Koelbel - 402C
B.S. United States Military Academy 1964
M.B.A. (cum laude) The American University 1971
J.D. The George Washington University Law School 1975
Doctoral Studies, University of Colorado at Boulder
Leeds School of Business 2010-2011
Military Career (1964 - 1976)
Six years active and six years reserve duty. Infantry Commander and Staff Officer with the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington and The Republic of Viet Nam; instructor at the Air Mobile School at Fort Eustis, Virginia; and, Reserve Staff Officer with the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Pentagon. Awards and decorations include Airborne, Ranger, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal and various service medals.
Political and Public Service Career (1969 - 1977, 1980 - 1984)
United States Congress as Legislative Assistant to Member of Congress and member of the Armed Services Committee; Department of the Treasury as Special Assistant to the Secretary responsible for tax policy issues; The White House as Special Assistant to the President for Tax and Energy Legislative Affairs; The White House Senior Staff as Assistant to the President and Director of the Presidential Personnel Office; Department of Education as Interim General Counsel and Counselor to the Secretary of Education; State Department as Special Counsel to the Administrator of The Agency for International Development. Served as Member of the Education Appeals Board, The President's Commission on Personnel Interchange, the Distinguished Federal Civilian Service Awards Board, The Board of Visitors to the United States Military Academy, Chairman, and presently Trustee Emeritus, West Point Board of Trustees.
Legal Career (1977 - 1997)
Private practice of law as Senior Partner with national firm. Various domestic and international business transactions; representation before Federal agencies and the Congress; representation of Cabinet Officer held in Contempt of Congress and resolution of charges; representation of corporate case on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Transactional practice focused on business and real estate contractual issues and finance, both domestic and international. As a retained attorney by the Federal Government, responsibility for negotiation of civil rights matters in the Departments of Education and Justice. Negotiated and resolved the North Carolina higher education desegregation lawsuit for the Department of Education and the Department of Justice. Negotiated, resolved and created compliance plan for college Title IX regulations for the Department of Education. For the State Department advised the Nation of Liberia on the creation of its National Constitution. Member of the District of Columbia and Federal Bar.
Business Career (1989 - 2011)
Entrepreneur and commercial real estate developer in Washington D.C., Seattle, Washington and New York. Privatization of Federal government real property and military housing at Fort Lewis, Washington as co-developer of the $800 million military housing portfolio. Ownership, privatization and $29 million historical redevelopment of The Thayer Hotel at West Point, New York. Principal owner of The Thayer Hotel and General Partner of Hudson River Partners, the owning entity. Development responsibilities entailed infrastructure, architectural and engineering design, construction oversight, and structuring and executing multimillion dollar financing arrangements. Hospitality industry as owner, asset manager and financial principal of hotel property with staff of 300 employees. Central role in devising and structuring creative solutions to complicated business transactions and real estate financing.
Ranching Career (2005 - 2010)
Co-developed 160 acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley of Central California. Developed range land for livestock herd, horses and cattle, and agricultural crops and accompanying ranch buildings and living quarters. Sustainability concept with deep drilled wells for water and 100% solar power for electricity.
Academic Career (2011 - Present)
Faculty member in the Organizational Leadership and Information Analytics Department of the Leeds School of Business. In the Organizational Leadership Department teach Executive MBA students Power, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution and Graduate MBA students Executive Leadership, Management of Organizational Change, Negotiating and Conflict Management and Consulting Skills. Additionally, teach undergraduate business students Critical Leadership, Becoming a Leader, Employee Relations, Hiring and Retaining Human Resources and Negotiations and Conflict Management, integrating ethics and social responsibility principles. In all of my teaching, I discuss legal principles related to Constitutional, Contract and Agency law.
Academic Awards
- The 2016-2017 CU Involvement Integrity Award that is given to one Faculty member on the Boulder campus
- The MBA Teaching Excellence Award by the Leeds School of Business MBA Class of 2019 that is given to one MBA Faculty member
- Frascona Teaching Excellence Award…Graduate and Undergraduate Finalist Spring 2022
- Who’s Who in America 2021