Brother Ed Estlow didn’t need a Master’s degree to become the president and chief executive officer of the E.W. Scripps Co, one of the largest media conglomerates in the country.
With the leadership skills he said he learned during his tenure at Beta-Omicron, he started from the bottom and worked his way up.
Brother Estlow was a sports wizard of sorts, being named most valuable player for DU’s varsity football team in 1941. His speed andagility also earned him captain of the varsity track team in 1942.
And his time at Beta-Omicron shouldn’t be ignored either. Within one year of his initiation at Beta-Omicron in 1941, Brother Estlow picked up the leadership award.
After attaining his bachelors degree in 1942, Brother Estlow went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force during World War II where he rose to the rank of Captain.
After the war, Brother Estlow went back to DU to study law. Then, his business career began to skyrocket. He became part owner and general manager of the Lovington Press, in New Mexico. He moved back to Denver in 1952 as a member of the retail-advertising department, which was, in essence, the heart of one of Denver’s largest newspapers. There, he went on to become business manager.
In 1970, Brother Estlow hit the big time, moving to Scripps Howard Executive Offices in New York City as the media giant’s Assistant General Business Manager. Before taking the reins, he was General
Business Manager of its newspaper section, then Vice President.
And if his plate wasn’t already full, Brother Estlow notched numerous other leadership roles in the industry and the community on his belt. He was Chairman of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau, and Director of the American Newspaper Publisher’s Association, one of the main vehicles that brought journalism in the United States past its first golden era. He also held director positions for the Advertising Council, the Western Capital Investment Corporation, and three Bermuda insurance companies.
Alas, Brother Estlow didn’t forget his alma mater. During his 27 years on the Denver University Board of Trustees, he has spent five years as Chairman and three years as Vice Chairman. He was also the Alumni Association Chairman from 1968 to 1970.
In 1982, Estlow was the recipient of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s distinguished Isaiah Thomas Award for his contributions to newspaper management. He also received DU’s Evans Award as a distinguished alumnus. He even had a lecture series named after him at DU.
Despite his retirement, his legacy lives on. His grandson is now a Kappa Sigma.
When asked what Beta-Omicron and Kappa Sigma meant to him, he said “they taught me the values of leadership, compatibility and loyalty that carried over into life after college.”
No wonder why Brother Estlow’s name is listed in the Leadership Directories, the who’s who of business leaders across the country.
