The last time we checked, choosing a new president for the University of Colorado was the job of its regents, who are elected by Colorado voters.
That’s why it was disconcerting to see Democratic state legislators not only inserting themselves into the process, but hinting that the school might lose out in state funding fights if Denver oilman Bruce Benson is hired as president.
That’s over the line.
Expressing an opinion is one thing, but a veiled threat or even a prediction of reduced funding for the state’s flagship university implies political pressure. What ever happened to academic freedom?
We’re talking, specifically, about the comments of House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, who was quoted in The Post as saying this about Benson:
“I don’t think he realizes the difficulty he will have in this building,” she said. “Higher education is like throwing a hambone in a dogfight. They are fighting over scraps. I imagine the other presidents are gleeful about this because they will win the fight for the scraps.”
We understand the issues that Madden and others might have with Benson’s political activity over the years as a GOP fundraiser and one of the founders of the Trailhead Group, which was responsible for negative ads targeting Democrats.
A dozen legislative Democrats recently signed onto a two-page letter that was highly critical of Benson, attacking his credentials and partisanship.
But Benson isn’t some right-wing zealot. In fact, he’s the one Republican who could help push a tax hike for higher education. He helped lead the Referendum C coalition in 2005.
Many of the people who have worked with Benson on education issues, including Democrats, are supporting his bid.
To suggest that the school might suffer financially if the regents were to hire him could be construed as a threat or even hypocrisy.
Back in 2005, we remember an incident in which Republican state Rep. David Balmer tried to tack an amendment onto a bill that would pull funding for CU if controversial professor Ward Churchill remained on staff. It was a bad idea and it was blocked by none other than Madden.
She was right then, and the same principles should apply now. We need to protect the autonomy of our universities in their personnel decisions as well as their academic pursuits.
CU’s selection of Benson as the sole finalist to lead the school has generated public discussion about the needs of the school and the role of the president, and that’s all healthy. But this shouldn’t be an issue of partisan politics.
Calling into question the school’s funding — however obliquely — smacks of the same kind of politics that Benson is being criticized for. You can’t have it both ways.
