Mesa State College started offering classes in Montrose in 1991.
In the 30 years since then, the school was renamed Colorado Mesa University (CMU). Expansion has come in slow waves over the years, but the progress is noticeable in the growth an hour away.
The Montrose campus started in Buell Higher Education Learning Center which is connected to the Montrose Public Library. Over the years, they have added an office building for administration and other staff as well as Cascade Hall, a building across the street with more lecture halls.
Cascade Hall has been under construction lately, adding new windows and bathrooms to update the campus as more students have begun to attend.
The program that draws the most interest is the nursing department, a majority of the students who attend CMU Montrose are there for that major. CMU is focused on expanding that program and making it available to even more interested students.
“We’re looking at additional academic space to assist with Health Sciences in particular. I think Montrose is like Grand Junction in that we almost cannot train enough nurses and healthcare professionals and so we’re looking at this as an opportunity to grow,” CMU President John Marshall said.
Montrose has also recently gotten a new Director. Steve Metheny is a trusted community member that has spent much of his life working in the small city. Metheny has started to implement changes and has worked on including the main campus in their celebration.
On Oct. 14, President Marshall and student leaders went to Montrose to help celebrate. The band played, Rowdy was brought down and a barbeque was cooked.
“It was a great experience, it gave a lot of life to the Montrose campus and piqued student interest. The biggest issue on the campus is lack of activity to keep students there for anything other than classes. Part of expanding is having these parties and events to draw student and community interest,” CMU Montrose freshman Jesse Moyer said.
Moyer started at the campus at the beginning of Fall 2020, coming directly from Montrose High School. He stated that it was a good transition step that allowed him to get used to college life while staying at home.
“I do want to move to the main campus, it is hard to not have housing here. I am grateful I do not have to live in the dorms currently, I do enjoy my personal space,” Moyer said.
Montrose also works with concurrent students and helps highschoolers complete college level courses or even certificates in welding and metal work.
“Not all small communities have access to their own campus like that and it has grown. I think we’ve got some announcements that we’ll be able to roll out about how things will continue to grow,” Marshall said.
Currently, most students can take many of their general educational classes there.
