State’s largest universities look for presidents
Colorado’s two largest universities each are moving forward with plans to replace outgoing presidents who came into their jobs a decade ago and led their respective research institutions through a crippling recession and into nation al prominence with burgeoning enrollments.
Bruce Benson, 80, announced in July his plans to retire next summer as president of the fourcampus University of Colorado system. Under his 10year tenure, CU’s research funding has reached unprecedented levels — including a new
record of $1.053 billion in 20172018. CU Boulder is annually considered among the nation’s top public universities.
Tony Frank, 58, last month revealed he, too, will step down next summer as president of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, though he will remain chancellor, a position overseeing CSU’s threecampus system that he’s also held since June 2015.
Since becoming president in 2009, federal research dollars poured into CSU at levels exceeding $300 million a year. CSU this year set a new record, spending $375 million on research. And with investments topping $1.5 billion, renovations — including the construction of a new football stadium — have changed the face of the Fort Collins campus.
“These are going to be big shoes to fill,” said Fort Collins Mayor Wade Troxell of both men.
Unusually long presidential tenures
The tenures of both Benson and Frank have been long, something highly unusual in today’s academic world, where most university presidents last a little more than four years, Troxell said. That longevity could be attributed to their deep commitment to each school, he added. “They have a special relationship with the people and the institutions around them.”
Frank rose through the academic ranks at CSU, serving as provost and executive vice president, chair of the pathology department and associate dean for research in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science. Most importantly, Troxell said, Frank “engages just about everybody on campus. He remembers their names, he sends out personal emails. He is just a natural leader.”
Frank assumed the presidency after Larry Edward Penley, who had become CSU’s 13th president in 2003, following Albert Yates, who took over as the university’s president in 1990.
Benson succeeded Hank Brown in 2008 following a period of high turnover, becoming the fifth person to occupy that office since 2000. He’s now the longestserving CU president in the past 65 years. Some decried his appointment at the time because Benson, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate, lacked an advanced academic degree — he earned his bachelor’s degree in geology at CU Boulder in 1963. Instead, he forged a career in oil and gas, banking, real estate and restaurants.
But Benson always kept close to CU, even helping raise $14 million for CU’s geology department.
CU was lucky to nab him, said Sue Sharkey, chair of the CU Board of Regents. “I don’t know where this university would be without Bruce Benson,” Sharkey said. “It’s going to be a sad day for me when he leaves.”
His successor will inherit one of the most complex and important jobs in the state, she said.
“CU influences so much in this state and many people don’t even know it. There are lots of stakeholders and many things are at stake, not only for each university, but for the state as a whole,” she said. “It’s not like any other job out there.”
In all, U.S. university and college enrollment has fallen 6 percent in the last four years. Many prospective students are opting out of college altogether due to high tuition, fears of getting tangled in longlasting debt and dealing with politically correct environments.
And while CU and CSU are grappling with many of the same issues, enrollment at both institutions, once again, is up this fall. In all, the CU system saw a 2 percent rise over a year ago and CSU enjoyed its 11th consecutive year of record enrollment.
Both CSU and CU enjoy advantages other universities lack, including top research and hightech environments while residing in one of the most desirable locales in the United States, officials from both institutions say.
“It is a national search and there are bound to be quite a few people interested in coming here,” CSU spokesman Mike Hooker said.
Potential candidates might even cross paths at Denver International Airport, either leaving or arriving for an interview at either university.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if a prospective candidate would be interested in both CU and CSU,” Sharkey said. “I guess we’ll have to wait an see how that will come together.”
National search getting underway
BothCUandCSU—with a combined enrollment of about 100,000 students across the two systems’ multiple campuses — have hired nationally known search firms to begin the process of seating new presidents by next summer.
CU hired Wheless Partners Consulting and Executive Search earlier this month to help find a replacement for Benson, who oversees an annual budget of $4.5 billion and 35,000 employees.
CSU hired the Parker Executive Search firm, which has conducted more than 2,000 seniorlevel searches over the past 30 years, to fill the slot being vacated by Frank. CSU is the largest employer in Fort Collins with more than 7,400 faculty and staff, and a $1.22 billion budget.
Both universities also are using advisory committees comprised of business owners, faculty, students and alumni to help narrow the final choices down to one. Each school’s governing body will then make the final pick.
There is no indication yet whether an educator or someone from the business world — like Benson — is favored for either job. “I think the advisory committee will work that out as the process moves along,” CSU’s Hooker said.
They’re both wellpaying jobs. Benson, who repeatedly turned down raises and even took a pay cut during the recession, makes about $359,000 a year. Frank’s total compensation this year is $775,000, though that also covers his position as system chancellor.
Any prospective candidate for either university’s top job will have to take into account the close relationships the schools have with the cities they reside in, officials say.
Troxell, a CSU faculty member, said Frank made working with Fort Collins a top priority, and it reaped benefits. An intergovernmental agreement with the city helped CSU open the school’s new $220 million football stadium in August 2017, Troxell said.
CSU and Fort Collins also have aligned for a transportation system that feeds into the campus. “In many places, working together like that is unheard of,” Troxell said. “CSU and Fort Collins have been virtually connected at the hip, and I hope we can keep that relationship in the future.”
Boulder Mayor Suzanne JonessaidthenewCUpresident should continue collaborating with the city that’s home to its flagship campus on providing more affordable housing for students, creating policies to reduce the effects of climate change, and enhancing a more diverse student body.
“We hope we can continue to cooperate on a variety of areas,” Jones said.