Beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, all institutions on the Auraria Campus (Auraria Higher Education Center, Metropolitan State University Denver, University of Colorado Denver, and Community College of Denver) will begin reopening campus.

For CCD, this means we will return to fully remote operations for our Auraria Campus employees. I encourage everyone to stay connected through our online platforms and utilize the resources available to support your continued learning and work responsibilities.

With a lack of inter-institutional and inter-agency coordination and the magnitude of a national disruption that included the Auraria Campus, moving to remote operations was a necessary step to prioritize your health and security.

Community College of Denver wholeheartedly supports our community members’ right to peacefully assemble and protest, including at the recent demonstration on the Tivoli Quad. Auraria Campus institutions are deeply committed to healthy civic debate and freedom of expression.

This occurred as Dr. Angie Paccione, Colorado Department of Higher Education’s Chief Executive Officer, met with protest leaders to hear their concerns. During that discussion, protesters stated their demands and once again threatened to disrupt commencements.

Protestors have informed campus leadership of their plans to continue protest activities, including disrupting commencement celebrations. To help ensure our college community remains safe, the Community College of Denver will continue remote learning and operations for the week.

While we recognize that college campuses are traditionally safe havens for civic engagement, freedom of expression should not come at the expense of respect for one another and must adhere to campus policies.

In response to the concerns raised by many of our employees and students regarding safety, we have made the decision to transition to fully remote operations and learning starting from 5:00 pm today, Monday, April 29, 2024, through Sunday, May 5, 2024.

As you may be aware, an encampment began on Thursday, April 25, 2024, and a counter-protest has recently emerged nearby. These occurrences have prompted us to carefully consider the safety and well-being of our entire community.

We wanted to provide you with information on an incident that occurred on the Auraria Campus, but that does not involve any members of our campus community. Learn more.