The University of Colorado and Boulder have been linked to each other for more than a century, but the regents this week may opt to move the president’s office from Boulder to Denver.
It would mark a shift away from the Boulder-centric way CU has operated for decades, and would be a nod toward the reality that CU is now more than just its original home. The Colorado Springs campus is growing quickly, the downtown Denver campus is well established and the Health Sciences campus at Fitzsimons is becoming one of the state’s crown jewels.
Moving the office, which would involve less than 1 percent of the Boulder staff, makes sense on paper. The president doesn’t spend much time in Boulder; the legislature and many well-heeled alums are in Denver (as is the airport); and CU is becoming more of a “system” rather than a collection of campuses with Boulder at the top.
And the move, according to a report by a university working group, would be revenue-neutral or even revenue-generating for CU.
However, all of that said, when the regents meet this week they need to carefully weigh what’s not on paper. That is, will such a move neglect the flagship campus?
When Betsy Hoffman was president, she spent about 80 percent of her time off the Boulder campus, tending to matters at other campuses, meeting with potential donors and spreading the word about CU. Proponents of moving the office to Denver use those statistics as a reason to make the change.
Of course, the argument can be made that had Hoffman tended to the Boulder campus more, it might not have been enveloped in controversy.
At-large Regent Pete Steinhauer, who lives in Boulder, will vote against the proposal because he thinks the president should be connected to the Boulder campus. And if business takes him or her to Denver, Colorado Springs, or Washington, D.C., “that’s why we have cellphones, e-mails and pagers and fax machines,” Steinhauer said.
“It’s not No. 1 on my list of priorities for CU,” he said. “I’m a traditionalist.”
Proponents, including Denver regent Michael Carrigan, say the move would recognize that CU is a system. It would empower the CU-Boulder chancellor, who now tries to run the campus with a president literally breathing down his back, and recognizes the fact that top CU officials do most of their work in or near downtown Denver.
The regents’ decision, ultimately, must be based on what will be good for CU for decades to come, and not based on the politics, troubles or whims of the day.
