50th Celebration Events

Founded in 1967, Community College of Denver began as the only community college in the city and county of Denver. Originally located in a renovated auto showroom in downtown Denver, CCD is now the only community college in the nation to share a campus with two four-year universities. It is also the most diverse college in the state of Colorado. Through progressive leaders and a dedicated faculty and staff, CCD is a nationally recognized community college.

To celebrate our 50th year of meeting the higher-education needs of Denver, we hosted 18 events during the 2017-18 academic year. Our goals were to celebrate our successes, to increase college pride and increase our support of the community. 

Our keystone birthday celebration held in October welcomed more than 300 guests, including Mayor Michael Handcock, City Council Members Mary Beth Susman and Albus Brooks, numerous alumni, and past and current employees.

Later in the year, CCD’s theater department wrote and produced a play based on our 50-year history, entitled Our History Shapes Our Future. Its premiere, with more than 100 guests, donated a portion of the ticket sales to support CCD scholarships.

To give back to the community, we marched in several local parades and partnered with Mile High United Way and the Linus Project on community service projects. 

To close the celebrations, we hosted a reception after the Commencement Ceremony, where more than 1,000 graduates and their families mingled and took photos with faculty and staff.

Full List of Events

The Welcome Back BBQs were held for students at all three locations, plus one that included faculty and staff.

For our first CCD Gives Back Day, we created hygiene packs for Mile High United Way’s Project Homeless Connect. We were able to do this through a donation. We also provided volunteers for the day of outreach at the Colorado Convention Center.

In October, CCD hosted a large birthday party-themed celebration on campus. More than 300 guests attended.

Throughout the year, CCD attended several Denver parades, including Veteran's Day Parade, MLK Marade, Cinco de Mayo Parade, and Pride Parade.

In April, our theater department created Cinco Decimas, a play based on the history of Auraria, written and performed by CCD theater students

For our second CCD Gives Back Day, we partnered with the Linus Project to create fleece blankets for children in need, primarily those in the hospital.

For the final event of the year, CCD hosted more than 1,000 graduates at the Commencement cookie reception, where their friends and families could mingle and celebrate with faculty and staff.