University of Colorado Boulder: Difference between revisions

|{{nowrap|[[Pac-12 Conference|Pac-12]] (through JuneAugust 302, 2024)}}

In 1947, Colorado Governor [[William Lee Knous|Lee Knous]] issued a [[proclamation]] to create a [[memorial]] to Colorado's servicemen at the University of Colorado Boulder. A proposal to house this memorial in a [[Student activity center|student union]] building resulted in a remarkable fundraising effort. The University Memorial Center (UMC) opened its doors in October 1953 with President Robert Stearns presiding over the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The UMC quickly became the central landmark of the Boulder campus. A 1964 addition created a new book storebookstore, conference facilities, additional dining facilities, and offices to house the rapidly growing student activities and organizations. The expansion was financed through bonds granted by student fees.

The 1960s and '70s put the UMC at the center of student activism as students staged strikes, grape boycotts, love-ins, sit-ins, and walk-outs. The UMC Fountain Court (now the Dalton Trumbo Fountain Court) became a familiar sight to network television news watchers as the famous and notorious promoted their cause at CU Boulder. Entertainers as diverse as [[Ramsey Lewis]] and the [[Grateful Dead]] have performed in the [[Glenn Miller]] Ballroom. The UMC Connection, a student entertainment center in the basement, is a more informal gathering place, featuring pool tables and a small bowling alley. It also features Club 156, which hosts concerts from local and up-and-coming bands. In 1986, students passed another bond issue to remodel the food- services area. The [[Alferd Packer]] Grill gets its name from [[Alferd Packer]], a famous historical cannibal in Colorado. Many exotic meals canprospector beaccused foundof herecannibalism.

{{as of|2006}}, there were more than 3,800 tenured or tenure-eligible faculty members, as well as 4,400 non-tenured adjunct professors and instructors.<ref name="AnswerBook">{{Cite web|title=University of Colorado System Answer Book |first1=Christiane |last1=Griffin-Wehr |first2=Jill |last2=Norton |date=May 2006 |publisher=University of Colorado Boulder |url=https://www.cusys.edu/downloads/answerbook.pdf |access-date=December 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216022109/https://www.cusys.edu/downloads/answerbook.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Current faculty include [[Nobel Prize|Nobel laureates]] [[David J. Wineland]] (physics 2012), [[John L. Hall|John Hall]] (physics, 2005), [[Eric Cornell]] (physics, 2001), and [[Thomas Robert Cech]] (chemistry, 1989). [[Carl Wieman]] was also awarded a Nobel prize for his work with Eric Cornell. He maintains a part-time appointment at the University of Colorado Boulder but his primary appointment is Professor and Director of the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative at the University of British Columbia. Controversial writer [[Ward Churchill]] was a professor of [[ethnic studies]] until he was terminated in July 2007.<ref name="wrongly fired">[{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03churchill.html?hp&_r=0 |title=Jury Says Professor Was Wrongly Fired] {{Webarchive|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122143957/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/03/us/03churchill.html?hp&_r=0 |archive-date=November 22, 2018 }};|work=The ''New York Times''; |first1=Kirk |last1=Johnson and |first2=Katherine Q. |last2=Seelye; |date=April 2, 2009,}}</ref> [[Robert T. Craig (scholar)|Robert T. Craig]] an [[International Communication Association]] Fellow and author of "Communication Theory as a Field" is a professor in the Communication Department. Professor Emerita [[Susan Kingsley Kent]] is the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

The [[Greek nationalism|Panhellenic]] sorority community consists of roughly a dozen chapters. The men's fraternities at the University of Colorado are not officially affiliated with the school; however, they are still a presence on campus. About 13% of the undergraduate student body participates in Greek life.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.coloradodaily.com/2015/08/08/boulder-fraternities-and-cu-sororities-greek-life-for-buffs/ | title=Boulder fraternities and CU sororities: Greek life for Buffs | work=Colorado Daily | date=August 8, 2015 }}</ref> The Multicultural Greek Council acts as a liaison between the member organizations and university administration.<ref>{{cite web|title=Multicultural Greek Council|url=https://www.colorado.edu/greeks/our-community/multicultural-greek-council|website=Greek Life|access-date=March 9, 2018|language=en|date=July 29, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310074426/https://www.colorado.edu/greeks/our-community/multicultural-greek-council|archive-date=March 10, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The death of Chi Psi pledge Gordie Bailey from alcohol poisoning during hazing in 2004 caused Boulder fraternities to re-organize and sever legal affiliation to the university. Students gathered for a candlelight vigil for the deceased football player on the Boulder campus on Sept.September 20, 2004.<ref>{{Cite news |lastfirst=Elizabeth |firstlast=Hernandez |date=November 8, 2019 |title=15 years after pledge's hazing death, relationship between CU and Boulder's fraternities "'nonexistent"' |work=Denver Post |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2019/11/08/university-colorado-boulder-fraternities-hazing/ |access-date=August 12, 2023}}</ref>

Started in 2008 by CU-Boulder students,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_22640742/|title=CU-Boulder improv group Left Right TIM celebrates 5 years|work=Colorado Daily|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-date=March 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040418/http://www.coloradodaily.com/ci_22640742/|url-status=live}}</ref> Left Right TIM is the Boulder area's premier and longest-running improv comedy team, performing a weekly improvised comedy show every Friday during the university's academic year in the Hale Anthropology Building Room 270 of the school's campus. The team has performed in cities around the country as well as opening for established stand-up comedians and improv theaters.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_12957453|title=One hot comic: Natasha Leggero tells jokes at CU on Friday|website=dailycamera.com|access-date=March 30, 2018|archive-date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401003556/http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_12957453|url-status=live}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2018}}