*Music* What started as a dream to create accessible education for Grand Valley residents 100 years ago is now... a legacy *Music* One century of success behind us.

The next exciting chapter still ahead.

This is CMU.

*Music* Western Colorado was still a rural region of snow capped peaks and rugged roads in 1925, when local leaders first set out to meet the growing demand for higher education.

They convinced Colorado legislators to pass Senate Bill 262.

When Governor Clarence Morley signed that bill into law, it allowed locals to create what was then called Grand Junction Junior College That first year, only 39 students enrolled.

But enrollment continued to grow and to reflect that impressive growth, seven short years later in 1932, administrators changed the name to Grand Junction Junior State College.

By 1937, the Junior college outgrew both its status and name once again.

This time it became Mesa College.

Students didn't just come from Grand Junction anymore, but from all over western Colorado.

As enrollments steadily climbed, by 1974, advocates like former Senator Tilman Bishop set out to raise the bar even higher and offer full baccalaureate programs and degrees.

But to do it once again, they had to convince other Colorado state legislators to pass the new legislation.

Well, the only way we could get the bill through was to say, well, we don't want to be just a traditional baccalaureate degree granting institution where you want to be innovative, creative, do something a little different.

Well, what would that be?

Well, we'd like to issue degrees after three years.

So it be a three year bachelor's degree.

Well, nobody had tried that.

But creative, compelling and valiant as their effort was, Bishop and his colleagues met with both powerful and practical opposition, and soon realized a three year institution simply would not happen.

Undeterred, they pushed legislators to approve standard degrees.

We've got the faculty, they've got the qualifications, and so we were able to get a regular standard bachelor's degree.

By 1988, Mesa College underwent another profound transformation.

Renamed Mesa State College, this name change marked the first time this school not only gained true autonomy over its programs and future, but also assumed an influential leadership role, as higher education across Western Colorado continued to evolve.

Before I came, we were governed in what's called a consortium or a collection of colleges, Adams, Western Metro and Mesa, and what was called the Consortium of State Colleges.

And the result of that was that, we really suffered financially, academically, managerial, every which way.

Though Mesa State College grew faster than the other three sister colleges, consortium funds primarily favored the struggling schools.

That meant Mesa State College helped cover shortfalls for the other three.

Over time, that drain landed Mesa State College in a tough spot financially.

To stop its growing debt, local administrators had to do something different, and did.

They chose to invest in growing Mesa State College.

By 2003, the state legislature abolished the consortium and each school established its own governing board.

The Colorado General Assembly appointed Mesa State to be the designated higher education provider for 14 counties across western Colorado.

The move was so successful, Mesa State College created Western Colorado Community College, now CMU tech, in 2005 to diversify its available programs and offer a two year open admission division of the College.

By 2006, Mesa State created two master's programs a master of Business Administration and a master of Arts in Education.

In 2011, the historic college begun on a dream, and 34 students reached a true watershed moment when the Board of Trustees and State of Colorado approved its latest name change to Colorado Mesa University.

This milestone highlights CMUs growth as a competitive academic institution, now attracting students not just from all over Colorado, but from all over the world.

Most importantly, over its 100 year history to now, CMU remains faithful to its original mission, making school affordable for everyone and fostering meaningful relationships within the local community.

You got to put in the work.

or you're not going to get there So I really I think it's sort of old school, concept of you get what you, what you put into it.

And I think, I think people understand that This commitment to its mission is evident throughout the school's history, especially in the experiences of its past students.

Bernhard Piccini attended Mesa College from 1968 to 1970.

The relationships he built with his professors remain among his fondest memories.

What do you think's going to happen if you have six people in a class of organic chemistry taught by a Ph.D.

versus 300 in a lecture hall, taught by a teaching assistant, there's a different level of involvement of the professor.

That's what we had at Mesa.

The direct involvement with dedicated, smart professors.

Naturally, the campus has also grown and evolved to the point it is nearly unrecognizable to some past students.

The college has expanded exponentially in the last 55 years.

I go out-- I don't even recognize it anymore.

