CSU Presidential Search Advisory Committee seated, search firm selected

The Colorado State University Board of Governors today announced the formation of a Presidential Search Advisory Committee and the selection of a national search firm to help choose the next leader for Colorado State University – one of the nation’s leading public research institutions.

The 16-member advisory committee will be chaired by Nancy Tuor, BOG vice chair and former Group President, Corporate Sponsor for Sustainability at CH2M HILL. The committee will provide input on the development of a candidate profile, job description, and leadership statement for a national search. After identifying and interviewing applicants, the committee will recommend qualified candidates for consideration by the BOG, which is the hiring authority.

The Parker Executive Search firm, which has conducted more than 2,000 senior-level searches over the past 30 years, will assist with the national search. Parker Executive Search (parkersearch.com) is a top global executive search firm. It has a national and international client base that includes leading colleges and universities, top intercollegiate and professional sports programs, Fortune 1000 corporations, nationally recognized academic health sciences centers, and hospitals/health systems.

“It’s an exciting time for a new leader to step in and build on the significant momentum that CSU has experienced over the past decade,” said Rico Munn, BOG chair. “This university has produced record-setting results, has great character, strong values, a desire to always do better, and an international reputation for excellence. We are grateful for the service of the advisory committee members – who represent faculty, staff, students, alumni and community leaders – for dedicating their time and energy to help us find the right person to keep us strong and lead us into the future.”

Over the past decade, Colorado State has posted record enrollment, private fundraising and research totals, as well as dramatically improved student success and diversity metrics during the 11-year tenure of President Tony Frank. The presidential search follows a recent announcement by Dr. Frank and the BOG that Frank will begin serving exclusively as chancellor starting July 1, 2019, after five years as both System Chancellor and University President.

As this process begins, CSU will host listening sessions to talk about the search process and to solicit feedback. These sessions will be an opportunity for faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends and community members to discuss desired attributes for candidates, and the opportunities and challenges that await a new president. Information on scheduling will be released by early November along with other options to provide feedback.

About Colorado State University

Colorado State University, a prestigious Carnegie Doctoral Research University, was established in 1870 and remains inspired by its land-grant heritage and world-class faculty, staff and students. CSU is the largest employer in Fort Collins with more than 7,400 faculty and staff. Alumni and friends have given more than $1 billion in gifts to CSU in the university’s current State Your Purpose Campaign, which runs through 2020 when the university marks its 150th anniversary.

Fiscal year 2018 was another record year for Colorado State University’s prodigious research enterprise, which generated $374.9 million in research expenditures – a 10.8 percent increase over the previous year. The university’s technology licensing office, CSU Ventures, also issued 53 patents in fiscal year 2018.

Colorado State University welcomed 5,423 students in its record-breaking freshman class for Fall 2018 semester while marking 11 consecutive years of record enrollment. CSU’s enrollment for 2018-19 is 33,877 students – an increase of 464 students from 2017-18. The freshman class grew by 299 students over last year, and includes 3,414 in-state students and 2,009 from outside Colorado. Out-of-state freshman enrollment increased by 18 percent, including a 26 percent increase in students from California, Texas and Illinois – the three states that consistently send the largest number of students to CSU. In addition, the freshman class is 27.3 percent ethnically diverse, and 22 percent of the freshmen are first-generation students. And in keeping with CSU’s land-grant mission to make education accessible to all, 86 percent of the freshmen (4,592 students) are receiving some sort of financial aid. CSU’s record enrollment includes more Colorado high school graduates than any other university, and with outreach and engagement programs in every county in Colorado, CSU serves the state while also seeking to make a global difference.

The university’s home in Fort Collins, CO, repeatedly has been named one of the best places in the country to live. In 2015 the Smithsonian Institution named the city as one of six Places of Invention across the nation, featuring Fort Collins and CSU as a hub for energy innovation in an exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. By tackling environmental problems and creating clean, sustainable alternatives to existing energy sources, CSU, the city and community businesses are actively pursuing collaborations that result in local innovations with worldwide impact.

