Welcomelast updated February 2005 Patricia Hill PascoeBackgroundPatricia (Pat) Pascoe's ancestors were pioneers in Wisconsin where she was born and lived until she was 12. Migrating from Wisconsin to California to St. Louis, she settled with her family in Colorado in 1951. After graduating from Aurora High School in 1953, she went to the University of Colorado on a Joint Honor Scholarship. In 1957 she received her Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude in English and General Studies from the University. She was tapped that year for Phi Beta Kappa. Pat earned her master's degree in English at the University of Denver in 1968. The title of her thesis was "D.H. Lawrence and Christianity." In 1982 she received her Ph. D. degree, also in English, from the University of Denver, with a dissertation entitled "The Political Ideas and the Historical Background in the French Tragedies of George Chapman." Her dissertation director was the head of the English department at that time, Dr. Gunnar Boklund. In 1999 Pat attended the summer Executives in Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University as a Gates Foundation Fellow. Teaching and Writing ExperienceAfter graduation from college Pat taught English for five years at the high school level in California (1957-1960) and later at Kent Denver (1982-1984), seven years at Metropolitan State College (1969-1975), and four years at the University of Denver (1975-77, 1981). Then she became a professional writer, specializing in education and politics. Her articles have appeared in The Denver Post, Colorado Woman News, Denver Parent, The Rocky Mountain News, Denver Magazine, Denver Business, and Headfirst. For several years she was a regular commentator on Leading Voices on KUVO public radio station in Denver. Political ExperienceFirst elected to the State Senate from Denver in 1988, Pat Pascoe served 12 years, from 1989 to 1993, and from 1995-2003, until term limits prevented her running again. In the legislature she sponsored many bills on education improvement (preschool, child care, truancy, bilingual education), freedom of press for students, teen pregnancy, wood smoke pollution reduction, planned growth, organ donations, marital maintenance, spousal protection, domestic partners and other topics. When her party was in control of the Senate, she chaired the Senate Public Policy and Planning Committee (2001) and the Senate Education Committee (2002). Besides winning three close elections of her own, Pat volunteered in many political campaigns and has been a delegate to two National Democratic Conventions (1984 and 1992). Community ActivitiesThe boards that Pat has served on include the following: College of Arts and Sciences Development Council, University of Colorado AwardsSociety of Professional Journalists, Excellence in Journalism, First Place, Editorials A, 1986 |