Click here for a Photo Gallery of Treva’s Retirement Party: https://www.biology.colostate.edu/photos-of-trevas-retirement-party

Treva Creed, Undergraduate Coordinator

For those of you who have been in the Department of Biology for any length of time… you know the building will likely fall down soon – Treva Creed has retired!

She began her time at CSU in Civil Engineering back in 1989. What made her the best candidate for that job was that she understood the proper placement (sub- and super- script) in equations. When she interviewed for the job she assured them she knew Word Perfect, then went to the library and made sure she learned it the weekend before her first day. From Civil Engineering, she served in the front office for the Vice President of Administrative Services.

Then, she left the university to work for a small company for 2 years, but left after they had to borrow money to make salary. When she came back to CSU, she landed in Biology. That was a mere 17 years ago.

Since her time here, she has been the point of contact for all building issues – from flooded labs to ground squirrels in the lobby. (hint: they like peanuts better than almonds) Her calm, quick reaction to crisis has soothed many a frazzled nerve, and if you have a question about how to make something happen on campus, she is the one to ask. If she doesn’t know, after 23 years here, she knows who does.

In addition to her duties as building proctor, Treva has managed the undergraduate course scheduling for the past 8 years. Because of the complexity of that task, she also earned the coveted title of “Spreadsheet Queen” from organizing the many data sets of classes, rooms, textbooks and instructors. She’s seen the undergraduate enrollment double during her tenure here, while some of our students left to continue their education to complete their PhD and then returned to teach.

Treva, left. wins first place in Western Equitation with The Boulder Horse Show Association in 1966

But there are a few things about Treva you may not know. For example, as a young horsewoman in Boulder County, she competed in barrel racing, reining, Western Equitation and Western Pleasure riding, winning lots of ribbons and trophies. She was instrumental in creating the Boulder Horse Show Association which is still in existence today 50 years later.

To finance her horse habit, as a teenager, she talked a couple of neighbors in the area with small unused pastures into letting her cut the grass for hay, kept enough to feed her horses, then sold the extra hay to fund competitions.

And that entrepreneurial spirit continued during her early days as a young rancher’s wife. Her fresh egg business provided steady income, and later she took a turn at raising veal calves. Gardening has always been in the picture. The vegetables she raised in the garden and preserved kept her family in food all winter and into the next spring.

As she moves on to the next, more relaxing phase, Treva plans to return to that garden to dig in the dirt, then sit in the shade with a glass of iced tea and watch the sunset over the mountains.

Treva Creed will soon be back in the saddle again!
Photo taken 1966