CSU names finalist for president position

FORT COLLINS — Joyce McConnell, provost and vice president for academic affairs at West Virginia University, has been named as the finalist to become the 15th president of Colorado State University.

The Board of Governors of the CSU System announced their selection Friday. They will vote at a later date on appointment of McConnell, but designating her as the finalist permits public comment to occur prior to final decision.

“Joyce McConnell has an extraordinary track record in higher education leadership and a deep appreciation for Colorado State University’s mission and character,” Rico Munn, chair of the CSU System Board of Governors, said in a written statement. “She has shown a unique ability to lead with vision while bringing diverse groups alongside in a common drive for excellence. We are grateful to the Search Advisory Committee for its work and for the input from our CSU community that played a critical role in identifying Provost McConnell as finalist for consideration as the next president of CSU.”

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In her role as provost and chief academic officer, McConnell oversaw university budgets; built partnerships with political, governmental, business, and nonprofit

leaders at the state, national, and international levels; and played a lead role in fundraising. She

led efforts to improve gender equity and Title IX education and compliance, engaged in higher-education policy work with the board and state leaders, focused on raising faculty salaries, promoted excellence in research and graduate education, and played a key role in promoting diversity and inclusion at all levels of the university, CSU said in its announcement. McConnell’s track record also includes tenure as dean of the College of Law at WVU, during which she spearheaded major fundraising and academic initiatives.

She is a graduate of Evergreen State College and Antioch School of Law and was a graduate teaching fellow at Georgetown University Law School. She earlier served as a faculty member and associate dean at WVU, faculty member at City University of New York School of Law, and visiting professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. Her full bio and curriculum vitae are available online.

“I am extremely grateful to be considered for the opportunity to lead Colorado State University and look forward to being a part of one of this nation’s premier flagship, land-grant, research universities,” McConnell said. “At a time when some are questioning the value of higher education, Colorado State provides the perfect response to those who would diminish that value. Grounded in the land-grant missions of education, research, and outreach, Colorado State is helping to improve people’s lives in the state, nation and world. I am excited to bring my passion for these missions to Fort Collins and help continue the thriving spirit that created this university and is still evident today.”

In accordance with Colorado law, there is a mandatory 14-day notice and waiting period

following the announcement of a finalist before the Board of Governors can enter into an

employment agreement.

CSU’s next president will assume leadership July 1 when current president Tony Frank begins serving exclusively as chancellor of the CSU System. President Frank is in his 11th year as CSU president and will have served five years in the dual role of both president and chancellor. The new president will step in as CSU approaches its 150th anniversary and at a time when the university has seen a decade of record levels of enrollment, donor and alumni support, and research funding, along with the dramatic transformation of campus, physically and in terms of state and national reputation.

The 16-member Presidential Search Advisory Committee began the nationwide search in

October 2018. The search advisory committee was chaired by Nancy Tuor, board of governors vice chair and former president of the Federal Client Group, CH2M HILL.