Colorado State University-Pueblo MAGAZINE Spring/Summer 2007

Potestio to Lead Foundation
A vice president
- fi nancial consultant
for Charles Schwab in
Denver has been hired
to lead the University’s
fund development efforts.
DenaSue Potestio began
her duties as Executive
Director of University
Development on July
2. A Pueblo native,
Potestio was senior
class president at Pueblo
County High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in
mechanical engineering and an MBA from the University of
Denver.
Most recently, Potestio has been accountable for
$320 million in client assets as a vice president-fi nancial
consultant for Charles Schwab and Company in Denver.
Prior to that, she spent two years coordinating prospect
development and marketing strategies as well as counseling
entrepreneurs, small business owners, and other high-networth
clients for Merrill Lynch in Colorado Springs. She
spent four years in Chicago as a senior fi nancial consultant
for Arthur Andersen, where she worked for clients such as
AmocoBP, Chevron, and Philips Petroleum.
Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
David McCullough
The first in a year-long
Voices of America
Distinguished Lecture Series
8 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 25
Hoag Recital Hall
Called the “citizen chronicler” by Librarian of Congress
James Billington, McCullough won a Pulitzer Prize
for his biography of Harry Truman as well as his most
recent biography of President John Adams.
MONEY MATTERS
Friends of Football Gift
Largest in School History
The $6.6 million gift to the University from
the Friends of Football to help resurrect football,
wrestling and women’s track and field is the single
largest donation ever to the University. The Friends
of Football pledged $6.6 million in cash and another
$1 million in in-kind donations to get the three sports
programs started and to build a new track and field and
support building. The Friends of Football are a group
of local business leaders, many of whom are alums and
former athletes of CSU-Pueblo, who came together
several years ago to support and promote football in
Southern Colorado.
President Garcia announced in February his
plan to add the three sports in an effort to help boost
enrollment at CSU-Pueblo. The CSU System Board of
Governors approved the plan at a special meeting in
May.
Contributors of Friends of Football are Dan DeRose
and his father, Eddie DeRose, and his brother, Michael
DeRose; along with Rudy Padula, Robert H. Rawlings,
Mike Roumph, Ted Hernandez, Louie Carleo, William
Mueller, Nick Pannunzio, Bob Root, Ryan Root, Rich
Lane, Michael Salardino, Tony Taibi, Ralph Williams,
and Ted Knowles.
The largest gift prior to that was a $5 million in
1995 from the estate of Anthony “Capps” Capozzolo,
which established the Capps Capozzolo Center for
the Creative and Performing Arts as well as several
scholarships.
Garcia repeatedly has said that he would not have
proposed the plan if it were going to take away from
other programs, including academics.
An endowment will be established to help
supplement the yearly operational costs of the football
program. CSU-Pueblo’s football program was cut in
1985 as part of a campuswide reorganization plan. The
women’s track program was eliminated at the end of the
1992-93 season, and the wrestling program was cut in
May 2001.
The single, largest donations to CSU-Pueblo:
$6.6 million – May, 2007: Friends of Football gives
$6.6 million in cash and $1 million in in-kind donations
to start and sustain the football, wrestling, and women’s
track and field programs.
$5 million – Dec., 2001: Anthony “Capps” Capozzolo
for the establishment of the Capps Capozzolo Center
for the Creative and Performing Arts and several
scholarships.
$2 million – Dec., 2004: Dr. Malik and Seeme
Hasan for construction of the Hasan School of Business
building.
$1.5 million – July, 1997: Art & Lorraine Gonzales
for the baseball program.
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