Colorado College - A Unique Intellectual Adventure
Located at the foot of Pikes Peak and the gateway to the Southwest, Colorado College offers a curriculum as varied as our landscape. The depth and breadth of our liberal arts and sciences curriculum are grounded in strong departments such as biology, English, and classics, and have generated notable interdisciplinary programs, including environmental science, Southwest studies, feminist and gender studies, and neuroscience, as well as opportunities for students to forge their own programs through our liberal arts and sciences major. We provide an excellent liberal arts and sciences education for highly motivated students of varied social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds to prepare them for positions of leadership and civic responsibility in an interdependent world.
Small learning communities, nationally acclaimed professors, close student-faculty interaction, and a wealth of options for field study and undergraduate research combine with a well-rounded program of athletics, outdoor education, student organizations, residential life, and community service to offer our students a truly distinctive educational experience. The unique opportunities made possible by our size and location are enhanced by the flexibility and academic rigor of our Block Plan and our location in the Rocky Mountain West. Our alumni — all prepared for successful, well-rounded lives — go on to some of the nation’s best graduate and professional schools or begin building careers immediately. Colorado College offers a unique intellectual adventure for academically talented students.
The Block Plan
One distinguishing feature of Colorado College is the Block Plan, a system implemented in 1969 and subsequently developed and refined. The Block Plan divides the academic year into eight three-and-one-half-week segments or “blocks.” Students take and faculty teach one block at a time. (Each block is equivalent to four hours of credit under a semester system.) Some courses last more than one block, and some are team-taught. Summer Session courses also operate on the Block Plan. Generally, students complete eight blocks per academic year.
There are several distinctive educational features of the Block Plan. First, courses do not place competing demands on students, so students are able to give their full attention to each course they take without “time stealing” from other courses. Because each class day is extremely important, class attendance is high. In addition, class sizes are small, with an average class size of approximately 15 students; most classes are capped at 25 students. First-Year Experience (FYE) courses have a maximum class size of 16 for single-instructor courses; 25 for team-taught courses. “Writing-Intensive” courses have a limit of 12, and most team-taught courses have a limit of 32 students. Class time is not rigidly scheduled, and instructors are free to organize the blocks in a variety of ways. Seminar discussions, group projects, active laboratories, and field experiences are more frequent than lectures.
Interdisciplinary courses are common, including team-taught courses with faculty from different disciplines. Students may major in a variety of interdisciplinary programs and choose minors from a range of thematic minor programs. Students have significant opportunities to study off campus, including study abroad, and our own outstanding faculty is complemented by a variety of distinguished block visitors. The concentrated format, small classes, and variety of learning options are carefully designed with one vital educational principle in mind: at Colorado College, the student is an active participant, not a passive recipient, in the learning process.
History of the College
Colorado College was established as a coeducational institution in 1874, two years before Colorado became a state. In 1871, General William Jackson Palmer, founder of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, laid out the city of Colorado Springs along his new line from Denver. Envisioning a model city, he reserved land and contributed funds for a college, which was to open May 6, 1874.
In the early years, even before there was a permanent building, the college gathered a small faculty whose roots ran to traditional New England scholarship. Today’s faculty, although more diverse philosophically, still balance teaching and scholarship as the college’s traditional strength.
The college’s first building, Cutler Hall, was occupied in 1880; the first bachelor’s degrees were conferred in 1882. Under President William F. Slocum, who served from 1888 to 1917, the campus took the shape it held until the 1950s. During this time, the college reached scholarly maturity, especially by significantly expanding and improving the library’s holdings and by attracting leading scholars in a number of fields. Phi Beta Kappa was chartered in 1904.
