The paper was founded in 1978 as the
Working Press but soon adopted the name
Campus Press. It was launched by Mal Deans, a CU journalism instructor, to serve as a student-run newspaper after the
Colorado Daily left campus and became a community newspaper. The
Campus Press became an online-only publication in August 2006, years ahead of most college newspapers. The tagline on the website was changed from "CU's only independent student voice" to "CU's only student voice." In December 2019, the university's media college, which had been providing space and retaining staff pay, announced it will defund the
CU Independent in favor of a faculty-led media enterprise. Staff of the
CU Independent said they would continue to maintain the website and publish content under a new funding model separate from the college. == Awards ==