Building a University for a New State

The University of Colorado Boulder’s founding coincided with Colorado’s statehood in 1876, embodying the state’s commitment to education and progress. Old Main rose as the first campus building, standing against the rugged backdrop of the Flatirons in Boulder. Joseph A. Sewall, the university’s first president, guided its formative years, while Mary Rippon broke barriers as one of the nation’s earliest female professors. Charles Franklin Holly, who wrote the bill to designate the university, embodied the aspirations of a frontier society seeking intellectual growth. Yet, this era’s story is incomplete without acknowledging the Indigenous lands on which CU Boulder was built and the overlooked contributions of women and peoples of color in its earliest days.