Arapahoe House announces interim CEO

Arapahoe House, Colorado-based nonprofit provider of drug and alcohol treatment, recently announced that its current deputy director and COO, Arthur Schut, has been appointed interim CEO effective immediately.  David G. Murphy has resigned as CEO of the nonprofit.       

Murphy was with Arapahoe House for nearly 20 years. Most of his tenure was as operations manager and deputy director of the Arapahoe House Foundation, but took the role of CEO in 2006.  Under Murphy’s leadership, the organization experienced many successes including the acquisition and sale of Centennial Peaks Hospital.

Art Schut has held his current position as deputy director and COO of Arapahoe House since 2008. Prior to this, he served as president & CEO of Mid-Eastern Council on Chemical Abuse (MECCA) of Iowa for 25 years. He also held a faculty appointment to the graduate program in substance abuse counseling at the University of Iowa for over two decades. He was co-principal investigator of an addiction technology transfer center, and co-project director of a practice improvement collaborative. Art has been involved in the delivery of alcohol and drug treatment and prevention services in Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, New York and California, serving as executive and clinical director in several comprehensive community-based programs. 

Schut served on the executive committee and as president of State Associations of Addictions Services (SAAS); he continues involvement as a past president. He has also served on numerous public policy boards, clinical task forces and work groups, and expert panels. He has been involved with a variety of substance-use disorder evidence based practice, quality, and process improvement efforts.  Schut was the recipient of the State Associations of Addiction Services National Excellence in Leadership Award in 2007.

“On behalf of the board of directors, we thank David for his long tenure and service to Arapahoe House,” stated Mike Butler, Arapahoe House board president. “Art’s appointment to interim CEO assures no disruption of services to our clients. We look forward to working with him to further carry out our mission.”