Magazine Feature / People

Women’s College dean emerita awarded for being ‘bold’

Michele “Mike” Bloom, dean emerita of the Women’s College of the University of Denver, was recognized by the Women’s Foundation of Colorado at the foundation’s 20th anniversary celebration luncheon Nov. 14.

Bloom was one of 20 women who received the “Be Bold” Award, which recognizes the leadership of Colorado women who are positively impacting women and girls’ economic self-sufficiency across the state. 

Bloom served DU from 1989 until her retirement in 2006. During her time at the University, she ushered the school through a variety of milestones, including the evolution of the Women’s College from DU’s Weekend College, and the vision, creation, and opening of the Chambers Center for the Advancement of Women on the DU campus. The Chambers Center houses the Women’s College, the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and HERS (Higher Education Resource Services).

“I was especially honored to receive this award from the foundation for my work with the Women’s College and the Chambers Center,” says Bloom. “The Women’s Foundation believed in and supported my vision for the college and for a home to house our organizations and to create synergy of purpose and action for women.”

Two other DU-affiliated women also received a “Be Bold” nod. Jean East, an associate professor in the Graduate School of Social Work, is the co-director and founder of Project Wise, a non-profit agency providing empowerment services to low-income women in self-sufficiency programs. 

DU alum and philanthropist Cydney Marsico (BSBA ’78, MBA ’80) actively supports organizations that address issues ranging from cystic fibrosis and genomics to women and children’s issues.  With her husband Tom, she created the Marsico Initiative, which was dedicated to boosting undergraduate academic intensity in the arts and sciences at DU. She is also a Founders Circle donor to the Chambers Center.

The Women’s Foundation’s mission is for every woman in Colorado to be economically self-sufficient and every girl in Colorado to be on the path to economic self-sufficiency in adulthood.


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