Fast Facts about the University of Denver
The Institution
The University of Denver, the oldest independent university in the Rocky Mountain region, enrolls 11,117 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs. The Carnegie Foundation classifies DU as a Doctoral/Research University with high research activity.
Campus Improvements
The University is investing approximately $450 million as part of a plan that united all university programs on a single campus in fall 2003. Thirteen new academic, residential and administrative buildings have opened since 1997. The newest building, the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, opened in December 2005. The Rebecca T. and James P. Craig Hall for the Graduate School of Social Work and the new Kappa Sigma fraternity house opened in fall 2005. New academic, Greek and residence facilities are in the planning phase.
Environmental Initiatives at DU
The University is committed to environmental conservation and sustainability efforts. Twenty-eight percent of the campus’s energy is provided by wind power, the largest wind-energy purchase of any college or university in Colorado. The wind power program was initiated by students and is supported by the students through an increased activity fee. A Campus Energy Manager works directly with faculty, staff, and students to raise environmental awareness and pinpoint ways to save energy in each campus building. The University evaluates each new building to identify energy-saving possibilities and determine Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification opportunities. The University recycles mixed office paper, plastic, aluminum, toner cartridges and cardboard.
Undergraduate Students
Total undergraduate enrollment for Fall 2007 was 5,311, including 1,140 first-time undergraduate studies students. Coloradans make up 42 percent of the new first-year students. Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia and 22 countries are represented in the first-year class.
Graduate Students
Fall 2007 graduate enrollment is 5,806. Graduate programs include Arts & Humanities; Social Sciences; Natural Sciences & Mathematics, the School of Engineering & Computer Science; the Daniels College of Business; the Sturm College of Law, the Graduate Tax Program, the Morgridge College of Education; the Graduate School of Professional Psychology; the Graduate School of International Studies; the Graduate School of Social Work; and University College.
One of America's Most International Universities
Enrolled students at DU hail from 78 countries. Non-U.S. citizens comprise 5.5 percent of DUÂ’s student population. Since 2004, the Cherrington Global Scholars program has enabled all eligible DU juniors to study abroad for an academic quarter at no additional cost.
Chancellor
Chancellor Robert D. Coombe joined the DU faculty in 1981 as assistant professor of chemistry and served as provost from 2001 until becoming the 17th Chancellor on July 1, 2005. He served as dean of natural sciences, mathematics and engineering from 1995-2001; chair of the department of chemistry and biochemistry from 1988-1995, coordinator of academic research from 1989-1991; and assistant dean and acting dean of graduate studies from 1985-1987. A full professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, he represents DU to the American Council on Education and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Chancellor Coombe began his career at the corporate research laboratory for Rockwell International. His research focuses on the dynamics of energetic, inorganic molecules and has applications in the development of new lasers and in the semiconductor industry.
Faculty
The University of Denver employs 775 full-time equivalent (FTE) faculty. All first-year students have faculty mentors and the student-faculty ratio is 12:1.
Tuition and Financial Assistance
2007-08 tuition for undergraduate and graduate students is $31,428. In 2006-07, DU awarded more than $53 million in undergraduate financial assistance. Approximately 69 percent of these funds are scholarships or grants. The remaining 31 percent are loans and work programs. Forty six percent of full-time undergraduates in 2005-06 received need-based financial assistance, receiving an average of $17,190 from DU. Merit-based financial assistance is also granted.
Rankings
U.S.News & World Report's annual 2007 college rankings for undergraduate education place the University of Denver 85th among national doctoral universities. DU ranked high for its freshman retention rate (87%); its acceptance rate (73%), its number of full-time faculty (73%), and its graduation rate (72%).
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law marks its sixth consecutive year as a top-100 law school in U.S.News & World Report's 2008 "America's Best Graduate Schools" rankings at 77th place. The Sturm College of Law also ranked 16th in environmental law; and 21th in tax law.
The Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) ranks 38th in the U.S.News & World Report graduate rankings. The Department of Psychology's clinical psychology doctorate program ranks 49th, and its research psychology doctorate program ranks 123. The public policy master's program ranks 76th.
In the Wall Street Journal’s 2007 rankings, the University of Denver Daniels College of Business ranked seventh in the nation for producing graduates with high ethical standards. Daniels placed 20th on the list of the top 51 North American regional business schools, which is a mix of public and private schools spread across the country. In BusinessWeek’s 2007 rankings of part-time MBA programs, Daniels was ranked No. 6 nationally and No. 1 regionally.
In December 2005, Foreign Policy Magazine ranked the Graduate School of International Studies' master's program 10th in the nation, tied with the University of California-San Diego.
Alumni
The University counts more than 114,000 alumni since the school's founding. Of 102,000 living alumni, approximately 39,000 reside in Colorado. Approximately 2,100 live outside the United States.
Athletics
The University of Denver’s Division of Athletics and Recreation sponsors 17 intercollegiate varsity sports competing as members of NCAA Division I. The Pioneers rank among the leaders in NCAA Division I with 25 national championships, including back-to-back hockey titles in 2004 and 2005 and their 18th skiing championship in 2005. In 2007, the gymnastics team placed a program-best 10th at the NCAA championships, while the women’s golf team qualified for its first trip to the NCAA championships after claiming its fourth consecutive Sun Belt Conference title. Individually, Adam Cole became the first DU skier to win both the slalom and giant slalom individual national championships. Rene Reisshauer won his third career individual title by taking the crown in the freestyle and Kristie Leggio and Adam Holmstrom earned DU’s first All-America honors in women’s lacrosse and men’s tennis. The men and women’s swimming and diving programs took home top academic team honors in the nation and nine DU head coaches earned coach of the year honors. The athletics program garnered the 2006–2007 Sun Belt Conference Graduation Rate Award for the seventh consecutive year.
Prominent Alumni
DU alumni have distinguished themselves in foreign affairs, politics, business, journalism, professional athletics and the arts and entertainment. Prominent alumni include: former Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Nicholson, U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, Jr., Andrew Rosenthal (assistant managing editor, New York Times), the late Lowell Thomas (radio commentator), Susan Waltz (chair, International Executive Committee, Amnesty International), U.S. Sen. Peter Domenici (R-NM), Paul Laxalt (former Nevada governor and senator), Peter Coors (CEO, Coors Brewing Co.), Brad Anderson (CEO, Best Buy), James Cox Kennedy (CEO, Cox Communications), U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Emily Cinader Woods (co-founder, J. Crew), Howard P. James (former CEO, Sheraton Hotels), Peter Morton (founder, Hard Rock Caf? chain), Ibrahim A. Assaf (finance minister, Saudi Arabia), Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (chairman, Emirates Airlines), the late Keith Magnuson (former Chicago Blackhawks coach and defenseman), Mark Rycroft (forward, St. Louis Blues), Craig Patrick (Pittsburgh Penguins executive vice president/general manager), Elliott Martin (Broadway producer), Scott Rosenberg (founder, Malibu Comics, screenwriter of Con Air and Men in Black) and David Adkins (comedian known as Sinbad).