CU alum, CFO tapped for interim president role

DENVER — University of Colorado chief financial officer Todd Saliman, a CU graduate, was unanimously chosen Tuesday by the CU Board of Regents to serve as interim president, as the board searches for a replacement for outgoing president Mark Kennedy. 

Kennedy, a former Republican congressman who will be paid $1.3 million to step away, is leaving his post on July 1 after a tumultuous two years on the job. 

Kennedy took the reins of the system that manages the CU campuses in Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs, and the CU-Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, in the summer of 2019 after three years as president of the University of North Dakota.

Prior to that, he was an executive at Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) and Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), and held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007 while living in Minnesota.

However, Kennedy’s tenure was controversial before his swearing-in. He was approved for the role by a 5-4 vote in a process that was marred by opaqueness, as the Board of Regents refused to release a full list of finalists for the position.

Controversy continued as the CU student government and CU-Boulder Faculty Assembly formally censured Kennedy in April based on what they viewed as leadership that failed to foster diversity and inclusion on campus.

According to a Denver Post report, Saliman does not intend to seek the position permanently.

He’s been with the university since 2011 and served as chief financial officer and vice president for strategy and government relations most recently. 

Saliman also held roles with Gov. Bill Ritter and Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administrations and was a Colorado state lawmaker from 1995 to 2002, according to his CU biography.

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