Colorado State University System Announces New Chair, Officers for Board of Governors

Colorado State University officials announced this week that Patrick Grant will serve as chair and Fred Kerst will serve as vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. Additionally, Diane Evans was elected secretary and Chad McWhinney was elected treasurer.

All four board officers were elected to two-year terms by a unanimous vote of the board at its recent meeting in Fort Collins.

"This board clearly has a bold and exciting vision to enhance the excellence of the entire Colorado State University System," Grant said, "and I am honored to have this opportunity to help ensure the immediate and long-term success of Colorado State University, Colorado State University-Pueblo and Colorado higher education as a whole."  

As leader of the National Western Stock Show, the largest showcase of agriculture in the West, Grant has worked closely with Colorado State for decades. He is deeply committed to the agricultural heritage and land-grant mission of the university.

The National Western and the National Western Scholarship Trust are among the largest scholarship providers in the state, allowing rural youth to attend universities throughout the state; Colorado State alone receives 27 scholarships worth $2,500 each. Grant initiated and helped to endow the Livestock Leadership Award at Colorado State and the Rural Physical Therapy Scholarships to help students study physical therapy at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

In addition to his work with the Board of Governors, Grant also is a member of the boards of the Boy Scouts of America Denver Area Council and the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, and until recently was a board member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. The Grant Family has been recognized as Citizen of the West by the National Western Stock Show. Grant has degrees from Colgate University, the University of Denver and the Drake University Law School.

Grant takes over as chair for Don Hamstra, whose term as chair has expired but who will continue to serve on the board.

Kerst is former president and chief executive officer of Calgon Corp., a global specialty chemical company. He currently owns and operates a real estate investment company, Remington Redstone Corporation in Fort Collins, and manages a small ranch operation.

A Colorado State alumnus, Kerst began his 29-year career in industry as a research chemist, followed by progression to positions of increasing responsibility. His 18 years at Calgon included seven years as vice president of Research and Development and five years as vice president of Marketing and Sales. He became president of the corporation in 1989 and retired in 1996. Kerst received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Colorado State in 1962 and 1963, respectively, and holds a doctorate in chemistry from Harvard.

Evans has served as vice president of the Land Title Guarantee Company in Castle Rock, Colo., since 1981 and has an extensive background in real-estate related matters. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Land Title Association of Colorado and has been active in volunteering for such community-based organizations as the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce and Douglas County 4-H. Evans and her husband Roger Evans also own and operate a cattle ranch in Kiowa, Colo.

Evans previously held leadership positions for several community organizations including serving as chair of the Castle Rock Economic Development Council, president of the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce, director of the Community Bank of Parker and board member of the Southeast Douglas County Economic Development Council.

McWhinney is president and CEO of McWhinney Enterprises, a real estate development company headquartered in Loveland, Colo. McWhinney’s leadership has helped shape the company into a leading real estate development and asset/property management organization.

McWhinney also serves in leadership positions for several community organizations, including director for Centennial Bank of the West, director of the Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation and member of the Urban Land Institute, among others. McWhinney also has served on Colorado State’s Real Estate Advisory Committee and the university’s Global Leadership Council for the College of Business. McWhinney has been actively engaged in many volunteer activities including serving as director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Westminster and as a trustee for the Boy Scouts of America, Longs Peak Council. He also served on the Governor’s Science and Technology Commission.

Also at last week’s Board of Governors meeting, Colorado community and business leaders Ed Haselden, president and chief executive officer of Haselden Construction, LLC; and Douglas L. Jones, president and owner of The JONES Realty Group, began four-year terms on the governing board.

The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System governs a system comprised of Colorado State University and Colorado State University-Pueblo. The board consists of nine voting members, appointed by the Governor of Colorado and confirmed by the Colorado State Senate, and four elected non-voting members.

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