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Sue Anschutz-Rodgers
Born
Sue Anschutz

1936 (age 87–88)
Russell, Kansas
NationalityAmerican
EducationB.A., University of Kansas, 1955
Occupation(s)Rancher, philanthropist
Years active1987–present
Children3
Parent(s)Frederick and Marian Anschutz
RelativesPhilip Anschutz (brother)
AwardsColorado Women's Hall of Fame, 2008
Colorado Business Hall of Fame, 2017

Sue Anschutz-Rodgers (born 1936)[1] is an American rancher, conservationist, and philanthropist. Owner of the Crystal River Ranch in Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado, she is a strong proponent of conservationism and preservation of the heritage of the American West, and helped implement the legal concept of conservation easements in the state. She is the chair and president of the Anschutz Family Foundation, which funds nonprofits, and also heads the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Fund, which funds projects promoting women's self-sufficiency. She is an active member of many state and national boards. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Colorado Business Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early life and family

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Sue Anschutz grew up in Russell, Kansas,[2] the daughter of Frederick and Marian Pfister Anschutz. Farming was part of her family's history, as her great-grandfather, Christian Anschutz, was one of the German farmers brought to Russia by Catherine the Great to increase the yield in the Volga River valley.[3][2] Anschutz eventually left Russia for America and started a farm in Kansas.[3]

Frederick Anschutz began buying up ranches in the 1950s and tapping them for oil reserves, netting him his fortune.[3] As a girl, Sue accompanied her father on the inspections of his oil fields,[4][2] and learned to handle horses, brand cattle, and bale hay from the ranch hands.[1] She has one younger brother, Philip,[5] a billionaire philanthropist who heads the Anschutz Foundation.[6]

Career

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Like her father and brother, she is a graduate of the University of Kansas, attaining her bachelor's degree in education in 1955.[7][8] She began working as a teacher, returning each summer to spend time with her family at their ranch.[2]

In 1987, she acquired ownership of the Crystal River Ranch in Roaring Fork Valley, which her father had purchased in 1966.[1][2][3] Under her direction, the ranch's holdings grew from one bull and 33 cows to 1,700 head of cattle by 2008.[1][2] In keeping with her drive for conservationism, she installed a self-propelled water system that does not use electricity or fossil fuels.[3]

Anschutz-Rodgers is a strong proponent of conservationism and the preservation of the heritage of the American West. She spearheaded the effort to implement conservation easements in Colorado, a legal concept that shields ranchland from future real estate development.[9][1][3]

Philanthropy

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When her father endowed the Anschutz Family Foundation in 1982, she became its executive director, president, and trustee.[10][11] As of 2023, she continues to serve as chair and president.[1] From the initial endowment of $4.5 million, the foundation's assets increased to $55.5 million as of 2016, and it has awarded more than 9,000 grants worth $52.6 million in the area of human services.[12] In the early 1990s, Anschutz-Rodgers created Colorado Rural Philanthropy Days to encourage other philanthropists to fund nonprofits in the rural sector.[1][3][12] She also heads the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Fund, which funds projects promoting women's self-sufficiency.[13]

In 2003, she and her brother Philip donated $2 million toward a new exhibition gallery at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.[14] In 2013 she endowed a $2 million chair in retinal diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.[15] In 2018, she made an additional gift to the Department of Ophthalmology and University of Colorado Hospital which led to the designation of the program as the UCHealth Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center.[16]

Other memberships

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Anschutz-Rodgers has been an active member of numerous boards at the state and national levels, including the Aspen Valley Land Trust, the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust, the Colorado Conservation Trust, the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, the Denver Police Foundation, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Jane Goodall Institute, the United States office of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy of Kenya, and the National Fish and Wildlife Organization.[1][3][11] She is the first woman to be named to the nine-member executive committee of the National Western Stock Show.[17]

Awards and honors

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In 1997, Anschutz-Rodgers was honored as one of the Denver Women of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Colorado.[18] She was the recipient of the Citizen of the West award of the National Western Stock Show in 2006, becoming the first woman to earn that honor.[1][11] In 2012, she received the George E. Cranmer Award from Colorado Open Lands for her contributions to land preservation.[17] Also in 2012, the Denver Rescue Mission honored her as one of the four "Women Who've Changed the Heart of the City".[19] In 2013, she received the Russell Thayer Tutt Award from the El Pomar Foundation for "exceptional leadership in the nonprofit sector".[20]

In 2008, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.[1] In 2017, she was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame.[21]

Personal life

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Anschutz-Rodgers is divorced and has three daughters.[3][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Sue Anschutz-Rodgers". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Noel, Tom (9 July 2005). "Women Lasso Success in Ranching". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i O'Connor, Colleen (3 January 2006). "Cattle Queen". The Denver Post. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  4. ^ Bowley, Graham (22 April 2007). "Goal! He Spends It on Beckham". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  5. ^ Lutz, Catherine (2 April 2012). "The Aspen 50 – Forbes billionaires in Pitkin County". Aspen Business Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  6. ^ Adeniji, Ade (22 January 2015). "Four Things to Know About the Anschutz Foundation's Education Giving". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  7. ^ "KU honors Class of 1955 members on Gold Medal Weekend". Lawrence Journal-World. 17 April 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  8. ^ McCool, John H. (24 April 1992). "The Man Who 'Sees Around Corners'". University of Kansas. Archived from the original on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  9. ^ Zubeck, Pam (18 May 2016). "A conservation easement could settle some land-swap issues, but it's complicated". Colorado Springs Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  10. ^ a b Gray, Ellen. "The Powers That Be". Denver Woman. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Wolf, Mark (27 September 2005). "Stock Show honors Anschutz-Rodgers: Philanthropist and rancher named 2006 Citizen of the West". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Our History". Anschutz Family Foundation. 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  13. ^ "The Women's Foundation of Colorado 2015 Annual Report" (PDF). Women's Foundation of Colorado. 2015. p. 14. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  14. ^ Gonzalez, Erika (8 May 2003). "Anschutz and Sister Give $2M to Space Odyssey". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  15. ^ "CU Eye Center Gains Momentum from $2M Donation (press release)". University of Colorado Foundation. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  16. ^ Sealover, Ed. "UCHealth Eye Center renamed for philanthropist who's received care there". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  17. ^ a b Davidson, Joanne (6 December 2012). "Davidson: Sue Anschutz-Rodgers receives Cranmer Award for land preservation work". The Denver Post. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Denver Women of Distinction" (PDF). Girl Scouts of Colorado. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  19. ^ Davidson, Joanne (10 August 2012). "Denver Rescue Mission names 2012 Women Who've Changed the Heart of the City". The Denver Post. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  20. ^ "El Pomar Foundation Honors Colorado Nonprofits with $175,000 in Awards for Excellence Grants (press release)". El Pomar Foundation. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Colorado Business Hall of Fame". Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain Inc. 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
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