A Campus Mosaic
Old Johnson & Wales University Campus To Celebrate Its New Name And Purpose on Sept. 24
Story and photo by Cara DeGette
Editor, GPHN
After six months and 110 suggested new names, the former Johnson & Wales University is now officially the Mosaic Community Campus.
The campus, at Montview and Quebec in southeast Park Hill, was once the University of Denver Law School and before that the Colorado Women’s College. Its latest transformation will be feted at a community block party and dedication, on Saturday, Sept. 24, from 2 p.m. to 5 pm. The event is free and everyone is welcome.
Aaron Martinez, a vice president at the Urban Land Conservancy, explained the selection “Mosaic” in a press release. “When we were considering the final list of potential names … ‘Mosaic’ stood out as the clear frontrunner. It perfectly embodies the campus goals of providing an accessible community hub for quality education, economic development, and affordable living opportunities for people from all socioeconomic backgrounds, races, and ethnicities.”
The Urban Land Conservancy, Denver Public Schools and the Denver Housing Authority took over the 55-acre campus when Johnson & Wales University closed last year. The mixed-use campus is now the home (or future home) to the Denver School for the Arts, St. Elizabeth’s School and the Kitchen Network (operating under the umbrella of BuCu West). Denver Housing Authority and Archway Communities are planning to convert the six existing former dorms on the campus into affordable housing for singles and families.
At the beginning of this year the organizations formed a committee to rename the campus, and invited the public to submit suggestions. Among those that rose to the top:
• Justina Ford (after Denver’s first African American woman doctor).
• Mosley Campus (after John and Edna Mosley, early civil rights activists in Denver)
• Urban Commons
• Park Hill Village Green
• The Park Hill Community Campus
Others that were submitted included the more obscure — like someone’s favorite teacher (Gladys Noel Bates) and at least one name inspired by a poem (Fifty Acre World). Specific individuals whose names were suggested for consideration and who have ties to the neighborhood included Sonny Liston, Dr. Sharon Bailey, Judge Wiley Daniels, Sam and Nancy Gary, Jonathan Parker, Phyllis Tremmel, Florence Sabin, Landri Taylor and Rachel Noel.
There were also a few efforts to make right-wing political statements that were unlikely to warrant serious consideration.
Angelle Fouther, the director of communications for the Urban Land Conservancy, noted that names were selected based on two criteria:
1. After a person (deceased) who has demonstrated significant civic service and contribution to the area surrounding the campus, or
2. derived from symbolic, geographical, cultural, or historical meanings.
“The committee,” she said, “was of the mind that the campus encompasses a wide range of uses and leaned away from the selection of a person’s name for the entire campus. Individual buildings may be named for a person.”
The renaming committee included representatives from the new campus organizations, the former colleges that were once there, and surrounding neighborhood groups. Additional vetting was provided by Historic Denver, Blair Caldwell Research Library, and History Colorado.
More about the campus is at urbanlandc.org/mosaic-community-campus.