In the past few months, DU has undergone massive and revolutionary changes on campus in an attempt to bring our university into the 21st century and create new academic programs to prepare students for the future.
However, as DU focuses on improving its existing academic programs, the university should heavily invest in pioneering new academic programs that focus on teaching students about opportunities that are unique to Colorado, specifically focusing on Colorado’s beer and marijuana industries. Through developing academic programs that teach students about these two emerging and thriving industries, DU can mold the future leaders of these industries and better prepare students for future opportunities in the state of Colorado and around the world.
On April 6, Colorado State University announced that, after receiving a $1 million gift from the New Belgium Brewing company, they will create a Fermentation Science Program that will award graduates a B.S. in Fermentation Science and Technology. This program gives students a unique opportunity to interact with leaders in the brewing industry that are based in Colorado, expose students to the latest and greatest innovations and advances of this multi-billion dollar industry and create future leaders of the brewing industry.
Like CSU, DU must take a giant leap forward in developing new academic programs that revolve around major Colorado industries or risk being left behind missing a massive opportunity to educate and expose students to the booming marijuana and beer industries. Our university is located in a state that is undergoing massive and unprecedented changes, and not developing academics that focus on educating students about these industries would be a huge failure on the part of the university.
DU currently has a class on marijuana law at the Sturm College of Law, but there is a huge potential for other departments on campus to teach classes about these thriving industries. The Daniels College of Business and Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management has the potential to develop an in-depth curriculum based on how to build successful marijuana dispensaries or breweries, exposing students to leaders and innovators in these fields who are based in Colorado.
The Josef Korbel School of International Studies can develop courses discussing the impact of Colorado’s marijuana industry in impacting global affairs and the global war on drugs. DU could even develop a program similar to CSU, focusing on researching fermentation sciences and or marijuana cultivation. The possibilities are endless.
Colorado is a mecca of the beer and marijuana industry, slowly but surely developing multi-billion dollar industries that have a huge potential for growth and expansion. DU must seize this unique opportunity to offer possibilities for students to explore these industries academically and graduate to become future leaders that lead these industries.
There are huge opportunities for DU to take massive strides in developing unique and groundbreaking academic programs that expose students to the cutting edge of these groundbreaking industries. Therefore, as the university continues to grow, focused on educating students for the 21st century, DU must heavily invest in developing programs that educate students about these incredible opportunities unique to Colorado.
