and Music Festival, and serves as Dean of the Summer Session from 1987 to 1990. Grace is Acting President from 1992-1993.

Festival of African Culture

CC hosts its first annual Festival of African Culture on March 28, which takes place in Armstrong Hall and includes dancers, drummers, and arts and crafts as part of "A Night in Africa."

First Native American Joins CC Board of Trustees

Former Navajo Nation President Peterson Zah is added to the Board of Trustees as the first Native American trustee.

Gilmore Stabler Cabin

The Gilmore Stabler Cabin is built outside of Divide, CO.

1993

CC Appoints its First Woman President

Kathryn Mohrman becomes first woman to serve as president of CC. She receives her BA from Grinnell College, her MA from the University of Wisconsin, and her PhD from George Washington University. Prior to coming to CC, Mohrman teaches at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and Brown University. She has been Dean for Undergraduate Studies at the University of Maryland at College Park since 1988. Mohrman creates the college's first Diversity Council to give prominence and visibility to CC’s strategic priority of diversity. She spends four months in 2000 as a visiting scholar at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China. During this period, Timothy Fuller and Dick Storey serve as Acting Co-presidents. Mohrman leaves CC in July of 2001 to serve as a Fulbright Scholar in Hong Kong.

Campus Diversity Rally

The Accountability Coalition, along with representatives from CC’s Asian American Student Union, Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Alliance, Black Student Union, Feminist Collective, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, and Native American Student Association join forces to organize a rally on May 8 to highlight the need for diversification on campus.

MOSAIC

The International Student Organization becomes the Multicultural Organization of Students and the International Community (MOSAIC).

AASU

The Asian American Student Union becomes a chartered student organization.

1995

Women's Studies Major

Twenty-five years after the Women's Commission is first organized, a Women's Studies major is recognized as part of the curriculum.

1997

The Glass House

The Glass House becomes a permanent multicultural residence at CC, after two years as a theme house. The house - officially known as the Lennox House - is a legacy of William Lennox, a local banker and CC trustee from 1901-1936. It opens as a campus student center in September 1937. The Glass House is now home to a multicultural awareness learning, support, and programming community, supported by the Residential Life and Housing Office.

1999

Summer Bridge Program

A select group of new CC students are invited to campus for a one-block course in August, the inaugural session of the Summer Bridge Program.

2000s

This decade continues the growth and excitement of campus life. Priddy trips provide first-year students with an introduction to CC life and events like Llamapalooza and Dance Workshop become mainstays of the student experience. And President Richard Celeste sets in motion plans that help shape the funding and faculty for CC academics.

 The early 2000s brings a revived push for equity and diversity to campus, both in academics and in student life. Several student groups focused on providing safe spaces for historically marginalized groups are founded.

 This decade also sees change and growth in the layout of campus. At the end of the decade, the Press at Colorado College is revived and there is a growth in academic studies of printing and the book.

2001

Timothy Fuller Serves as Acting President

Fuller has a BA and MA from Kenyon College and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University. He has taught in CC’s Political Science department since 1965, chairing the department from 1985 to 1991. He is Dean of the Faculty and College from 1992 to 1999 and serves as Acting President from August 2001 to January 2002.

2002

Richard F. Celeste Becomes President

Celeste is a former U.S. Ambassador to India, Director of the Peace Corps, and two-term Governor of Ohio. He graduates magna cum laude from Yale University and is a Rhodes Scholar. Before coming to CC, in addition to his elected and appointed positions, he is managing partner of Celeste and Sabety Ltd., an economic development consultancy, from 1991 to 1997. Celeste has also been a visiting fellow in public policy at Case Western Reserve University, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and chair of the National Governors Association Committee on Science and Technology. He also chairs the Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable and has been a board member of Habitat for Humanity International, the Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California, and numerous other not-for-profit organizations. He serves as CC’s president until 2011.

