Colorado School of Mines, also referred to as
"Mines" and "CSM", is a public teaching and
research university
in Golden, Colorado, devoted to engineering and applied science, with special
expertise[5]
in the development and stewardship of the Earth's natural
resources. CSM placed 75th in the 2015 US News &
World Report "Best National Universities" ranking.
History
Early
history
Golden, Colorado, established in 1859 as Golden City, served as
a supply center for miners and settlers in the area. In 1866,
Bishop George Maxwell
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 (Colorado) 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.[6]
The school's logo was designed by prominent architect Jacques Benedict.
Engineering Hall, constructed in 1894
Paul Meyer Hall houses the Physics Department.
Alderson Hall, completed in 1992 and named for former university
president Victor C. Alderson (1903–1913 and 1917–1925),
houses the
chemical engineering department.
The first building on the current site of the school was built
in 1880 with additions completed in 1882 and 1890. The building,
known as "Chemistry Hall," stood where Hill Hall is now located.
The next building to be added to the campus was Engineering Hall,
built in 1894, which is still in use today by the Economics and
Business Division.
Other firsts include the first Board of Trustees meeting held in
1879; the first formal commencement held in 1883 for two graduates
(William Beebe Middleton and Walter Howard Wiley); the first
international student graduated in 1889; and the first female
student graduated in 1898. In 1906, Mines became the first school
of its kind in the world to own and operate its own experimental
mine, designed for practical teaching of the students, which was
located on Mt. Zion and succeeded in the 1930s by
the Edgar Mine. In 1879,
there was some discussion about merging School of Mines and the
State University in
Boulder. Apparently, because of the specialized focus of School
of Mines, it was decided that such a merger would not be
appropriate. During the early years of the institution, the chief
administrator was the "Professor in Charge". The designation
"President" was first used in 1880. The "M" on Mt. Zion, a
prominent feature in the Golden area, was constructed in 1908 and
lighted in 1932.
Early academic departments were drafting, physics,
metallurgy, chemistry and mining. In
the 1920s, departments formed in geology,
petroleum engineering and geophysics. Petroleum refining was added in 1946. The
Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies and the
Department of Physical Education and Athletics provide nontechnical
educational opportunities for Mines students. Other facilities
include: Ben Parker Student Center, Arthur Lakes Library, Green
Center and the Edgar Mine which is located in Idaho Springs.
Recent
history
The Colorado School of Mines is a public research university
devoted to engineering and applied science.
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"[7]
in the CTLM managed by the Golden Energy Computing Organization
(GECO), a partnership between the Colorado School of Mines, the
National Renewable
Energy Laboratory, the National Center
for Atmospheric Research and the National Science Foundation.
The school operates the Colorado School of
Mines Geology Museum, which displays rock and mineral specimens
collected from Colorado's numerous mining districts as well as
around the world. The museum's exhibits include specimens from the
Frank Allison gold and silver collection, part of the famous
Nininger meteorite collection, and Sweet Home Mine rhodochrosite, as well as a
model uranium mine and various pieces of mining related art.
Mines is the host of the annual Colorado
State Science Olympiad, which draws teams from
both the northern regional (hosted at Poudre High School) and
southern regional (hosted at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs)
competitions. One or two teams usually advance to the national
finals, depending on the number of teams registered to compete.
Mines also hosts the Colorado Regional Science Bowl, and shares hosting of the Colorado
State MathCounts Competition with University of Denver, alternating
biennially.
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.[8]
Presidents
- A. Chris Stell. – 1873[n
1]
- B. Gregory Board – 1875[n
1]
- C. Milton Moss – 1878[n
1]
- 1. Albert C. Hale – 1880[n
2]
- 2. Regis Chauvenet – 1883
- 3. Charles S. Palmer – 1902
- 4a. Victor C. Alderson – 1903[n
3]
- 5. William G. Haldane – 1913
- 6. William B. Phillips – 1915
- 7. Howard C. Parmelee – 1916
|
- 4b. Victor C. Alderson – 1917[n
3]
- 8. Melville F. Coolbaugh – 1925
- 9. Ben H. Parker – 1946
- 10. John W Vanderwilt – 1950
- 11. Orlo E. Childs – 1963
- 12. Guy T. McBride, Jr. – 1970
- 13. George S. Ansell – 1984
- 14. Theodore A. Bickart – 1998
- 15. John U. Trefny – 2000
- 16. Myles W. Scoggins – 2006
- 17. Paul C. Johnson – 2015
|
Facilities
The design of the university's buildings have varied widely over
time, spanning a spectrum of styles from Second Empire to
Postmodernist, created by noted Colorado architectural masters
including Robert S. Roeschlaub (Hall of
Engineering), Jacques Benedict (Steinhauer Field House),
and Temple Hoyne Buell (Berthoud Hall). To
date two main academic buildings are gone (original Territorial
School of Mines, 1871–93; Hall of Chemistry,
1880–1958), while the present campus includes:
- Alderson Hall
- Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Berthoud Hall
- Geology and Geological Engineering
- Brown Hall (Building)
- Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, undergraduate
Environmental)
- Computer Science
- Mining Engineering
- Chauvenet Hall
- Applied Math and Statistics
- Coolbaugh Hall
- Chemistry and Geochemistry
- Environmental Science and Engineering
- Center for Technology and Learning Media (CTLM)
- Academic Computing and Networking
- Engineering Hall
- General Research Laboratory and Geology Museum
- Green Center
- Geophysics(>Metallurgical and Materials)
- GC Office of Events
- Guggenheim Hall
- President's Office
- Administrative Offices
- Hill Hall
- Materials Science
- Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
- Arthur Lakes Library
|
- Marquez Hall
- Meyer Hall
- Recreation Center
- Stratton Hall
- Liberal Arts and International Studies
- Applied Math and Statistics (not primary location)
- Steinhauer Field House
- Student Center
- Admissions & Financial Aid
- Bookstore
- Registrar
- Student Life
- Student Health Center
- U.S Geological Survey
- Volk Gymnasium
- Physical Education and Athletics
|
Major open-air athletic facilities of the Colorado School of
Mines include historic Campbell Field and Darden Field.
