Photo by: David Lorish
The $25 million Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall, the new building for the Morgridge School of Education, is taking shape at the corner of East Evans Avenue and South High Street.
The grand opening ceremony will be in June of 2010.
Carrie and John Morgridge’s $10 million donation and Joan and Mike Ruffatto’s $5 million donation helped make this building possible. The remaining $10 million was funded through the institute’s endowment.
“The college is on the western edge of campus and I think it will be a new entry point into campus, symbolically and physically a new presence, a renewed vision,” said Nicholas Cutforth, professor of curriculum and instruction.
The Morgridge College of Education campaign has a $35 million goal, $25 million for the building and another $10 million for the college’s endowment.
The Morgridges are co-chairs of this campaign.
The Morgridges’ also gave support to the Fisher Institute for Early Learning and Literacy, which will take the newly established Reading Recovery University Training Center under its wing. This program will provide one-on-one tutoring for the bottom 10 percent of first-graders and assist them in reading.
The Ruffatto’s $5 million donation will contribute to the construction as well as DU’s Learning Effectiveness Program. The building will be named in honor of their daughter and DU alumna, Katherine A. Ruffatto.
“The new home for the Morgridge College of Education, Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall, is designed to provide a flexible, innovative and multidisciplinary learning environment,” said Bill McGreevy, assistant dean. “The facility will allow for ongoing dialogue with community, national and global partners as we enter a transformational era in education.”
Last year, DU won approval from the Denver Planning Board to rezone the site in which the building is currently being built.
Morgridge College of Education not only has a new building but a new dean. Gregory Anderson took office on Jul. 27. The college offers the opportunity to participate in many programs that reach out to the community and immerse students in real life situations outside the classroom. A few are Aesthetic Education Institute of Colorado, Boettcher Teacher Program, Buell Early Childhood Leadership program and Center for Innovative and Talented Youth.
The new building will provide a model for DU and the community as well.
Since 2001, enrollment at the college has grown by 66 percent, from 495 in fall of 2001 to 822 in fall of 2008. The college will be celebrating the 111th anniversary of their education programs this year.
