Our History

Putting the M in Colorado A&M: Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

Much has changed since we were the Colorado Agricultural College 150 years ago. The land-grant mission of the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering – teaching, research, and outreach as well as monitoring the weather – remains the same.

College named in honor of alumnus

Colorado State University engineering alumnus Walter Scott, Jr.'s historical giving to CSU through his foundation totals $64.2 million.

As we get older, I think it’s natural to think about the generations that will follow. And in a technological age, it’s important that our top students have the opportunity to study at strong research universities.

Walter Scott, Jr., Alumni, Civil Engineering, 1953
Read more about the Scott Foundation's history of giving

More about our 150th anniversary

The college has graduated more than 20,000 students since the 1880s and now boasts annual research expenditures of $80 million and seven departments.

Read about the college's 150th

The persistent optimism of Maury Albertson

"We need to be motivated by service as well as by profit. We serve best by finding out what people want and helping them work to realize their dreams."

Video: ‘Do great things,’ Walter Scott, Jr. tells students

Walter Scott Jr.’s generosity vital to Robinson’s AR/VR career

Department and unit

History

1879: Classes begin at the State Agricultural College of Colorado; Ainsworth Blount is appointed professor of mechanical arts
Max Parshall at the CSU weather station, first added in 1880
1880s: Early view of Old Main
1895: mechanical shop
1896: Grafton St. Clair Norman: CSU's first African-American student
A view an an early electrical lab 1912
1922: Ralph Parshall receives patent for his modifications on the Venturi flume (Parshall flume)
1930: The hydraulics and irrigation programs were taught for many years in what is now Statistics
1953: AR Chamberlain, later CSU President received the College of Engineering's first PhD
1954: International exchange program begins with University of Peshawar
The Engineering Center opened in 1957
1963: The Engineering Research Center on the Foothills Campus
ATS building dedication 1967
Magda Bogardi, the first woman to receive a master's degree in engineering from CSU in 1967.
Jack Cernak builds first of low-speed wind tunnels that provide foundation for fluid mechanics and wind engineering program
1967: A professor is teaching a class that is also being taped for the SURGE program. SURGE (State University Resources in Graduate Education) was a program that allowed off-campus students to earn Masters degrees through video courses.
1974: Construction of solar village begins
1990: CSU-CHILL
2013: Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building
1953 civil engineering alumnus Walter Scott, Jr. became the largest donor in the university’s history with a $64.2 million gift.
The Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning Research Team at the center kickoff meeting, Fort Collins, Colorado, April 10, 2015
2020: The state’s first public hydrogen fuel station is unloaded in front of the CSU Energy Institute at the Powerhouse Energy Campus.
Geraldine Richmond, the DOE undersecretary for science and innovation, spoke at the groundbreaking event for the Advanced Technology Lasers for Applications and Science (ATLAS) Facility in 2024.
2025-2028: Initial concept of the Don and Susie Law Engineering Future Technologies Building, part of the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering at Colorado State University.

Atmospheric Science

Biomedical Engineering

Chemical and Biological Engineering

  • Chemical engineering program launched in 1977.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • 1902-1903 – First Electrical Engineering courses appear in the university catalogue and efforts to organize a department are made by L.D. Crain.
  • 1907-1908 – Course catalogs first acknowledge the availability of a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering

  • 1879 – Classes begin at the State Agricultural College of Colorado; Ainsworth Blount is appointed professor of mechanical arts.
  • 1883 – Colorado Agricultural College rolled out its first mechanical engineering courses on such things as “steam engine structure” and “transmission of power.”

Systems Engineering