Since the mid-1950s, the campus has been virtually rebuilt. New facilities include three large residence halls, Lloyd E. Worner Campus Center, Tutt Library, Olin Hall of Science and the Barnes Science Center, Honnen Ice Rink, Boettcher Health Center, Schlessman Pool, Armstrong Hall of Humanities, Palmer Hall, El Pomar Sports Center, and Packard Hall of Music and Art. The Gaslight Plaza Building, previously known as the Plaza Hotel and the Plaza Building, was purchased by the college in March 1991 and was renamed the William I. Spencer Center in public ceremonies on October 5, 1991, to honor the retiring charter trustee and board chairman. Bill Spencer served on the board from 1967 until 1991 and was chair from 1984 to 1991. The building houses development, communications, and human resources. The college has 13 buildings on the state and/or national historic registers, including Bemis, Cossitt, Cutler, Montgomery, and Palmer Halls, and the William I. Spencer Center.
The face of campus changed again at the beginning of the 21st century with construction of the Western Ridge Housing Complex, which offers apartment-style living for upper-division students, and completion of the Russell T. Tutt Science Center; as well as the revitalization of the east campus, now home to the Greek Quad and several “theme” houses. The Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, completed in Spring 2008, represents a new, innovative approach to the teaching and performing of the arts. The building, which was designed by renowned architect Antoine Predock, includes a 450-seat auditorium, a black-box performance venue, a sound stage, a 100-seat film screening room, the Inter-Disciplinary Experimental Arts (IDEA) Space, classrooms, and a multi-purpose Flex Room, which can be used as a teaching or performing space.
Perhaps more significant than the physical development of the campus is its academic vigor. The college’s curriculum includes a number of special programs: Southwest studies, feminist and gender studies, Asian studies, biochemistry, environmental sciences, neuroscience, Latin American studies, Russian and Eurasian studies, and race and ethnic studies, as well as a strong across-the-curriculum writing program, and a thriving Summer Session.
Visually, Cutler Hall and the mountain view are about all that remain of the college’s physical beginnings, but the changes cannot obscure real continuities. Colorado College remains dedicated to the traditional principles of a liberal arts and sciences education as envisioned by its founders more than 125 years ago.
The College Setting
Major Facilities
Armstrong Hall accommodates most departments in the humanities division, along with the administrative computing center, the Keck Multimedia Laboratory for the Humanities, and two theaters. The west wing houses the academic deans, student life, and registrar’s offices.
The Barnes Science Center contains classrooms, laboratories, and offices for the departments of anthropology, biology, chemistry, and physics, as well as offices for the academic computing center. Special features include four greenhouses, an observatory, two roof-level observation decks, and an extensive herbarium collection. Olin Hall has been extensively renovated for laboratories and offices of physics, chemistry, and biology, and houses an ultra-high vacuum low-temperature scanning tunneling microscope.
Boettcher Health Center. Fully accredited, Boettcher Center offers an infirmary; examination room; private spaces for consultation with MD, PA, RN, gynecological nurse practitioner, and counseling staff; a laboratory; and space for acupuncture, massage, and other health-related programs.
Cossitt Hall houses the classics, comparative literature, and dance departments. Dance Workshop is headquartered in this building, focusing on student-choreographed, -designed, and –performed productions. Cossitt is most well known for housing one of the only undergraduate cadaver labs in the country.
Cutler Hall, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1980 as the oldest campus building, houses the offices of admission and financial aid.
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center is an interdisciplinary arts building allowing for innovative, experimental, and collaborative projects in a unique space with state-of-the-art technology. The large entranceway can be used as a performance space for theater or dance shows. The catwalks above the main space can be utilized for this purpose, or to display artwork. Here, you will also find the I.D.E.A. space, an exhibition space for works combining art with other disciplines. The building meets the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, criteria for green-building standards.
Packard Hall of Music and Art contains a 300-seat concert/lecture hall and an exhibition gallery, as well as teaching facilities for art, photography, and music. The Albert Seay Library of Music and Art has excellent listening facilities and access to musical resources both print and electronic. The James Scott Pearson Electronic Sound Studio provides opportunities for students and faculty interested in this field. Photography darkrooms and equipment are available for photography classes, as well as for individual students and staff.