Vision 2010 Begins

President Celeste introduces Vision 2010 as the main program of his presidency. The goals for Vision 2010 are to hire more tenure-track faculty, provide more funds for faculty research and student Venture Grants, and evaluate and improve the college’s General Education requirements. Vision 2010 sets a major goal of increasing diversity in the student body, which means recruiting, retaining, and graduating more American ethnic minorities and international students. The percentage of minority students in the student body grows from 12-13 percent to 17-19 percent under Celeste's presidency, and international students reach six percent.

2003

BSU

The Black Student Union becomes a chartered student organization. 

Coretta Scott King Speaks at CC

King delivers the William Jovanovich Lecture and Capstone Address at CC to an overflowing crowd.

EQUAL

Empowered Queers United for Absolute Liberation (EQUAL), a student organization seeking to provide a safe space for all who are queer, questioning, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, is founded.

2004

First Woman to Serve as Academic Dean

Professor of History Susan Ashley becomes the first woman to serve as the Academic Dean of CC. Ashley and her husband, Political Science Professor Robert Lee, are the first openly married couple to each receive tenure.

2005

A Change in Women's Studies

Women's Studies becomes the Feminist and Gender Studies Program.

2006

Champagne Showers

On the last day of Block 8, a group of seniors gather around the flagpole and toast their completion of college with glasses of champagne. This is the start of what would become a rite of passage for all CC graduates. After their last final, seniors gather at the flagpole, bottles of champagne in hand, and celebrate by showering themselves with bubbly.

QSA

The Queer-Straight Alliance is founded.

2010s

The 2010s are a time of examining inequities both on campus and beyond its borders. The Butler Center is established on campus and there is a new focus on diversity, inclusion, and intercultural exchange within student life. Students and faculty put efforts into having courageous conversations and see mental health as a priority. 

2011

Jill Tiefenthaler Becomes President

Tiefenthaler earns her BA in Economics from Saint Mary’s College and her master’s and PhD in Economics from Duke University. Before coming to CC, she is Provost, Professor of Economics, and Chief Academic Officer at Wake Forest University. Prior to joining Wake Forest, Tiefenthaler teaches Economics, chairs the Economics department, and serves as Associate Dean of the Faculty at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. She serves as President of CC until 2020.

Additions to Anti-Discrimination Policy

CC adds "gender identity, gender expression" as an additional category for protection in Article IX of its Equal Opportunity Statement and in its Anti-Discrimination Policy.

2012

U.S. President Barack Obama Speaks at CC

Obama visits CC, drawing a crowd of more than 4,100 people to his speech on Cutler Quad.

The Colket Center

The Colket Center for Learning Excellence is established to ease the adjustment to CC for incoming, under-resourced students.

2013

El Pomar Renovated

El Pomar is fully renovated and extended with the addition of the Adam Press Fitness Center.

2014

The Butler Center

The Butler Center at CC is established to inspire and create an intellectual and social culture that is inclusive and respectful towards all. Serving as the college's hub for diversity, inclusion, and intercultural exchange, The Butler Center takes over the duties of the Office of Minority and International Students. The center is named for Ellis Ulysses Butler Jr. ’40, one of CC’s earliest African American alums. Paul Buckley joins CC as an Assistant Vice President and inaugural Director of The Butler Center.

CCSGA Starts Courageous Conversations

The Colorado College Student Government Association initiates Courageous Conversations, a discussion series aiming to engage the student body in fruitful, productive conversations on highly stigmatized topics submitted by CC students. Courageous Conversations topics include immigration, the hookup culture, political differences, gender and sexuality, and the petition to diversify the curriculum.

Ferguson Protests on Campus

Students participate in protests as a response to the grand jury decision that police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

2016

CC Merges with the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center

CC and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center announce an historic merger. The partnership expands learning opportunities, arts programming, and cultural resources for students and the Colorado Springs community. In recognition of the evolution of a nearly 100-year relationship between the two institutions, the center’s name is changed to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College.

