Paying Tribute to Ann Korologos

Ann Korologos, a member of the Colorado Mountain College President’s Advisory Council and longtime donor to the CMC Foundation, died January 30, 2023, after battling an illness.  She was 81.  She loved the Roaring Fork Valley and was a Chair Emeritus of both the Aspen Institute and Anderson Ranch and was also known for her Ann Korologos Gallery in Basalt, where she showcased contemporary Western artists.

On the national scale, she was a true trailblazer. Ann served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Ronald Reagan. As Secretary of Labor, Ann was noted as being ahead of her time as a supporter of affirmative-action policies. She also served as the Under Secretary of the Department of the Treasury.

Additionally, Ann was tapped to serve as Chairman of the President's Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism after the Pan American Airways bombing in Lockerbie, Scotland.

She was also a trailblazer in business. The Washington Post wrote that she was often hailed as a glass-ceiling breaker for women as a member of corporate boards. Some of those boards included the Kellogg Company, American Airlines, Microsoft Corporation, Fannie Mae, Michael Kors, and Host Hotels & Resorts.

When President Reagan welcomed Ann as his Secretary of Labor, he called her a “woman of uncommon experience and competence, and a woman who will continue the tradition of strong leadership.”

Colorado Mountain College President Carrie Besnette Hauser expressed these thoughts at the passing of Ann:

“Ann was a friend to the college and became a dear trusted mentor and friend of mine. Her intellect and passion for service was evident, as was her strong belief that our economic vitality as a nation and region was dependent on educating our workforce, and that education should be available to all who desired to learn and better themselves. She was warm and generous, thoughtful, and kind.”

Our deepest thoughts go out to her husband, Tom Korologos, a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium, and to her extended family and countless friends.

It was an honor to have been able to call her a dear friend of Colorado Mountain College.