Boulder – City Councilman Jack Stoakes said he is about as comfortable with the University of Colorado moving the president’s office to Denver as Titanic passengers were with icebergs.
Like CU’s Boulder campus, he said, the Titanic was a flagship.
“Maybe this little move is just the tip of the iceberg,” he told CU officials Tuesday night. He also reminded them that “the Titanic was unsinkable, but, well, you know what happened.”
His comments were part of a cordial get-together where council members expressed unease at the president’s office possibly being moved.
The main concern among council members: the president’s office today, the centerpiece of the university – and the jobs and revenue connected to it – tomorrow.
“The value of having that leadership on-site is priceless to us,” council member Robin Bohannan said. “The perception issue is one that we are tasked with. … Not having a leader here could be perceived as problematic.”
But CU officials told city leaders not to worry. The Boulder campus’ status as the university system’s flagship, or research hub, is not in jeopardy.
Regent Steve Bosley addressed “a perception or a misunderstanding that somehow this is an abandonment of CU-Boulder.”
“It is the flagship institution,” he said. “The commitment is unwavering in support of what CU has been,” and will be.
The plan would move CU’s president and 44 staff members closer to the legislature and business supporters in Denver. Proponents say it would also show that the president represents all of CU’s campuses, not just Boulder’s.
Regent Michael Carrigan assured the council members that the move would strengthen the entire system – including Boulder.
Still, Regent Cindy Carlisle, who represents Boulder, told council members that she was concerned.
“I don’t think that this campus … can be undermined,” she said. “But there are impacts and there will be impacts to the city of Boulder.”
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 720-929-0893 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
