Gladys Eddy, Longtime Colorado State Advocate, Retiring from College of Business

Gladys Eddy, a former vocational education instructor, business instructor and longtime advocate of Colorado State University, is departing after 70 years on campus.

A reception honoring Eddy is planned for Tuesday, May 15, 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the courtyard of Rockwell Hall on the CSU campus at the intersection of Laurel and Sherwood Streets.  For more information about the reception, please call 491-6471 or 491-1007.

Eddy advanced the status of women and opened new frontiers long before any mention of a feminist movement, President Emeritus William E. Morgan once said.

"Mrs. Eddy has spent countless hours helping our students and exposing them to some of the most influential people in the nation through our Business Day – from Ronald Reagan to Malcom Forbes to Samuel Addoms," said Ajay Menon, dean of the College of Business. "She has been a significant, energetic force behind the scenes in a low-profile model of service to the community and the university. It’s hard to imagine the college without her. She has been an integral part of Colorado State, and we will miss her."

Eddy has guided students through more than 30 Business Days as Business College Council Adviser, bringing nationally and internationally known speakers to Fort Collins to share their expertise and perspectives. This year’s Business Day speaker was Greg Jamison, president of the San Jose Sharks.

Eddy was born Christmas Day 1915 in Castle Rock. She obtained a bachelor’s in commerce at the University of Denver in 1937. Subsequently, she moved to Fort Collins and was employed as a part-time instructor and secretary at Colorado State University, then known as Colorado State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

She met Willard Eddy, then a teacher who became the founder of the Department of Philosophy at Colorado State, at a reception hosted by President Charles A. Lory. They married in 1938. In the 1940s, the clerical training program, which provided instruction as the Army Air Forces Clerical School, depended significantly upon the efforts of Gladys Eddy and led directly, at her urging, to the creation of the College of Business. During the waning years of World War II, she served in the classroom and as secretary to President Roy Green.

From 1957 until 1984, she served as temporary lecturer and instructor in what became the College of Business, then known as the Department of Administrative Office Management. In 1962, her efforts resulted in the formation of a campus chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society. In 1984, as special assistant to the dean of the College of Business, she was responsible for working with the Business College Council, the student governance group she established and nurtured into the model now followed by other College Councils at Colorado State.

Her numerous awards include the Charles A. Lory Public Service Award from Colorado State in 1994, the Community Builder of the Year Award from the Fort Collins Service Clubs in 1984, the Outstanding Women of Colorado Award from the Colorado Federation of Business and Professional Women in 1975, and Outstanding Woman Teacher from Colorado State in 1973.

From 1981-1984, she was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education. She also served on numerous other school boards and committees including the Colorado State Board of Education, Fourth Congressional District; the Colorado Association of School Boards; the National School Boards Association; and the American Association of University Women.

In addition to her university duties, Eddy took a central role in establishing the Fort Collins Tennis Club, serving on the boards of directors of the Colorado Tennis Association and the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation. She has served as a loaned executive for United Way of Fort Collins, co-founder of the Fort Collins League of Women Voters, board member of the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association Foundation and president of the Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Commission and Advisory Council.

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