Regents look to governance groups for input on presidential search process

The Laws and Policies subcommittee of the University of Colorado Board of Regents met today with representatives of university governance groups to find ways to improve the presidential search process.

After the search that brought Bruce D. Benson to the university presidency, the regents committed to working with governance groups to fine-tune the process. Regent Stephen Ludwig (D-Lone Tree) said the two most recent searches, which resulted in hiring Benson and Hank Brown, provided CU with "great" presidents. But that doesn't mean the process can't improve, he said.

"We had good results, but we're trying to make it a more robust discussion. We're committed to your participation," Ludwig said. "This is the biggest job the board has been given. We invite you to help us do our job better."

Representatives of Faculty Council, Staff Council and the Inter-Campus Student Forum said they would discuss the issue with their constituencies and bring back recommendations to the board in early November. The Laws and Policies subcommittee will have further discussion before bringing the issue to the full board early next year.

Laws and Policies chair Regent Tom Lucero (R-Loveland) said the committee does not have a preconceived idea of how the process will end.

"The one thing I don't want to do is send the signal to our constituency groups that the board or the Laws and Policies committee is headed down a defined path," Lucero said.

Regent Tillie Bishop (R-Grand Junction) suggested the board carefully consider how recent searches went before making substantive changes.

"We shouldn't complicate the system beyond what we had before," Bishop said.

Key issues include the composition of the search committee and the issue of sole finalist or multiple finalists.

"The big question before us is, what's a manageable process and what's not?" said Lori Krug, chair of the University of Colorado Staff Council.