The Colorado State University Presidential Search Advisory Committee

Board of Governors Members and Elected CSU Representatives to the BOG

Nancy R. Tuor (Committee Chair) of Parker retired from CH2M HILL as the Group President, Corporate Sponsor for Sustainability in 2012. She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. Over her more than 32-year career with CH2M HILL, she served in numerous senior-level executive positions for the global engineering firm.  In addition, she was elected to three, three-year terms on the CH2M HILL board of directors. Prior executive positions include the program manager of the Masdar City Development in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and CEO of the Rocky Flats Accelerated Closure Program. Ms. Tuor served for 10 years on the Denver Metro Chamber Board of Directors and Executive Committee and co-chaired the Colorado Governor’s Council on Education in 2004. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Portland State University.

Steve Gabel is the owner of Magnum Feedyard Co. LLC in Wiggins, Colo., and Gabel Cattle LLC in Galeton, Colo.  He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. His background is in livestock production, and he has been active in the industry, serving on state and national livestock group boards over the years, including current membership in the Colorado Livestock Association, National Cattleman’s Beef Association, and the National Western Stock Show Association. Magnum Feedyard won the 2017 Feedyard Award, a national award given to one feedyard per year by Beef Quality Assurance. Mr. Gabel graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Sciences in 1978.  He is married to Audrey Gabel.

Kim Jordan is co-founder, chair of the board, and former CEO of New Belgium Brewing. She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. Ms. Jordan has developed expertise at the intersection of business, the environment, and community to create one of the most respected craft breweries and innovative businesses in America. Her lifelong commitment to developing healthy communities has informed New Belgium’s culture through progressive policies such as employee ownership, open-book management, and philanthropic giving. Ms. Jordan has been a director on many diverse boards over the years, including The Brewers Association, 1% for The Planet, and the Governor’s Renewable Energy Authority Board. She continues to serve on boards where she believes her progressive business philosophy can make a difference on important issues. Now as the Executive Chair at NBB, Ms. Jordan serves as a link between New Belgium’s highly competent and engaged management group and its board of directors. She and her two sons launched the New Belgium Family Foundation in 2013 as a way to continue to express their commitment to social and environmental impact through mission-aligned investing and philanthropy. Ms. Jordan is the 2018 recipient of the William E. Morgan Alumni Achievement Award from the Colorado State University Alumni Association.

William E. Mosher is the senior managing director of Trammell Crow Company, a nationally recognized leader in real estate development and investment activities. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. Mr. Mosher also serves as the CEO of the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority, the nonprofit corporation that financed and constructed and is the current owner of the Hyatt Convention Center Hotel. He formed the Mosher Sullivan Development Partners in 2003 and previously served as the president of the Downtown Denver Partnership. He holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Arizona.  Among his numerous professional affiliations/community involvement activities, Mr. Mosher served as a member and past chair of the board of the Denver Housing Authority; the chairman of the 2006 Bond Committee & Oversight Committee for the Denver Public Schools; and the Colorado District Council Chair for the Urban Land Institute.

Jane Robbe Rhodes is an owner and partner in the National Collegiate Tailgating Championship, a company she helped found in 2010. She currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Colorado State University System. A Pueblo native, she has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural industries management and a master’s degree in animal science from Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She spent the majority of her career in the health care industry, previously serving as the president of the Catholic Health Initiatives Colorado Foundation and as president of the St. Mary Corwin Health Foundation. Among her many community involvement activities, Ms. Robbe Rhodes is a former member of the Kiwanis Club of Pueblo and served on the scholarship committee for the Harold and Ruth Robinson Foundation. She is also involved in the management and operation of her family’s cattle operation, Double T Cattle Company. She is a lifetime member of the Colorado State University Alumni Association.

Margarita Maria Lenk, Ph.D., CMA, is an associate professor in the Departments of Accounting and Computer Information Systems in the College of Business at Colorado State University. She currently serves as the CSU faculty representative to the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. Her professional passion and expertise includes the engineering and control of business processes and accounting information systems, sustainability practices and metrics, and the building of university-community partnerships. Dr. Lenk is a national service-learning consultant and also coaches and mentors minority faculty, students, and professionals around the U.S. She has published in Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Information Systems Education, and eleven other journals of various disciplines. Among her many honors, she has been awarded the CSU Board of Governors Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in 2009, Outstanding Educator for Emerging Technologies from the American Accounting Association in 2006, and Outstanding Accounting Educator in the State of Colorado in 1997. Dr. Lenk has been a leader in her professional service by chairing national committees, sectional leadership, and national conference programs for the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Campus Compact, and the KPMG PhD Project. At CSU, she has served on over 20 university-level committees, 11 college-level committees, and 12 departmental committees and task forces, and has chaired the Faculty Council Committee on Teaching and Learning.