2017

Tutt Library Renovation

Re-opened in the fall of 2017, Tutt Library became the largest academic library to achieve net-zero energy construction.

2018

Examining Inequity

President Tiefenthaler announces a campus-wide effort to better "listen to and understand the lived experiences of marginalized members of our community, in order to recognize our own role in creating and perpetuating inequity." The faculty votes to eliminate the West in Time general education requirement in an effort to move toward a more diverse and equitable curriculum.

Smudging and Pipe Ceremonies

In support of the cultural integrity of Indigenous and Native American students, faculty, staff, and guests, CC adopts a Smudging and Pipe Ceremonies Policy. The college designates venues on campus for the practice of smudging and/or pipe ceremonies associated with traditional religious ceremonies and observances. Additionally, the college begins to recognize and support Indigenous/Native American students engaging in these sacred practices within the privacy of their residence hall rooms.

2019

Tava Quad

The CC Board of Trustees unanimously and enthusiastically approves the renaming of Armstrong Quad to Tava Quad in response to a request from the Indigenous and Native Peoples of CC. Tava means sun mountain, and is the name used by the Tabegauche Band of the Ute People for Pikes Peak.

Oprah Speaks at Commencement

Talk show host, television producer, actress, and author Oprah Winfrey speaks at the Commencement ceremony on Tava Quad.

First Black Woman Named Dean of Faculty

Claire Oberon Garcia, Professor of English, is the first Black woman named as Dean of the Faculty at CC. She first comes to CC in 1990 as a Riley Scholar and joins the English department a year later as a tenure-track faculty member. In 2020, Garcia is the first Black woman named as Acting Provost at CC. She simultaneously continues her role as Dean of the Faculty. In 2024, Garcia becomes Colorado State Historian.

CC Becomes Carbon Neutral

CC is now the first carbon-neutral institution in the Rocky Mountain Region.

2020s

Students during the first half of this decade experience life unlike any of the classes before them. 2020 brings the Covid 19 Pandemic to campus, leading to quarantine and virtual learning. Many campus traditions are halted. But other aspects of student life stay strong.

Time outdoors remains a key part of CC social and academic life. Student activism and engagement in social issues continues, with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Environmental awareness and sustainability efforts continued to be a major part of campus culture.

 In 2024, Colorado College commemorates its 150th anniversary!

2020

COVID-19

Amid the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CC’s response prioritizes the health and safety of the college community. Block 7, 8, and summer classes are delivered via distance learning. Most students leave for Spring Break and remain off campus. A small number of students who are unable to return home remain on campus. Most classes are adapted. Only a few are canceled if an online alternative is not possible.

The campus is closed to visitors beginning March 18. Only faculty, essential staff, and students approved to remain living on campus have key-card access to a limited number of buildings. On March 26, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issues a stay-at-home order, requiring all employees to work from home except those who provide essential services. President Jill Tiefenthaler announces that Commencement 2020 will not be held as planned in May.

CC-sponsored study abroad programs, summer athletics and theatre camps, Summer Music Festival concerts, the Pre-College Program, and other summer programs, events, and activities are canceled.

DEI Leadership Team

In June, CC announces that a team of three leaders will join the college to form the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Team. Peony Fhagen joins as Senior Associate Dean for Equity, Inclusion, and Faculty Development. Rosalie M. Rodriguez is now Senior Associate Dean of Students for Equity and Inclusion/Director of the Butler Center. Barbara J. Wilson is named Interim Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Mike Edmonds and Robert G. Moore
Serve as Acting Co-Presidents

On July 1, following the departure of President Tiefenthaler, Edmonds and Moore become Acting Co-Presidents of CC. Edmonds is the first Black leader to serve as president.

$1 Million for Antiracism Commitment

To enhance and accelerate the work of the new DEI leadership team, CC Board of Trustees Chair Susie Burghart ’77 donates $1 million to further the college's Antiracism Commitment. "I want to underscore how important this initiative is to all of us - as educators, parents, students, staff, and alumni," Burghart says. "These experts will guide the college in long-needed work that is now even more crucial. This is a moment when CC can lead and make a difference."