I'm not even sure I can find the various buildings.

The size of the campus has grown dramatically.

Right?

You can look at the aerial photos.

It started in a very, very humble beginnings.

The original building, of course, Houston Hall was constructed as part of a Public Works Administration project in the FDR administration.

And that was it.

Right.

That was the offices.

That was the gym.

That was the theater that was the classrooms.

That was everything in one building.

So we've gone from a one room university to, well, something quite a bit bigger, right?

So, yeah, there's been a lot that's changed about this place.

But I would argue the fundamentals haven't changed.

*Music* CMU played a significant role in the development of higher education in western Colorado.

Between the educational programs, campus expansions, and groundbreaking environmental solutions, CMU now lists a full range of impressive accomplishments.

If you rewind to some of the most impactful programs over time, I think you could probably make the case that nursing has been one of the marquee, one of the highest quality, and one of the most impactful programs that we've had.

Colorado Mesa University's Practical Nursing program ranked best in the nation out of 1127 programs across the United States and 12 programs in Colorado.

This ranking, based on graduate passing rates for the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses, highlights the program's strong performance.

This program offered at CMUs, Grand Junction and Montrose campuses, provide students with necessary skills to become licensed practical nurses.

Another notable CMU program that draws thousands of students: The Davis School of Business, now also nationally recognized in business education.

Maybe none more impactful than the Davis School of business, because, you know, as you think about the entrepreneurs and the small businesses that make up western Colorado, most of those people came through this business program, In 2025, it earned international accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, placing it among the top 6% of business schools worldwide.

This accreditation is awarded to institutions that meet rigorous standards for teaching quality, curriculum relevance, and student success.

Over the years, in addition to educational programs, CMU has also invested in the arts.

The Asteria Theater, completed in 2024, exhibits both sustainable architecture and world class arts infrastructure.

More than just a grand performance space, Asteria serves as a vital training ground for campus music and theater students.

It's also become an increasingly indispensable cultural hub for Western Colorado.

For it to be as important as it is for Western Colorado, for us to get behind the construction of a $54 million theater on our campus in Grand Junction, Colorado, I says, I think speaks a lot about the culture and the people that we have on campus and in this region.

The area's iconic desert landscape inspired, Asterias unique interior design.

Outside, it features a star filled facade dramatically illustrating the name itself.

Asteria, meaning of the stars.

For us to put a flag in the ground with Asteria Theater was not a random act.

It wasn't because we just needed to update a theater.

It was a really deliberate strategy for a cultural engine for this region to continue to elevate, for all of our kids.

CMU also earned a coveted role on the global conservation stage for building its theater with groundbreaking technology.

The Green Building Initiative named the 860 seat venue The Green Globe's Project of the year, making Asteria the first performance venue ever to earn recognition for integrating advanced geothermal energy systems.

CMU investment in geothermal stretches campus wide, tapping into a renewable source of power by harnessing natural heat stored beneath the Earth's surface.

Well, it's exciting to see a geothermal system at scale that's used for building heatingand cooling across campus Majority of the campus already has buildings heated and cooled with geothermal.

We're excited to help them become the first campus in the country to be 100% geothermal.

We're doing some of the leading scientific discovery on this particular technology anywhere in the country.

CMUs commitment to sustainability and the environment stretches far beyond the confines of the campus.

What began as a bold idea in 2019 evolved into a groundbreaking mission when a team of dedicated faculty, students, and collaborators advanced through the stages of the XPrize rainforest competition against 300 teams from 70 other countries.

CMUs team first reached the semifinals in Singapore in 2023, then advanced to the finals in the Amazon Rainforest in 2024.

On November 15th, Team Limelight Rainforest won the prestigious $10 million X Prize at the G-20 Social Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The win included a $5 million prize for CMU and global recognition for breakthrough technology that could help redefine rainforest conservation.

It is an absolutely sublime feeling to come from what I would describe as hardworking yet humble roots here in western Colorado, to pit your team against other teams from around the world.

And it was very real.

And we won.

These achievements reflect the university's unwavering dedication to academic excellence, innovation and sustainability.

