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Joseph Sewall

1877��— Became CU’s first president

A 19th-century American physician, scientist and educator, Joseph Sewall served as ��ñ����’s first president from 1877 to 1887. Before he arrived in Colorado, he trained in medicine and natural science and taught as a professor of chemistry at Illinois State Normal University. When CU opened on Sept. 5, 1877, there was only a single building — Old Main — which contained classrooms, a library, a chapel and the��living quarters for the Sewall family.��

Today, Sewall is remembered as the man “in at the birth” of CU, who directed its first steps and helped lay the foundation for what the university would become. In 1935, the university built Sewall Hall in his honor, which is the oldest continuously used residence hall on campus.

Mary Rippon

1878��— Appointed CU’s first female professor

Mary Rippon’s distinguished career at ��ñ���� spanned over 30 years. Besides making history as the first female professor at CU, she is also believed to be one of the first women in the United States to teach at a state university. Beloved by students, Rippon taught language and literature, eventually earning a position as head of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature. She is honored today by the�� on CU’s campus. Rippon also��lived a fascinating hidden life — in 1888, she secretly married a CU student, Will Housel, and gave birth to their daughter, Miriam Housel. She concealed this truth for decades to retain her position and support her family.��

Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Jones��(Ger’1918)��

1918 — Graduated from CU

Lucile Berkeley Buchanan Jones was an educator and the first known Black woman to graduate from ��ñ����. Born to parents who had been enslaved, she grew up in the Barnum subdivision of Denver, where her family became the area’s first Black property owners. Before attending CU, she broke barriers by becoming the first Black graduate to earn a two-year teaching degree from what is now the University of Northern Colorado. In 1918, she earned a bachelor’s degree in German from CU — however, due to racial prejudice, she was not allowed to walk across the stage at commencement or appear in the yearbook. Her diploma was handed to her off-stage, an act that led her to vow that��she would never return to campus. Nearly 100 years after her graduation, CU formally recognized Buchanan’s achievement, and during the 2018 commencement ceremony, a diploma was��symbolically accepted on her behalf by CMDI associate professor Polly McLean.��

George Norlin

1919 — Appointed president of CU��

George Norlin joined CU as a classics professor in 1899, became acting president in 1917 and began serving as permanent president in 1919, where he remained until 1939.Under his transformative leadership, CU underwent a��, despite the Great Depression: the student body more than tripled, several university buildings were constructed and architect Charles Klauder redesigned the��campus in the Tuscan vernacular style.��Norlin left a lasting moral and cultural legacy at the university. He is famous for resisting pressure from the legislature (influenced by the Ku Klux Klan), refusing to dismiss all Catholic and Jewish faculty. He also wrote��The Norlin Charge, first read at the 1935 commencement ceremony, which remains a part of CU tradition today.

Byron White��(Econ’38)

1935��— Earned the Buffaloes national attention��

Byron “Whizzer” White is among the most celebrated student-athletes in the history of Colorado Buffaloes football. His senior year, he led the Buffaloes through a successful season, earning national attention and helping elevate the profile of the program. He was later inducted into the Buffaloes’�� in recognition of his elite play and impact on CU athletics. After his athletic career, White distinguished himself in public service, eventually serving as a��justice of the United States Supreme Court.��

Peggy Coppom��(A&S ex’46)��and Betty Hoover��(A&S ex’46)

1940��— Began cheering on the Buffs

The “CU Twins” earned legendary status on campus through decades of unwavering devotion to CU athletics. The sisters first began cheering for the Buffs as Boulder High School students. They were loyal season ticket holders for CU football (beginning in the late 1950s) and basketball (late 1970s).��Wearing matching goldenrod CU sweatshirts and waving pom-poms, Peggy and Betty became a fixture in the stands and remain one of the��most iconic fan duos in school history.��After Betty’s death in 2020, Peggy’s dedication to CU��has remained as strong as ever.��In recognition of her lifelong commitment, Peggy was honored with the 2025 Chancellor’s Impact Award.��

David Bolen��(Mktg; MBA’50)

1948��— Competed in the Olympic Games

After David Bolen served in the Army Air Force for two years during World War II, ���� track and field coach Frank Potts recruited him to the university. He then earned All-America honors. At 25, Bolen became the��first CU student to qualify for the 1948 U.S. Olympic Team, where he placed fourth in the 400m race at the London games. After graduating, Bolen began a distinguished diplomatic career, serving as U.S. Ambassador to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland beginning in 1974, and to East Germany beginning in 1977. He also was the��first Black ambassador to a nation behind the Iron Curtain.��

