Steve Jordan retires as MSU president
Steve Jordan certainly delivered on his first big promise: to transform what was then a scrappy little commuter school named Metropolitan State College into the nation’s No. 1 urban university.
Now we’ll see if he can keep another: the pledge he made to his wife, Ruthie.
He vowed that come June 30 — his last day as president of Metropolitan State University of Denver — he won’t take on any new challenges for at least six months.
Those who know him best predict he won’t stay retired long; they’re also confident that he’ll honor Ruthie’s wish.
A gift of his-and-her golf bags bearing the MSU logo would indicate that the couple might be spending a good chunk of the aforementioned six months on the golf course.
Celebrating “the Jordan legacy” was the focus of MSU’s annual Summer Soiree, a dinner chaired by Marti Awad, Jim Mulligan, Ferd Belz and Elaine Gantz Berman and held in a giant tent on the MSU campus, just steps away from the newly renamed Jordan Student Success Building.
The 450 guests raised $300,000 for the Steve and Ruth Jordan Endowed Scholarship for Leadership. In the 2017-18 school year, six $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to students who otherwise might not have access to higher education.
Advances made during Jordan’s 12-year tenure were chronicled by Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, the event chairs and a video. They include the addition of master’s degrees in several subjects; publicprivate partnerships that brought the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center and the Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building to campus; and instituting a special tuition rate for students living in the country without documentation.
As Hancock noted: “In the past, students would whisper that they went to Metro State. Students today proudly proclaim that they attend MSU Denver.”
The renaming of the Student Success Building was announced by Michelle Lucero, chair of the MSU Denver board of trustees. It is, she said, “A fitting tribute to a leader who has dedicated so much of his life to ensuring that students have a better future. From this day forward, when people talk about this building — and when students make good use of it — the name Jordan will always be paired with the words ‘student success,’ and that’s as it should be.”
Well-wishers also included state Reps. Adrienne Benavidez and Dafna Michaelson Jenet; gubernatorial hopeful Noel Ginsburg and his wife, Leslie; Denver City Attorney Kristin Bronson and her husband, Jeremy, whose Occasions Catering provided the evening’s meal; Nita Gonzales, president/CEO of Escuela Tlatelolco; University of Colorado Denver Vice Chancellor Leanna Clark; Scott Remington, the tax practice leader for Grant Thornton Denver; and Jesse Ogas, executive director of Firefly Autism.
Also, Percy Morehouse, the director of equal opportunity at MSU Denver; Carlos Martinez, executive director of the Latino Community Foundation; Anthony Grant, MSU Denver’s athletic director; Daniels Fund president/ CEO Linda Childears and her husband, Don, president/CEO of the Colorado Bankers Association; Jim Chavez, executive director of the Latin American Educational Foundation; Anne Bye Rowe, president of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education; Maribeth and former Denver Nuggets player Bill Hanzlik, the chief executive officer of the Gold Crown Foundation and an analyst for Altitude Sports; and Paula Herzmark, executive director of the Denver Health Foundation.