Western Colorado University (Western) is a
public university
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...
in
Gunnison, Colorado
Gunnison is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado. The city population was 6,560 at the 2020 United States Census. Gunnison was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a Uni ...
. It enrolls approximately 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students, with 25 percent coming from out of state.
Western offers more than 100 undergraduate areas of study and seven graduate programs, five of which are available as accelerated degree programs. Since 2013, Western's student headcount has grown by 17.4%, the highest percentage increase in full-time enrollment in Colorado outside of the
University of Colorado System
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...
.
History
Western was established in 1901 and opened for classes in 1911 as the Colorado State Normal School, the first college on the
Western Slope. This initial focus as a preparatory college for teachers resulted in a commitment to teacher preparation programs that continues to this day. In 1923 the college's name was changed to Western State College of Colorado in recognition of its expanding programs in the liberal arts at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The college continued to grow, particularly after World War II when returning veterans attended on the GI Bill, and academic and co-curricular programs capitalizing on the college's unique mountain setting were continually added. In 2012, the institution was renamed Western State Colorado University.
In September 2018, the institution changed its name to Western Colorado University.
Admissions
Undergraduate admission at Western is a holistic process where students' academic history, leadership potential, diversity of experience, depth of participation in extracurricular activities and overall interest in attending are taken into account. Every student who applies is considered for a merit scholarship worth between $2,500-$4,500 per year (in-state) and $8,000-$10,000 (out-of-state) based on GPA and ACT/SAT scores.
Western accepted 95% of applicants for the class of 2022.
Academics
Western offers more than 90 areas of study for undergraduates and seven graduate programs with class sizes averaging 18 students. Popular majors include Business Administration, Biology, Exercise & Sport Science, Environment & Sustainability, Recreation & Outdoor Education and Psychology. Western also offers many unique programs, including Petroleum Geology, Energy Management and High Altitude Exercise Physiology. By virtue of the school's mountainous setting, professors in many departments are known for taking their classes into the “outdoor laboratory” that surrounds campus.
Research
The Biology and Exercise & Sport Science departments are actively involved in research. The Thornton Biology Research Program has funded undergraduate research projects for the past 30 years. The Master of Science in High Altitude Exercise Physiology program is constantly conducting research and frequently involves undergraduate students as well.
Western's undergraduate Geology program offers research opportunities, scholarships and grants.
High Altitude Performance Laboratory
The High Altitude Performance Lab (HAP Lab)—which sits at 7,750 feet above sea level—is a sport performance and exercise physiology facility equipped to assess the major fitness parameters. These parameters include: muscular endurance, muscular strength, cardiopulmonary capacity, flexibility and body composition. The primary goal of the lab is to provide well rounded, applied experiences to Western undergraduate Exercise & Sport Science majors.
Rankings and recognition
*''
U.S. News & World Report'' ranked Western in three categories for 2020: Regional Universities West, Top Performers in Social Mobility, and regional Top Public Schools.
*
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
designated Western Colorado University as one of the top 100 institutions in the West in 2017. Western has also appeared on Forbes lists in 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015 and 2014.
* Elevation Outdoors magazine named Western the "Top Adventure School in the West" for the third time in 2017.
Faculty
Of Western's 171 faculty members, 75% are full-time. The majority of faculty at Western also carry a terminal degree.
In 2000, Biology professor Jessica Young helped discover the
Gunnison Sage-Grouse. This was the first new avian species to be described in the United States since the 19th century. Young is currently the Global Coordinator for the School of Environment & Sustainability at Western.
Campus
University Center
The University Center is a primary center for student life at Western. It is home to the Rare Air Cafe and Mad Jack's Cafe dining facilities. It also houses several ballrooms and conference rooms, a movie theater, Wilderness Pursuits, LEAD & Orientation offices, the Multicultural Center, and the Residence Life offices.
Residence halls
Western has 10 on-campus residence halls. Five have traditional, two-person rooms, three are suite-style and two are apartments. All students are required to live on campus for their first two years.
