Search policy changes OK’D

Adjustments made in process for finding new president

University of Colorado’s Board of Regents approved policy changes, fielded requests and butted heads over the process of searching for a new system president during their first in-person business meeting in more than 18 months on Friday.

Regents approved changes to the search policy to include language about selecting a diverse pool of candidates, to add additional members to the search committee, to clarify public records and nomination requirements and to clarify that there may be more than two regents appointed to the search committee.

The board also elected Regent Lesley Smith to serve as chair of the search committee. Regent Glen Gallegos was nominated to serve as vice chair, but he withdrew his name from consideration during the meeting.

Regent Sue Sharkey spoke in opposition to Gallegos being named vicechair of the search committee.

“In this position as we’re moving forward with the presidential search, good leadership is paramount to this process,” she said. “And some of the qualities I look for are patience and an active listener, an even temper, and because those qualities are not here in this vote for me, my vote will be no.”

Immediately after Sharkey’s statement, Gallegos said he would withdraw his name, stating that it had nothing to do with her comments. Gallegos said that making the position a vicechair, rather than a co-chair, makes a statement about partisanship.

Board Chair Jack Kroll spoke against Sharkey’s comments.

“I have to say I’m disappointed you would bring that forward in such a public manner,” he said. “On this board, we don’t do that to each other. That was inappropriate.”

Gallegos reiterated that his withdrawal was not due to Sharkey’s comments, which he said were untrue.

“I’ve seen you disrupt this board for 10 years, so we could go there as well,” he told Sharkey. “But this has nothing to do … This position requires a lot of work.”

Gallegos said he would fulfill his duties as a regent and that when the board was Republican-controlled, past searches included co-chairs of search committees.

Kroll made a motion to lay over the issue until a later meeting and Regent Heidi Ganahl asked to amend the motion to make Gallegos a co-chair, but the discussion ended when Kroll’s motion passed.

Ganahl said she didn’t agree with putting it off for a future meeting because of how much work needed to be done. Gallegos later told the Camera he is not interested in co-chairing the search committee, either.

The changes to regent policy will add an additional student and additional staff member to the search committee, as well as one member of the University of Colorado Foundation Board of Directors.

During his report to the board earlier in the meeting, staff council chair Ryan Untisz asked the board to amend its motion to include an additional staff member on the search committee, which they did.

Untisz said that just based on the number of employees, there are more staff members than faculty members in the CU system, yet there are more faculty members represented on the search committee.

“We think it’s more than fair to request an additional seat,” he said.

Regent Nolbert Chavez was the only regent to vote against the amendment, stating that he didn’t like the spirit in which it was initially requested at a regent committee meeting.

After the meeting, Untisz said staff members are pleased that the regents decided to add an additional staff member to the search committee.

“I think it will improve staff’s confidence in a fair and equitable search process,” he said.