University of Denver - History

History

The university was founded in March 3, 1864 as the Colorado Seminary by John Evans, the former Governor of Colorado Territory, who had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln. John Evans, who also founded Northwestern University prior to founding DU, is the namesake of the town in Illinois named Evanston (the site of the Northwestern campus) as well as Mount Evans, a 14,264 foot mountain visible from the DU campus.

Evans founded the school to help civilize the newly-created (1858) City of Denver, which was little more than a mining camp at that time.

As a co-educational institution, according to College Board, under a competitive standard, the average admitted applicant is at his or her top 25% of their graduating class.

The reverse initials "DU" are used as the university's shorthand moniker (rather than the more intuitive "UD") as part of a Rocky Mountain and midwestern tradition of initial reversal, similar to the University of Colorado's "CU", the University of Tulsa's "TU", the University of Oklahoma's "OU", the University of Nebraska's "NU", the University of Missouri's "MU", and the University of Kansas' "KU."

The 'Colorado Seminary' was founded as a Methodist institution and struggled in the early years of its existence. By 1880, the Colorado Seminary had been renamed the University of Denver. Although doing business as the University of Denver, DU is still legally named Colorado Seminary. The first buildings of the university were located in downtown Denver in the 1860s and 1870s, but concerns that Denver's rough-and-tumble frontier town atmosphere was not conducive to education prompted a new campus (today's campus) to be built on the donated land of potato farmer Rufus Clark, some seven miles (11 km) south of the downtown core. The university grew and prospered alongside the city's growth, appealing primarily to a regional student body prior to World War II. After the war, the large surge in GI bill students pushed DU's enrollment to over 13,000 students, the largest the university has ever been, and helped to spread the university's reputation to a national audience.

On August 16, 2012 the University of Denver officially unveiled its new brand. The new brand is designed to honor the University’s long history of educating creative and independent thinkers, and focuses on the University's vision to be a great private institution dedicated to the public good. Another goal is to tell DU's story in one unified voice through the collaboration of students, faculty and staff.

The new logo is designed to reflect the University’s stature within a dynamic city and region. The combination of traditional and modern elements demonstrates that the University is looking ahead to the future, but builds on past experiences. The shield signifies tradition and incorporates three key elements: a portion of the University’s skyline to emphasize academics; the date of the University’s founding, 1864, to show the DU's longevity and strength; and a depiction of nearby Mount Evans to reference our inspiring location.

The brand positioning is designed to clearly define and differentiate the University’s identity. The brand is meant to communicate the role of the University of Denver as being a catalyst for a purposeful life.

On October 3, 2012, the university hosted the first U.S. presidential debate of 2012.