Golden – A retired oil company executive with limited higher education experience is the lone finalist for the next president of the Colorado School of Mines, trustees said Tuesday.
Myles “Bill” Scoggins, who left Exxon Mobil Corp. in Houston two years ago, said he wants to bolster Mines’ financial strength, increase enrollment and push for more research dollars if he becomes president.
Mines’ strategic plan aims to increase annual research money by $50 million – it’s now $30 million – and increase the school’s endowment to at least $500 million, up from about $155 million. Also, university leaders want to boost nonresident enrollment by 30 to 50 students per year at the 3,600-student school.
Scoggins’ petroleum engineering career began in 1970 and has taken him across the United States and overseas, including Amsterdam, London and Jakarta, Indonesia. His higher education experience, though, is limited to a one-year stint as a trustee for the University of Tulsa.
Board members said Scoggins’ business background suits him to manage the university and that his professional career is a good example for students.
“You take what you learn and you practice your craft,” board president Michael Nyikos said. “That’s what this school has always stood for.”
But some faculty called the board’s nomination of a single finalist another slap against campus input. Professors gave the board president a no-confidence vote last fall and demanded he step down because they were excluded from the search process.
“It’s consistent with the bad behavior of the board throughout the whole process,” faculty senate president Bruce Honeyman said.
Professors are concerned Scoggins does not have a varied enough background to lead the university, which has diversified beyond energy production to biotechnology and ethics.
“He’s really just a retired oil man,” Honeyman said. “Is that what the School of Mines needs?”
Mines’ seven governor-appointed trustees, four of whom have ties to the energy business, handled the presidential search. In the past, a committee of faculty, staff, administrators and students has interviewed candidates and forwarded its top selections to trustees for approval.
“We had zero input,” chemistry professor Kent Voorhees said of this search.
Even in faculty searches, the university typically brings in at least three candidates for interviews, he said.
Scoggins said he would try to smooth over any tension between faculty and university leaders.
“My style is one of openness and communication,” Scoggins said. “I like to build consensus.”
The board received 70 applications, Nyikos said. Trustees narrowed the search to four, but chose only Scoggins. The board plans to make a decision in May.
Scoggins, 58, has a master’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate from the University of Tulsa. He would replace retiring president John Trefny.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
