Sue O'Brien, former associate dean
By Matt Williams

Sue O'Brien

Sue O'Brien, former School of Journalism and Mass Communication associate dean and director of the master's program, succumbed to a third bout of cancer in August, leaving a void in the hearts of her many friends and colleagues.

O'Brien, 64, the editorial page editor of The Denver Post, was a pioneer in Colorado media, trailblazing a role for women in the news business.

"She has left three decades or more of her fingerprints all over Colorado," wrote William Dean Singleton, Denver Post publisher, in an Aug. 7 obituary. "I've often said Sue is the conscience of the Post. But I'd carry that further. She could be called the conscience of Colorado."

She was posthumously inducted into the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame on Sept. 5.

O'Brien was born March 6, 1939, in Waukon, Iowa. She was a self-described military brat and moved often, once living in Hawaii, where she claimed to be "the best comic hula dancer on Oahu."

She graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa with honors in English and journalism. O'Brien later earned a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University.

O'Brien's 35-year career spanned media, politics and academia.

In 1968, she began as a radio reporter for Colorado's KTLN/KTLK-AM. For the next seven years, O'Brien worked in radio and television for all-news KBTR-AM and for KOA-Channel 4, now called KCNC. In 1975, she spent a year in New York working for NBC Radio as a news anchor and reporter.

After a long hiatus, O'Brien returned to professional journalism in 1995 when she was hired as the editor of The Denver Post editorial pages. She worked at the Post until shortly before her death.

"The mood of the editorial page certainly has changed since Sue's death," said Fred Brown, Sunday columnist for The Denver Post. "In the newsroom as well as the editorial page, Sue was a highly respected and very popular figure."

O'Brien was especially fond of media ethics. She wrote in the April 2002 edition of Quill, the magazine of the Society of Professional Journalists:

"You have to know when you're going from your gut rather than your head and recuse yourself from the decision or the story if you can't shake the impulse. I've abstained from editorial-board decisions on several topics -- including, most hurtfully, the decision on whether to endorse my own son's race for the state Senate."

During most of the 1980s, O'Brien worked in politics, first as Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm's press secretary beginning in 1980, then as Gov. Roy Romer's campaign manager in 1985.

O'Brien moved into academia in 1988, joining the faculty of the School for seven years, first as an associate professor and then as an associate dean and director of the master's program.

Paul Voakes, new dean of the SJMC, said O'Brien tutored him on the history of the school as well as many other aspects of the program. He was flattered that O'Brien took him "under her wing" during the last five weeks of her life. "She was known all over the country," Voakes added.

O'Brien used her limitless energy to nurture CU journalism students. She was not afraid to give aspiring journalists direct advice in her distinctive, raspy voice.

O'Brien was cherished as much for her colorful personality as her professional accomplishments.

"Sue was an anomaly," Associate Professor Len Ackland said, adding that in an era dominated by political correctness, she was refreshingly blunt.

O'Brien overcame alcoholism, which demonstrated her resolve. After a much-publicized drunken-driving accident in 1983, she took a leave of absence from Gov. Lamm's administration and sought treatment. From that point forward, she attended weekly meetings with fellow travelers.

O'Brien also was a fan of salty humor. Neil Westergaard, the editor of the Denver Business Journal, told a funny anecdote during O'Brien's CPA Hall of Fame induction:

"Lamm's people were stonewalling me on some issue. A friend called one morning to tell me that he had seen the governor that morning at the gym and, in fact, had gotten dressed next to him in the locker room.

"My friend told me, 'I noticed that the governor pulled his underpants on inside out.' Whereupon, I called Sue and told her I was tired of pussyfooting around on the story she was trying to hide from me. I told her she might as well give up the information I was seeking because I'd get it eventually anyway.

"She said, 'Your sources aren't that great, kid,' or some such thing. I shot back, 'Look, Sue, my sources are good enough to know that at this very moment, the governor has his shorts on inside out. Have him go check.' She laughed so hard she almost choked."

Perhaps O'Brien's character is best described by Dan Haley, Denver Post editorial writer, in the Aug. 17, 2003, Perspective section: "Sue O'Brien was one of the last great newspaperwomen: tough when she had to be, fair to an extreme, raucous, bold and as interesting as any fictional character. Her stance on important issues came from soul-searching and conscientious thought, not party-line politics. She knew this state intimately and was more 'Coloradan' than most natives. She often reveled in her initials, SOB, but even for a woman who was many things, an SOB wasn't one of them."

Dean Paul Voakes said, "She was one of the most steadfast friends our school has ever had. She loved this school, and we loved her right back." Before her death, O'Brien asked that any memorial contributions go toward the CU journalism school's building fund. Checks payable to the CU Foundation, with the notation "In memory of Sue O'Brien," can be sent to CU Foundation, University of Colorado, P.O. Box 1140, Boulder, CO 80306.

O'Brien is survived by her husband, John Seifert, and three adult children.