Jan. 26, 2006 Communique

Hiring a president is a momentous event in the life of a university. It is, of course, far from the only crucial event here at CU. In the scheme of things, many other activities are more important: students earning degrees, faculty engaging in research discoveries and in creative work, faculty and staff serving the university and the larger community, staff fostering a positive learning environment, and the teaching, learning and research in classrooms and labs from Colorado Springs to Denver, from Boulder to Aurora.

Yet we all know the importance of leadership in promoting an environment that allows our fundamental activities to thrive. Hiring and evaluating the university’s president is the primary job of the Board of Regents, and it is a responsibility we take seriously. It is also one that requires broad input and the benefits of our shared governance system. When President Hank Brown told the board last week he would step down in a year, we were keenly aware that the decisions the board will make in the coming months will shape CU for years to come.

We should note that President Brown isn’t leaving tomorrow. He gave the board and university community the courtesy of fulfilling his promise to give us a year’s notice of his departure. This will allow us to take a thoughtful, measured approach to finding our next president.

In addition, we will continue to benefit from President Brown’s leadership as we pursue the initiatives we have in motion. It is a difficult time for funding higher education in Colorado, and it is important that we maintain positive momentum and continue to earn public confidence in the university. The work we do over the next year will also lay the groundwork for our next president.

Finding our 22nd president will be a collective endeavor. While the board will make the final selection, we understand how important it is to hear many voices along the way. We will follow the very clear policies for presidential searches in Colorado Revised Statutes and Regent Law (www.cu.edu/regents/policies/policy3E.htm).

The first step is for the board to conduct an environmental assessment of internal and external constituents to get a clear sense of the challenges we face. We will then refine the job description, select members of the presidential search committee and give a charge to the committee. We believe the initial steps can be completed by spring break, but the overall process will extend well into the next academic year. To the extent that we are not bound by privacy considerations, we will keep you apprised of our progress.

Obviously, slots on the search committee are limited. We understand that many people and groups, both internal and external to the university, have a stake in a successful search. The board will carefully consider many viewpoints before naming the search committee, just as we will consider many viewpoints throughout the search process and before selecting CU’s next president. We plan for a thorough and exhaustive search.

Our shared governance process gives us the advantage of hearing the wisdom of faculty and staff leadership. Recommendations from our shared governance leaders will be of special interest and value to us. We also want to encourage nominations of those who may be outside traditional governance groups.

We embark on this search with a sense of optimism for the future of this great university. That optimism is embodied in the great work that occurs daily across the University of Colorado system. Thank you for all you do toward that endeavor.

Pat Hayes

Chair of the University of Colorado Board of Regents.