Dorothy Horrell inducted into 2018 Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame

    An astronaut, four nonprofit leaders and activists, a university chancellor, a former Colorado lieutenant governor, a journalist and suffragette, an educator of the deaf, and a community builder and cattle owner comprise the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame Class of 2018.
    Dorothy (Ortner) Horrell and nine other inductees are the next group of extraordinary contemporary and historical women with significant ties to Colorado, who have made enduring and exemplary contributions to their fields, inspired and elevated the status of women and helped open new frontiers for women and society.
    As a community college president, leader of the state system of community colleges, foundation executive, chair of a higher education governing board and now university chancellor, Horrell has a proven record of transformative leadership. Throughout her illustrious career, she has been a trailblazer, often serving as the first or only female in her position, and along the way has inspired countless others to realize that their full potential.
    Raised on a farm and ranch homesteaded by her grandfather in northeastern Colorado, Horrell’s roots run deep in the Centennial State. She earned her first paycheck by working summers at the Cherub Home, a residential facility for developmentally disabled children in Holyoke. Her professional career began as an Adams County high school teacher, moving from there into state administration at the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education.
    From there she rose through the ranks to become the first female director of the Division of Occupational Education, president of Red Rocks Community College for 10 years. After almost 30 years as an educator, she entered the nonprofit sector as president for the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. In 2016, Horrell became chancellor of the University of Colorado-Denver, where she remains today.
 

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