Regents announce presidential search firm
The University of Colorado Board of Regents has selected Wheless Partners Consulting and Executive Search — one of the nation’s leading executive search consultant and human capital advisory firms — to assist in searching for CU’s next president.
Wheless Senior Partners Mike JR Wheless, Dr. Robert E. Witt and Scott Watson will lead the search process and candidate recruitment effort on behalf of CU and the board. The Board of Regents selected Wheless Partners after a competitive process that drew proposals from leading national firms.
The Wheless Partners team has client partners in Colorado and around the country, and an impressive track record of successfully conducting president, chancellor, CEO and executive searches in higher education and other industries. Wheless Partners has a strong record of placing candidates who have been successful in higher education, as well as success in attracting a strong pool of diverse candidates.
“Wheless Partners has an excellent track record of success in placing effective, dynamic leaders,” said Sue Sharkey, chair of the CU Board of Regents. “With Wheless Partners’ deep nationwide network and leading-edge business and search model, Wheless provides coverage across education, government and all industries in order to find a gifted CEO to lead the CU system. We look forward to working with them to find CU’s next great leader.”
Sharkey said the regents are particularly looking forward to working with Dr. Witt, who previously served as a campus chancellor and system president for the University of Alabama and is recognized as an established leader in the higher education community.
CU President Bruce D. Benson informed the board in July that he will retire from the university in July 2019. The board has issued a call for nominations for members of the search committee, which is expected to be empaneled this month. The board named Regents Heidi Ganahl and Irene Griego as search committee co-chairs.
For more information about CU’s presidential search, please visit https://www.cu.edu/presidential-search.