Harold And Betty Short Fact Sheet
Friday, November 7, 1997
Harold Short graduated in 1940 from Colorado State with a
bachelor's degree in civil engineering. As a student, he was
active in the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, Pacemakers and ROTC. At
Colorado State, he met his wife, Betty, who studied home
economics and served as president of Panhellenic Council.
Following graduation, Harold Short worked briefly designing
bridges for the state of Wyoming. He was commissioned in the
Field Artillery, and in 1941 he was called to active duty. Short
served 5 years in the Army during World War II, earned the rank
of lieutenant colonel and received two Bronze Stars and the
Purple Heart.
After the war, Short worked in the construction industry as
project manager for Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc. In 1953, Short's
aspiration to go into business for himself led to a partnership
with J.G. Milne in Milne Ready Mixed Concrete Inc. in Boulder.
Under Short's management, the company evolved from a small
sand and gravel outfit into Flatiron Companies, a group of
construction firms founded in 1972. The firms' operations
included paving, concrete, sand and gravel, and development.
Today, the Flatiron Companies engage in land development and
property management services, and Short continues to serve as
chairman of the board.
Short's contributions to the business and civic community
have included service as the chairman of the National Ready Mixed
Concrete Association; director, regional vice chairman and board
member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; president of the Colorado
Contractor's Association; and member of the National Asphalt
Association and National Sand and Gravel Association.
Short has served as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Committee on the Environment, chairman of Mountain States
Employers Council, trustee of the Mountain States Legal
Foundation, trustee of Colorado State University Alumni
Foundation, director of Affiliated Bankshares of Colorado,
director and chairman of Arapaho National Bank, director of First
National Bank of Boulder, and president of the Boulder Rotary
Club and Boulder Chamber of Commerce.
Harold and Betty Short have a long history of supporting
Colorado State. They have established endowment scholarships
throughout the university, have made land contributions, and have
given to many university campaigns. They made the first major
gift to launch the Morgan Library campaign.
The Shorts' recent $2 million gift to the engineering and
physics campaign is the largest individual donation in Colorado
State's history. The gift will help fund the expansion and
renovation of the Engineering Building as well as establish an
endowed chair in the College of Engineering.
The Shorts have three children, Mary Kay Short McDowell,
Carol Patton and James Short. The Short family's connection to
Colorado State University extends to Mary Kay Short McDowell and
her husband, Ed McDowell, who both earned degrees from Colorado
State. James Short also is a Colorado State alumnus.
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