Key takeaways:
- Beth Christensen, senior procurement and business services advisor and MSU Denver alumna, will retire in October after more than 31 years at the University.
- Christensen helped shape MSU Denver’s purchasing practices, from writing the Purchasing Manual to leading procurement efforts for the Workday implementation.
- Even after her departure, employees will continue to benefit from resources she helped develop, such as the “Pathway to Procurement” workflow and signatory-authorization guidance.
Beth Christensen arrived at MSU Denver as a temporary receptionist in January 1995. More than three decades later, she’ll retire in October after a career spent helping colleagues navigate some of the University’s most complex business processes.
“I’ve always been extremely proud of working for MSU Denver precisely because of our mission to make exceptional education accessible and achievable for everyone,” she said. “Once I started, I never wanted to work anywhere else.”
Her path into procurement began unexpectedly but resulted in what a colleague called “the best services in this area that the University had ever experienced” for more than 20 years.
A career at her alma mater
Christensen said her experience as a student at Metropolitan State College of Denver informed her perspective as an employee.
“I was one of the many students who had to work full time to support myself and pay for school, hoping to improve my future,” she said. “Coming here as a student changed my life, not least because it changed my focus from just wanting a better job to wanting to help others.”
She specifically credited her Philosophy degree studies.
In 2003, MSU Denver faced the potential suspension of its Banner services shortly after winter break. Christensen, then an administrative assistant and office manager in Accounting Services and the Office of the Controller, was asked to take on a contract that involved working with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office despite having no contracting experience.
“(Beth) had to learn how to do them in roughly three weeks in order to complete (a) contract and prevent us from losing our Banner license, which was in danger of being terminated,” said George Middlemist, former associate vice president of Administration and chief financial officer, who worked with Christensen in the Controller’s Office at the time.
Christensen’s success changed the direction of her career. Over the next two decades, she wrote MSU Denver’s Purchasing Manual, helped develop new fiscal and procurement rules with higher education partners, and contributed to cooperative purchasing efforts that generated savings across Colorado institutions.
More recently, she led the procurement portion of MSU Denver’s Workday implementation and developed tools to make purchasing requirements easier for employees to understand.
A legacy of service
Colleagues say Christensen’s commitment extended beyond processes and contracts. After the University’s pandemic-era transition away from campus, she chose to return five days a week because she valued the connection to MSU Denver’s campus community.
“Beth was intentional about her decision to serve MSU Denver,” said Liza Larsen, deputy chief financial officer and controller and Christensen’s current supervisor. “This was not just a job for Beth, but rather a calling to the University’s mission and values.”
That spirit of service carries into her life outside work, where she has rescued stray and feral cats, providing shelter, medical care and homes.
In retirement, Christensen plans to explore another side of herself: launching an antiques business and learning to weld for sculpture.
After 31 years, her work will remain at the foundation of how MSU Denver gets business done.
