Fernie Baca Ph.D.

Dr. Fernie Baca of Denver, Colorado passed away May 17, 2023 after a recurrence of cancer. She was 83 years old. Fernie was born June 30, 1939, on a farm close to LaSalle in Weld County, Colorado. She was the beloved daughter of Jose Manuel Baca and Leda Sierra Baca (both deceased), sister to Polly Baca and Bettie Baca (Alex Rodriguez), aunt to Mani Baca Fierro (deceased), Monica P. Perez, Juan Cristino (Tino) Fierro, and Miguel Baca Barragan (deceased), and great aunt to Eduardo Perez, Jr., Elicia Perez, Mason Manuel Fierro, Sierra Fierro, and Elianna Perez.

When Fernie was five years old, the family moved from the farm, where they worked hoeing sugar beets and doing other farm labor, to the town of Greeley. There she attended public schools and graduated from College High School with honors. She attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where she earned a B.A. in Secondary Education, and the University of Colorado in Boulder, earning an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Guidance & Counseling.

An influential educator, Fernie retired with emeritus status from the University of Colorado at Denver (UCD) in 2001 where she was Associate Vice Chancellor for Research/Creative Activities, Executive Director of the International Training Academy, and a tenured professor in the School of Education. She also served as Dean of the UCD Graduate School where she had the distinction of being the first Hispanic Dean of a graduate school at a major university in the U.S.

Prior to joining the UCD School of Education faculty in January of 1976, Fernie was Director of the Denver Metropolitan Educational Opportunity Center, Counselor and Financial Aid Officer at the Community College of Denver, Coordinator of Denver Public Schools ESEA Title I, and a Merrill Junior High School teacher.

After her retirement, the Dr. Fernie Baca Scholarship Fund at UCD was established to increase educator effectiveness in supporting the academic learning of English-language learners.

In 2012, Fernie was recognized as a “Distinguished Alumna of the Year” by the University of Northern Colorado for “her work encouraging Hispanic youth to stay in school and attend college.” Additional recognition received by Fernie included the Women’s Bank Award for outstanding contribution to education and preservation of the Hispanic culture, the Kellogg Educational Policy Fellowship Service Recognition Award, the Bernie Valdez Award for Excellence in Education from the Latin American Research and Service Agency, the Congress of Hispanic Educators Leadership Award, and the Woman of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of Colorado. Fernie was published in Educational Perspectives, the Elementary School Journal, Research in the Teaching of English, Forum, Multicultural Education S.I.G. Newsletter, Bilingual Resources and other refereed and non-refereed journals and publications.

Active in the community, Fernie served on the Mountain Bell Board of Advisors, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, the Board of Health and Hospitals for the City and County of Denver, the Denver Foundation Civic and Education Advisory Committee, the NIE Post Doctoral Fellowship for Howard University, the Bilingual Advisory Committee for the Children’s Television Workshop, and the Women’s Forum of Colorado Foundation.

Fernie lived a life full of service to others, to deeply engrained values developed from childhood, and to community. She traveled the world several times over with her former husband, Robert L. Hayes, with whom she remained close until her passing. In addition to her family, Fernie is survived by countless friends, colleagues, and students whom she taught, inspired and helped grow in their chosen fields.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held June 20, 2023, 9:30 a.m., Holy Family Catholic Church, 4377 Utica Street, Denver. Burial and reception will follow at Olinger Highland, 10201 North Grant Street, Thornton. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations in Fernie’s name to the University of Colorado at Denver, School of Education and Human Development, https://giving.cu.edu/fund/fernie-baca-scholarship-fund