Essay on why go to CSU

With more than 150 programs of study in eight colleges, Colorado State University offers a world-class education at one of the nation’s top research universities. Academic programs at CSU are among the best in the nation in quality, innovation, and achievement, with internationally known programs in infectious disease, agriculture, cancer research, atmospheric science, sustainability and clean energy, and much more. The University

Colorado State is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education and one of the 120 "Best in the West," according to The Princeton Review, a New York-based education services company. Only 25 percent of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges surveyed were listed in "2011 Best Colleges: Region by Region" at www.PrincetonReview.com. Colorado State also ranked as one of the best overall 373 colleges in the new 2011 edition of Princeton's annual guide. Colorado State was listed among the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges 2009-2010" ranked by Kiplinger's. The rankings are based on a combination of academics and affordability.  Colorado State is among Forbes' America's Best Colleges list for 2010, released earlier this month. The ranking lists the best public and private colleges and universities, from the student's point of view.

Departments & Programs

BusinessWeek magazine ranked Colorado State's College of Business as one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country for 2009, and Princeton Review names the College's distance MBA program as one of the best in the nation for 2010.U.S. News and World Report ranked the veterinary medicine program at Colorado State's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences second in the nation among America's best graduate schools in its most current ranking in 2007. It is the only veterinary medical program in the Western states to be ranked among the top 10.Colorado State's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences leads all other schools of its kind in external research funding.Colorado State's Department of Occupational Therapy was ranked eighth in the nation in 2008 by U.S. News and World Report "America's Best Graduate Schools" rankings. The department has been ranked in the top 10 occupational therapy programs by the U.S. News and World Report survey for multiple years.U.S. News and World Report recently named the graduate program in chemistry at Colorado State University one of the top 50 programs in the country. The ranking was included in the 2011 Edition of America's Best Graduate Schools.In 2009, Poets & Writers Magazine ranked Colorado State's Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts as one of the nation's top 50 programs.The College of Agricultural Sciences consistently ranks in the top 10 in the country in terms of awards, grants and contracts received.Colorado State University ranks 15 in the nation among all universities and colleges for the number of alumni serving as Peace Corps volunteers according to the most recent rankings by the Peace Corps. Fifty-nine Colorado State alumni volunteered for the Peace Corps in 2009. The university consistently lands in the top 15 among universities and colleges with more than 15,000 undergraduates.

Colorado State University (also referred to as Colorado State and CSU) is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.
The current^[update] enrollment is approximately 23,000 students. The university has approximately 1,300 faculty in eight colleges and 55 academic departments. Bachelor's degrees are offered in 62 fields of study, with Master's degrees in 59 fields. Colorado State confers doctoral degrees in 38 fields of study, in addition to a professional degree in veterinary medicine.
CSU received more than $300 million in sponsored research in 2010, ranking the university in the top 3 percent of institutions without a medical school for research expenditures.

History

Colorado State University is a land-grant institution classified as a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University-Extensive. CSU was founded as Colorado Agricultural College in 1870, six years before the Colorado Territory gained statehood. It was one of 68 land-grant colleges established under the Morrill Act of 1862. Doors opened to a freshman class of 5 students in 1879.
The university has operated under four different names:

• 1879: Agricultural College of Colorado
• 1935: Colorado College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts (Colorado A&M)
• 1944: Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (Colorado A&M)
• 1957: Colorado State University

