A legislative proposal calls for state colleges and universities to open up their hiring processes, despite protests the scrutiny will discourage executives from applying for president and chancellor positions.
Republicans hammered House Bill 1369, which received initial approval Friday in the Democratic-controlled House.
House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, said his concern is that selection committees now meet privately, review candidates and then announce a sole finalist.
The public has little input in that process, he said.
“It’s been done behind closed doors. When the finalist comes forward, it’s an up and down vote on that person,” he said.
His bill would require the search committee to interview at least three candidates and send no more than five names to the governing board. The board would pick the finalists, make their names public, and then the finalists would have to make public presentations before any vote is taken.
Weissmann said his bill was not aimed at recent appointees, but at the process.
“This bill is really quite simply about transparency in selecting the highest positions in our universities and colleges,” he said.
The bill comes at the same time Colorado State University is looking for a chancellor. Weissmann said there have been “rumors” the school is going to announce a sole finalist, and that bothers him and others.
Weissmann said the school “hates the bill.”
“All the higher-ed places hate it,” he said. “They know no one wants their name to go public if they’re the bridesmaid instead of the bride.”
CSU spokeswoman Michele McKinney said the school is already “mirroring the spirit and the intent of the bill,” and “doing everything in accordance with state law.”
“We held meetings on our campuses and asked people what they wanted in a chancellor,” she said, adding that information was put into a report and given to the search committee.
Several Republicans blistered the bill. Rep. Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, said legislators were trying to micromanage the colleges.
Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock, questioned Weissmann’s commitment to transparency, noting the bill was introduced Thursday and put before a committee that afternoon before anyone was able to read it.
And Rep. Don Marostica, R-Loveland, said the current trend is to hire business executives to run colleges. He predicted fewer would apply if they knew their names would become public during the selection process.
“I’m afraid you won’t get the quality of candidates you get now,” Marostica said.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
