Colorful CU: (True) tales from the old west to today



Dr. Colorado, Tom Noel

The University of Colorado and the state of Colorado were both founded in 1876 and our fortunes have been intertwined since. From a small building standing in a field in Boulder – complete with cows – to the highly advanced and expansive medical facilities in Aurora, CU has a picturesque past and present that reach way beyond what you read in most history books. CU Denver history professor Tom Noel, also known as Dr. Colorado, chats with a pupil from decades gone by – CU on the Air host Ken McConnellogue, vice president for university communication.

Noel is director of public history, preservation and Colorado Studies, the author of numerous books, articles and columns and a graduate of CU Denver and CU Boulder. Dr. Colorado and Ken chat about:

  • What it must have been like to share living quarters with your professors and the CU president in the early days of CU Boulder.
  • The transition of the Cragmor Sanitorium in Colorado Springs from a tuberculosis health facility to one of the fastest growing universities in the West in UCCS.
  • Why CU Denver is located on one of the earliest settlements in Denver – Auraria – that predates the state itself.
  • How not enough sick people in Boulder eventually led the medical campus to Denver and then the site of one the state’s most historical buildings – the Fitzsimons Hospital – at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.

Resources:

Dr. Colorado’s publications, history and student resources

CU Denver Department of History