And the list just goes on and on in terms of the accomplishments and the impact that this institution is having.

That's that's a special thing.

And it it's also a reminder that each generation gets to add to what we were given.

Right?

We've all been given this institution by the people who came before us, and then we get to put our mark and add a little something to it.

*Music* I think we're an outstanding college sports program here.

And, and that would be something that I think is important to protect.

Some of the biggest successes, I think, are, are some of the regional championships that the baseball team achieved starting in 2009.

Beach volleyball won the ABCa small college, national championship, handful of years ago.

I think this last, Summer Olympics, having three Olympians that were student athletes here, I think was a huge, huge accomplishment for the size of school we have and the level of school we have.

And so I would say those are probably the biggest ones that helped put the school on a bigger stage, even a global stage.

While club teams don't compete at Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference events, CMUs teams offer student athletes a strong platform to excel at the highest level of their chosen sport.

I started here in 2014 and we had 12 club sports and now we're up to 27.

So one of the sports that's really exploded is our CMU rodeo program.

They started with about 15 students.

Now they've doubled into about 30.

They've won the rodeo of the year award five years in a row.

I think thats a direct reflection of what the coach in the program can do.

Our cycling program started as a club sport.

Fast forward to current time, at CMU cycling, they are the Ohio State of football.

And recently our cycling varsity team has won it six years in a row across all four disciplines.

The proof in the pudding is that our athletes are Olympians that represent ten, 15 different countries at a time And the student athletes want to come here.

We're the number one program in the country.

The culture of CMU athletics is impacted by the, the personnel and the and the coaches themselves in the department.

I think the interactions they have with the rest of the university, should be healthy and are healthy.

And so they interact hand in hand with, with the rest of the university.

And so I think the culture is driven by those coaches and, and the other personnel in the department, along with the student athletes.

It's fun to see the student athletes win so constantly.

Where now it's a question of what happens if they don't win.

Its, its fun to see those student athletes come home with all these national championships, across the four disciplines.

They've all had of share national championships where creating and diving into that little bit of a culture of winning is now getting contagious.

It's hard to be up at 5 a.m.

and running.

It's hard to be in the weight room when you're not feeling good.

Right?

But you you do that because you got to come through for your teammates.

Those are people that then turn around and become leaders in our community.

And the list of people who've come out of our sports programs, who are now in key leadership roles in Western Colorado and beyond, is literally too long to to list off.

You look at all of our international athletes that will wear our colors in different countries of CMU, and they're going to go across the country and they're going to produce results and those results and get reflection of what CMU means.

And to the student athletes, it's more of a life sport than there is their hobby.

Throughout these years of development and success, we look at who has driven the establishment of this winning culture.

I started at CMU when it was Mesa State back in 2007.

It was a very small college.

Now we're at three times the population.

It was pretty interesting.

I never knew where Grand Junction was on the map until I visited this small town and now I love it.

Its my home.

Right here in Grand Junction is a great place to be.

If a student athletes are looking at a lot of Division I schools, bigger Division I schools, I think our facilities are one of the things that set us apart.

I think we have better facilities than a lot of those places.

And I think, student athletes see that also and want to come here and make this a destination.

What I've noticed is a lot of my coaches were former CMU student athletes as well too.

And I think that's what CMU provides is that culture of how do they stay connected, whether it's they're an alumni that wants to give back, whether they're a coach that wants to find a job here on campus and continue coaching.

It's more of a relationship that doesn't die off.

*Music* Colorado Mesa University is not only a major driving force in Colorado education, but also helps drive local economic growth here in the Grand Valley.

Having a university this size in a town like Grand Junction is huge.

And there's two ways to look at it.

The first way is the direct economic impact.

So the number of employees, the wages, the students that are brought in from outside the region that come here and spend money you know, the number of visitors that come to visit for CMU events, all of these things are economic impact.

But then you have this kind of intangible impact that's difficult to put a number on.

So having a university like CMU brings up the education level, encourages different businesses that have higher intellectual workforce needs to relocate here and to be able to expand.

