Колорадо Кеніш-Техникалық Университетінің Тарихы

Public university in Golden, Colorado, U. S.

Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado founded in 1874. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on energy and the environment. While Mines does offer undergraduate minor programs in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, it only offers degree programs in STEM fields, with the exception of economics. In the Fall 2023 semester, the school had 7,101 students enrolled, including 5,443 undergraduate and 1,658 graduate students.

Golden, Colorado, established in 1859 as Golden City, served as a supply center for miners and settlers in the area. In 1866, Bishop George M. Randall of Massachusetts arrived in the territory and, seeing a need for higher education facilities in the area, began planning for a university which would include a school of mines. In 1870, he opened the Jarvis Hall Collegiate School in the central building of the Colorado University Schools campus just south of the town of Golden, accompanied it with Matthews Hall divinity school in 1872, and in 1873 the School of Mines opened under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. In 1874 the School of Mines, supported by the territorial government since efforts began in 1870, was acquired by the territory and has been a state institution since 1876 when Colorado attained statehood. Tuition was originally free to residents of Colorado. In 1878, Jarvis Hall's main building and Matthews Hall were both destroyed by fires in the span of two days. The School of Mines building was the only structure of the complex left standing. Following the fires, the School of Mines enrollment grew, consisting of prospectors and mine owners. A school library was established with $250, and a gymnasium was built to support the growing student body. The school's fight song, "The Mining Engineer", the first two verses of which are still sung today, was established on campus by 1885. Following the 1880s, the School of Mines transitioned to become a 4 year university, removing its assaying certificate program. Around this time, silver and blue began to be seen as the official school colors. In 1894, Engineering Hall was completed. As the oldest building on campus, Engineering Hall originally housed the physics and drafting departments, but now houses the Division of Economics and Business. The following year, the CSM Alumni Association was founded with members wearing the first instance of the school's Reuleaux triangle symbol. In 1898, Florence Caldwell became the first female graduate of the School of Mines, earning a Civil Engineering Degree.

At the turn of the century, the School of Mines officially changed its name to the Colorado School of Mines. This marked the start of a long period of investment into Mines. In 1905, Simon Guggenheim donated $80,000 for the construction of Guggenheim Hall, which serves as the school's administration building. On nearby Mount Zion, student Herbert Everest designed a large M made out of rocks for his senior thesis, which was constructed by 20 faculty and 250 students. Also on Mt. Zion, the first experimental mine owned by the Colorado School of Mines was opened. Known as the School Tunnel, it served to train mining engineers until 1921, when the Edgar Mine was purchased and the original School Tunnel was abandoned. During World War II, Mines was one of 227 universities that participated in the Army Specialized Training Program by the War Department. The program focused on training students in practical engineering skills for military service.

In August 2007, a new student recreation center was completed. In 2008, the school finished expanding its main computer center, the Center for Technology and Learning Media (CTLM). In May 2008 the school completed construction and installation of a new supercomputer nicknamed "Ra" in the CTLM managed by the Golden Energy Computing Organization (GECO), a partnership among the Colorado School of Mines, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the National Science Foundation. In 2014, CoorsTek granted a $27 million investment to the university, leading to the 2017 opening of the CoorsTek Center for Applied Science and Engineering, a multi disciplinary building on campus dedicated to both academic and research activities. Since 1964, the Colorado School of Mines has hosted the annual oil shale symposium, one of the most important international oil shale conferences. Although the series of symposia stopped after 1992, the tradition was restored in 2006.

The Labriola Innovation District, composed of McNeil Hall, xWorks, and the Labriola Innovation Hub (InnoHub), was opened in early 2024. Named after Frank and Mary Labriola, the InnoHub's 37,000 square feet and supporting buildings host the capstone design program, student design competition teams, and students' entrepreneurial and personal endeavors. The InnoHub also consists of a machine shop, woodworking shop, composite workshop, electronics lab, tool rental center, additive manufacturing lab, and open build space for student use. McNeil Hall contains classrooms dedicated to cornerstone and capstone design classes, as well as a large parking structure. The Mines Police Department, Lock Smith, Environmental Health and Safety, and Parking Services are also based on the first floor.

The Beck Venture Center provides business mentorship and support for students and faculty to build businesses. Multiple venture capitalists, angel investors, and engineering consultants maintain offices in the Venture Center to support the campus business ecosystem. Mines, through the Beck Venture Center, is one of ten members of the western division of the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps Program, which provides students and faculty with grants to pursue their inventions.

Mines began the world's first graduate program in space resources in the fall semester of 2018, offering both master's and PhD degrees. In 1921, the Colorado School of Mines bought Edgar Mine in nearby Idaho Springs, Colorado. The experimental mine features a classroom, a train, and an extensive network of tunnels.

The Thorson First Year Honors program replaces two freshman level classes with Thorson specific classes that emphasize the intersections of STEM and the humanities. Students apply to the Thorson Honors program before beginning their freshman year at Mines. Each cohort of Thorson Scholars is split into seminar sessions led by interdisciplinary faculty teams that dive into critical thinking, design, communication, and ethical problem solving. Thorson Honors students who are also approved for the Mines Study Abroad Program are given the opportunity to study in Antibes, France for their first semester.

The Grandey First Year Honors program uses a leadership lens and a maker mindset to educate its scholars in principles of problem solving, team communication, and project management. Accepting about 40 students per year, the McBride Honors Program places a high emphasis on internships, particularly in public policy, industry, and the non profit sector. To graduate with McBride Honors, scholars must complete a series of specialty classes as well as a self designed practicum. Past practica have included studying abroad, landscape painting, and making documentaries. Practicum funding is typically provided by the scholar and program aid, depending on the scholar's needs.

The Harvey Scholars program attracts students with a passion for service. Programming includes luncheons with donors Hugh and Michelle Harvey, community wide service activities, off campus retreats, and small group dinners. A Harvey Scholarship covers full tuition and mandatory fees for eight semesters at Mines. It also includes travel and enrichment grants to support study abroad programs, research pursuits, and professional development.

The Vanguard and Caldwell Communities of Scholars are for highly motivated female students who embody leadership skills and a desire to improve our world through science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These service leadership programs develop transformational leaders through professional development, community service, and academic success opportunities over the course of four years. As members of the Vanguard and Caldwell communities, scholars benefit from vertically integrated support within the cohort, access to women faculty and campus leadership, in addition to financial assistance. The Caldwell students receive a full tuition scholarship and are identified as students who demonstrate a commitment to the legacy and ideals of Florence Caldwell. Vanguard scholars receive a partial scholarship and are identified as students who will lead the way in making advances in STEM for society upon graduation.

The Mines Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program provides funding for full time undergraduate students to collaborate with campus researchers. This provides students with an opportunity to participate in research projects under the mentorship of Mines faculty in every field represented at Mines. Some past research MURF students have contributed to includes research on Particle Physics, Explosives Engineering, and Oceanography.