“I’ve always been deeply involved in charitable work and the community,” says Barbara Barnes Grogan. “It’s really been natural for me; it’s where my soul is fed. It’s the real work; it’s my real purpose on this Earth, and it gives me great joy.”
At an early age, Barbara Barnes Grogan learned the importance of giving back.
“My first role model was my dad. He was a CEO in St. Louis, and he was deeply involved in his church and in his community,” she recalls. “He served on several corporate boards. He was a role model. He did not proselytize it; he just lived it.”
That dedication rubbed off on Grogan, who for years has been an advocate of childhood education, working on educational public policy at a national level as a trustee for the Committee for Economic Development and at the state level as co-chair of Colorado’s Early Childhood Leadership Commission and a member of Colorado’s Education Leadership Council. She also is involved in many nonprofits, including Volunteers of America, and was named the Colorado Nonprofit Association’s 2012 Philanthropist of the Year.
So it’s no surprise Grogan is this year’s recipient of the University’s Community Service Award, given for continuous involvement in community activities or charitable causes.
“It’s about giving back,” Grogan says. “We’ve been really blessed, and I think we have a responsibility to give back. Dan Ritchie continues to be my role model. I watch him, and I’m in awe of all that he does for this community.”
Grogan, who attended DU in the early 1980s, also remains close to the University by serving on the Daniels Executive Advisory Board. She says she owes a lot to her alma mater, as her studies in the MBA program helped her become founder and CEO of Western Industrial Contractors Inc., a position she held for 22 years.
Despite her business success, Grogan says charitable and community work is her ultimate passion.
“I’ve always been deeply involved in charitable work and the community,” she says. “It’s really been natural for me; it’s where my soul is fed. It’s the real work; it’s my real purpose on this Earth, and it gives me great joy.”