Colorado State University

University History

The 1980s and 1990s:
"Eras of Firsts" in teaching and research

Colorado State entered the decade of the '80s rated as a Class I research university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education, with a new Veterinary Teaching Hospital and several "firsts" in areas ranging from climatology to solar energy.

The "firsts" continued to stack up so much during the 1980s that one might be inclined to call those years an "Era of Firsts" at Colorado State. A sampling includes the folllowing:

• 1982 - Philosopher Bernie Rollin becomes the first person to teach an ethics course at a U.S. veterinary school. Veterinarian Wayne McIlwraith becomes the first to adapt revolutionary arthroscopic surgery to horses. (In 1985, Spend A Buck wins the Kentucky Derby following McIlwraith's use of the procedure on the race horse.)
• 1983 - Miki, a lilac-point Siamese cat, receives the world's bone-marrow transplant to correct a rare disease - Mucupolysaccharidosis VI - an inherited disease that occurs in children and cats. Based on his years of pioneering research on tropical storms, atmospheric scientist William Gray begins forecasting the annual number of hurricanes to occur in the Atlantic Ocean.
• 1984 - Colorado State establishes its first endowed professorship - the George T. Abell endowed chair - to provide leadership in computer-assisted engineering. Two more endowed chairs, one in agriculture and another in food science and human nutrition, are created in the late 1980s with gifts from Ken and Myra Monfort and from the estates of Lillian Fountain Smith and her husband J. Fish Smith.
  Also in 1984, Albert Myers becomes among the first scientists to develop synthetic optical isomers used in making pharmaceutical and other chemical products. Colorado State animal reproduction scientists produce the world's first identical twin foals using a practical embryo transfer technique.
• 1985 - Colorado State becomes the first U.S. university to offer an equine sciences major. The first phase of the Equine Teaching and Research Center - built entirely with private funds - opens two years later.
• 1986 - For the first time, Colorado State designates seven faculty members as University Distinguished Professors.
• 1987 - The National Science Foundation selects the Center for Optoelectronic Computing Systems, formed by Colorado State and University of Colorado, as a national engineering center and gives it a five-year grant of $14.5 million.
• 1988 - Colorado State receives its largest research award, a three-year $25 million grant to conduct research on and provide graduate education and technical assistance for Egyptian water problems.
• 1989 - The university opens its first student recreation center and a new Molecular and Radiological Biosciences Building.

The first half of the 1990s not only brought research and scholarly recognition to Colorado State, but also a renewed emphasis on undergraduate teaching and outreach arms of the university's land-grant mission. At his inauguration ceremony in April 1991, President Yates called for the university to "strike a balance between teaching and research that enriches both while not diminishing either."

To support the balance, President Yates in 1991 appointed a Commission on the Undergraduate Experience and established the Programs of Research and Scholarly Excellence. The commission's purpose was aimed at restructuring the classroom and extracurricular experience of undergraduates to keep pace with the real world and to meet students' changing needs. Additionally, Colorado State has placed a renewed emphasis on undergraduate education with moves that include the implementation of a post-tenure review policy for faculty.

The university under President Yates' leadership also has placed an emphasis on administrative efficiency: In 1991, the president appointed a Strategic Planning Committee to coordinate annual planning; in 1993, he called for a closer examination of Colorado State's outreach efforts. Cooperative Extension administrators responded a year later with a model to restructure the university's outreach programs to better meet the needs of contemporary society; and in 1994, President Yates initiated the Change and Reform process to help identify internal changes that will help the university cope with key issues and regain public trust.

There also has been an emphasis on the physical revamping of campus, including Morgan Library, Lory Student Center, Rockwell Hall, the Engineering Building, the purchase of old Fort Collins High School and the addition of more trees, landscaping and more lighting. All this has been done while successfully coping with such challenges as the fire at the university's Pingree Park Campus and the flood of July 28, 1997, that affected the main campus.

In all, the university has dedicated approximately $70 million to infrastructure during the 1990s.

Additionally, the university has increased the number of minority students on campus and has set records in raising funds from private and public sources.

As the university approaches the 21st century, it stands poised to make substantial contributions to the ever-changing needs of society, just as was intended when the institution was founded in 1870.

Following is a small sampling of accomplishments in the 1990s by the people who comprise Colorado State University.

• 1992 - Stephen Cox, professor of atmospheric science, was awarded the prestigious NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Achievement for his innovative contributions to understanding the atmospheric radiation process associated with clouds and their role in the Earth's climate.
• 1993 - Pathology Professor Martin Fettman traveled aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia as a payload specialist, becoming the first veterinarian in space.
• 1993 - Albert Meyers, University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences.
• 1994 - Physiology Professor Doug Ishii received national recognition for a research breakthrough into the cause of diabetic neuropathy, a painful condition that affects nearly 1.5 million Americans.
• 1995-96 - In intercollegiate athletics, the football, women's basketball and women's swimming and diving teams won Western Athletic Conference championships. Women's basketball and volleyball and men's basketball, football and golf all participated in NCAA postseason play.
• 1996 - Firecracker, the nation's first test-tube horse, was born at the university's Equine Teaching and Research Center. The breakthrough was a result of research led by Professors Ed Squires and George Seidel.
• 1996 - A research team, led by Professors Barry Beaty and Carol Blair, from the Arthropod-Borne and Infectious Diseases Laboratory proved it is possible to genetically alter mosquitoes to prevent them from spreading specific viruses - a breakthrough they hope one day will lead to new methods to combat transmission of mosquito-borne illnesses.
• 1996 - A microbiology research team led by Professor Ian Orme developed a tuberculosis vaccine that in initial research proved as effective as the current vaccine but doesn't produce a positive skin test for the disease. Graduate student Susan Baldwin also was instrumental in the research.
• 1996 - Former Colorado State swimmer Amy Van Dyken won four gold medals at the Olympic Games in Atlanta.
• 1997 - Professor Mortimer Elkind received the federal government's Enrico Fermi Award that recognizes a lifetime of achievement in the field of nuclear energy. Elkind has made significant contributions in radiation therapy of cancer.

Following are just a few notable facts from the 1997 files.

Professional Veterinary Medicine named a program of excellence

Colorado State University's veterinary program was honored for its excellence by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education in 1997. The veterinary program received $839,858 distributed over five years to increase the use of computer technology in veterinary teaching programs, improve graduate education in food animal medicine, and to assist in establishing a veterinary technician training program at Front Range Community College. Colorado State's veterinary program consistently ranks among the top three veterinary programs in the country.

Professor awarded Japanese prize for contributions to chemistry

Albert Meyers, an organic chemist and chemistry professor, received the Yamada Prize for his contributions to asymmetric synthesis in 1997. The prize was founded in 1995 to commemorate contributions to the field by professor Shun-ichi Yamada of Japan and is awarded worldwide to one scientist whose research has had a major impact in this specialized field.

Researcher becomes the only woman and non-Freemason ever to win honor

Joan Burleigh, director of Colorado State's Center for Central Auditory Research, in 1997 became the first woman and non-member ever to be awarded the Royal Arch Mason's Gold Medal of Service. Burleigh was honored for 20 years of research to aid children and adults with central auditory nervous system disorders. The General Grand Chapter's Board of General Purposes broke with tradition to give special permission in bestowing the award to a woman and non-Freemason.