Facilitating Student Success
Expand our scholarship programs and wrap-around services so that all students can achieve their American Dream without hindrance due to background, income level or other barriers to success.
Roadrunners Rise
We are committed to supporting all Roadrunners as they rise, and we invite you to join us as we follow their journeys.
With over 17,000 students and 110,000 Roadrunner alumni, the MSU Denver story is hardly unique. But the zig-zaggy roads that our students travel en route to crossing the commencement stage are special and impactful.
Roadrunners Rise is MSU Denver’s first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $100 million. We invite you to learn more about MSU Denver and our funding priorities through the stories of our incredible students, alumni, faculty and staff. Together, we can make sure that all Roadrunners Rise!
Join us as we launch the public phase of the Roadrunners Rise Comprehensive Campaign on Feb. 19, 2025.
RSVP to AttendRising Priorities
Ensuring that all Roadrunners Rise requires thoughtful investment in university priorities and programs that work
Cultivating Inclusive Excellence
Accelerate the number of Colorado’s historically marginalized students who stay in school and graduate by investing in programs to diversify faculty and mentoring and increase access to learning opportunities.
Creating Classroom to Career Pathways
Provide solutions to Colorado’s pressing workforce challenges and to students’ access to opportunities by scaling our innovative model for industry partnerships, community engagement and lifelong career success.
Addressing Colorado's Talent Pipeline
Increase the number of skilled, prepared students in areas most needed by Colorado’s industries by expanding and improving learning environments, supporting endowed positions and investing in innovative programs.
How Roadrunners Rise
It takes a community
The vision to ensure all Roadrunners rise demands the efforts and support of many. From excellent faculty to dedicated staff and engaged alumni, MSU Denver is a community that invites the participation and support of everyone.
Paramount to these efforts is the investment of the incredible community of Roadrunner supporters. Philanthropic support of our students and the university’s greatest priorities is what allows us to help all Roadrunners rise.
Rising Scholars is a multi-year video project detailing the lives of MSU Denver students. Filming began alongside the campaign’s start in 2021, we invite you to learn first-hand about the MSU Denver student experience and the impact your gift makes.
Introducing Rising Scholars
They call a flock of Roadrunners a marathon. The road is often hard, zig-zaggy and long – but as Roadrunners we are not alone. Together, we are Roadrunners Rising. Together, We Are MSU Denver.
Meet our Rising Scholars
Arianna Valdez
First-generation. Latina. Student-athlete. Scholarship recipient. Integrative Health Care major. Roadrunner.
Meet Arianna
Leon Duran
Father. Sailor. Business owner. Mentor. Entrepreneur. 2015 Criminal Justice graduate. Current online MBA student. Roadrunner.
Meet Leon
Damarley Laing
International student. First-generation. Scholarship recipient. Student Employee. Extrovert. Roadrunner.
Meet Damarley
Ashley Hernandez
Latina. First-generation. Roadrunner Promise recipient. Hard-worker. Roadrunner.
Meet Ashley
Derek Brekken
Aspiring lawyer. 2021 Public Relations graduate. Podcaster. Story-teller. Proud alumni. Roadrunner.
Meet Derek
Hakeem Khaleel
Aspiring pilot. Student leader. Scholarship Recipient. Aviation Enthusiast. Roadrunner.
How our Roadrunners have Risen
Bird Talk is a fascinating glimpse into the lives and careers of the university’s accomplished alumni. Hosted by Jamie Hurst ’21, each episode features an in-depth interview with an alum who shares their unique journey and insights on how their time at MSU Denver shaped their success. From entrepreneurs to educators, artists to scientists, Bird Talk offers a diverse range of perspectives and experiences, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the impact of higher education.
Find the podcast on Apple or Spotify. Check out the latest episode below:
Making an Impact Through Giving
Gina and Frank Day make record $10 million commitment to MSU Denver's Health Institute
MSU Denver celebrates breaking ground on new Health Institute simulation lab
Nurses are in short supply in Colorado and MSU Denver’s facilities are limited. That’s why the University has received $10 million to assist in funding for health care sim labs to build a state-of-the-art facility, paving the way for a one-third increase in students and graduates in health care programs. Private donors are also necessary to complete the project. Read More.
The gift of representation
MSU Denver alumnus Russell Noles understands firsthand the impact of representation in the classroom. When Noles was a student at George Washington High School in Denver, Colorado, his mother suggested he consider going into accounting. Initially unsure, he says everything changed when three Black accountants were guest speakers in one of his classes. Read More.
Helping all Roadrunners Rise
Western Union and the Western Union Foundation envision a world where everyone has equitable and abundant access to economic opportunity and the potential to thrive. In that spirit, the Western Union Foundation made a gift of $150,000 to Metropolitan State University of Denver, funding the Western Union Immigrant Student Annual Scholarship and supporting the University’s Immigrant Services Program and food pantry, Rowdy’s Corner, ensuring international students have access to the resources they need to remain in school and graduate. Read More.
The key to good health? Representation
Attorney and activist Dawn Bookhardt, J.D., is dedicated to helping Metropolitan State University of Denver educate a diverse health care workforce in the fields of speech, language and hearing. The chair of the MSU Denver Foundation board of directors recently made a transformational $1 million gift toward the construction of a new 70,000-square-foot health education building that will allow the University to bring its health-related academic programs under one roof. Read More.
Supporting student success
To say Barb Grogan is passionate about Metropolitan State University of Denver is a bit of an understatement. In conversation, her infectious enthusiasm for all things Roadrunner bubbles over, making it impossible not to get swept away in the excitement. From faculty and staff to University leadership, she loves it all – but there’s nothing she loves more than the students. Read More.
Cohen Pacesetter Scholars
Simulation Lab Ribbon Cutting
Join the Race
Join the over 4,500 Roadrunner donors and make a gift in support of MSU Denver today!
Make a Gift
Historic planned alumnus gift to support College of Business, women’s softball and the President’s Innovation Fund
To ensure future MSU Denver students have access to the same transformational opportunities, Brad Kaplan and his wife Judy established the Brad & Judy Kaplan Scholarship; the endowed fund is the largest planned gift from an alum in the University’s history.
Read More
