Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame honors CU faculty

Anseth

Ford

Kristi S. Anseth, a University of Colorado Boulder biomedical engineer, and Loretta C. Ford, co-founder of the national nurse practitioner movement that began at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, will be inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame during a March 8, 2012, ceremony. The two join eight other women selected by an independent panel of community members from nominations submitted from across the state.

Anseth is a pioneer in biomedical engineering and a leading researcher and inventor in the fields of biomaterials and regenerative medicine. Her research includes work on developing biological tissue substitutes that restore, maintain or improve tissue function, from helping broken bones heal faster to replacing diseased heart valves. Anseth has 17 patents in biomaterials and tissue engineering, and was a founding member of Mosaic Biosciences, which translates research results into useful products for today’s medicine. She was the first engineer to be named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and was a 2004 Alan T. Waterman award winner, the highest award of the National Science Foundation for demonstrated exceptional individual achievement in scientific or engineering research.

Ford was a U.S. Army/Air Force nurse in World War II, and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Colorado School of Nursing. She worked as a public health nurse and then as director of nursing for Boulder City/County Health Department. Ford became a full professor at the University of Colorado and then developed the nurse practitioner curriculum and model of nursing practice in collaboration with Henry Silver. Ford’s vision -- that nurses with advanced education could provide diagnostic and treatment services to improve patient care -- originated in Colorado and resulted in improved access to primary health care for underserved populations. The practice has spread across the country and world.

Other 2012 contemporary inductees are: Temple Grandin, Ph.D., animal sciences expert and autism advocate; Ding-Wen Hsu, businesswoman and Asian communities leader; Mary Ann Kerwin, women’s health advocate; and Mary J. Mullarkey, Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Historical inductees are: Janet Petra Bonnema, transportation engineer; Fannie Mae Duncan, Colorado Springs businesswoman and entrepreneur; Erinea Garcia Gallegos, educator and San Luis Valley postmaster; and Laura Gilpin, photographer.

“These women exemplify the best qualities of the people who have built and sustained Colorado,” says Ruby Mayeda, chair of the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. “They will join the other 122 outstanding women who have shared vision, foresight and the power of accomplishment to become inductees into the Hall of Fame.”

Founded in 1985, the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history of the accomplishments of past and present Colorado women. Both historical and contemporary women have shared foresight, vision, and the power of accomplishment but lacked a forum for recognition. The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame ensures that their splendid achievements will not be forgotten.