DEMOCRACY’S COLLEGE

For generations, CSU has proudly claimed the title “Democracy’s College in the Centennial State.” Like democracy itself, that title is not static. It cannot be banked, inherited, or taken for granted. It must be earned, again and again, through effort and participation. That conviction is why, three years ago, CSU elevated the work of strengthening democracy as an institutional priority.

This spring, the results of that commitment are clear and compelling. Across our university, we are accelerating efforts to reinvigorate our democratic mission. We are deepening how students learn about democracy, investing in campus spaces devoted to civic life, and supporting faculty research that examines how democratic ideals take shape in real communities.

One example is CSU’s newly established Colorado Democracy Prize, which supports student teams as they design and lead their own civic action projects. This program is guided by CSU’s Center for Public Deliberation, a national model for teaching civic participation. Soon, this work will have a permanent home in Ann Gill Hall, now under construction at the heart of campus. The facility will house the center alongside programs dedicated to civic dialogue, leadership development, and public service. Donors are bringing to life this space where democratic principles will be studied and practiced for generations to come.

We are also expanding democratic engagement through research and public dialogue. Last year, our Office of the Vice President for Research launched a Democracy Small Grant Program, seeding 11 projects that range from democratizing the Colorado Food Summit to revitalizing local journalism. Faculty, staff, and students held CSU’s third annual Democracy Summit in March. At the same time, a new cohort of students in CSU’s Straayer Center for Public Service Leadership is learning self-government first-hand through internships at the Colorado Capitol and in local municipalities.

Our commitment to democracy begins, as it always has, with access. Since its founding, CSU has welcomed first‑generation scholars, rural families, and all who have the ability and will to earn a degree. Last year, we widened the door again by launching two programs: Spur Start to remove barriers for Metro Denver students, and the Ram Transfer Academy to support community college transfers as they make CSU their home.

These initiatives are part of the hundreds of dialogues, programs, bipartisan conversations, civic education opportunities, and major events curated over the past several years. Our goal is to prepare students for successful careers while also equipping them to participate fully in civic life. Taken together, these activities model what democracy demands: the capacity to listen across difference, to include voices from a broad range of experiences and perspectives, and to work through disagreement toward shared solutions. This is how we continue to earn our reputation as Democracy’s College.

It is a serious reputation to uphold. Land-grant institutions transformed American democracy by expanding access to education and cultivating an educated populace. At CSU, generations of students have wrestled with complex problems in classrooms, practiced civic leadership through student organizations, and come together across differences on game days to build pride and belonging. The impact of that education on democracy is evident in the hundreds of thousands of CSU alumni who carry these skills into public service and community leadership across Colorado and the nation.

Our alumni have long put their education to work in service of the greater good with collaborative, “can-do” leadership in local, state, and federal governance. In 1885, the college’s second graduating class included Grace Espy Patton, who advocated for women’s suffrage and became Colorado’s superintendent of public instruction.

A pattern of graduates expanding access and opportunity while finding ways to serve has endured. CSU alumni in elected office have included Colorado Govs. Roy Romer and Bill Ritter; Lt. Gov. Jane Norton; U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Cory Gardner; multiple U.S. representatives; and countless state and local elected officials. Just as important are the alumni who strengthen democracy every day through careers in public agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and schools, and through service as coaches, board members, and neighborhood organizers.

CSU’s Office of Engagement and Extension carries this calling into all 64 Colorado counties by translating research into practical tools and convening communities to deliberate on water, agriculture, local governance, and other critical issues. Colorado 4‑H, delivered by CSU Extension, builds civic responsibility and leadership skills in more than 110,000 young people each year.

The reach of CSU’s impact on democracy extends far beyond state lines. Our faculty are trusted authorities whose research informs decisions on issues central to democratic well-being, from food security and natural resources to public health. Their work – ranging from managing natural disasters to advances in infectious disease treatment – has improved quality of life across the country and around the world, allowing us to better focus on the work self-governance requires. CSU also helped lay the foundation for the Peace Corps in 1960, when Professor Maury Albertson and his colleagues authored its feasibility study. Since then, more than 1,600 Rams have served as volunteers, advancing peace, friendship, and democracy worldwide.

This work to strengthen democracy has endured through polarization and uncertainty, through wars and economic upheaval. Today’s students give me confidence that it’s still worthwhile. I have watched them facilitate community conversations, learn ranked‑choice voting alongside local election officials, and testify at public meetings with humility and respect for facts. You can see democracy’s muscle memory forming as they bring people together to solve shared problems. They are ready to carry forward the habits of democracy through listening, learning, advocating, and leading.

Even as we reflect on the profound ways CSU has shaped democracy over its 156-year history, our designation as “Democracy’s College” remains aspirational – something realized only through ongoing participation. Each generation inherits this responsibility anew. As Colorado marks 150 years, CSU will continue to do the essential work democracy demands.

Amy Parsons, J.D., is president of Colorado State University, the state’s land-grant institution and flagship of the CSU System. She graduated from CSU with a bachelor’s degree in political science before earning her law degree.

Photo at the top: The staff of the Rocky Mountain Collegian is pictured in 1899, reflecting a long history of upholding First Amendment rights on campus. Photo: CSU Libraries, Archives & Special Collections.