Tristan Syron is a fourth-year history and finance major at CSU who intends to go to law school after graduation. He currently serves as the president of the Associated Students of Colorado State University and CSU student representative to the Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System. He is an active runner who enjoys backpacking and open mic nights around Fort Collins. Above all else he considers himself a student and a proud Ram.

Other Committee Members (listed alphabetically)

Denise Apodaca is piano proficiency coordinator and women’s studies affiliate faculty at Colorado State University, where she also serves on several committees and has received multiple awards. She received her bachelor of music in piano performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a minor in Spanish. She later received her master of music in piano performance and a second master of music in piano pedagogy from Northwestern University. She graduated with honors from both universities. She has been on the teaching faculties of The Chicago Academy for the Arts, where she was director of Instrumental Studies; Sherwood Conservatory of Music; DePaul University; Pasadena City College; Pasadena Conservatory of Music; and Front Range Community College. She served as a board member for Beet Street in Fort Collins, Colo. She founded and directed the Chicago Young Instrumentalist Program, served on the Leadership Council, was director of Early Childhood Programs, director of Class Piano, chair of Group Instruction and chair of the Piano Department at Sherwood Conservatory of Music in Chicago. She served as district coordinator for the California Association for Professional Music Teachers. Ms. Apodaca has performed throughout the United States as a soloist and as a chamber musician and has given several concerts in Mexico. She serves on the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County and was the Spanish community health educator at Poudre Valley Hospital for Bright Beginnings in Larimer County for more than five years.

Albert Y. Bimper, Jr., Ph.D., serves as associate professor in the Ethnic Studies Department of the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University, specializing in issues of race and sport with an emphasis on African American experiences within intercollegiate athletics. He is also the senior associate athletics director for diversity and inclusion in the CSU Athletics Department, and the director of the Denver Broncos Sports Management Institute at Colorado State. Dr. Bimper completed his Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in cultural studies in education at the University of Texas at Austin and holds a master’s degree in sport psychology from Purdue University. He completed his bachelor of science in Health & Exercise Science at Colorado State University.

Dave Edwards earned his bachelor of agricultural sciences in 1972 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 2014 from Colorado State University. A community leader and philanthropist, he has served on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Fort Collins City Council, the Fort Collins Planning and Zoning Board, the Poudre Fire Authority Board (member and past chair), and the Choices ’95 Steering Committee. Mr. Edwards has been a trustee and past chair of the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, and he helped to found and chair the UniverCity Connections and Homeward 2020 initiatives. His extensive involvement and support of Colorado State University includes service as a founding trustee of the CSU System Foundation and as a member of the College of Liberal Arts Advisory Council, the College of Liberal Arts Development Council, the President’s Council, the Capital Campaign Leadership Council, and the 2006 and 2015 Athletics Director search committees. He is a life member of the CSU Alumni Association and a member of the Ram Club. His legacy of service has been honored with the CSU Charles A. Lory Public Service Award in 2009, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado’s Founder’s Award in 2013, the Fort Collins Board of Realtors Citizen of the Year Award in 2008, and the United Way Doris McKellar Community Collaborator Award in 2008.

Blanche Hughes, Ph.D., serves as Colorado State University’s Vice President for Student Affairs. Dr. Hughes received her bachelor’s degree from Earlham College, a master’s of education degree in student affairs, and a doctorate degree in sociology from Colorado State University.  She is currently in her 12th year as the Vice President for Student Affairs at CSU.  In this role, she works with a division that includes 21 departments that collaborate with other units in the university community to help our students and staff be successful.  She is also a member of the President’s leadership team. Dr. Hughes teaches a KEY Community undergraduate course, as well as teaching and advising in the Student Affairs in Higher Education graduate program. Before becoming vice president, Dr. Hughes spent six years as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and eleven years as the director of Black Student Services at Colorado State University. She also served as a professor in the Sociology Department at Pikes Peak Community College for two years, one of those as chair of the department.