ICELab
The Innovation + Creativity + Entrepreneurship (ICE) Lab is one of the newest additions to Western's campus and partners with the Colorado Small Business Development Center. Although it occupies an older building on campus, the interior has been completely remodeled as collaborative and modular workspace to help promote economic development on the Western Slope of Colorado. The downstairs of the ICELab is now the Coffee Lab, a coffee shop that helps fund the
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.
Borick Business Building
The Borick Business Building is home to the School of Business, which encompasses the Business Administration, Accounting and Economics programs in addition to the nation's first Outdoor Industry MBA.
Taylor Hall
Taylor Hall was the first building on Western's campus. It is
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
-certified and houses Western's administrative offices as well as the Communication Arts, Languages & Literature Department, Welcome Center and WSB radio station.
Hurst Quad
The Hurst Quad comprises Kelley, Hurst and Quigley Halls. Kelley Hall houses the Behavioral & Social Sciences and Environment & Sustainability departments. Hurst Hall houses the Natural & Environmental Sciences and Mathematics & Computer Science departments. Quigley Hall, which received significant renovations in 2016, is the center for the Art and Music departments.
Leslie J. Savage Library
The Leslie J. Savage Library's West Wing was designed by
Temple Buell
Temple Hoyne Buell (September 9, 1895 – January 5, 1990) was an American architect, real estate developer and entrepreneur namesake of the Buell Theatre in Denver Center Complex, Buell & Company, and the Temple Buell Foundation.
Buell was bor ...
.
Mountaineer Field House and Paul Wright Gym
The Mountaineer Field House opened on Western's campus in March 2014. The 65,000-square-foot facility includes a 200-meter track, multi-purpose courts, workout rooms, climbing wall, and a trampoline and foam pit.
The Paul Wright Gym is attached to the Mountaineer Field House. At the north end of campus, this 1951 building is the world's highest collegiate gym. It seats 1,800 and various renovations have added Western's indoor pool, a wrestling room, locker rooms, the Hall of Fame trophy room and classrooms for Western's Recreation & Outdoor Education and Exercise & Sport Science departments. It's named for Paul W. Wright, who spent 38 years as a professor, coach and administrator at Western, as well serving as a judge and mayor of Gunnison.
Athletics
NCAA
![Football Game at Mountaineer Bowl](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Football_Game_at_Mountaineer_Bowl.jpg)
The Western Colorado University Mountaineers compete in the
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), commonly known as the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) from approximately 1910 through the late 1960s, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (N ...
(RMAC) at the
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...
level. Mountaineer teams compete in 11 sports: football, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track & field (indoor and outdoor), women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, men's wrestling, and women's swimming & diving. Facilities include Mountaineer Bowl (elevation ) and Paul Wright Gym (elevation ).
The Mountaineers have won 93 RMAC team titles and 15 team National Championships. Individually, Western has produced 990 All-Americans and 30 Academic All-American honors.
In 2016–17, Alicja Konieczek became the first Mountaineer to win four national track and field titles. She has since won four more national titles—the most by any female in Western's history.
Mountain Sports
Western Mountain Sports is an athletic program revolving around outdoor, mountain-based athletics. The program includes disciplines in
freeride (big mountain) skiing and snowboarding,
freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...
and snowboarding,
alpine ski racing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
,
Nordic ski racing,
randonnée (SkiMo) racing,
mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
,
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
,
road cycling
Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes Recreational cycling, recreational, Road bicycle racing, racing, Bicycle commuting, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, ...
and
trail running
Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, h ...
. There is also a media program, where students travel with the teams and document the trips and events through a variety of visual and written media.
The program differs from NCAA athletics in that Mountain Sports athletes don't necessarily compete in intercollegiate competition and may carry sponsorships and accept prize money. While technically a club sport program, Mountain Sports distinguishes from club and intramural sports due to the abundance of funding for coaching, travel, equipment and overall popularity.
