Boulder – The new president of the University of Colorado eliminated 10 jobs in his office after just a few hours on the job today, saying the steps should save more than $800,000 annually.
Hank Brown, a former U.S. senator, cut six vacant jobs and two positions held by people who will retire later this year or already have.
Two other jobs left open by resignations will not be filled.
Brown said the savings of $824,00, which includes salaries and benefits, will help the school “in dealing with ongoing budget constraints.” Brown was appointed interim CU president in April after 16 months of scandals and embarrassments that have tarnished the school’s image. President Elizabeth Hoffman stepped down at the end of June amid the fallout from the football recruiting scandal and the ethics investigation of ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill.
Brown, 65, is president and chief executive of the Daniels Fund, a charitable foundation started by cable magnate Bill Daniels.
Before joining the foundation, he was president of the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley from 1998 to 2002. A Republican, he also served five terms in the U.S. House and one in the Senate, leaving Congress in 1997.
Brown now oversees a four-campus, 49,000-student system. He takes over at a time when the university and the Legislature are struggling to find ways to fund higher education. Brown has said he supports the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, the constitutional amendment that limits increases in taxes and spending, but supports proposed changes to ease the restraints on funding education and other areas.
On Nov. 1, voters will decide two measures: Referendum C, which would temporarily lift the spending limits on state government imposed by TABOR; and Referendum D, which would allow the state to borrow up to $2.1 billion for roads, school maintenance, pensions and other projects. Referendum C must pass for Referendum D to take effect.