[edit] Early years

The act to create the university was signed by Colorado Territory governor Edward M. McCook in 1870 arising from the Morrill Act. During the first years of its official existence, the university existed only on paper. A board of 12 trustees was formed to "purchase and manage property, erect buildings, establish basic rules for governing the institutions and employ buildings." But the near complete lack of funding by the territorial legislature for this mission severely hampered progress.
The first 30-acre (120,000 m²) parcel of land for the campus was deeded in 1871 by Robert Dazell. In 1872, the Larimer County Land Improvement Company contributed a second 80 acre (320,000 m²) parcel. The first $1000 to erect buildings was finally allocated by the territorial legislature in 1874. The funds were not sufficient, however, and trustees were required to find a matching amount, which they eventually obtained from local citizens and businesses.
Among the institutions which donated matching funds was the local Grange, which was heavily involved in the early establishment of the university. As part of this effort, in the spring of 1874 Grange No. 7 held a picnic and planting event at the corner of College Avenue and West Laurel Street, and later plowed and seeded 20 acres (80,000 m²) of wheat on a nearby field. Within several months, the university's first building, a 16-foot (4.9 m)-by-24-foot red brick building nicknamed the "Claim Shanty" was finished, providing the first tangible presence of the institution in Fort Collins.
After Colorado achieved statehood in 1876, the territorial law establishing the college was required to be reauthorized. In 1877, the state legislature created the eight-member State Board of Agriculture to govern the school. Early in the 21st century, the governing board was renamed the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. The legislature also authorized a railroad right-of-way across the campus, and mill levy to raise money for construction of the campus' first main building, Old Main, which was completed in December 1878. Despite wall cracks and other structural problems during the first year, the building was opened in time for the welcoming of the first five students on September 1, 1879 by university president Elijah Evan Edwards.
During Colorado Agricultural College's first term in fall 1879, the school functioned more as a college-prep school than a college because of the lack of trained students. Consequently the first course offerings were arithmetic, English, U.S. history, natural philosophy, horticulture and farm economy. Students also labored on the college farm and attended daily chapel services. The spring term provided the first true college-level instruction. Despite his accomplishments, Edwards resigned in spring 1882 because of conflicts with the State Board of Agriculture, a young faculty member and with students.^[6] The board's next appointee as president was Charles Ingersoll, a graduate and former faculty member at Michigan Agricultural College, who began his nine years of service at CAC with two full-time faculty members and 67 students, 24 of whom were women.
Colorado State University is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, a mid-size city of approximately 142,000 residents at the base of the Rocky Mountains. The university's 579-acre (2.3 km²) main campus is located in central Fort Collins. CSU is also home to a 1,705-acre (6.9 km²) Foothills Campus, a 101-acre (0.41 km²) veterinary teaching hospital, a 1,432-acre (5.8 km²) agricultural campus, and the 1,177-acre (4.8 km²) Pingree Park mountain campus. CSU utilizes 3,994 acres (16.2 km²) for research centers and forestry service outside of Larimer County.^[32]

[edit] Main campus

At the heart of the CSU campus lies the Oval, an expansive green area 2,065 feet (629 m) around, lined with 65 American Elm trees.^[33] Once the center of campus, the Oval is still a center of activity and a major landmark at CSU. The administration building, constructed in 1924, faces the Oval from the south end, and several academic buildings occupy its perimeter. The music building, once the university library, and Ammons Hall, formerly the women's recreational center and current home to Career Services, are among the structures around the Oval. Guggenheim Hall, which stands at the north end of the Oval, was constructed in 1910 as a gift from U.S. Senator Simon F. Guggenheim to promote the study of home economics,^[34] and was recently renovated according to green building standards.
Another campus focal point is the main plaza, around which can be found several academic buildings, Lory Student Center, and Morgan Library. The Lory Student Center, named for former CSU president Charles Lory, houses Student Media, numerous organization offices, Student Government, and spaces to eat, drink and study. The Morgan Library was originally constructed in 1965 and named for former CSU president William E. Morgan. This facility went through an extensive improvement project that included an addition to the main building and a renovation of the existing structure, with works completed in 1998 following the flood of '97. Holdings currently include more than 2 million books, bound journals, and government documents.^[35]
Colorado State University's oldest existing building is Spruce Hall, constructed in 1881.^[36] Originally a dormitory that played a vital role in the early growth of the school's student enrollment, Spruce now houses the Division of Continuing Education and the Office of Admissions. The newest academic building is the Behavioral Science building, which was completed in Summer 2010. Several other construction projects are ongoing including a new amphitheater.^[37]
The James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital complex was constructed in 1979 and consists of three main buildings, the Main Hospital, the Horse and Food Animal Hospital, and the Large Animal Isolation Facility. Located south of the main campus in Fort Collins, the Main Hospital is a full service hospital divided into small and large animal clinics that annually serve 19,000 small animals and 2,700 large animals from around the world.^[38] The Veterinary program at Colorado State is one of the most respected in the country.
In addition to university property in Fort Collins, large tracts of land for research exist in CSU's name throughout the state of Colorado. Among these is the Pingree Park campus situated in the Mummy Range 53 miles (85 km) northwest of town. It was initially selected by former CSU president Charles A. Lory and began classes for Civil Engineering and Forestry students in 1913 and 1915, respectively. In the summertime, Pingree Park hosts educational programs for students in the College of Natural Resources, and is also used as a conference space for numerous corporations, government and private organizations, and universities.
The 1,705-acre (6.9 km²) Foothills Campus, located on northwest edge of Fort Collins, is home to atmospheric sciences, as well as several research and outreach centers. The Center for Disease Control, Engineering Research Center, Agricultural Research Center, B.W. Pickett Equine Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, The Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Animal Reproduction Biotechnology Lab can all be found at the Foothills Campus. The Department of Mechanical Engineering has converted an aircraft manufacturing facility near Christman Field into a Motorsport Research facility.
A new addition to the Foothills Campus, the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, opened in Fall of 2007 as an addition to the Judson M. Harper (former Vice President of Research) Research Complex. It houses some of the University's top research facilities including three high-security containment "pods." This laboratory is among few in the United States to have level-tree biocontainment security.