Denver and Gross College of Medicine Records

In 1903, the medical department merged with the Gross Medical College, one of its competitors. Following the Denver and Gross College of Medicine's move to the campus chartered by the Colorado Seminary in 1907, the school was forced to transfer its operations to the University of Colorado to improve operations. This action terminated the Denver and Gross College of Medicine's relationship with the University of Denver.

The Medical Department of the University of Denver was established on June 9, 1881. Within two years of the program's inception it graduated five students, with 16 undergraduates, including one woman, continuing their curriculum. The department was incorporated on August 10, 1899, as the Denver College of Medicine through an agreement with the College of Medicine and the University of Denver. In 1877, another group of Denver doctors, recent colleagues and friendly competitors of the Denver school, started the Gross Medical College. Yet, in 1903, the two medical schools merged and as part of the agreement, the Colorado Seminary, the University of Denver's charter institution, agreed to provide facilities for the Denver and Gross College of Medicine in the Haish Building, located at 14th and Arapahoe Streets, Denver. In 1907, a new building was constructed for the Medical College for use as a dispensary and clinic. However, following review from the the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association and Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching researched by Abraham Flexnor the school fell under scrutiny for substandard medical care. Flexner's Report called for a reorganization of medical education and recommended that The Denver and Gross College consolidate with the University of Colorado School so as to improve conditions and minimize duplicative resources. Following heated debates, the executive board of the Denver and Gross College of Medicine demanded that the trustees of the University of Denver either grant finances appropriate to sustain a modern top class institution or approve the transfer of the program to the University of Colorado. An agreement was reached and the consolidation was effective in 1912. This action terminated the Denver and Gross College of Medicine's relationship with the University of Denver.