Tiffani Kelly is assistant director of the Native American Cultural Center and an administrative professional at Colorado State University. Ms. Kelly is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Originally from a small town in eastern Colorado, she is a first-generation college student and alumna from CSU. She earned a bachelor’s degree in natural sciences in 2012 and a master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education in 2014. She now serves as a member and co-chair of the Task Force on Native American Initiatives on campus, appointed by President Tony Frank. She is also very involved with the professional organization NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, currently serving as the co-chair elect for the Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Community. Her research interests are focused around Indigenous women and communities, working with and supporting Indigenous populations in higher education, including recruitment, academic success, and retention efforts.

Anselma Lopez is the campus and community engagement coordinator for the Division of Enrollment and Access at Colorado State University and an elected representative on the Classified Personnel Council. A native of Swink, Colo., Ms. Lopez holds a dual bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She will complete a master’s certificate in Student Affairs in Higher Education with a focus on access and success and nutritional sciences in May 2019 from Colorado State University.  She also will receive a project management professional certification. In addition to her service on the CPC, Ms. Lopez serves on the Employee Appreciation Board and the Young Professionals group at CSU.  She serves on the board of Mile High Young Professionals in Denver and the board of The Matthews House in Fort Collins, and is the president of the University of Colorado at Boulder Alumni Association in Fort Collins.

Dr. Mark Stetter is the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University. The college is recognized as one of the premier veterinary programs in the world, working to improve the health of animals, people and the planet through innovative and dedicated teaching, research, outreach and clinical service. In his role as dean, Dr. Stetter has focused on integrative health and wellness initiatives, serving as a leader or key partner in the creation of a One Health Institute; a Translational Medicine Institute; and in outreach efforts including a 2+2 DVM collaboration with the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, an experiential learning program for DVM students in Todos Santos, Mexico, and a health education outreach center to expand K-12 science engagement on the Colorado State campus. Dr. Stetter is a zoo and wildlife veterinarian by training and completed a residency program and board certification while at the Wildlife Conservation Society, New York.  Prior to joining CSU, he spent 15 years with the Walt Disney Company in Orlando, Florida, as the director of animal operations, and was responsible for the health care of Disney’s animal collections around the world. Dr. Stetter has been very active in a variety of professional organizations, including serving as president of the American College of Zoological Medicine, founder and president of the Elephant Population Management Program, chair for the Wildlife Scientific Advisory Board with Morris Animal Foundation and chair for the research committee with the Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians.

Wade Troxell, Ph.D., is the mayor of Fort Collins, Colo. He has been on the faculty in CSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering since 1985 and is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of robotics and intelligent control of distributed systems. His research has focused on autonomous robotic systems and architectures for distributed resources. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in engineering from CSU, and he was a NATO post-doctoral fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Mayor Troxell was first elected in April 2015 and is now serving his second term. As mayor, he is committed to an innovative approach to a sustainable future impacting energy, water, multi-modal transportation and environmental stewardship. Mayor Troxell was appointed by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to serve on the FAA Drone Advisory Committee (DAC). He also serves on the Platte River Power Authority Board of Directors, the GridWise Alliance Board of Directors, the National League of Cities Transportation & Infrastructure Services Committee, is the president of Colorado Municipal League, the chair of Northern Colorado Regional Airport Commission, and the chair of the City of Fort Collins Council Futures Committee.  Prior to serving as mayor, he was twice elected as a member of the Fort Collins City Council.

Diana H. Wall, Ph.D., is a University Distinguished Professor, professor of biology, founding director of the School of Global Environmental Sustainability, and senior research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University. She is an internationally respected environmental scientist and soil ecologist. Among her many international recognitions, Dr. Wall has received the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research President’s Medal, the 2013 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and the 2017 Eminent Ecologist, Ecological Society of America. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018 and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. Since the founding of CSU’s School of Global Environmental Sustainability in 2008, Dr. Wall has been a driving force for connecting CSU faculty, researchers, and students by providing innovative programs and tools to address the world’s greatest sustainability challenges.

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