Steinhauser honored
Sheldon “Shelly” Steinhauser has devoted 70 of his 86 years to advocating on behalf of social justice, equality and inclusion.
His tireless efforts have not gone unnoticed.
At a reception hosted by longtime friends Arlene and Barry Hirschfeld, Ralph Altiere, dean of the University of Colorado’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, announced the establishment of the Sheldon Steinhauser Diversity Scholarship. And Gov. John Hickenlooper declared it Sheldon Steinhauser Day in Colorado.
As 100 of his friends and colleagues applauded, Steinhauser described both designations as “very heartwarming,” especially since they were bestowed at a time of “change and uncertainty, (a time when) we all need to fall back on our most cherished values, to demonstrate that love overcomes hate, whether as an individual or as a nation, and to combine hope with deeds.”
That the reception was held at the Hirschfeld home was no coincidence. Steinhauser worked with Arlene in the mid-1960s, helping her with a civil rights curriculum when she taught in the Denver Public Schools. Later, she enlisted his help in an effort to increase diversity within the Junior League of Denver. Sheldon Steinhauser came to Denver in 1957 to become executive director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Rocky Mountain Region, and would spend the next 30 years in either paid or volunteer service to such organizations as the ADL, JewishColorado, Metropolitan State University, the Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization and the Nathan Yip Foundation.
He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Ala., and initiated and facilitated dialogs with religious leaders throughout the region. He also formed a consulting firm specializing in workplace diversity and inclusion. When he was 70, Steinhauser was recruited by the University of Colorado and spent the next 15 years raising funds for the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Even though he retired from that post last year, he continues to volunteer his services as major gifts solicitor. “His words and example continue to innspire all of us who know and love him,” says his daughter, Lisa Steinhauser Hackel, who was at the reception with her sister, Karen Steinhauser, and their mother, Jan Steinhauser.
Joanne Davidson: 303809-1314, partiwriter@hotmail.com and @joannedavidson on Twitter