Stephen McCandless ’63
Alumnus Supports Programs That Promote Safe and Healthy Relationships in Students
Stephen ’63 and Carolyn McCandless are on a mission to end domestic violence by supporting programs at Colorado School of Mines Foundation that promote safe, healthy behaviors and relationships. Their motivation comes from the loss of Stephen’s sister, Betsy McCandless, to domestic violence.
Like other alumni, Colorado School of Mines Foundation prepared Stephen McCandless ’63 for a successful career in the financing of copper mining, smelting and in a start-up-venture. Today, Stephen and his wife, Carolyn, have embarked on a second career; a career with a personal touch—helping educate organizations and communities about recognizing early signs of distress and helping victims escape harmful domestic violence situations.
Driven by the loss of his sister, Betsy McCandless, to domestic violence, Stephen made fighting domestic violence through education his calling. Betsy was an intelligent, independent, successful woman who worked hard to create a life she loved. However, she married a man who controlled her life, finances and career goals. With help from friends, Betsy eventually left her husband, filed for a divorce and began building a new life for herself. But only a few months later, her abusive ex-husband murdered Betsy, leaving her family and friends devastated.
“The tragedy of domestic violence is pervasive throughout society, imposing great costs emotionally, physically and financially in its wake. There is no part of society that is free from this tragedy. It damages both rich and poor, well-educated and less educated, members of all racial or ethnic groups and sexual orientations,” Stephen shares.
In the brief span of time after she had escaped her abusive marriage, Betsy made it clear that she wanted to help others so they wouldn’t suffer like she did. The McCandlesses have taken up Betsy’s fight and support programs at Mines Foundation that promote safe, healthy behaviors and relationships. In 2019, Stephen and Carolyn made a gift to support student victims of interpersonal violence. After becoming more involved with Mines Foundation, they decided to create an endowed fund named Betsy's Friends Peer Educator Endowed Fund.
In 2020, the McCandlesses took advantage of the Preston Legacy Challenge—a matching gift campaign that makes planned gifts eligible for a 10% match that could be directed for immediate use—to support their fund and help ensure its longevity. The Betsy's Friends Peer Education Program focuses on developing student campus leaders who gain and practice the skills needed to act as positive role models for the Mines Foundation community.
“I am so pleased at the work they do as engineering students, to take time out to do this work on healthy relationships, mental health and other health. They do the work with innovation and imagination,” says Stephen of the peer educators he has met.
Stephen is inspired by the students’ dedication to their mission and hopes that others in the Mines Foundation community can find similar inspiration in a program, organization or department on campus that they can contribute to.
“It was a strange turn of events that brought me back to campus after all these years, but it’s good to be home,” says Stephen.
Your future gift can help transform the lives of Mines Foundation students today and for years to come. Learn more about your giving options by contacting Colorado School of Mines Foundation at 303-273-3275 or giftplanning@mines.edu.