Three Freeride athletes have qualified for the
Freeride World Tour
The Freeride World Tour (FWT) is an annually toured series of events in which the best freeskiers and snowboard freeriders compete for individual event wins, as well as the overall title of World Champion in their respective genders and discipli ...
.
Club and intramural sports
Western's Club sports include: men's baseball, men's boxing, women's boxing, men's ice hockey, women's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, men's rugby, women's rugby, men's soccer, women's soccer and coed swimming.
Western's intramural sports are all coed and include: slow-pitch softball, flag football,
ultimate frisbee
Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...
, kickball,
bubble ball soccer
Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to:
Common uses
* Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid
** Soap bubble
* Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying funda ...
, indoor soccer,
floor hockey
Floor hockey is a broad term for several indoor floor game codes which involve two teams using a stick and type of ball or disk. Disks are either open or closed but both designs are usually referred to as "pucks". These games are played either on ...
,
pickleball
Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...
, inner-tube
water polo
Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
, dodgeball, volleyball, basketball, table tennis/billiards and
Quidditch.
Clubs and organizations
Wilderness Pursuits
Wilderness Pursuits, commonly referred to as simply “WP," provides Western students and visitors affordable gear rentals and opportunities for outdoor expeditions. WP hires students to guide and instruct courses, and puts on “Wilderness Based Orientation” before the start of each academic year. The most popular trips include whitewater rafting, kayaking, mountain biking, ice climbing, rock climbing and backpacking.
Mountain Rescue Team
The Western Mountain Rescue Team (WMRT) serves the Gunnison County region and is the only collegiate search-and-rescue team accredited by the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA). The team was first started in 1967 after a group of students banded together to search for a missing physics professor and has been MRA-certified since 1987.
Multicultural Center
The Multicultural Center celebrates the diversity of people in and around the Gunnison community and helps students develop culturally, personally and academically. The Multicultural Center advises five student organizations: Amigos, Asian Pacific Islanders Club, Black Student Alliance, Native America Student Council, and Polynesian Chant and Dance.
KWSB Radio
Western has one of the oldest collegiate radio stations in the state, student-operated KWSB 91.1 FM, which has been on the air since 1968.
Top o' the World Newspaper
''The Top'' has been in print since 1921 and is entirely written and produced by Western students, with funding from student fees and advertising.
Organics Guild
Organics Guild is a student-led initiative that promotes
sustainable food systems
A sustainable food system is a type of food system that provides healthy food to people and creates sustainable environmental, economic and social systems that surround food. Sustainable food systems start with the development of sustainable a ...
on campus and around Gunnison. The group maintains two gardens on campus. Students and community members can pick vegetables, which are often sold at the Gunnison Farmers Market.
Sources of Strength
Western's Office of Student Health and Wellness implemented the nationally recognized Sources of Strength program in 2018. The program's mission is to provide evidence-based prevention for suicide, violence, bullying and substance abuse by training, supporting, and empowering peer leaders and adults to impact the campus through the power of connection, hope, help and strength. Western is the first university in Colorado and only the eighth in the nation to implement Sources of Strength.
Culture
![Pathfinder by Tobey at WSCU](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Pathfinder_by_Tobey_at_WSCU.jpg)
In 1994, the school commissioned Santa Fe sculptors Gene and
Rebecca Tobey
Rebecca Tobey is an American artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico, who creates ceramic, brass, and patina animal sculptures in both modern and abstract styles. Along with her husband, Gene, she worked for decades to create animal forms. Her artworks, ...
to create a new work for the campus. The result was ''Pathfinder'', a six-foot-tall bronze grizzly bear, which students have a custom of hugging for good luck during exams. Two other Tobey works are displayed at Western—a bronze bull elk titled ''Wind River,'' which stands out by the skate park, and a small buffalo titled ''Wandering Star'' which is displayed inside Leslie J. Savage Library.
Western Colorado Foundation
The Western Colorado University Foundation is a private nonprofit corporation founded in 1975. It is the primary depository of private gifts from alumni, friends, corporations and foundations used to advance the mission and goals of Western Colorado University. Each year, the Foundation gives more than $2 million to the university, with the greatest portion directed to scholarships.