Billy Kidd

1964��— Won an Olympic alpine skiing medal

In February 1964, at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Billy Kidd became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic alpine skiing medal, a silver in the slalom. Over the next several years, he captured gold in the combined event at the 1970 World Championships in Val Gardena and became the first American man to win a world alpine title. He then went professional, claiming the pro world championship that same year.After graduating from CU, Kidd remained in Colorado and became the long-time director of skiing at Steamboat Ski Resort in 1970. Beyond instruction, he helped initiate ski-based outreach and inclusion efforts,��supporting Special Olympics athletes, wounded veterans and Native American youth through ski camps and mentorship programs.��

“Ralph”��

1966��— Folsom Field debut

The first official Ralphie mascot, “Ralph” was the live buffalo that launched one of the most beloved traditions at the ��ñ����. In 1965, CU freshman Bill Lowery��was��determined to bring a live buffalo to Buffs football games instead of a costumed mascot. With the help of his rancher father, he successfully brought a buffalo calf from northeastern Colorado to Boulder. Ralph made her debut at Folsom Field on Oct. 1, 1966, charging onto the field with Lowery and a few of his fellow students flailing alongside her in cowboy boots.

Juan Espinosa��(Jour’74)��

1972��— Launched the newspaper��El Diario de la Gente

As a ��ñ���� student, Espinosa launched the bilingual newspaper��El Diario de la Gente in 1972 as a member of the United Mexican American Students, a campus group aimed at bringing cultural awareness to Boulder’s Chicano community. The Vietnam War veteran later moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he co-founded the alternative community newspaper La Cucaracha and worked for 22 years at��The Pueblo Chieftain.��

Tom Cech

1989��— Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

A distinguished professor of chemistry at ����, Thomas Cech is a renowned biochemist whose work has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of molecular biology. After earning his doctorate degree in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 1975 and completing postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined the faculty of ���� in 1978.��In 1982, he and his research group made a��groundbreaking discovery that RNA molecules, specifically from the pond organism��Tetrahymena thermophila, could splice themselves, acting as enzymes in cellular reactions without proteins.In recognition of this paradigm-shifting work, Cech was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989.Cech continues to lead research and education at ���� as the founding director of the��BioFrontiers Institute.��

Ceal Barry��

2018��— Inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame��

As head coach for over 22 seasons, Ceal Barry left an undeniable mark on ��ñ����’s women’s basketball. In her time as coach, she accumulated a record of 427-242, the most wins by any head coach in CU sports history. Under her leadership, the program flourished. She had 13 seasons with 20 or more wins, 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the Elite Eight. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 in recognition of her impact and achievements. After stepping down as coach, Barry served for 15 years in CU Athletics administration, including a year as interim athletic director in 2013. in her honor in January 2026.��

Joe Neguse��(Econ, PolSci’05; Law’09)

2018��— Elected to Congress��

At ��ñ���� Joe Neguse��was involved in student government,��served as co-student body president under the “tri-executive” system and worked on issues like diversity, affordability and higher-education finance. After graduating, he went on to serve on the CU Board of Regents, co-founded a nonprofit aimed at youth civic engagement and worked in Colorado politics. In 2018, Neguse was elected to represent Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Black Coloradan elected to Congress. During his time in office, he has focused on priorities like public-lands protection, affordable higher education, consumer protection and government accountability.

Wei Wu��(MMus’13)

2019��— Awarded a Grammy Award��

A bass singer from Beijing,��Wei Wu has built a��remarkable career in opera, earning international acclaim. Upon arriving in the U.S. in 2007, he auditioned for graduate work at ��ñ����’s College of Music, officially enrolling in 2008. During his time at CU, he honed and perfected the vocal technique, diction and stage presence that became instrumental to his professional success.��Wu received his big break after performing the role of Kôbun Chino Otogawa in the world premiere of “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” at Santa Fe Opera. The recording won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.��

David Ellsworth��(Art’71; MFA’73)

2021��— Honored with the Smithsonian Visionary Award��

David Ellsworth��helped elevate wood turning from a utilitarian craft to fine art. While studying sculpture at ��ñ����,��he developed his signature approach, “blind turning,” a method using a set of bent tools that enables woodturners to hollow out wood into elegant, thin-walled vessels. Ellsworth taught his strategies at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, going on to found his own Ellsworth School of Woodturning. In 2021, he was honored with the Smithsonian Visionary Award by the Smithsonian Institution in recognition of his “ground-breaking, innovative and transformative career in wood art.”

Sarah Gillis��(AeroEngr’17)

2024 — Played the violin in space

Sarah Gillis made history on Sept. 13, 2024 when she became the��first person to play the violin in space, performing “Rey’s Theme” from��Star Wars: The Force Awakens aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft more than 870 miles above Earth. Her crewmates captured her performance, which took place in zero gravity conditions during the Polaris Dawn mission, and sent to Earth via Starlink. Gillis first developed an interest in space in high school and went on to study aerospace engineering at ��ñ����. After internships and work at SpaceX, she joined the Polaris Dawn crew as a mission specialist, where she became the youngest astronaut to participate in a spacewalk.��