A celebration of new scholarship opportunities for descendants of people forced out of Auraria.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
A Bit of Positive News
During the construction of the Auraria Higher Education Center in Denver in the 1970s, hundreds of residents were forced to sell their homes and move from the area. Those displaced by the campus, which includes Metro State University, CU Denver, and Community College of Denver, were mostly Latinx and Indigenous people of color. While the losses are irreplaceable, each school is hoping to provide better opportunities for the descendants of the displaced by offering them free tuition in perpetuity. "This is one step toward a multi-faceted, long-term effort to honor and support the displaced Aurarians and the sacrifices they made of their homes, families, and livelihood,” said Michelle Marks, a CU Denver chancellor. “We are committed to our role as an equity-serving institution and investing in the future of our surrounding neighborhoods.”