It's an extremely valuable asset, both tangibly and intangibly.

And as CMU grows, western Colorado does, too.

Yes, CMU is growth has been, in large part a story of Grand Junction's growth.

You can see that over the years.

And, I think for a lot of folks in this community, they see the two as inextricably linked.

What what's not always immediately clear is that when Grand Junction is booming, CMU is usually, quietly in the background, continuing to grow.

But when there's recessionary times is where you really feel CMU is growth and CMUs economic contributions, because, you know, in many ways, we're countercyclical to the economy booming.

When the economy doesn't do so well people tend to go back to school.

And so we've been able to be a ballast for the community in terms of both growth and economic development.

Alongside Colorado National Monument and local wineries, CMU has become a tourist attraction in its own right.

It promotes a lot of tourism.

I mean, it's not just a benefit to Grand Junction.

I mean, think about how many students we have here from Garfield County or Montrose County.

You know, we have a campus in Montrose, right?

How many students come here from Denver or from out of state, love it here and stay?

And add to add to the workforce, add to the culture, add their unique experiences to the Grand Valley.

You know, you don't get that unless you have a place like CMU.

*Music* Looking ahead, CMUs plans for sustained growth and development fuel its potential and continue to shape its academic and physical landscape.

I can tell you that just recentl we updated our campus master plan, and in that plan, we anticipate the west boundary continuing to be seventh street, The east boundary is still 12th street The north boundary of campus is Orchard Avenue, and the south boundary is North Avenue.

We've already started construction on-- it's an $84 million project that will build a $54 million residence hall, and a $20 million, give or take, dining hall.

And that was a result of the growth that we saw in enrollment last fall.

I think that's going to build a vibrancy into that part of campus that's going to feel really different.

And a beautiful new part of both campus and the city, that just doesn't yet exist.

And, that's fun to see that come together.

Though CMU may expand both in size and population, the core values that define CMU remain unchanged.

Well, there's the big picture challenge, which is how do we continue to stay true to who we are.

As you grow, there's these pressures, right, that you don't lose what makes the place special.

You'll hear me talk a lot about this idea of a human scale university.

The idea of becoming a scaled model of the world we want to create.

That only works if we're in relationship with each other and in community with each other.

I, I don't think that the growth in buildings and the growth of our campus is bringing the students here.

I think that that growth happened, you know, maybe ten years ago.

I think it's sustained growth because of who we are, because of our culture, because of our mission, vision and values.

I think that's important and is resonating with incoming freshmen.

Every student plays a vital role in shaping the university's growth.

But first generation student enrollment in particular paints a vibrant future.

We've got to continue to educate first generation families and provide kids who are our best and brightest.

They just don't know it.

We've got to find those kids, give them an opportunity.

And I think the more that we do that, I think the next hundred years belongs to places like CMU.

I don't care what race, what ethnicity, you know, we will get a melting pot here on campus pretty quickly if we focus on taking people, meeting them where they are and then saying, let's make college possible for you.

This is the right place for them.

We give an incredible educational experience.

Our students get a better education here than anyplace else.

Everybody gets a shot, and we've had to wrestle through all the injustices and imperfections in that approach.

But every time we go through this, we try and make it a little bit better.

Universities in this country have the opportunity, if they accept it, to try and do that work.

And the way we do that work is giving those kids in particular, who haven't typically had access an opportunity.

A multitude of milestones changed and shaped CMU over the past century, which naturally leads us to question what the next 100 years may hold.

I think we, we do our very best to keep our finger on the pulse, but, I believe we'll continue growing.

I believe we're still kind of an undiscovered gem.

And I think as the more and more people start to discover who we are, it's not going to decrease enrollment.

If we all could look back 100 years from now, what would success look like?

How do we know we'd been successful?

I think it would be something like this.

Did we keep true to who we are?

Do we treat people right?

Have we embraced our values?

And are we making a difference for, families all over western Colorado and beyond?

And are we teaching people how to think, not what to believe?

Like if we if we're able to do some version of that and animate our values 100 years from now?

Yeah, I think we can say we're successful.

*Music*