How the 2010s ushered in a new period of academic programs, research and student experiences
The 2010s ushered in a new era as Mesa State College evolved to Colorado Mesa University, a change in both name and offerings that set the stage for a period of ambitious growth in academic rigor, research and global engagement.
It wasn’t the first time a change in name accompanied an academic leap. In 1988, when Mesa College became Mesa State College, the school shifted from its junior college roots to a four-year undergraduate institution. By the late 1990s and 2000s, Mesa State College had launched its first graduate programs — the Master of Business Administration in 1997 and the Master of Arts in Education in 2006.
By expanding into graduate education, the school became the only four-year institution in Colorado to offer a complete spectrum of undergraduate degrees from technical certificates and associate degrees to bachelor’s programs and graduate programs.
“The MBA program put CMU on the map as more than an undergraduate institution,” Davis School of Business Executive Director Benjamin Williams, JD, said. “It opened the door for other graduate programs and expanded our academic credibility far beyond the region.”
Through the 2010s and beyond, graduate education took off with new programs in high-demand fields, including master’s programs in nursing, athletic training, sports management, social work, physician assistant studies and occupational therapy. Two of those programs — nursing and physical therapy — have since grown into CMU’s first doctoral degree offerings.
“A master’s degree is a career investment and an accelerator,” Williams said. “The world is changing quickly and a master’s degree can help people move ahead of the pack and further their knowledge base and career.”
Many of these additions were designed to address workforce needs in western Colorado and were developed in tandem with community partners. The graduate and doctoral health sciences programs in occupational therapy, physical therapy and physician assistant studies are collectively housed within the St. Mary’s Medical Education Center, a 24,000-square-foot facility built in 2022 and funded in part by a $3 million gift from St. Mary’s Regional Hospital and $1 million from Community Hospital. Both hospitals describe their contributions as investments in the future of western Colorado’s healthcare professionals.
As graduate programs expanded, so did technical education offerings at CMU Tech. CMU Tech, formerly Western Colorado Community College, opened its doors in 1992. Career and technical certificates and associate programs, including welding, machining, veterinary technology, aviation and culinary arts, were introduced throughout the 2010s. CMU Tech’s first 53-foot Sturm-ANB Bank Mobile Learning Lab was introduced in 2019 to deliver hands-on STEM education and mechatronics training directly to rural communities across western Colorado. CMU Tech would later add two more Mobile Learning Labs offering welding and healthcare training opportunities.
The CMU 2019 Regional Impact Study Highlights Some of the Core Milestones in Academics That Helped Propel CMU Forward, Including:
- Between 2009 and 2019, CMU invested more than $360 million into academic spaces, research and technology upgrades.
- The Forensic Investigation Research Station in Whitewater, Colorado, was built in 2012 and is one of just seven facilities of its kind in the nation, allowing forensics students to study human decomposition under natural conditions in the Grand Valley’s unique high desert climate.
- In 2014, the three-story Escalante Hall was built to house the Department of Languages, Literature and Mass Communication.
- In 2018, Confluence Hall was unveiled as home to CMU’s engineering programs including a partnership program with CU Boulder. Confluence Hall is connected to Eureka! McConnell Science Museum, which offers experiential math and science exhibits for Grand Valley youth.
- In 2019, the annual economic footprint of the school had grown to nearly $469 million, supporting more than 2,885 jobs and driving demand for housing, retail and entertainment offerings across the valley.
- Student spending alone contributed $128 million into the local economy, with an additional $46 million in spending from visitors such as parents and alumni.
- By 2017, student success reached an all-time high with nearly 75% of first-time, full-time students returning for their sophomore year.
- Graduation rates rose steadily and alumni surveys showed that more than 90% of bachelor graduates were employed, with most working in their chosen fields.
- CMU students consistently scored higher on licensure exams than their statewide and national peers. Radiologic sciences graduates achieved a perfect 100% pass rate on the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists exam and teacher education students achieved a 99% pass rate on the PRAXIS II exam.
Throughout the 2010s, students competed and presented on national stages. Business students earned national recognition as finalists in the EdVenture American Petroleum Institute Marketing Challenge in Washington, D.C. and donated their $5,000 award back to student scholarships. Computer science majors designed an agricultural robotics system for the national AgBot Challenge, where drones scanned farm fields and transmitted data to autonomous vehicles that determined when to weed, fertilize or harvest. Environmental science students presented their research at national conferences, including a project that discovered a 900-year-old tree on the Colorado National Monument.
That national reach has since expanded globally. In 2024, Team Limelight Rainforest, a team of faculty and students led by Professor of Biology Tom Walla, PhD, won first place in the prestigious $10 million XPRIZE Rainforest competition, topping more than 300 teams from around the world. The win was announced in Rio de Janeiro at the G20 Social Summit. The team’s innovative use of drone-deployed sensors and real-time biodiversity analysis broke new ground in conservation biology.
Global connections expanded further in 2025 when the nursing program embarked on its very first international service trip. Organized through the nonprofit Global Brigades, a team of nursing students and faculty traveled to two remote communities in Panama where healthcare access had been cut off for more than a year. Students assessed and helped treat a group of people with a wide range of medical needs — sharpening their clinical skills and learning to work effectively across cultures and languages.
“Every student has their interest and specialty that they’re leaning toward — pregnant mothers, babies, ICU,” said Patric Bridge, alumnus and, at the time of the trip, president of the Student Nurses Association. “But the amazing part is that after we were done, everyone saw the value of nursing is nursing. It doesn’t matter your specialty, you’re expected to know how to take care of these folks.”
The nursing program is already planning its next international clinical experience for later this year to Belize.
Even as the university’s presence expands globally, it remains connected to its western Colorado roots. CMU has remained committed to providing an accessible and affordable path to higher education, especially for first-generation, lower income and rural students. Last year, the university launched the CMU Promise, promising to cover tuition for Colorado students from families making $70,000 or less.
The achievements of the 2010s laid the groundwork for today’s university to emerge. What began the decade as a primarily undergraduate institution has now evolved into a serious academic contender that can produce world-class biodiversity research, develop top-ranked nurses and prepare students for success on regional, national and international stages. At the same time, CMU has never lost sight of its roots and its community, responding to local workforce needs and ensuring students have accessible pathways to academic opportunity.