A list of candidates for president of the University of Colorado system has been leaked to the Colorado Independent.
Four Republican regents are calling for an outside investigation into how “someone involved in the recent University of Colorado President search” leaked the information, according to a letter addressed to President Mark Kennedy and Board of Regents Chair Glen Gallegos.
The leak was on Wednesday. The Daily Camera confirmed the leak and obtained a copy of the letter from CU system spokesman Ken McConnellogue, and Colorado Independent Editor Susan Greene confirmed she had received the leaked information. The list of candidates includes approximately 30 names, Greene said.
The identities of the candidates for CU’s top position also is the subject of an against the University of Colorado system.
CU officials have maintained that because for the job, they are not legally required to disclose other candidates.
The Board of Regents’ unanimous vote to name Kennedy as sole finalist sparked across CU campuses and raised questions about his and voting record as a Republican congressman in Minnesota. Regents voted 5-4 to hire Kennedy, with Republican regents casting votes in favor and Democrats voting against.
After CU officials denied multiple public records requests for the names of other finalists, the Camera on Sept. 30 filed a lawsuit in Denver District Court to compel CU to comply with the requests.
Regents have known about the leak for approximately a week, Gallegos said.
The letter calling for an outside investigation into the leak was signed by Regents Heidi Ganahl, Sue Sharkey, John Carson and Chance Hill and sent Monday.
“Whoever provided this information to the media without the university’s authorization has harmed the university and undermined the integrity of the search process,” the regents wrote. “We are requesting a formal investigation to determine how this breach occurred and to advise us on how to protect confidentiality in future searches.”
The regents’ letter also called for an independent law firm to investigate the matter, citing that system attorney Pat O’Rourke’s involvement in the presidential search makes him a witness in the investigation.
Greene condemned a possible investigation into the leak in a statement Wednesday.
“This is a petty witch hunt by an elected board of regents that made promises of confidentiality it obviously couldn’t keep,” Greene said. “My guess is that Coloradans care far less about who leaked the list than about why this selection process appears to have been based at least as much on party politics than it was on merit.”
Gallegos said itap yet to be determined whether the board will launch an investigation.
“I think (the leak) hurts people that were candidates for that job. I think it hurts the reputation of the University of Colorado and it brings into question again the presidential search and, in the long run, it could have an effect on who wants to apply for our jobs,” Gallegos said.
Gallegos said he did not want to speak for other regents about the possibility of an investigation, but that it is sure to come up the next time the board meets, which will be at a Jan. 9 retreat.
“I’m pretty concerned about it, as most of the regents are,” he said.
McConnellogue said system officials do not know who leaked the information.“First and foremost, we promised candidates confidentiality throughout the process, so that confidentiality has been breached,” McConnellogue said. “This makes it harder for us to recruit executive talent. People who enter into these searches expect their names will be confidential down to the end of the search.”