Palmer Hall, dedicated in 1904, is home to the social sciences and to the department of geology. The geology department has extensive class, laboratory, and research space with petrographic microscopes, a thin-section collection, an x-ray diffractometer, and a sedimentology laboratory.
Shove Chapel. A gift from Eugene Shove, CC alumnus and trustee, Shove Memorial Chapel was dedicated in 1931, and is open for services of any and all denominations. Organ recitals are a special feature.
Tutt Science Center, completed in summer 2003, houses the psychology, neuroscience, mathematics, and environmental sciences departments, along with lab and classroom space for geology.
Lovely residential homes on the college campus have been converted into office and classroom spaces for Summer Programs, the education department, Southwest studies, race and ethnic studies, Asian studies, and feminist and gender studies.
Tutt Library, built in 1962 and expanded in 1980, contains a fine reference collection of bibliographies, periodical indices, and online search tools. It currently subscribes to more than 3,500 periodicals and 50 domestic and international papers, and houses more than 579,000 volumes. The library is also a federal government depository library, with a historical documents collection dating back to 1774. Rare books, the college’s archives, and regional historical collections are housed in the special collections department.
Lloyd E. Worner Campus Center is a hub for campus activities outside the classroom. It houses Benjamin’s Eatery, Colorado Coffee, the CC Bookstore, the Career Center, the campus activities office, the Center for Service and Learning, the Coburn Art Gallery, Office of Off-Campus Study, the minority student life office, Rastall Dining Hall, student mailboxes and mailroom, and student organization offices, as well as general meeting spaces and arts and crafts studios.
El Pomar Sports Center houses the sport science and wellness classes, as well as athletics facilities such as the Honnen Ice Rink and recently renovated Schlessman Natatorium, a climbing wall, squash and racquetball courts, a weight room, and fitness facilities.
The Baca Campus
The Baca campus is located at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountains on the northern end of the San Luis Valley, 175 miles from Colorado Springs. The adjacent town of Crestone has a population of approximately 50 permanent residents. The college’s holdings include 300 acres of land, three townhouses, a southwestern-style lodge and library (built and dedicated in 1992), and a conference center, which houses a computer lab. The conference center, built originally for the Aspen Institute, can accommodate two classes or groups.
The unique flexibility of the Block Plan makes the Baca an ideal retreat for classes for every department and discipline. Because of the magnificent scenery and pristine surroundings, the Baca is in constant demand. Nearly 2,000 students, faculty, and administration visit the Baca campus each year, with an average stay of four days.
Stabler-Gilmore Cabin
In 1980, students built the Stabler-Gilmore cabin on a hilltop 30 miles from campus near Florissant, Colo., with a magnificent view of the Sangre de Cristo range. The cabin burned in the spring of 1991 but has been rebuilt. The enlarged and improved cabin is used for overnight class sessions, retreats, and outdoor recreation trips, as well as informal student gatherings.
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs lies at an altitude of 6,035 feet above sea level where the High Plains meet the Rocky Mountains. It is a city of 370,000 in a metropolitan area of more than 500,000 people. The campus is situated between a historic residential area and downtown, where there are many dining, entertainment, and shopping establishments within walking distance. The climate is semiarid, with an annual precipitation of 16.24 inches, primarily in the form of late-winter snows and summer thunderstorms.
The city’s major industries are space-technology, computers and electronics, health care, the Olympic Training Center, and military installations, among them Fort Carson, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Peterson Air Force Base, and the North American Air Defense Command. The area attracts thousands of visitors annually. Major ski resorts are just over two hours’ drive away, and 149 major parks and trails in the foothills provide opportunities for excellent hiking, cross-country skiing, and bicycling. Several major airlines serve the city’s municipal airport. Denver International Airport can be reached in less than two hours, by bus, car, or limousine.
