November

MSU Denver trustee named to governor-elect’s transition team

Elaine Gantz Berman will co-chair Polis’ education transition committee.

By Lindsey Coulter

November 14, 2018

Metropolitan State University of Denver Trustee Elaine Gantz Berman has been selected to co-chair Gov.-elect Jared Polis’ education transition committee in advance of his Jan. 8 inauguration.

Together with Co-chair Al Yates, Ph.D., former president of Colorado State University, Berman will lead a committee that includes former state Sen. Mike Johnston, Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Denver Dan Ritchie and Colorado Education Association President Amie Baca Oehlert, among others. Members have been tasked with convening education policy and higher-education working groups, recruiting Cabinet-level personnel and weighing in on how Polis and Lt. Gov.-elect Dianne Primavera can best serve Coloradans — bringing a broad range of expertise and perspectives to state leadership.

“I am honored to have been selected by Gov.-elect Polis to co-chair the education transition committee,” Berman said. “Education is my passion, and the work of this committee will bridge the entire spectrum of education from early childhood through higher education. We are fortunate that Colorado has elected a governor with deep expertise in education. I’m excited with this opportunity and ready to begin our work.”

“Dianne and I plan to hit the ground running in January and get to work turning our vision for a stronger education system, expanding access to affordable health care, and an economy that works for everyone into reality,” Polis said in a statement. “Over the next 60 days, a group of more than 60 experts in their field, community leaders and Coloradans representing the broad diversity of our state will be helping us prepare to take on these challenges.” 

Berman, a former member of the Colorado State Board of Education, was appointed to the MSU Denver Board of Trustees in 2015 and reappointed in 2016. She is the chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee and serves as the MSU Denver representative to the Auraria Board of Directors.