August

Members of Congress visit MSU Denver during August break

U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette and Mike Coffman were on campus last week to meet President Davidson, tour AES Building.

By Dan Vaccaro

August 30, 2017

U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Mike Coffman, R-Colo., were on campus last week to meet President Janine Davidson, Ph.D., for the first time and discuss shared priorities.

DeGette’s Aug. 24 visit included a luncheon with Davidson and a conversation about the role of higher education in providing a workforce pipeline for state industry, among other relevant topics.

A tour of the Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building followed the discussion.

The congresswoman also spoke with students from the Metropolitan, MSU Denver’s campus newspaper.

“This new building takes the University to the next level,” she said. “It provides a real benefit to students.”

Coffman came to campus a day later to discuss the national pilot shortage as it relates to the “1,500-hour rule,” a training requirement implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2013. Congress will likely consider FAA reauthorization legislation when it is back in session with the potential to soften the requirement in favor of a more holistic set of standards by which to evaluate pilots.

After that discussion, Davidson accompanied Coffman on a tour of the AES Building and the World Indoor Airport, where the University is training future pilots to help address the shortage.

“I am proud to see such a state-of-the-art facility in Colorado, responsible for training the pilots of tomorrow,” said Coffman. “I commend Dr. Janine Davidson on her leadership and vision for MSU Denver in Denver.”

For Davidson, both visits were very productive.

“For the last few months, I’ve been meeting with stakeholders from across Colorado and the country, listening to their thoughts on our work at MSU Denver,” she said. “I was excited to hear what representatives DeGette and Coffman had to say about the University and to discuss some of the areas where we might have shared priorities.”