Mccoy Rancher Patrick Mcconathy Named to the Colorado State University Board of Governors

Patrick McConathy, a rancher from McCoy, Colo., was named to the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System on Wednesday.

The nine-member board appointed McConathy to the position held by Jeff Shoemaker of Denver, who resigned earlier this year. Board members are typically appointed by the governor, but the board can fill vacancies that occur mid-term.

Shoemaker served on the board from 2003-2007.

"Patrick has been very involved in his community and will make a tremendous public servant for the Colorado State University System and the state of Colorado, and we are pleased to have him serve on the board," said Douglas L. Jones, board chairman. "His leadership and experience will undoubtedly strengthen an already outstanding board and help the CSU System reach new levels of success."

"Patrick’s tremendous experience with the political arena and business and community leaders on the Western Slope will complement Colorado State’s land-grant mission of serving all of Colorado," added Larry Edward Penley, chancellor of the Colorado State University System. "We welcome him to the board."

McConathy has spent most of his career in the oil and gas industry. He began working as a petroleum landman for the Placid Oil Co. in Shreveport, La., before starting McConathy Production Co., which operated wells in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Wyoming. He later purchased additional wells in those states under the name Phoenix Oil and Gas. In 2000, Phoenix, Yarmony Creek Oil and Gas and partner Castle Peak Resources began acquiring and operating oil and gas properties in California.

McConathy’s numerous community activities in McCoy and nearby Vail include serving as member and chairman of the Vail Mountain School Board of Trustees and in the Leadership Circle of U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. He was a member and chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee of Trinity Church in Edwards and co-founded a spiritual-based retreat for men at his Yarmony Creek Lodge in McCoy.

In Louisiana, he served as chairman of United Way for northwest Louisiana and chairman of Congressman Buddy Roemer’s successful campaign for governor in 1987.

McConathy obtained his bachelor’s in political science from Louisiana State University in 1975. His wife, Patricia Chapman McConathy, owns Yarmony Creek Sport Horses, a breeding operation in McCoy. The couple has three grown children.

-30-