Four Business Leaders Elected to Top Positions on Colorado State University System Board

Note to Editors: A photo of Doug Jones is available with the news release at http://newsinfo.colostate.edu/.

The Colorado State University System Board of Governors has named Douglas L. Jones, president and owner of The JONES Realty Group in Denver, its chairman and Joe Blake, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, vice chairman.

Diane Evans, vice president of the Land Title Guarantee Co., is now treasurer and Ed Haselden, president and chief executive officer of Haselden Construction LLC, secretary.

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

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 who represent faculty and students on both campuses.

"Doug’s public service has always resulted in action. His business acumen and dedication have been extremely helpful as we confront the complexities facing higher education in Colorado," said Larry Edward Penley, chancellor of the Colorado State University System. "He will lead an outstanding board committed to improving the Colorado State University System. The other officers appointed today – Joe, Diane and Ed – all contribute enormously to their fields as well as to their communities and are tremendous assets to the system and higher education in the state."

Jones, a board member since 2005, takes over for Patrick Grant who will continue to serve on the board.

"We appreciate Pat’s leadership as chairman, engaging the university community as well as the residents of Colorado in the success and growth of the Colorado State University System and its campuses in Fort Collins and Pueblo," Penley said.

Jones has been a leader in growth of the real estate industry in Colorado for nearly three decades.

"I am honored to help ensure the Colorado State University System serves the Front Range and, through its outreach mission, all communities in Colorado," Jones said. "Colorado State University is a phenomenal institution with remarkable successes and resources that the citizens of Colorado need to better understand. From its excellence in educating Colorado’s workforce, to its tremendous economic impact throughout the state, and its unsurpassed international leadership in research addressing the great global challenges, Coloradans have access to one of the world’s great research universities right here at home."

In 1994, Jones established his commercial real estate investment services group in Denver to engage in asset management, brokerage, acquisition and development of commercial properties. Previously, he had worked in banking and served on the Washington, D.C., staff of the late Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas.

Jones has served on a number of boards including the National Western Stock Show Association, Colorado Tourism Office, Rose Community Foundation, Denver Council of Boy Scouts of America and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. He is past chair of the Denver Botanic Gardens Board of Trustees, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Denver Business Improvement District.

Blake, appointed to the board in 2006, serves as chairman of the Colorado Transportation Commission. He is a member of the Colorado Tolling Enterprise Board and has served on the state’s Task Force on Transportation Finance. Blake also serves on the board of directors for the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, the Denver Public Schools Foundation and the Denver Foundation.

A board member since 2004, Evans has served as vice president of the Land Title Guarantee Company in Castle Rock since 1981. She 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.

As president and CEO of Haselden Construction, Haselden is responsible for the company’s strategic direction, growth and leadership development. Haselden Construction has been a strong supporter of the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State, collaborating with faculty in updating the academic program and funding needed facility improvements. Haselden has a family connection to Colorado State University, where his brother earned a degree in construction management. He was appointed to the board of governors in 2005.

As the state’s land grant institution, Colorado State University educates more students from Colorado than any other campus and offers valuable services to every county in the state – everything from economic development tools to advice on drought-resistant crops – through 59 Extension offices.

Colorado State’s annual research expenditures in FY 2007 totaled $267.4 million – nearly unrivaled when compared with other universities nationwide without a medical school. Publications such as Princeton Review and U.S. News and World Report rank programs in Colorado State’s eight colleges among the top in the nation, particularly in veterinary medicine, occupational therapy, business, engineering and chemistry. The university houses two unsurpassed National Science Foundation Regional Centers for Excellence and two NSF engineering centers in extreme ultraviolet science and cloud modeling.

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