[
]
Notable alumni
*Robert E. Blackburn
Robert Edward Blackburn (born April 12, 1950) is a United States federal judge, senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
Personal life and education
Blackburn was born in Lakewood, C ...
- Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado
The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are ap ...
*Harry Butler
William Henry "Harry" Butler (25 March 1930 – 11 December 2015) was an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant, best known as the presenter of the popular ABC television series ''In the Wild'' from 1976 to 1981. He was a househo ...
, William Henry "Harry" Butler AO CBE, Eminent naturalist and conservationist, media presenter In the Wild
''In The Wild'' is a popular nature television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1976 until 1981. It was hosted by Harry Butler, a noted Australian natural science, naturalist and environmental consultant.
The re-ru ...
1976–81, Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
1979
*Shane Carwin
Western Colorado Mountaineers
Shane Bannister Carwin (born January 4, 1975) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a former Interim UFC Hea ...
- (environmental technology) wrestler; former mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
who won the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship
*Barry Clifford
Barry Clifford (born May 30, 1945) is an American underwater archaeological explorer, best known for discovering the remains of Samuel Bellamy's wrecked pirate ship ''Whydah'' ronounced ''wih-duh'' the only fully verified and authenticated pirat ...
- Underwater archaeological explorer
* Michael K. Davis - Chief justice of the Wyoming Supreme Court
The Wyoming Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Wyoming from a list of three nominees submitted by the ...
* Elva Dryer - Long-distance runner
*Austin Ekeler
Austin Ekeler ( ; born May 17, 1995) is an American football running back for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Colorado Mountaineers and signed with the Chargers as an und ...
- Running back for the Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...
* Jennifer Fielder - Montana State Senator
*Dan Gibbs
Dan Gibbs (born c. 1976) is a politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. He currently serves as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
Gibbs worked as an outdoor guide and as a staffer for U.S. Representative Mark ...
- Colorado legislator
* Michael O. Johnson - Former CEO of Herbalife
Herbalife Nutrition Ltd., also called Herbalife International, Inc. (with a U.S. subsidiary called Herbalife International of America) or simply Herbalife, is a global multi-level marketing (MLM) corporation that develops and sells dietary sup ...
*Lauren Kleppin
Lauren Kleppin (born November 22, 1988) is an American long-distance runner. Kleppin competes in marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She holds the second highest American finish at the Los Angeles Marathon since 2012, having fi ...
- Long-distance runner
* Ila Mae McAfee - Artist
* Rutherford George Montgomery - Children's book writer and Walt Disney Studios scriptwriter
* Seth Morrison - Big mountain skier
*Tyler Pennel
Tyler Pennel (born December 21, 1987) is an American distance runner. Having grown up in Colorado, he competed in cross country and track at Golden High School and subsequently at Western State College. He runs for ZAP Fitness and is known for a ...
- Long-distance runner
* Kristal Reisinger - former student, teacher, and missing person in nearby Crestone, and subject of the podcast Up and Vanished's second season
*Sam Seale
Samuel Ricardo Seale (born October 6, 1962) is a Barbadian-born former American football cornerback who played ten seasons in the National Football League, mainly for the Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American ...
- NFL player
* Barbara Szabo - High jump athlete
* Josh Thompson - Biathlete, Winter Olympian, silver medalist at the 1987 Biathlon World Championships
*Dave Wiens
David Wiens is an American former professional cross-country mountain bike racer. He is known for his six consecutive wins in the Leadville Trail 100 MTB mountain bike race including defeating Tour de France riders Floyd Landis and Lance Armst ...
- Professional mountain biker
References
External links
Official website
Official athletics website
{{authority control
Liberal arts colleges in Colorado
Public universities and colleges in Colorado
Buildings and structures in Gunnison County, Colorado
Colorado Western Slope
Education in Gunnison County, Colorado
Educational institutions established in 1901
1901 establishments in Colorado
Tourist attractions in Gunnison County, Colorado