The honorary named Colorado School of Mines buildings
commemorate Dr. Victor C. Alderson, Edward L. Berthoud, George R. Brown, Dr. Regis Chauvenet, Dr.
Melville F. Coolbaugh, Cecil H. and Ida Green,
Simon Guggenheim, Nathaniel P. Hill, Arthur Lakes, Dr. Paul D. Meyer, Winfield S. Stratton, and
Russell K. Volk.
Academics
CSM is organized around three Colleges:
- College of Applied Science and Engineering (CASE)
- College of Engineering and Computational Sciences
(CECS)
- College of Earth Resource Sciences and Engineering
(CERSE)
Rankings
- 1st in "USA Today's Top 10 Engineering Schools 2015".[12]
- 38th in U.S. News & World
Report's 2015 "Top Public Schools".[13]
- 35th in U.S. News & World Report's 2015 "Best
Engineering Graduate Schools".
- 88th in U.S. News & World Report's 2015 "Best
National Universities Rankings".
- 139th in Times Higher Education's 2014
"World University Rankings".
- 82/76th in Kiplinger's Personal
Finance magazine’s 2014 "Best Values in Public
Colleges."[14]
Admissions
profile
For freshmen entering Fall 2014, Colorado School of Mines
received 12,340 applications, accepted 4,501 (36.5%) and enrolled
999 (22.2% of those accepted).[15]
The middle 50% range of SAT scores for
the enrolled freshmen was 590–680 for critical reading,
640–720 for math, and 560–650 for writing, while the
ACT Composite range was 28–32.[15]
The average GPA was 3.80. Men constituted 73.8% of the
incoming class, women 26.2%.[15]
Traditions
E-Days
Each spring semester, the Colorado School of Mines students and
faculty celebrate E-days (or Engineering Days). This three-day
festival is kicked off with the "Ore Cart Pull". This event
consists of students collectively pulling an ore cart 7.5 miles
down Colfax Ave to the Colorado State Capitol in Downtown
Denver.
M-Climb
Freshmen at the Colorado School of Mines are expected, but not
required, to participate in the M-Climb. During this climb,
students carry a ten-pound rock brought from their hometown up Mt.
Zion. At the top of the mountain, they are then told to whitewash
the M. While also being a mild hazing
tradition, students take great pride in this process as it
symbolizes the struggle they endure at the school to reach their
goals. At graduation time, seniors are invited to return to the M
and retrieve a rock to keep. This symbolizes the students taking
the knowledge and skills they've learned with them into the next
stage of their lives.
Athletics
The Colorado School of Mines brands itself athletically as
"Colorado Mines", and its intercollegiate sports teams are known as
the Orediggers. The Orediggers compete as members of
NCAA Division II and the Rocky Mountain Athletic
Conference for all 18 varsity sports. The Oredigger athletic
teams include baseball, football, wrestling, men's and women's
basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's golf, men's and
women's soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving,
men's and women's indoor/outdoor track and field, and women's
volleyball.
Notable
alumni
- Tesho Akindele, Canadian soccer player for FC
Dallas in Major League Soccer, 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year.
- Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director of the
National Science Foundation 2004–2010
[16]
- Shane Carwin – (mechanical engineering)
wrestler; former mixed martial artist
who won the UFC Interim
Heavyweight Championship[17]
- Wendell Fertig, World War II hero.
- Andrew Hoover, grandson of 31st US President Herbert Hoover, Engineer of Mines 1969.
- Antônio
Ermírio de Moraes, Brazilian businessman, ranked one of the richest men
in Brazil by Forbes
magazine.
- Roger Rueff, dramatist, B.Sc. 1978, M.Sc. '83 and
Ph.D. '85 in Chemical and Petroleum Refining Engineering.
- George Saunders, writer, journalist and
college professor, B.Sc. 1981 in Geophysical Engineering.
- Robert H. Waterman
Jr., co-author of In Search of Excellence,
Geophysical Engineer 1958, Medalist '84.
- Marc Schiechl , NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, AFL
LA Kiss
- Bruce Grewcock, President/CEO of Kiewit Corporation.
- Sao Kya Seng , the last Saopha of Hsipaw State