CC Joins Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance

In the fall, CC joins the University of Southern California Race and Equity Center's newly established Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance. The group works together to share strategies, seek advice, and identify ways to leverage collective impact towards racial equity in higher education.

2021

L. Song Richardson Becomes President

In July, L. Song Richardson, a legal scholar, educator, lawyer, and expert on implicit racial and gender bias, becomes president of CC after a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees. She is the first woman of color to be named CC's President. She receives her BA from Harvard College and her JD from Yale Law School. Before coming to CC, Richardson is the Dean and Chancellor's Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. At the time, she is the only woman of color to lead a top-30 law school. Richardson remains CC’s president until 2024.

Ed Robson Arena

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Ed Robson Arena and the Mike and Barbara Yalich Student Services Center is held on September 18, 2021. The facility is part of the Colorado Springs’ City for Champions initiative which aims to bring more tourism to the Pikes Peak area. The arena, named after major donor Ed Robson ’54, P’79, G’11, serves as the first-ever on-campus venue for CC Men’s Hockey. The adjoining Yalich Student Services Center, named after community leader Barbara Neely Yalich ’53 and former CC Hockey team captain Milo “Mike” Yalich ’50, provides a central location for CC’s health and wellness services, bookstore, mail center, and other communal spaces. The fourth-floor club level of the arena is named for outstanding athlete and scholar Kelley Dolphus Stroud ’31.

Kelley Dolphus Stroud '31 Honored in New Arena

On December 10, the fourth-floor club level of Ed Robson Arena is named for outstanding athlete and scholar Kelley Dolphus Stroud ’31.

2023

FemGen Studies

Feminist and Gender Studies officially becomes a department.

2024

CC Celebrates its Sesquicentennial

CC Celebrates its 150^th Anniversary

CC Day

On February 9, both the city of Colorado Springs and the state of Colorado declare the day to be Colorado College Day, celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the College.

Free Palestine Encampment Established on Campus

On May 2, a student-led encampment is established on the quad in front of Tutt Library in protest of Israel's invasion of Palestine and demanding the College divest from companies supporting Israel. The initial size of the encampment starts with about 10 tents, including a kitchen and medical tent. The encampment eventually grows to about 30 tents. With the members of the encampment hosting community dinners, yoga, movie nights, and origami making, they have a remarkably different, more peaceful presence than other encampments across the U.S. 

Angela Davis Speaks at CC

On April 26, Angela Davis, legendary figure in civil rights, abolition, and feminist theory, speaks to a full house in Shove Memorial Chapel.

Frieda Ekotto '86 Speaks at Commencement

On May 19, CC alum, trustee, and professor Frieda Ekotto '86 gives the Commencement Address. Ekotto is a professor of Afro-American and African Studies, Comparative Literature, and Francophone Studies at the University of Michigan. In addition to her academic work— research on how law serves to repress and mask the pain of disenfranchised subjects —Ekotto is also a creative writer.

Born in Cameroon and raised in Switzerland, Ekotto came to the U.S. in 1983 to learn English and by chance met two CC professors—Harvey and Marcelle Rabbin—who encouraged her to apply to the college and earn a fellowship.

Dr. Manya Whitaker Becomes Interim President

On July 1, Dr. Manya Whitaker becomes the Interim President of CC. She has served as Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff to President Richardson for the past three years. Dr. Whitaker is also a Professor of Education at CC, and prior to moving into administration, she teaches classes on social and political issues in education.

Dr. Whitaker receives her doctorate in developmental psychology from Vanderbilt University and her BA in educational psychology from Dartmouth College. She is a developmental educational psychologist with expertise in adolescent identity formation and motivation. During her first 13 years at CC, her roles include Interim Director of the Butler Center, Director of the Crown Faculty Center, and Director of Graduate Studies and Chair of Education.