December

Board of Trustees has last meeting of the year

Presidential search ready to interview chosen applicants; resolution affirms support of undocumented students and the call for unity and respect.

By Julie Lucas

December 13, 2016

The MSU Denver Board of Trustees held its regularly scheduled business meeting on Friday, Dec. 9, which was open to the public. This was the last meeting for Trustee William (Bill) Hanzlik, whose term of service on the board was from 2009 to 2016. As part of the meeting, Hanzlik, a former Denver Nugget, was recognized with an MSU basketball, signed by board members, a special MSU Denver sports jersey and a proclamation from the board, as well as a standing ovation from all those present at the meeting.

Board Chair Michelle Lucero provided an update on the presidential search process. This past Monday, Dec. 5, the search committee met all day and selected applicants for airport interviews that will be conducted in early January. The pool had diverse candidates and the committee was pleased with the candidates selected. The search committee will be calling the listed references for those applicants over the next few weeks. The committee will spend three days interviewing these candidates confidentially and further discussing their qualifications, with the intent to present a group of semifinalists to the board. They will also create a process to interview the semifinalists in a confidential setting in mid-to late-January 2017.

Chair Lucero emphasized that many candidates had requested that their candidacies remain confidential and that request will be honored. They anticipate that the interview process after the search committee presents its semifinalists will include a group of representatives from the larger MSU Denver University and local communities – to give candidates an opportunity to know us better. The board will confer with the leadership of these groups to determine who may participate in this process. After the interviews with the semifinalists, the board will then name a finalist who will be brought to campus for open meetings. This schedule aligns with the board’s timeline to name a new president in February 2017.

Board member Barb Grogan proposed a resolution on behalf of the Board of Trustees strongly affirming President Jordan’s messages to the MSU Denver community regarding his wholehearted support of undocumented students and his call for unity, respect and commitment to diversity.

She further moved that the board express its own personal and continuing commitment to our undocumented students and to our values of affordable, accessible, quality education and opportunity for all students. This was unanimously passed.

Chief of Staff and Chief Communications Officer Cathy Lucas also presented the findings of the most recent University brand audit. The audit, completed by Corona Insights, found that MSU Denver’s brand perception has moved from an average of 70 percent positive in 2013 to 76 percent positive in 2016, which represents significant progress. While current students are very positive, alumni are extremely positive, indicating that their degrees are transferring well to the workplace.