Columbia College-Aurora celebrates 35 years

The Nationwide campus in Aurora, Colo., has been educating students since 1975

Columbia College-Aurora will celebrate 35 years of educational excellence on March 3, 2010.

The event, to be held on campus at 14241 E. 4th Ave., Building 5, from 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. , will feature remarks from Aurora Director, David Mull, followed by a reception. All faculty, staff, students and area alumni are invited to attend.

From its humble beginnings providing courses to St. Louis-area Army recruiters in 1973, the Columbia College Adult Higher Education program has expanded to 35 Nationwide Campuses, including the Evening Campus, from coast to coast, including one in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The college is now recognized nationally as a leader in adult higher education.

“Our focus has always been on providing affordable, high quality undergraduate and graduate, in-seat and online education to the community,” said Mike Randerson, vice president for Adult Higher Education. "The fact that the Aurora campus has done this so well is a tribute to the director and staff who have delivered the flexible education to the military personnel and busy working adults of the greater Denver area for 35 years."

"We are firmly established in the community now," Mull added, "for combining the tradition of a liberal arts and sciences education with a contemporary perspective on the working world. It's a unique perspective, and one I think we do better than anyone else."

Mull earned a master's degree in human resources development and management and spent 27 years as a top administrator in the U.S. Navy. He has been Aurora's director since 2005.

The Aurora campus was established in Denver on March 3, 1975. The college initially rented two floors of a historic, nearly 100-year-old building next to the famed Molly Brown House, just three blocks from the Colorado State Capitol. Later that year, the campus moved to Aurora and began serving active-duty military and civilians from Lowry Air Force Base and Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, both now closed. The campus relocated to its present location in 2005.

The Aurora campus prides itself on its diverse student body, a reflection of the Denver metro area. A large percentage of its international students hail from the Himalayan nation of Nepal.

"I enjoy working with our international students," said Mull. "They add an extra dimension to the classroom and ultimately all of our students are better educated because of the experience and more open to the multicultural society we have become."

For more information on Aurora course offerings, instructors, scholarships and schedules, visit www.ccis.edu/aurora