The University of Colorado needs a visionary leader with substance and integrity who can “reinstate the prestige” of CU, regents told a committee starting the search for a new president Wednesday.
The 12-member committee, including faculty, administrators and a student, has $300,000 to interview applicants, make campus visits and narrow the list to no more than three candidates.
The committee also will hire a consultant to help with recruiting, advertising and salary analysis.
“We’re going to look for the best candidate, whether that takes six months or a year and a half,” Regent Steve Bosley said.
Former U.S. Sen. Hank Brown, who took charge of CU on Monday, will stay on as interim president until the regents name a permanent one. Brown has not said whether he will put his name in the running for the permanent job.
“The current president embodies many of the things that we are looking for,” Regent Cindy Carlisle said. “I specifically am looking for substance instead of style.”
Regent Jerry Rutledge said CU has seen the stress a “lack of leadership” causes.
“We’ve seen in the last weeks what a calming effect a strong leader has,” he said.
Regents said they want a president with an academic background but would consider candidates who are leaders in the private or corporate sector. They also want someone who will stick around for a while.
“We’ve had a number of presidents at this university in the past 10 years,” Regent Pat Hayes said. “We need somebody who’s going to settle us down. It’s more difficult to do this than find a spouse.”
The presidential search committee will report its progress to the regents in December.
Wednesday was Brown’s first regents meeting as president. He proposed a commission to study diversity on campus after several racial incidents in recent months, including racist graffiti and violence against minorities.
Brown wants a committee to recommend how to increase diversity and whether more money should be spent on recruiting minority students.
Brown also said there will be changes in the school’s diversity report that will make the school’s minority recruitment efforts more transparent and analyze the costs of the program.
“I am convinced we can make progress here,” Brown told the regents.
The regents also debated whether they should hire interns who would be given school credit to help board members do their jobs and keep in touch with constituents.
Regent Michael Carrigan wanted to start interviewing students for the position, but several regents were concerned that individual interns might create extra work for board staff. The proposal will be discussed in October.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at jenbrown@denverpost.com or 303-820- 1593.
