Durango – The University of Colorado regents were poised today to approve a policy shake-up that would empower the president to hire and fire his administrators and cut the number of board meetings almost in half.
CU president Hank Brown proposed four major policy changes that he says will crisply define his responsibilities and give more authority to chancellors on the university’s three campuses.
The changes will eliminate the university’s “major problems of the past,” including accounting troubles that went unfixed for up to six years and technology breakdowns that allowed hackers to crack into campus computer systems, he said.
“This eliminates any excuses the president might have,” Brown told regents Wednesday during their three-day retreat in Durango.
Brown wants the power to hire, fire and set salaries for vice presidents and chancellors, which he said would “send a message that people are responsible to the president.” He wants chancellors to hire and fire their deans and represent their campuses in the media.
Regents were likely to approve the policy changes with minor tweaking, although Regents Michael Carrigan and Cindy Carlisle questioned whether they should give up control over the hiring of chancellors.
Others disagreed, saying the president should take on responsibility for choosing his staff.
“It’s hard to hold him accountable if you’re going to make his decisions,” said Regent Jerry Rutledge, who lamented that the policy changes were not implemented years ago.
Another of Brown’s proposals would set up a regent audit committee that would oversee university accounting practices, as well as have the authority to fire CU’s auditor. Brown said it was “totally unacceptable” that CU let internal audit recommendations sit for five and six years without taking action.
CU’s accounting problems were laid open in state audits in November and December.
Brown, who became interim president last summer and was named to the permanent position just weeks ago, also proposed to cut the number of regents’ meetings from 11 to six per year. He wants the board to stop discussing trivial matters and focus on larger policy issues such as tuition, diversity and alcohol use on campus.
Regent Tom Lucero said other university trustees at a recent national conference thought CU’s board was micromanaging when they heard it met 11 times each year.
Richard Legon, president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, told CU regents to have faith in the president they selected as the university’s “visionary.”
“Now you need to empower him,” Legon said.
But he cautioned regents against cutting back on meetings without realigning their policy and delegating authority to the president and other administrators.
“You could screw this up big time,” he said.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
